Tory MPs threaten serious rebellion over House of Lords reform
Cameron faces dissent from some of his most loyal backbenchers.It seems that no constitutional change can be suggested by government without instantly being termed a Maastricht moment. Today, it is...
View ArticleBarclays investors challenge bonuses
The bank has reduced bonus pay after pressure.Shareholders have forced senior Barclays exectives' bonuses down. The bank issued a statement on Thurday, saying, due to the "strength of opinion expressed...
View ArticleLevon Helm: 1940-2012
The Band's drummer dies of cancer at 71.Levon Helm, the musician and, latterly, actor, best known as the drummer of The Band, has died of cancer in New York. He was 71. Helm was the only American in a...
View ArticleI'm an F1 fan but I can't watch the Bahrain Grand Prix
The race will put a veneer of respectability on a despicable regime.Formula One’s decision to go to Bahrain this weekend is a massive mistake. It’s not about the safety of the event itself, or the...
View ArticleOther people's business, Friday 20 April
Venturecrats and peace in twitter's time. 1. Who is Wall Street’s Voldemort, and why is he so feared? (Washington Post) Voldemort wasn’t charged with reducing risk for Hogwarts. Iksil is, writes Suzy...
View ArticleAt Barclays and Citi, high pay comes under fire
The shareholders are revolting.Yesterday afternoon, Barclays announced that, after pressure from shareholders, it would be radically restructuring CEO Bob Diamond's pay package. Diamond had been in...
View ArticleLabour achieves its highest poll lead since 2007
New YouGov poll puts Labour 13 points ahead of the Tories. Labour's poll surge has reached a new height. The latest YouGov poll puts the party on 45 per cent, 13 points ahead of the Tories and the...
View ArticleNuns on the Run
Why is the Vatican cracking down on dissident American nuns? Nuns aren't what they used to be. Go to the website of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, an umbrella organisation that...
View ArticleUK retail sales up 5.7 per cent in March
Warm weather encouraged shoppers to buy more. Seasonally adjusted total retail sales in the UK totalled £34.19bn in March – an increase of 5.7 per cent, compared to £32.35bn for the same period last...
View ArticleBeer tax hikes slow UK sales, says BBPA
Lobby group blames decline on the 5 per cent tax increase in the March Budget.Pub beer sales in the UK declined by 6 per cent year on year in the first quarter of 2012, according to the latest beer...
View ArticleWe all depend on trade unions
What is one day of paralysis compared with a lifetime of poorly-funded and under-staffed services? Who knew that a student blogger with a pet peeve for public sector workers could incite so much anger?...
View ArticleGive a little info, get a little discount
A new insurance company plans to offer lower premiums to good drivers by monitoring their journeys.Car insurance is a tricky market to operate in, because companies are forced to go with only the...
View ArticleThe MP Interview: Tim Farron
On the social housing crisis, admiring Tony Blair, and standing in for Take That.What made you go into politics? I joined Shelter after watching a repeat of Cathy Come Home on TV. What job did you do...
View ArticleThe effect of those "tanker strikes": fuel sales up 7.2%
Could the panic buying have boosted GDP?The retail sales index for March 2012 is out, and it is stronger than expected. Year-on-year, sales increased in value by 5.7 per cent and by volume by 3.3 per...
View ArticleVoluptuous vampires
What's changed in the hundred years since Bram Stoker's death?This month marks the centenary of the death of the pioneer of gothic horror and author of Dracula Bram Stoker. Spawning countless...
View ArticleInside the Breivik trial
The prosecution has deconstructed Breivik’s elaborate fantasies.In Britain he would already be in Broadmoor. Here, Anders Behring Breivik, 33, who killed 77 in a gruesome bombing and shooting spree...
View ArticleLabour needs to rediscover its conservatism
The party used to care more about family, high streets, order and community.I hold my surgery on the Consort estate, Peckham. Traditionally Labour, some residents have turned Tory but many no longer...
View ArticleWatson claims News Corp offered to sacrifice Coulson
A new book launched yesterday exposes new depths to the phone-hacking scandal. Labour MP Watson has alleged that he was approached last June by an "intermediary" from News International offering a...
View ArticleWatson claims News Corp offered to sacrifice Coulson
A new book launched yesterday exposes new depths to the phone-hacking scandal. Labour MP Watson has alleged that he was approached last June by an "intermediary" from News International offering a...
View ArticleCIA sex scandal escort pictured for first time
Photographs emerge of the 24 year old Colombian woman at the centre of the political row.The New York Daily News has published photographs of the 24 year old Colombian "prostitute" at the centre of the...
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