George Osborne heads to Brussels to argue against £1.7bn EU bill November 6, 2014 George Osborne is today expected to argue that the UK will not accept an instalment deal to pay the £1.7bn bill Brussels has demanded in full over the course of 2015, after a spokesman for the Prime Minister said that this would be “unacceptable”. The chancellor has been sent to negotiate a reduction in the [...]
Chancellor George Osborne tells EU: Slash UK’s £1.7bn bill now October 29, 2014 Chancellor George Osborne yesterday expressed confidence that he would win a reduction in the £1.7bn bill that the UK had been asked to pay by Brussels. However, his comments, made after a meeting with European financial chiefs, suggested that Britain would stump up some of the cash, which would concern backbench Tory MPs who want [...]
Over to you, chancellor: David Cameron tells George Osborne to probe £1.7bn EU fiasco October 27, 2014 David Cameron has handed chancellor George Osborne and his Treasury colleagues the unenviable task of picking through statistics which led to the UK being landed with a £1.7bn bill from Brussels last week. The Prime Minister openly refused to pay the £1.7bn bill yesterday, which is backdated to 2002 and has been calculated by EU [...]
HS3 rail line: Cameron and Osborne back plans to cut journey times and create “northern power house” October 26, 2014 Both the Prime Minister and the chancellor will back plans for a high-speed rail line in the North of England dubbed HS3. The route will link Manchester and Leeds and is part of George Osborne's vision to create a "northern powerhouse" to extend economic prosperity beyond London and the South East. HS3 would slash the [...]
NFL UK: George Osborne backs London franchise October 22, 2014 Chancellor George Osborne has given his support to the idea of an American Football team in the capital, arguing it would be a “huge boost to London”. With Wembley due to host the second of three NFL games this season on Sunday, and the FA contemplating hosting England games elsewhere, there has been increased [...]
Yet another missed deficit target for Osborne – public sector pay is to blame October 21, 2014 Why can’t the UK government get its deficit down? This issue has been exercising commentators recently, in the light of the latest assessment from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) that George Osborne will once again miss his target for the deficit in the 2014-15 financial year. Of course, the size of the deficit has [...]
George Osborne braced for bad news on deficit reduction – London Report October 19, 2014 Public finance figures due out tomorrow are likely to be a blow to chancellor George Osborne, with tax receipts lowered by very low earnings growth. Economists predict that Osborne is now unlikely to meet fiscal targets for the year, despite improved economic activity, stronger house prices and an improved labour market. Howard Archer, of IHS [...]
George Osborne’s pensions revolution: Withdrawing cash early is big risk October 14, 2014 The insurance industry and business groups have issued a stark warning following the government’s most recent pensions announcement, claiming that withdrawing cash from pension pots too early could store up huge financial risks for the UK for years to come. Yesterday chancellor George Osborne hailed the next stage in his pensions revolution with news [...]
UK’s Eurostar stake up for sale as George Osborne looks to raise £300m October 13, 2014 The government is looking for a buyer for its 40 per cent stake in the cross-channel Eurostar to raise up to £300m. Chancellor George Osborne has invited bidders for the train operator, which is also owned by the French state-owned rail operator SNCF and the Belgian state-owned SNCB, and hopes to finalise the sale during [...]
George Osborne’s changed his unhealthy ways but most MPs indulge a tad too much October 6, 2014 They're in the public eye, up to their knees in advisers and not wanting for pocket money to spend in Holland & Barrett, but Britain’s MPs are an unhealthy bunch according to Nuffield Health. A poll of 100 MPs found almost half failed to meet the government’s recommended two-and-a-half hours of moderate activity a [...]