Tax credit cuts poll: Over half of Londoners want chancellor George Osborne to make changes, but Britons accept it as necessary October 26, 2015 Two polls on chancellor George Osborne's controversial decision to cut tax credits have found that six in 10 Londoners want chancellor George Osborne to amend the government's controversial decision to cut tax credits, but many Britons accept it is necessary. A London based poll, released by campaigning group 38 Degrees and conducted by YouGov, shows 58 per cent of [...]
Chancellor George Osborne launches National Infrastructure Commission October 30, 2015 Chancellor George Osborne today launched the National Infrastructure Commission, to oversee £100bn of spending on infrastructure projects. He said infrastructure is "at the heart" of the November spending review, with the money being used by 2020, and insist that the promised £15bn roads investment strategy will be realised. Read more: CBI/AECOM poll: infrastructure is a top concern [...]
EU referendum: Prime Minister David Cameron confirms ministers will be free to campaign for “remain” or “leave” January 5, 2016 UPDATE: Prime Minister David Cameron has confirmed that he will allow government ministers to campaign with their conscience in the run-up to the referendum on the United Kingdom's membership of the European Union. In a statement to MPs this afternoon, Cameron said: "It is in the nature of a referendum, that it is the people, [...]
EU referendum: City of London Corporation is one step closer to making the case for remaining in the EU despite member opposition February 25, 2016 The City of London Corporation has moved one step closer to campaigning for Britain to remain in the European Union, despite vocal opposition from many of its members. In a move that sparked outrage among eurosceptic City figures but was welcomed by the pro-EU campaign yesterday afternoon, members of the Corporation's policy and resources committee voted 17-3 [...]
Lord Turner fires Corbyn-omics warning: Risks of Jeremy Corbyn’s People’s Quantitative Easing are huge September 28, 2015 City grandee Lord Turner has warned that the political risks associated with Jeremy Corbyn’s proposed “People’s Quantitative Easing” are huge. “The technical case for treating overt money finance as an available tool – if and when the conditions makes such stimulus appropriate – is incontrovertible,” Turner said in an interview published today. “But the political [...]
Autumn Statement and Spending Review 2015: The verdicts on George Osborne’s proposals November 26, 2015 THE BUSINESS GROUP HEAD CAROLYN FAIRBAIRN, CONFEDERATION OF BRITISH INDUSTRY, DIRECTOR-GENERAL The apprenticeship levy will be a big extra payroll tax on employers and widening the net will hit Britain’s smaller firms. This was a good spending review for longer-term investment in the economy but there’s a sting in the tail in the size and [...]
Tax credit changes: House of Lords slams government by voting twice to delay tax credit cuts October 26, 2015 In a move that Downing Street has accused of breaking convention, the House of Lords has twice voted to delay the implementation of the government's controversial tax credit cuts, backing amendments from both Labour peer Baroness Hollis and crossbench peer Baroness Meacher. Baroness Hollis's amendment, which passed 289 to 272, required a three-year "transitional period" with "full protection" for [...]
Welfare coddles pensioners at the expense of the working poor – but it needn’t be like this October 29, 2015 The two biggest drivers of government spending, welfare and the NHS, will continue to dominate the political agenda this Parliament. Thanks to Monday’s vote in the House of Lords, delaying changes to tax credits, a £4bn hole in the government’s spending plans has now opened up. As ministers rethink their plans, they should address another [...]
Tax credit changes: the four ways the House of Lords could vote today October 26, 2015 The government's plans to cut tax credits will face their fiercest opposition yet today as peers consider killing the reforms. The House of Lords is set to debate and vote on four amendments this afternoon to the proposed cuts to in-work benefits, including a “fatal motion” which could stop the cuts altogether but trigger a [...]
George Osborne: The EU needs the City of London to be successful in business September 9, 2015 The success of the Square Mile is of paramount interest to the European Union and the Eurozone, chancellor George Osborne told peers yesterday. “The health of the City is an EU and Eurozone interest,” Osborne told the Lords Economic Affairs Committee. But responding to a question from Lord Kerr of Kinlochard, Osborne also [...]