‘No new spending plans before election’
By Liz Stephens There will be no new spending plans set out by the government before the next general election, Lord Mandelson suggested today. In a move that seems to tie the chancellor’s hands over spending, the business secretary said: “The spending period currently operating in government stretches beyond the next election and therefore it […]
Treasury increases Lloyds stake to 65 per cent
The government has taken a majority stake in Lloyds Banking Group after offering the bank increased support under its new asset protection scheme. Lloyds will receive £260 billion in funds, which will act as insurance for bad loans, and in return will hand over 22 per cent more of its equity to the taxpayer. The […]
The cost of government flights: £18.5m
By politics.co.uk staff The government spent £18.5 million on flights last year, casting doubt on its commitment to budgeting and reducing carbon emissions. The Taxpayers’ Alliance carried out the first Whitehall-wide report on flight spending, collating data for the 2008 period. The report, which looked at 13 government departments’ flight expenditure using the Freedom Of […]
Osborne raises spectre of run on the pound
Shadow chancellor George Osborne has expressed fears that the pound could suffer a dramatic fall in value if the country’s budget deficit continues to grow. Speaking to the Times, the Tory frontbencher criticised the prime minister’s plans to increase public spending in order to provide a boost to the country’s economy. Previously, Gordon Brown has […]
Darling: Govt must play bigger role in market
Chancellor Alistair Darling has announced a new banking reform bill to supervise the banking system in his speech to the Labour party conference. “We need to strengthen global supervision,” he said. “It’s clearer than ever that markets cannot do this on their own. “We are putting in place the tougher financial regulation no one can […]
Govt shedding £15 billion on regional development agencies
The government is shedding public money on its regional development agency (RDA) scheme, new research has revealed. An investigation conducted by the Taxpayers’ Alliance shows the economic performance of the areas RDAs work in has failed to improve and in some cases even slowed down, despite spending over £15 billion on the scheme. “RDAs have […]
Govt spends £55 mill on office furnishings
Government departments have racked up a £55 million bill for office furnishings, parliamentary answers have confirmed. The spending includes £1 million on artwork and over £500,000 for pot plants. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), rather ironically, was the worst culprit, spending £24 million since 2005, the period the figures refer to. But the […]
Reform call for devolved spending
The union is being endangered by unfair spending allocations to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, a thinktank has claimed. The Institute for Public Policy Research’s (IPPR) northern branch says in a report published today that the Barnett formula, used to allocate public finances to devolved institutions, needs to be urgently reformed. It says Northern Ireland […]
Govt benefit mistakes ‘unacceptable’
Mistakes by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) leading to lost benefits are “unacceptable”, an influential group of MPs have said. The losses, reported by politics.co.uk last week, are considerably above previous estimates because they factor in customer error as well as administrative. Edward Leigh, PAC chairman, said: “The estimated amount of benefit lost […]
Darling backs UK economy as stormclouds gather
Alistair Darling sounded a note of reassurance in his first Mansion House speech as chancellor. The chancellor said Britain was on firm ground and not in danger of returning to the dark days of the 1970s in yesterday evening’s speech. Foreign influences, rather than domestic pressures, are influencing inflation, he argued. But opposition parties criticised […]
