Cameron unveils increases in the minimum wage… “Businesses will be forced to let workers share the fruits of recovery with the biggest real-terms increase in the minimum wage since the financial crisis. The standard rate will rise from October to £6.70 an hour, benefiting 1.4million, while the rate for apprentices will go up by a […]
Osborne 1) Chancellor set to unveil major business rates review “Consumers will see prices fall in shops across the country as George Osborne prepares to announce the biggest review of business rates “in a generation”. The Chancellor will use his Budget on Wednesday to announce a “radical” investigation of how to change the system which […]
Budget 1) Osborne: It’s decision time ‘We’ve come a long way in five years but it’s not enough just to get back to where we were as a country before Labour’s Great Recession. For the first time ever, every part of the UK must reach its undoubted potential. I want to see growth, more jobs […]
Osborne plans ‘bribes’ to homeowners impeding infrastructure projects… “Homeowners whose properties lie in the path of major infrastructure projects will be offered ‘bribes’ to sell up, under plans to be unveiled in the Budget. George Osborne is expected to launch a consultation into the compulsory purchase system, which critics say is a major barrier to […]
Gove promises Tories will make ‘undeserving rich’ pay at launch of The Good Right “Michael Gove proposed new taxes on the ‘undeserving rich’ last night, saying the Tories will only win the general election if voters believe the party are ‘warriors for the dispossessed’. Painting a broad, positive vision for five more years in power, […]
Budget 1) Osborne will promise benefits freeze and tax cuts in second term “Slashing £12billion from the nation’s bloated benefits bill will be at the heart of the Tory pitch for a second term in office. George Osborne’s pre-election budget next week will be a ‘steady as you go’ exercise with the emphasis on sustaining […]
Security 1) Cameron hopes to hit NATO defence target without spending any more ‘David Cameron has asked ministers to investigate if the intelligence agencies budget can be counted as “defence spending”, as Downing Street eyes creative accountancy to head off US criticism of military spending. Amid anxiety in Washington that Britain’s defence budget will soon fall below […]
Treasury 1) Prime Minister claims that 40p rate hits too many “The 40p tax rate is hitting too many people on ‘middle incomes’, David Cameron said yesterday – as he hinted at fresh action on the issue in next week’s Budget. The Prime Minister said it was wrong that millions of people doing normal jobs like […]
Osborne explores raising personal allowance to £11,000 “George Osborne is considering a pre-election tax cut for 27million voters in this month’s Budget. Ministers are working on a deal that would see the amount workers can earn before paying income tax rise by another £200. Currently the income tax personal allowance stands at £10,000 and it is […]
Cameron warns that an alliance between Labour and the SNP could break up Britain… “The prime minister claimed a minority Labour government propped up by the SNP would be the “worst outcome” for the whole country. In a speech in London marking two months before polling day, Cameron said: “You could end up with an […]
TV debates to go ahead without Cameron “The BBC is facing accusations of “institutional arrogance” after threatening to press ahead with televised election debates without the Prime Minister. David Cameron has rejected the idea of a head-to-head debate with Ed Miliband and said he will only take part in a single seven-way debate with the […]
Major calls on Labour to rule out a coalition with the SNP “Ed Miliband must formally rule out a Coalition with the Scottish National Party for the sake of the future of the United Kingdom, Sir John Major says. Polls suggest that, with no party set to win enough seats to form a Government, Labour […]
Labour 1) Ashcroft polls suggest near wipeout for Labour in Scotland “The Scottish National party is just a percentage point away from seizing the seat of Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy in May’s general election and is on course to oust Charles Kennedy, former Liberal Democrat leader, according to new polls. The detailed constituency polls […]
Report exposes ‘indescribably awful’ abuse in Oxfordshire ‘Failings by police and care professionals led to more than 370 young girls in Oxfordshire falling victim to “conveyor-belt” sex crimes over the past 15 years, a serious case review published yesterday concluded. It came after six young Oxford girls suffered years of abuse from multiple offenders, some of […]
Cameron 1) Right to Buy one of the ‘greatest Conservative ideas of the last century’ “Allowing council tenants to buy their homes was one of the ‘greatest Conservative ideas of the last century’, David Cameron said last night. The Prime Minister pledged to ‘keep backing’ Margaret Thatcher’s flagship Right To Buy policy, and said its […]