Revamped Institute of Directors finds its voice in time for general election February 15, 2015 With its grand architecture, and seemingly arcane rules, the Institute of Directors (IoD) has often felt more like a gentleman’s club than a political body. However, under director general Simon Walker, the renowned business institution is getting a bit of a shake-up. Previously characterised as a rather safe organisation, the IoD has been far more [...]
NHS ambulance workers vote to strike October 1, 2014 Members of the GMB union of NHS workers have voted overwhelmingly in favour of taking strike action on 13 October. Of the ambulance staff who voted, 78 per cent cast their ballot in favour of a walk-out, which will take place between 7:00am and 11:00am. Furthermore, 91 per cent voted for action short of a [...]
Liberal Democrat MP Tessa Munt keeps government job despite voting against fracking January 27, 2015 Yesterday City A.M. revealed that a junior member of the coalition, Lib Dem Tessa Munt, was jeopardising her government role advising business secretary Vince Cable by continuing to push for a moratorium on fracking. The Somerset MP delivered a petition of 8,688 signatures against the shale gas exploration in her area to the Number 10 [...]
Rochester killed the politics of triangulation – and that’s bad news for Ukip November 23, 2014 Labour and the Conservatives have just gone another 12 rounds with Ukip, and lost. The inexorable rise of Ukip and the Rochester by-election result last week have their origins in strategic calculations made by parties in the 1990s. The rise of the Third Way and the politics of triangulation, pioneered by Bill Clinton, brought to [...]
Ed Miliband re-launches PM campaign with new battle against zero-hour contracts November 17, 2014 Businesses and unions are digging in for an election-year battle over zero-hour contracts and what they mean for workers Ed Miliband re-launched his campaign to be the next Prime Minister last week, with a new attack on zero-hour contracts and the treatment of workers. Businesses hit back immediately, arguing the contracts give workers flexibility, allow [...]
Autumn Statement 2014: Stamp duty, business rates, banking profits and tech firm taxes. How has industry responded? December 3, 2014 There were a number of surprises in George Osborne's final Autumn Statement before the general election, many of which are solidly aimed at middle class voters. Bankers taxes are being limited, multinational tech firms are going to have to pay more taxes and stamp duty slabs have been scrapped. The squeezed middle and chattering [...]
Unions voice opposition over Pfizer deal at committee hearing May 13, 2014 MPs on the Business, Innovation and Skills committee have heard a host of objections from trade union representatives to the proposed takeover of Astrazeneca by US drugs giant Pfizer. Tony Burke of the Unite union, which represents roughly a third of Astrazeneca staff, said his members feared the prospect of job losses. Both the representatives [...]
Conservatives plan tougher laws to curb public sector strike action July 7, 2014 CONSERVATIVE ministers are drawing up plans to make it tougher for public sector unions to take industrial action, as more than a million council workers, teachers, civil servants and firefighters prepare to take action this week. Cabinet office minister Francis Maude yesterday said they were exploring a “minimum turnout threshold”, where only strikes backed by [...]
Cameron softens tone on Pfizer deal as boss flies in May 11, 2014 PRIME MINISTER David Cameron has signalled a softening of the government’s position over the Astrazeneca Pfizer takeover bid, warning against putting undue pressure on the deal. In an interview yesterday, Cameron said the government has made “very good progress” on guarantees that jobs would remain in the UK if the deal went ahead, adding that [...]
Unions threaten to strike after government backtracks on pay March 13, 2014 UNIONS in the public sector are threatening strike action after the government chose to ignore the recommendations of the independent review body for pay, awarding a one per cent increase to some but not all workers in the NHS. Health secretary Jeremy Hunt announced yesterday that 550,000 NHS workers will get a one per cent [...]