Queen’s Speech 2015: Here’s the full transcript May 27, 2015 My Lords and members of the House of Commons. My government will legislate in the interests of everyone in our country. It will adopt a one nation approach, helping working people get on, supporting aspiration, giving new opportunities to the most disadvantaged and bringing different parts of our country together. My government will [...]
The UK leads the world as an education exporter – and it can do better still May 17, 2015 With a new government in place, it won’t be long before Prime Minister Cameron and his team of ministers start to jet off across the globe to key international markets. India, China, Brazil and the Gulf States will be the most likely countries to see a British Airways plane land on the tarmac in the [...]
David Miliband criticises Ed’s election effort May 11, 2015 FORMER foreign secretary David Miliband criticised his younger brother Ed Miliband in a rare television interview yesterday. The elder Miliband, who lost the Labour party leadership contest to Ed in 2010, told the BBC that voters “did not want what was being offered” by the Labour party in last week’s General Election. David, who quit parliament and moved to [...]
General Election 2015 reshuffle: Chris Leslie is the new Ed Balls as Labour’s shadow chancellor in Harriet Harman’s shadow Cabinet May 11, 2015 It's not just David Cameron putting his cabinet together today. The Labour party may have had an utterly disastrous election, but a shadow cabinet still needs to be formed by the acting leader Harriet Harman – and that's just what she's been up to this morning. Harman has opted to keep the shadow cabinet largely unchanged [...]
HSBC creates £8bn UK small business fund May 11, 2015 HSBC has set aside £8bn to lend to small and medium-sized businesses in the UK. The bank's small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) loan offering will reach 43 areas of the country, with Scotland, Birmingham and Manchester, receiving at least £400m each. Fees on qualifying business loans worth between £1,000 and £300,000 will be waived or [...]
Lord Mayor Alan Yarrow wants to start the City talking about empowering disabled workers May 10, 2015 Almost halfway through his mayoralty, despite the rigours of constant travel, Alan Yarrow is buzzing with energy. The former Kleinwort Benson veteran, and chairman of the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI), clearly relishes the novel experience of swapping the cut and thrust of the workplace for his apolitical role representing the City’s interests. [...]
Tucking into a tikka and a good cause April 16, 2015 PRINCESS Anne, the business elite and military brass all turned out yesterday for the Lord Mayor’s Big Curry Lunch, raising around £350,000 for ABF The Soldier’s Charity, which has aided returning and retired British troops since 1944. After the masala was munched and the dahl was devoured bidding got underway in a charity auction. The [...]
Conservative manifesto clash? Boris Johnson said right-to-buy extension could be “extremely costly” April 14, 2015 Boris Johnson previously expressed serious doubts about the merits of one of the flagship policies in the Conservative manifesto. David Cameron said today a future Conservative government would extend Margaret Thatcher's famous right-to-buy scheme. The policy would allow housing association tenants to buy their homes at a massive discount. But Boris Johnson, London's Mayor and [...]
The City thrives because it’s open to global talent: Don’t pull up the drawbridge March 22, 2015 This week, the City of London will host one of the UK’s major set-piece foreign affairs events. Foreign secretary Philip Hammond and I will address all the ambassadors to the United Kingdom, and other high-level Diplomatic Corps, at the Mansion House. Our focus is the “commercial diplomacy” that is at the heart of the UK’s [...]
Budget 2015: Here are George Osborne’s best quotes plus his Budget speech in full March 18, 2015 George Osborne's final Budget during this parliament had few surprises but plenty of great quips, including – to the dismay of bookies everywhere – a quip about Ed Miliband's now-infamous second kitchen. Here's a selection of our favourites from today's big speech. (Source: Getty/City A.M.) (Source: Getty/City A.M) (Source: Getty/City A.M.) [...]