Who has a real vision for science in Britain’s general election?
The run-up to the general election has seen campaigns such as Science Matters attempting to put science firmly on the election agenda. But is anyone listening? ...
View ArticleHSBC scandal: George Osborne hints at new tax evasion measures
Chancellor makes announcement on budget during heated exchanges with Ed Balls in House of Commons ...
View ArticleScottish independence: Treasury official says currency union advice was 'my...
A senior UK civil servant has said it was his decision and "duty" to publish advice against a currency union with an independent Scotland. Sir Nicholas Macpherson said he put his name to the advice...
View ArticleNorthern Powerhouse or Mini-Me science policy?
The Autumn Statement raised as many questions as it provided answers. Kieron Flanagan explores some of the implications for science policy. ...
View ArticleChancellor unveils Crossrail’s new tunnel under the Thames (HMT - UK Her...
(Source: HMT - UK Her Majesty's Treasury) On Friday (13 June 2014), the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Rt. Hon. George Osborne MP, unveiled London's newest tunnel under the River Thames. The 'Thames...
View ArticleGeorge Osborne promotes pensioner bonds in Tory campaign letters
Conservatives have denied taxpayer-backed bonds with ‘market-leading rates’ are election bribe for older voters ...
View ArticleOsborne advised using financial loopholes to avoid tax and care costs
Labour accuses chancellor of ‘political evasion’ as 2003 video surfaces of then backbencher advising TV viewers to use ‘clever financial products’ to avoid tax ...
View ArticleGrowth at all costs: climate change, fossil fuel subsidies and the Treasury
The UK oil and gas industry receives huge government subsidy, while support for renewable energy is cut. Is Treasury control of Whitehall fuelling a shortsighted economic agenda? ...
View ArticleGeorge Osborne announces fresh attack on welfare budget
In challenge to Labour, chancellor tells MPs billions will need to be shaved from welfare to avoid deeper departmental cuts ...
View ArticleGeorge Osborne warned Help to Buy scheme may inflate housing bubble
Three former chancellors urge him to rethink his flagship mortgage support scheme because of 'raging housing boom' ...
View ArticleGeorge Osborne denies advising tax avoidance on 2003 TV show
Chancellor says advice on reducing costs was actually an attempt to highlight loopholes allowed under Labour government ...
View ArticleGeorge Osborne: city mayors could get power over business rates
Chancellor reveals latest Whitehall remit that could be devolved to cities in his ‘passionate’ attempt to create a northern powerhouse ...
View ArticleTax and benefits changes will help 14m households – George Osborne
Chancellor says changes will save working households £17 per month as David Cameron hails ‘Money-back Monday’ ...
View ArticleAlan Turing Institute for Data Science to be based at British Library
The new £42m Alan Turing Institute for Data Science, dedicated to the second world war Enigma codebreaker, is to be based at the British Library at the centre of a new Knowledge Quarter, George Osborne...
View ArticleGeorge Osborne warns pension firms about advice risks
Pensions firms were warned by the Chancellor this morning to keep away from advising people on what to do with their retirement pots, although they effectively will be forced to pay for independent...
View ArticleGeorge Osborne warns Scotland that a 'Yes' vote will mean losing the pound
Chancellor George Osborne said today that the rest of the UK would not enter into a currency union with an independent Scotland. Outlining the implications of a Yes vote in the forthcoming referendum...
View ArticleGeorge Osborne ignored advice from Treasury to launch Help to Buy scheme
George Osborne’s economic justification for his Help to Buy programme was contradicted by the Treasury’s own internal analysis. [TICON-A VIDEO] The Chancellor has repeatedly defended the housing...
View ArticleScottish independence: MPs to quiz George Osborne on currency union
The UK Chancellor George Osborne will be asked by MPs to explain why he believes a currency union after Scottish independence would not work. The politician will come before the Scottish affairs...
View ArticleGeorge Osborne accused of buying votes with market-beating ‘pensioner bonds’
Free market thinktank claims chancellor’s scheme is gimmick that subsidises wealthy pensioners at taxpayers’ expense ...
View ArticleThe 1000: Stephen Hawking hails London, capital of science
Stephen Hawking today hailed London as a “leading centre” of global science after the capital’s most influential people packed the Francis Crick Institute for the launch of the Evening Standard’s The...
View ArticleAlex Salmond attacks George Osborne over rejection of currency union
Scottish first minister says chancellor's refusal to consider sharing sterling with an independent Scotland is self-defeating ...
View ArticleNo currency union with independent Scotland, George Osborne confirms
Chancellor tells audience in Edinburgh that currency union between Scotland and rest of UK would be unworkable ...
View ArticleGeorge Osborne beats Boris to come top in the Evening Standard's The 1000...
George Osborne was today named the most influential person in London as the Chancellor topped the Evening Standard’s The 1000 power list, with Mayor Boris Johnson in second place. Our panel of editors,...
