Sadiq Khan beats favourite Tessa Jowell to become Labour’s 2016 London mayoral nomination indicating potential landslide victory for Jeremy Corbyn in Labour’s leadership election September 11, 2015 Tooting MP Sadiq Khan has won the Labour mayoral candidate race, beating other contenders including favourite Tessa Jowell. Khan, who served in the shadow cabinet under Ed Miliband, beat Jowell in the fifth round with 58.9 per cent of votes against Jowell's 41.1 per cent. A total of 87,954 people voted. David Lammy and Dianne [...]
Chancellor George Osborne shares his tax details for 2014/15, as Prime Minister David Cameron announces that nobody will be obliged to reveal their return April 11, 2016 Chancellor George Osborne has joined the list of politicians who have made their tax return public today. Osborne published a copy of a summary of his tax return for the 2014/15 tax year, revealing that he made a taxable income of £198,738 and paid income tax of £72,210. His income is compromised of £120,526 in taxable pay and [...]
Venezuela’s inevitable and miserable descent May 20, 2016 The lines start to form outside state-run supermarkets at dawn. As the sun rises, hundreds wait patiently in the hope that corn will be delivered in the afternoon. They are often disappointed. This is the reality of daily life for many in Venezuela, a country with the world’s largest reserves of oil and its highest [...]
Labour leadership race: Former foreign secretary David Miliband pledges support to Liz Kendall while warning of the risks of electing Jeremy Corbyn August 17, 2015 Former Labour frontbencher David Miliband has pledged his support to Liz Kendall in the Labour leadership contest. Writing in the Guardian, Miliband said he has been “struck since the beginning of the campaign by the plain speaking, fresh thinking and political courage of Liz Kendall and the new generation of politicians – Chuka Umunna, Emma [...]
Going to City A.M.’s mayoral debate? Why not play buzzword bingo? Here’s what the bookies think will come up on the night April 12, 2016 Sadiq Khan and Zac Goldsmith go head-to-head in City A.M.'s Mayoral Election Debate on Tuesday night, but what will they say? Never ones to miss the chance to turn a profit, bookies at Ladbrokes have made us offers on the big questions and key points coming up tonight. The betmaker is confident that Labour candidate Khan will hammer [...]
Don’t look now, but Europe is the big loser from Brexit July 14, 2016 To put it mildly, the British political establishment did not cover itself in glory in the immediate aftermath of the momentous Brexit vote. I am re-reading Shakespeare’s histories to try to find the correct specific analogy that best describes what Michael Gove did to Boris Johnson, just as I am feverishly going over Kafka to [...]
EU referendum: EU businesses say Brexit will hurt them – but they want a tough stance in any post-Brexit trade negotiations May 11, 2016 Business across Europe want the UK and the EU to agree a trade deal in the event of Brexit — but they think negotiators should take a hard line and impose strict duties and tariff barriers to make the UK pay the price for leaving. Two-thirds of listed companies in Germany, France, Italy and Spain said [...]
Don’t hold your breath for EU referendum facts May 11, 2016 On the eve of the 1986 Reykjavik Summit between Gorbachev and Reagan, the US President sought the advice of historian Suzanne Massie, who told him of the old Russian saying: “Trust, but verify.” This piece of wisdom, offered to a President at the height of the Cold War, is perhaps the best approach that today's [...]
EU referendum: Boris Johnson says taxpayers will be hit with £2.4bn bill if UK votes to Remain as David Cameron speaks with former foes June 6, 2016 Former Mayor of London Boris Johnson has said the UK faces a "triple whammy of woe" if it remains in the EU, while stating Leave has won the "democratic argument". That will include facing a £20bn blackhole in EU finances, an extra £2.4bn bill from Brussels and liability for future eurozone bailouts. However, Remain's Chuka Umunna said the [...]
Zac Goldsmith: Sadiq Khan and Ken Livingstone are “part of the same movement within the Labour Party” April 30, 2016 Conservative mayoral candidate Zac Goldsmith has described Sadiq Khan as being "part of the same movement" as Ken Livingstone. The claim comes after a week in which Livingstone was accused of making anti-Semitic comments and suspended from the Labour Party. Khan earlier this week described the comments as "appalling and inexcusable", adding: "There must be no place [...]