Pressure mounts on the CMA to break up accountancy’s Big Four October 1, 2018 The UK’s competition body has been told to “bare its teeth” and investigate breaking up the Big Four accountancy firms, as it prepares to announce a decision on whether it will investigate the sector. Three senior politicians from across the main parties have called on the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to find ways to [...]
Watch out, Tories – Labour has got its anti-capitalist mojo back September 28, 2018 I started my week in Liverpool. It’s a great city. It’s got soul. It’s got a clear identity. And it’s clearly on the up. In the past week, all those words could apply to the main opposition party that just might be capturing the zeitgeist of middle Britain. Rubbing alongside those delegates partying by [...]
Editor’s Notes: The Tories face a huge challenge, but they must take the fight to Corbyn September 28, 2018 Having observed the Labour party conference from a safe distance I’ll be travelling to Birmingham on Sunday to soak up the atmosphere at the annual Tory gathering. My first port of call will be speaking at a dinner hosted by City comms firm Cicero, where I shall sing for my supper and offer a [...]
The shadow chancellor: A thief who plans to rob British business blind September 27, 2018 Somebody has got to say it: the shadow chancellor John McDonnell is a thief (well, an aspiring thief), with his planned 10 per cent giveaway of company equity to workers. The Theft Act 1968 says a person is guilty of theft if he dishonestly appropriates property belonging to another with the intention of permanently depriving [...]
Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn set out competing economic visions in major speeches September 26, 2018 Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn set out competing visions of Britain's future on Wednesday with two radically different speeches on the economy. Addressing the Bloomberg Global Business Forum in New York, May praised free markets and vowed to slash the UK's corporation tax to the lowest rate in the G20 after Brexit. As the PM addressed [...]
Keir Starmer: Labour won’t back Tory Brexit deal September 25, 2018 Labour plans to vote against a Theresa May Brexit deal, as the party attempts to define its position on backing a second referendum. Claiming the Prime Minister’s Brexit negotiations “are in a complete mess”, shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer called for a general election if she fails to reach a deal or if a [...]
John McDonnell accused of a ‘wilful misunderstanding of business’ after radical conference speech September 24, 2018 One of the UK's biggest business groups pleaded with Labour not to see enterprise as "the enemy" after shadow chancellor John McDonnell delivered a radical speech at his party's conference. The Institute of Directors, which represents companies across the UK, urged McDonnell to abandon "sweeping measures and angry rhetoric" as he used a [...]
Labour opens new front in party’s war on business September 23, 2018 Labour's party conference is getting underway in Liverpool, and the various factions of the hard-left are already putting on a good show as they compete for control of the agenda. The trade unions used their voting power to block a bid by Momentum activists to force sitting MPs to face reselection challenges; members demanding [...]
John McDonnell: Labour will nationalise railways within five years September 22, 2018 Britain's railways could be taken back into public hands within five years if Labour wins the next general election, according to shadow chancellor John McDonnell. Ahead of Labour’s party conference which starts tomorrow, John McDonnell told the BBC he was looking at the possibility of breaking clauses in contracts to allow rail franchises to be [...]
Labour mulls break-up of Big Four accountancy firms September 21, 2018 The Labour party is weighing up radical plans to break up the Big Four accountancy firms, amid mounting pressure on the UK’s scandal-hit auditors. Shadow chancellor John McDonnell vowed to end what he described as a “cartel” among the country’s largest bean counters in the run-up to his party conference this weekend. “They have demonstrated [...]