Budget 2015: New pensions changes to allow savers to cash in annuities March 16, 2015 George Osborne’s crunch pre-election Budget will give savers who already own an annuity the power to cash it out. This new loosening of pensions rules builds on changes in last year’s Budget, and was confirmed by the Treasury yesterday. The Treasury says that it will give greater flexibility to five million pensioners who already own [...]
General Election 2015: There’s a deafening political silence around those who opt to go private April 9, 2015 Anthropologists argue that, to explain a situation, you have to examine its “silences”. The General Election is no different. In almost every area where government remains active, there is a growing group of voters who pay their taxes and then “go private”, but remain politically unacknowledged. In healthcare, the UK is already a world away [...]
US trade pact to open deals with the world November 25, 2014 EUROPE’S planned trade deal with the US could help to open the way for more deals with the developing world, the Confederation of British Industry said yesterday. Although global trade negotiations have ground to a halt, the business group hopes that a wide-ranging Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) with the US could encourage further deals with countries [...]
Theatre review: Made in Dagenham starring Gemma Arterton November 7, 2014 ★★☆☆☆ Adelphi Theatre If you ever wondered why Carry On Camping, Carry On Up the Nile and Carry On Up The Jungle were never followed by Carry On Second Wave Feminism, or Carry On Women’s Liberation, then watch Made in Dagenham, a new musical in which slap, tickle and gender politics make uneasy [...]
Budget 2015: Reactions to the chancellor’s statement March 18, 2015 THE BUSINESS GROUP Confederation of British Industry director generalJohn Cridland The Budget provides a clear plan for fiscal health and growth and will help businesses create jobs. “Stability and consistency are what businesses need to grow and prosper. This Budget sets the tone, providing a clear plan for fiscal health and growth. [...]
Sadiq Khan: Can a Labour mayor make City Hall pro-business? Labour mayoral candidate on what separates him from Jeremy Corbyn September 23, 2015 Sitting in a cafe around the corner from the Labour party’s headquarters in Westminster, Sadiq Khan says that he and the new Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, are not always in agreement. “Ken Livingstone as the Labour mayor often disagreed with the Labour leadership, Boris Johnson as the Conservative mayor often disagreed with the Conservative [...]
No pain, no strain: How to avoid RSI February 5, 2015 Get up from your desk, don’t ignore the niggles and make more tea for your colleagues. Blackberry Thumb, iPhone 5-itis and MacBook Back. At the moment, only one of these terms (BlackBerry Thumb) is an existing neologism, but they could all be used to describe an increasingly common issue among today’s office workers: Repetitive Strain [...]
Bank of England minutes: New documents reveal flaws in financial crisis response January 6, 2015 The former directors of the Bank of England (BoE) have come under heavy fire after minutes of meetings from the time of the financial crisis released today revealed it suffered from a lack of transparency as well as “groupthink”. “The Bank appears to have been a very hierarchical organisation, with clear signs of ‘groupthink’ among [...]
Doha awarded World Athletics Championships 2019 despite Qatar World Cup controversy November 18, 2014 Qatar, still fending off questions surrounding the 2022 World Cup, will host the 2019 World Athletics Championships. Doha saw off rival bids from Barcelona and Eugene, Oregon, in the US. The event will take place from 28 September to 6 October in order to avoid high summer temperatures. Doha’s bid specifically requested [...]
Pound continues to fall despite Mark Carney’s speech September 9, 2014 After falling almost 1.4 per cent yesterday, the pound continued to slide today despite Mark Carney indicating there would be no interest rate hike this year. Speaking to the Trade Union's congress, Carney said there was still slack in the labour market and that he saw an interest rate rise as coming next spring, rather [...]