Public sector protest hits Westminster

A protest by public sector workers – including firefighters, health workers, prison officers and civil servants – will hit Westminster at lunchtime today. The protesters are incensed by government attempts to peg public sector pay at two per cent, which they say amounts to a pay cut given the rising cost of living. The protest […]

Darling tight-lipped on £2.7bn future

Alistair Darling says MPs will have to wait until this autumn before finding out whether the £2.7 billion stimulus package will be repeated in 2009. The chancellor announced the package, which increased the personal allowance of basic rate taxpayers by £600, last month. He had been forced to back down over the need for compensation […]

Labour five weeks away from insolvency

The Labour party is five weeks away from becoming insolvent, according to figures released by the Electoral Commission. Senior figures in the party, including prime minister Gordon Brown, could become personally liable for its debts unless it finds a way to pay off £7.45 million in loans. Other figures on the National Executive Committee (NEC) […]

MPs consider swapping expenses for lump-sum payments

MPs’ could receive a lump sum of £23,000 a year for their second homes rather than the system of expenses which currently operates. The recommendation is thought to form a key plank of speaker Michael Martin’s review into MPs finances, according to the Times newspaper, but a committee spokesperson refused to confirm the report. The […]

Govt wastes £326 million a year on office equipment

The government could save £326 million a year if it reduced accommodation costs and improved the way it uses office space, the public accounts committee has said. A report by the committee released this morning finds – ironically – the Treasury to be the most inefficient government department, spending £529 per square metre of office […]

Striking teachers to close thousands of schools

Teachers are going on strike today for the first time in 21 years. The National Union of Teachers (NUT) is holding the one-day industrial action in protest against the three-year pay package agreed by the government in January this year. Teachers will receive a 2.45 per cent pay rise from September 2008 followed by increases […]

Olympic funding plans slammed by MPs

The government has again been criticised for its “entirely unrealistic” initial assessment of the estimated cost of the London 2012 Olympic Games. The Commons’ public accounts committee is critical of financial planning for the Games after the government increased its estimate of their cost from just over £4 billion at the time of the bid […]

MPs ‘shirking’ financial scrutiny

Parliament is shirking its fundamental task of holding the government to account on its spending, a committee of senior MPs has said. The Commons’ liaison committee, made up of select committee chairmen, says MPs have the power to scrutinise financial matters but are not doing so with the detail required. Partly to blame is the […]

Osborne says Brown’s economic reputation “in tatters”

George Osborne launched a scathing attack on the government’s economic record this morning claiming Gordon Brown’s economic reputation was “in tatters” while promising the Conservatives could restore stability. Labour rejected his claims, however, with chief secretary to the Treasury Yvette Cooper condemning the Tories’ lack of policies and “empty promises”. In a speech to think […]

Budget2008: Continued scepticism at Darling’s growth estimates

Economic growth will fall to 1.7 per cent this year and continue to weaken into 2009 at 1.5 per cent, the Institute of Directors (IOD) has forecast. The prediction will pose a headache for the chancellor Alistair Darling, as the IoD warns the worst may be yet to come. The IoD said warned Mr Darling’s […]