Lib Dem manifesto: Nick Clegg pledges £2.5bn to boost British schools April 14, 2015 The Liberal Democrats will focus their General Election pitch on education, promising an additional £2.5bn of funding during the next parliament. Launching their manifesto today, the party says it will protect per pupil funding for pupils aged two to 19 in real terms over the next parliament. Echoing Tony Blair’s famous “education, education, education” mantra, [...]
General Election 2015: Better Capital founder Jon Moulton wants simplified legislation and free trade with Europe April 14, 2015 ELECTION COUNTDOWN: 22 DAYS TO GO Every day until the final week of the election campaign, we ask a business leader to say what policies would entice them to vote for a particular party. JON MOULTON: FOUNDER OF BETTER CAPITAL This is to the party of my upbringing and closest to my beliefs [...]
Hot tickets for General Election fever: From Finsbury’s 2am Villandry breakfast to LSE’s private party April 14, 2015 Just over three weeks to go before the big day and party planners are sending out invitations to celebrate the result of what is predicted to be the closest General Election in decades. Among the top exclusive executive party crop (at £60 a head) is the bash at the Institute of Directors whose plush HQ [...]
Conservative manifesto: Extending right-to-buy will transform the prospects of low income families April 14, 2015 The centrepiece of the Conservative Party manifesto, unveiled yesterday, was a significant expansion of the right-to-buy scheme. Giving families the ability to own their own home is a wonderful thing, and extending the scheme to housing associations, as the Conservatives propose, will certainly do that. The broad economic benefits of home ownership are well established, [...]
The 38 per cent rule: There’s a limit to how much the state can tax the people April 14, 2015 Ed Miliband’s proposal to tax non-doms more harshly may be good, populist politics. But does it make economic sense? At most, the yield will be around £1bn, even if people do not alter their behaviour in response to the change in policy. The actual amount generated could even be negative if enough non-doms leave the [...]
Natalie Bennett struggles to explain how the Green Party will pay for “post-Thatcherite” Britain April 14, 2015 Green Party leader Natalie Bennett has struggled to explain how the massive tax rises proposed in her party's manifesto would generate enough revenue to fund the Greens' extravagant spending plans. The Greens want the top tax rate raised to 60p, introduce a wealth tax of 1-2 per cent on people worth £3m, introduce a financial [...]
Russell Brand teams up with cryptocurrency firm to fund global revolution April 14, 2015 Self-styled anti-capitalist revolutionary Russell Brand has teamed up with cryptocurrency and crowdfunding platforms to raise funds for his beloved revolution. Brand and his YouTube show the Trews have partnered with Startjoin – a cryptocurrency crowdfunding platform – as well as the cryptocurrency itself Startcoin to raise money for the cause. Russell Brand @RustyRockets, @Trews, @StartJOIN & [...]
Was a part of the Conservative manifesto borrowed from an Obama campaign ad? April 14, 2015 Most of the focus on the Tory manifesto has been on the pledges to extend right-to-buy, double free child care and spend another £8bn on the NHS. But one of the stranger aspects of the Conservative manifesto can be found on page three. The heading declares in rather Orwellian fashion "we have a plan for [...]
Is it too late for the Tories to win the General Election? Watch Michael Gove answer yes April 14, 2015 Michael Gove has been caught in a classic slip of the tongue on the General Election campaign trail. The BBC's political reporter Chris Gibson asked the Tory big beast: Too late to win the election? Gove's response was, to say the least, not on message. I suspect Michael Gove may have misheard me or has [...]
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 [...]