Shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna calls for federal UK with an English parliament during speech in Washington D.C. July 23, 2015 A federal Britain with a separate English parliament is the best way to hold the union together, says Chuka Umunna, the shadow business secretary. In a speech in Washington DC, he argued the best way to hold the union together is to give parts of it more autonomy, especially in light of the surge for support [...]
Forget Silicon Valley and Silicon Roundabout: Birmingham’s Silicon Canal is the future of the UK’s technology sector July 23, 2015 For years now we've been told that London could rival the Silicon Valley with its own tech hub. But five years after launching my business, I’m a bigger advocate for Birmingham's Silicon Canal than I have ever been. There is an incredible talent pool in Birmingham that offers a wealth of brilliant software engineers. These [...]
Nick Clegg could top up his MPs salary as agent claims he could charge $55,000 per after dinner speech in five European languages July 23, 2015 Nick Clegg, the former deputy Prime Minister, who used to earn £134,565 in government, could boost his MP's salary, as he has taken on an agent to manage his after dinner speaking. A spokesperson for Clegg, however, has said he did not authorise a website listing with a Washington-based agent, which claims to manage his [...]
The Financial Conduct Authority is going to help savers by making it easier for them to switch accounts July 23, 2015 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Britain’s financial regulator, has announced plans to introduce new measures to help customers switch cash savings accounts, following a review of competition in the industry. Read more: This chart shows how many current account switchers Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds and NatWest have lost The regulator is proposing new rules which will make [...]
Bag being transported by G4S containing NZ$1m goes missing at Hong Kong International Airport July 23, 2015 Someone is surely in a lot of trouble (or somebody is very rich) after a bag containing NZ$1m (£425,000) went missing at Hong Kong International Airport, having fallen while being moved. The bag was being carried by outsourcing giant G4S (it of the botched Olympics security contract), which specialises in transporting valuable cargo. The company [...]
SSE continues to lose lose customers as people move away from “Big Six” energy suppliers July 23, 2015 Energy giant SSE continued to lose customers in the three months to the end of June, as clients continued to switch to smaller providers. The figures The total number of retail electricity and gas customers at SSE fell from 8.58m at the start of the quarter to 8.49m, as clients moved away from the “big six” [...]
US existing home sales grow at fastest rate since before the financial crisis in 2007 July 22, 2015 Home resales in the US rose at their highest level for eight and a half years in June, giving a sign that demand is up, indicating a housing market recovery, which should help the economy. Sales increased 3.2 per cent to an annual rate of 5.49m houses from a downwardly revised 5.32m in May, the [...]
Eurotunnel wants €10m compensation from British and French governments as security costs rise to €13m due to migrant crisis July 22, 2015 The operator of Channel Tunnel, Eurotunnel, wants €9.7m (£6.8m) in compensation from British and French authorities, as it has racked up a €13m security bill due to damage caused by the ongoing migrant crisis. The escalating number of migrants coming from the Mediterranean, looking to enter the UK through Calais, has sent security costs up [...]
Tony Blair warns the Labour Party of moving left after Jeremy Corbyn leads in poll July 22, 2015 Tony Blair’s opinions still count in the Labour Party, and he’s turned his gaze towards the future prospects of the party under the leadership Jeremy Corbyn, after he said Labour has “rediscovered losing.” His comments came after a YouGov poll for The Times found in the final round of voting, Corbyn would garner 53 per [...]
MPs warn EU referendum could be unfair if ministers do not respect purdah rules July 22, 2015 MPs have warned the government that fairness in the European Union referendum could be in jeopardy because of attempts to relax rules designed to maintain official impartiality before the vote. David Cameron is hoping to renegotiate Britain’s membership with the EU before holding a referendum before the end of 2017, having said previously he'd rather [...]
