Economy 1) Fastest growth for a decade ‘The UK economy is growing at its fastest pace in more than a decade amid rising consumer and business confidence, according to a respected survey. The Confederation of Business Industry (CBI) said the retail, manufacturing and service sectors registered record growth in May in a sign that the […]
Oakeshott quits the Lib Dems, leaving Cable facing questions “Lord Oakeshott, Mr Cable’s closest ally and holiday partner, warned that the party is ‘heading for disaster’ under Mr Clegg. And he claimed Mr Cable knew all about secret polling he commissioned in Lib Dem seats to show they would do better without Mr Clegg as […]
Cameron tells EU leaders: Juncker won’t do “David Cameron on Monday embarked on a round of telephone diplomacy to urge European leaders to learn the lessons of the populist uprising against Brussels in European elections and to abandon ‘business as usual’…he wants them to reject calls for the veteran Eurozone fixer Jean-Claude Juncker to be […]
For the first time since 1910, neither the Conservatives nor Labour win a national election. That’s the scale of UKIP’s triumph in the Euro-elections. But was it really an earthquake, since turnout scarcely rose? UKIP: Up 11 per cent to over 27 per cent of the vote. Up 10 MEPs to 23 in all. A […]
Local Government results complete. Euro-election results tonight. And the two main parties wrestle with the question: how should we deal with UKIP? Labour 1) The party’s lead falls to one point in Observer poll, even with UKIP on 19 per cent “The poll confirms the recent overall trend, which has seen Labour’s lead over the […]
The UKIP Effect 1) Cameron resists pressure to strike a deal with Farage… “No pacts or deals will be done with Ukip, David Cameron told his backbenchers yesterday. … Nigel Farage’s showing in Thursday’s local elections prompted three Tory MPs to repeat their call for the two parties to come to a national agreement under […]
As UKIP start gaining big in the local and European elections… “The three main parties are today facing ‘Fallout Friday’ as they suffer the results of a Ukip surge in local and European elections. … Labour was braced to fall short of expectations, the Liberal Democrats were warned they face ‘meltdown’ in many areas and […]
YouGov: UKIP edges ahead of Labour, Tories third “UKIP edged just in front of Labour in the last poll before the European election today as the three main parties prepared for the voters to smash the established political order. A YouGov poll for The Times put Ukip on 27 per cent, one point ahead of Labour. […]
Cameron suggests that Help to Buy could be pared back “Mr Cameron said Help to Buy had been ‘very important to get the housing market moving’. … ‘It did play an important role in helping to restore confidence in housebuilding,’ he added. Mark Carney, the Bank of England governor, ‘had the tools at his disposal’ […]
Tories tell Cameron: Don’t leave us out of any future Coalition negotiations “Tory MPs are warning David Cameron against a ‘plot’ to go over their heads and ask party members to endorse a second power-sharing deal with the Liberal Democrats. … Activists are seen as more positive about the idea than the Parliamentary party – […]
Learn English, get a job, respect our way of life – Javid on immigration ‘“People want Britain to have more control over its borders, and I think they are right,” Mr Javid, who is the son of Pakistani immigrants, says. “People also say, when immigrants do come to Britain, that they should come to work, […]
Cameron: the Chilcot report should be published by the end of the year “The long-delayed official report into the Iraq war must be published by the end of the year, David Cameron insisted last night. … In a dramatic intervention that appears to set him at odds with his most senior civil servant, Sir Jeremy Heywood, […]
The Coalition denies it is a zombie ‘Mr Clegg insisted on Thursday that the coalition was still brimming with ideas, but the sight of MPs wheeling suitcases out of Westminster as they embarked on their fourth recess of the year seemed to tell a different story. Douglas Carswell, a Conservative MP, said: “This is the […]
Gove and Laws: we all agree about school meals “The policy that we are rumoured to be at loggerheads about is the introduction this September of free school meals for all infant-age children. In fact, this is that rarest of political treasures: a policy that has true cross-party support. The idea was first mooted by Labour […]
Cameron: We could miss our migration target “David Cameron has admitted he has not got immigration down by ‘as much as I’d like’ – as Brits rated it their new top concern. … The Premier conceded for the first time that his government is failing to reduce the tidal wave of newcomers – which is […]