View ArticleBudget 2015: what it means for London (HMT - UK Her Majesty's Treasury)
(Source: HMT - UK Her Majesty's Treasury) The new measures will help build on a six-point plan announced by the Chancellor and the Mayor of London last month in a speech made at the Tate Modern which...
View ArticleAndy McSmith's Sketch: George Osborne could really learn from BBC's Wolf Hall
There was an intriguing column in The Daily Telegraph recently by its finest ex-writer, Peter Oborne speculating that George Osborne had accepted that he would never be Tory leader, and had decided...
View ArticleGeorge Osborne: 'I ignored advice to axe Crossrail'
George Osborne has told how he was advised to axe funding for the flagship projects of Crossrail, the Tate Modern extension, and the...
View ArticleBudget 2015: George Osborne to axe subsidies for higher income earners in...
Higher income earners who live in social housing will no longer be able to claim taxpayer-funded subsidies for their rent under a fresh welfare cut expected to be announced by George Osborne in his...
View ArticleUK's Osborne says could not back pound for independent Scotland
EDINBURGH (Reuters) - British finance minister George Osborne said on Thursday...
View ArticleBudget's a joke: George Osborne's policies poke fun at Labour
Chancellor riffs on Ed Miliband’s two kitchens and Harriet Harman’s pink van, before comparing election to Agincourt during speech...
View ArticleOsborne stops pension providers giving advice
Pension firms will not be allowed to advise people on their retirement options from next April, but they will effectively be forced to pay for independent advice for retirees. The Chancellor, George...
View ArticleGeorge Osborne taps £27bn windfall for tax credits U-turn
Surprise new optimistic forecasts on tax receipts from the Office for Budget Responsibility also spares cuts in frontline policing but fresh squeeze hits local councils...
View ArticleChancellor George Osborne blasted as banks probe axed
George Osborne has been accused of forcing regulators to ditch a review into Britain's banking culture under pressure from the industry's biggest names. The Chancellor is "bowing" to demands to drop...
View ArticleGeorge Osborne's spending review to raise number of UK spies
Chancellor promises to increase number of intelligence officers in all three British security services...
View ArticleFresh spending squeeze has already begun, says George Osborne
Chancellor tells government departments to make immediate start on finding £13bn of further cuts – with goal of announcing savings by July...
View ArticleGeorge Osborne ignored doctors advice about tobacco levy
George Osborne disregarded the advice of doctors, cancer charities and the Government’s public health experts to rule out a tax on Big Tobacco, official documents show. Organisations including the...
View ArticleRBS sell-off: George Osborne defends £1bn loss
Critics brand the UK government’s overnight sale of a 5.4% stake in the bailed-out bank as ‘short-changing the taxpayer’...
View ArticleGeorge Osborne: Pensioner bond scheme to be extended
A government-backed pensioner bond offering competitive rates of up to 4% interest is to be offered for a further three months, George Osborne has said. The chancellor told the BBC he was extending the...
View ArticleDeparture of Sir Nicholas Macpherson GCB, Permanent Secretary to the...
(Source: HMT - UK Her Majesty's Treasury) The Permanent Secretary to the Treasury, Sir Nicholas Macpherson, has confirmed that he will step down after over 10 years in the role and leave the Civil...
View ArticleLord Adonis to resign Labour whip and chair George Osborne's infrastructure body
In a coup to be announced by chancellor at conference, Tony Blair’s former policy chief is to advise on projects such as Crossrail 2, HS3 and power stations...
View ArticleOsborne hands advisers big pay rises while freezing public-sector wages
Chancellor gives adviser responsible for his new image a pay rise of more than 40% and employs additional seven aides in last year, data reveals...
View ArticleTransport suffers deepest budget cut with London subsidy axed
DfT faces cut of 37% as Transport for London loses entire operational budget by 2020 fuelling concerns over higher fares...
View ArticleGeorge Osborne asks public sector workers for money-saving ideas
Chancellor invites workers to participate in survey, in reprise of 2010 exercise which generated ideas that helped cut costs...
View ArticleIain Duncan Smith 'threatens to quit' if George Osborne raids universal credit
Iain Duncan Smith has reportedly threatened to quit as Work and Pensions Secretary if George Osborne takes funds from his flagship universal credit programme. The Times reports that...
View ArticleBudget 2015: What George Osborne said... and what the Chancellor really meant
What he said This will be a Budget for working people… This is the new settlement. From a one-nation Government, this is a one-nation Budget that takes the necessary steps and follows a sensible path...
View ArticleTreasury permanent secretary Sir Nicholas Macpherson to step down
Surprise announcement that Treasury’s most senior civil servant will quit role in April triggers search for his successor...
View ArticleFix a broken tax system? It's good advice but George Osborne won't take it
The Treasury Select Committee chairman Andrew Tyrie hasn’t wasted any time making life difficult for the Chancellor. He’s demanding to know when George Osborne plans to make a decision on who is going...
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