London mayoral election 2016: Transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin says government won’t pay for Labour candidate Sadiq Khan’s fare freeze February 9, 2016 A Cabinet minister has rejected Labour mayoral candidate Sadiq Khan's proposals for freezing Transport for London (TfL) fares until at least 2020, saying central government will not pick up the bill for any unfunded City Hall schemes. Transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin attacked Khan's fare pledges today, saying they would put infrastructure projects in the capital "at [...]
London airport expansion: Heathrow Airport chief executive John Holland-Kaye puts extra pressure on Prime Minister David Cameron over third runway February 8, 2016 Heathrow Airport chief executive John Holland-Kaye has insisted that air quality at his west London airport is "not a problem" as he put even more pressure on Prime Minister David Cameron to give the green light to a third runway. In his first speech since the government delayed making a final ruling on the Airports Commission's recommendations last [...]
Emerging Payments Association says small non-bank payment providers should have access to the same systems as the big banks February 8, 2016 Payments companies are urging regulators to overhaul the way payments are delivered by enabling alternative payments providers to better compete with larger lenders. In a new report out today, the Emerging Payments Association (EPA) said while it welcomed a review from the Bank of England looking at payments systems, smaller non-bank providers wanted access to [...]
Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson says big businesses should tie executive pay schemes to company performance February 8, 2016 Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson will use a major speech in London today to call on Britain's biggest businesses to tie executive compensation schemes to company performance. "I do think we should consider the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development's proposal for companies to ensure that reward packages are more aligned to financial and non-financial [...]
UK Budget 2016: IFS warns that stock market volatility could lead to more than £2bn in losses for UK Treasury February 8, 2016 Plummeting equity prices could cost the Treasury billions of pounds, making it more difficult for chancellor George Osborne to meet his target of achieving a fiscal surplus by the end of the decade, a leading think tank has warned. In its annual Green Budget publication out today, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said that equity prices [...]
EU referendum: Downing Street doubles down on warning that Brexit could lead to a massive influx of asylum-seekers February 8, 2016 Downing Street has confirmed that Prime Minister David Cameron believes that a huge influx of asylum-seekers would suddenly move to Britain if the UK votes to leave the EU. "We currently have these juxtaposed controls with France. Should the UK leave the European Union, there is no guarantee that the controls will remain in place," [...]
UK Budget 2016: Institute for Fiscal Studies says chancellor George Osborne could impose more spending cuts and tax hikes February 8, 2016 Chancellor George Osborne could end up hiking taxes in order to meet his own rigid fiscal targets, a leading think tank has warned this morning. In its annual Green Budget out today, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said Osborne has set himself a "very inflexible target" to balance the budget by the end of the decade [...]
London mayoral election 2016: Conservative mayoral candidate Zac Goldsmith attacks Labour rival Sadiq Khan over housing record February 5, 2016 Labour mayoral candidate Sadiq Khan's affordable housing plans are a "fantasy", Conservative rival Zac Goldsmith will claim today. Goldsmith will point to new analysis showing that not one of London's 16 Labour-led councils have delivered Khan's target of having 50 per cent of all new-build homes qualifying as affordable housing. According to Goldsmith's campaign, the average [...]
Tube strike 2016: This weekend’s RMT action would be illegal under new Trade Union Bill laws Labour candidate Sadiq Khan opposes February 5, 2016 Conservative mayoral candidate Zac Goldsmith and his Labour opponent Sadiq Khan are trading harsh words over this weekend’s RMT strike, with both candidates saying more industrial action is likely to happen under their rival’s watch. Goldsmith’s team said the strikes planned for this weekend would be illegal under the government’s Trade Union Bill – a [...]
EU referendum: Goldman Sachs says Brexit could cause sterling to plummet by 20 per cent February 4, 2016 Sterling could fall as much as 20 per cent if British voters back leaving the European Union, Goldman Sachs has warned. In a client note this morning, macro markets strategists at the US investment bank the UK’s current account deficit "would still be a source of vulnerability", adding that if Britain votes to leave the EU, an "abrupt [...]
