Autumn Statement 2015: Cuts reduce growth – and could increase the deficit further November 25, 2015 Why do we need to make cuts? Every year in which public sector spending exceeds borrowing increases our level of debt. Therefore, we are told, the government must eliminate the public deficit – the public sector ought to spend less than it receives – in order to begin paying down our debt. Hence, the need [...]
Autumn Statement 2015: Shadow chancellor John McDonnell just quoted Mao ZeDong’s Little Red Book in the House of Commons November 25, 2015 Shadow chancellor John McDonnell might have been hoping to embarrass his counterpart over his growing ties with China. But when he quoted Communist Party leader Mao ZeDong and brandished the infamous Little Red Book in the House of Commons the reaction was all directed towards McDonnell. During his response to George Osborne's Autumn Statement, Labour's number two said: [...]
Autumn Statement 2015: George Osborne’s speech transcript in full including stamp duty, business rates and corporation tax announcements November 25, 2015 Mr Speaker, this Spending Review delivers on the commitment we made to the British people that we would put security first. To protect our economic security, by taking the difficult decisions to live within our means and bring down our debt. To protect our national security, by defending our country’s interests abroad and keeping our [...]
Autumn Statement 2015: George Osborne just “opened the door” to Northern Ireland setting its own corporation tax November 25, 2015 George Osborne has "opened the door" to devolving corporation tax in Northern Ireland – and already other nations are saying they want it too. In today's Autumn Statement, the chancellor revealed that talks that concluded last week meant there would be "additional spending power for the executive to support the full implementation of the Stormont [...]
Autumn Statement 2015: Business rates regime scrapped by chancellor George Osborne in “revolutionary” move November 25, 2015 George Osborne has delivered a much-needed fillip to struggling town centres and bricks and mortar retailers by abolishing uniform business rates. Under plans announced during the Autumn Statement today, the much-hated regime will be ditched in favour of letting councils decide whether to cut rates to make their town centres "more attractive to businesses". "Elected [...]
Autumn Statement 2015: Tax credit changes off the table, George Osborne announces November 25, 2015 George Osborne has taken controversial changes to the tax credits system off the table in one of his first major announcements during today's Autumn Statement. The chancellor said he had "listened to the concerns" about changes previously proposed, with many urging that changes should be phased in to ease the transition. "However, given the improvement [...]
Aldi issues recall alert over halogen oven – and why the supermarket won’t be taking part in Black Friday 2015 November 25, 2015 Aldi has issued a recall notice for a halogen oven sold in the UK over safety fears. Customers who bought the oven, which carries the product code 92746, on 22 October are being asked to return it to their nearest store “immediately”. It was sold as part of a Specialbuy event, the supermarket said. People have [...]
Gazprom suspends gas deliveries to Ukraine over Kiev non-payment, as chief executive Alexei Miller warns of “serious risk” to Europe November 25, 2015 Russian energy giant Gazprom says it has suspended deliveries of gas to Ukraine after Kiev failed to make a pre-payment. Chairman Alexei Miller said Ukraine's Naftogaz had failed to make the payment and delivery was halted as a result, local media is reporting. "No new upfront payment has been made. As such, deliveries have been stopped until the [...]
Turkey’s downing of Russian jet may lead to break in joint projects, says Dmitry Medvedev as Russian pilot returns to his base after being rescued in Syria November 25, 2015 Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvdev has warned that yesterday's diplomatic incident, in which Turkey downed a Russian jet as it flew near the border with Syria, could lead to a break in partnerships between the two countries. Russia claims the SU-24 jet never strayed into Turkish airspace, while Turkey insists the plane's pilots – one of [...]
Nato to hold crisis meeting after Russian SU-24 jet shot down by Turkish F-16 warplanes over Syria: Moment captured on video November 24, 2015 Update: Russian President Vladimir Putin has slammed Turkey for shooting down a Russian jet this morning, saying it was "a stab in the back". A Russian SU-24 jet was shot down by Turkish warplanes near border with Syria this morning. Russia's military has contradicted previous Turkish claims that both of the jet's pilots are alive, [...]
