General Election 2015: The London battlegrounds that could hold the balance of power February 5, 2015 London could hold the balance of power in the upcoming General Election, with the major parties gearing up to target at least 11 of its tightest seats. Five London constituencies feature in Labour’s top 50 target seats – Hendon, Brent Central, Brentford & Isleworth, Croydon Central and Enfield North. The Conservatives are looking to take [...]
David Blunkett says Labour should back Andy Burnham’s “death tax” to fund social care February 5, 2015 One of the most senior ministers of the New Labour years has urged his party to adopt a tax on inherited capital assets, such as expensive houses to fund social care. Speaking at an event hosted by the Policy Exchange think tank, David Blunkett said houses in London had soared in value and should be [...]
Banks dust off plans for Scottish independence as SNP coalition forecast raises referendum prospect February 4, 2015 Britain's high street banks are dusting off their contingency plans for Scottish independence, City A.M. understands, as the prospect of a coalition government including the Scottish Nationalists raises the chance of another referendum. Although the plan for Scotland to leave the UK was defeated in a vote in September, growing support for the SNP means [...]
A Whitehall balance sheet will revolutionise the public finances debate February 4, 2015 With the General Election less than 100 days away, a central aspect of all party manifestos will be how best to reduce our public debt and deficit. In yesterday’s IFS Green Budget, the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) contributed a chapter looking at the UK’s public finances. We believe that it [...]
IFS: Expect tax rises after the General Election February 4, 2015 Voters should expect tax rises after the General Election in May, as whichever party (or parties) forms government will have to deal with a fiscal headache, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS). The independent think-tank, which released its annual pre-budget analysis, said whoever forms the next government will have to cut spending or [...]
Watch: Ed Balls forgot Labour business leader Bill Thomas’s name. Here are the Newsnight interviews that were even worse February 4, 2015 Labour's attempt to woo the business community appears to be going from bad to worse. On Tuesday, business leaders took the media to lambast Ed Miliband's attack on Boots boss Stefano Pessina and Labour's rhetoric on markets. To counter the charge that his party was anti-business Ed Balls was booked into Newsnight to defend his [...]
Lord Ashcroft Scottish constituencies poll mapped: Labour faces heavy defeat at hands of the SNP February 4, 2015 Lord Ashcroft's long-awaited polls of the Scottish constituencies are finally in and they make grim reading for the Labour party. According to Ashcroft's research, the SNP is ahead in 13 out of 14 Labour-held seats. Some of these seats are not marginals but are held with huge Labour majorities. The seats that received the most [...]
Ukip candidate Donald Grewar resigns after praising homophobic BNP website post February 3, 2015 Ukip's candidate for Newport East has resigned after praising homophobic comments made on an article on the BNP's website. Donald Grewar quit his candidacy for the Welsh seat following an investigation by Ukip into his behaviour. A Ukip spokesman said: Mr Grewar agreed completely with the assessment that his actions, while not malicious, were regrettable. [...]
Pensioners should opt-in to winter fuel allowance and jobseekers should get personal welfare accounts, says think tank February 3, 2015 A think-tank with close links to the Conservative Party has outlined a series of changes to welfare that would affect pensioner benefits and Job Seekers Allowance and child benefit payments. Under Policy Exchange's Welfare Manifesto pensioners would be asked to opt-in to receive the Winter Fuel Allowance. Currently, the Winter Fuel Allowance is given to [...]
Labour’s business woes: Industry leaders savage Ed Miliband’s attack on Boots boss February 3, 2015 Ed Miliband's decision to come out all guns blazing against Boots boss Stefano Pessina may have back-fired after a swathe of business leaders took to the media to condemn the Labour leader. Speaking yesterday at event for young voters, the Labour leader hit back at Pessina's claim that a Labour government would be a "catastrophe" [...]