Thatcher minister tasked with health and safety review
By politics.co.uk staff David Cameron has ordered a sweeping review of Britain’s health and safety culture as he demands a more “sensible” approach to the issue. The prime minister has asked former Cabinet minister David Young to assess the Whitehall-wide review of health and safety laws and the growth of what the government calls a […]
Mandelson wants higher takeover threshold
By Alex Stevenson Peter Mandelson says the government backs a recommendation to increase the takeover threshold for shareholder ballots to two-thirds. The business secretary, delivering his speech to Mansion House in the City, said the move would not have prevented the recent takeover of British chocolate firm Cadbury by American food giants Kraft. But he […]
Lib Dems plot to break up the banks
By Ian Dunt The Liberal Democrats are the only party willing to adopt Barack Obama’s stance towards the banking sector in the UK, Vince Cable said today. The Lib Dem Treasury spokesman reiterate his party’s determination to separate banks’ investment arms from their retail activities. The policy has been a longstanding one with the Lib […]
Tories lay claim to Obama policy
By politics.co.uk staff George Osborne’s claims that the Conservatives would mirror Barack Obama’s new bank restrictions in government have left Labour claiming their reforms already have. The US president has announced new regulations barring banks from engaging in proprietary trading, in which they use their funds to speculate on financial markets. “This is a welcome […]
Businesses think govt regulation ‘has got worse’
By Emmeline Saunders Less than a third of all companies believe the government understands business enough to regulate it, a National Audit Office (NAO) survey has found. Just one per cent of businesses felt complying with regulations had become less time consuming in the last year. The survey questioned 2,037 senior managers about complying with […]
£130m fine for public sector bid-riggers
By Liz Stephens Construction companies were fined £129.5 million by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) following an investigation into bid cartels. 103 companies in total – including well-known firms such as Kier Group, Galliford Try, Balfour Beatty and Carillion – were fined for engaging in anti-competitive behaviour and rigging tender bids for public sector […]
Strengthen bribery bill, MPs say
By Gabriel Huntley Fully tackling corruption will need a much stronger bribery bill than the one currently proposed by government, MPs and peers have warned. The draft bribery bill, currently undergoing scrutiny before it is formally introduced to parliament, aims to repeal archaic and unclear laws and replace them with new offences to prevent bribery […]
Audio: Vince Cable on banking regulation
Listen to Vince Cable explain his view on the best way to deal with the banks: Cable: Split up the banks
Pub prices irritate MPs
By politics.co.uk staff Drinkers in Britain’s pubs may be paying more for their beer because of ties between pub companies and their tenants, MPs have claimed. The business and enterprise committee expresses fears in a report published today that ‘pubcos’ may be forcing tenants to buy beer “at higher prices than they could obtain elsewhere”. […]
MPs furious over ‘flagrant’ Equitable stance
By Alex Stevenson Opposition MPs are backing parliamentary ombudsman Ann Abraham after the government’s refusal to give compensation to policyholders at Equitable Life. Concerns have been expressed about the legitimacy of the ombudsman’s office, which was forced to issue a follow-up report to parliament for only the fifth time in its 32-year history yesterday. Liberal […]
