Summer Budget: the key announcements live
From our UK edition
Find out just how big this summer budget is with our live list of announcements, as George Osborne makes them.
Isabel Hardman
Isabel Hardman is assistant editor of The Spectator and author of Why We Get the Wrong Politicians. She also presents Radio 4’s Week in Westminster.
Wednesday
Summer Budget 2015: What we know so far
From our UK edition
We know that George Osborne’s first Tory majority Budget is going to be big. It will be far bigger than the announcements that have been briefed so far, that’s for sure. What we know so far is as follows. There will be £12bn of welfare cuts, but they will be implemented over three years, rather
Tuesday
Tories ‘to slow welfare cuts’ in Budget, reports suggest
From our UK edition
Tomorrow’s Budget is expected to be brutal, with the Conservatives recognising that now is the time to inflict the maximum pain as the party is the furthest it will ever be from the next election. But Sky News reports tonight that one of the most-reported aspects of that brutal Budget, the £12bn of welfare cuts,
Tories nervous of EVEL rebellion
From our UK edition
MPs are getting very worked up in this afternoon’s emergency debate on English Votes for English Laws. Depending on which party they’re in, of course, they’re getting worked up about slightly different things. Labour have stick to arguing about the procedure, which is what the debate is supposed to be on, saying that the measure
The Greeks haven’t exactly got negotiations off to a good start
From our UK edition
Eurozone leaders are holding a summit later today to discuss the Greeks’ proposal for dealing with their debt that was to be put before the Eurogroup this afternoon. But that summit might be a tad short. The Greeks haven’t turned up with any new ideas. They have instead made an oral presentation, and may table
Ministers aim to make Sunday less ‘miserable’ by relaxing Sunday trading laws
From our UK edition
The latest pre-Budget trail in the newspapers is that the government plans to confront an issue that caused Margaret Thatcher’s only Commons defeat as Prime Minister and further relax Sunday trading laws. Ministers are keen to allow elected mayors and councils the freedoms to relax the laws in their areas. George Osborne said that there
Monday
Labour MP: I’m supporting Yvette Cooper because she’s a mother
From our UK edition
How, as a seasoned politician, might you decide who to back in the party’s leadership contest? It might be that you’re swayed by the ministerial experience of one candidate, or perhaps the fierce commitment of another candidate to a policy that you hold very dear. Perhaps it’s because you’re from the same faction in the
How the trade unions make it more difficult for Labour to win back Ukip voters
From our UK edition
Do unions like Unite want Labour to win the next election? A fair few people, including a number of Labourites, have been asking this question since the union announced its backing for Jeremy Corbyn at the weekend, but it’s a something that those involved in the election campaign were asking as polling day approached, too,
How can Labour avoid being a useless Opposition in this week’s Budget?
From our UK edition
One of the toughest jobs in politics is responding to a Budget. It’s the job of the leader of the Opposition, and given the Labour Party has still got two months until it elects its chief, that job falls to Harriet Harman as interim leader. Therefore Harman has an even tougher version of one of
Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis resigns
From our UK edition
If Greece had voted ‘Yes’ to the austerity package proposed by its creditors, then there would have been a round of resignations at the top of Syriza. But this morning, even though the party is celebrating a ‘No’ vote, its finance minister Yanis Varoufakis has resigned. Writing on his blog, he explains that in order
Sunday
Polls suggest narrow ‘No’ vote in Greek referendum
From our UK edition
If the final result in the Greek referendum is as close as the polls (not exit polls, so treat with caution) below suggest, then as well as the trauma and drama of Grexit, the country will have to cope with deep divisions. The same would be the case if there is a narrow win for
‘No’ side confident as polls close in Greek referendum
From our UK edition
The polls have just closed in the Greek referendum, and the ‘No’ side seems, currently, to be rather more confident of a victory. The Guardian reports a briefing from the EU Commission that those in favour of rejecting the anti-austerity deal from Greece’s creditors could be 8-10 points ahead, while others claim ‘No’ had a
Friday
Is Cameron ready for his European opportunity?
From our UK edition
Could Greek voters back austerity measures to keep their country in the eurozone this weekend? Today’s papers cover a poll by GPO which put ‘Yes’ on 47.1 per cent and No on 43.2 per cent. This result would see resignations at the top of Syriza, but effectively no Grexit. If Alexis Tsipras’ gamble of saying
Thursday
Why are politicians trying to boss the BBC around?
From our UK edition
One of the most striking things about the debate in the Commons this afternoon on Britain and International Security was that rather than debate the complexities of intervening in Syria, a lot of MPs were very keen to talk about the name of the terror group the government might take action against. MP after MP
Labour sets out conditions for supporting intervention against Isis in Syria
From our UK edition
Michael Fallon was very careful indeed to push the issue of military action against Isis in Syria in as gentle a fashion as possible when he came to the Chamber this afternoon. The Defence Secretary told MPs the government knew that Isis is running its operations from North Syria, and he again made the argument
Michael Fallon to urge MPs to think again on strikes in Syria
From our UK edition
Michael Fallon is making the case to MPs today for British airstrikes against Isis in Syria. The Defence Secretary yesterday told the World at One that ‘It is a new parliament and I think Members of Parliament will want to think very carefully about how we best deal with Isil and illogicality of Isil not
Tuesday
Tory concern about ‘bedroom tax’ grows
From our UK edition
David Cameron’s former speech writer Clare Foges isn’t the only Tory worried about the impact of the so-called ‘bedroom tax’. In a column in The Times today, Foges argues that the Conservatives should ‘move on from the bedroom tax. It is not working as had been hoped and will remain a fly in the one-nation
Zac Goldsmith to run for Mayor of London
From our UK edition
Finally the Conservatives could have a decent and recognisable candidate for Mayor of London. Zac Goldsmith has told the Standard that he wants to put himself forward for the Tory nomination – after a string of senior Conservatives tried to persuade him to do it. So far those interested were either known only within the
Cameron on Europe: the anatomy of a U-turn
From our UK edition
How did David Cameron get into such a mess on Europe so quickly? For those whose heads are still spinning (and this probably includes the Prime Minister) over what on earth just happened to upset the Tory party so much and force Downing Street into a frenzied climbdown, here’s the anatomy of David Cameron’s European
Monday
Wikipedia reprimands editor who accused Grant Shapps of ‘sock puppet’ edits
From our UK edition
It is probably reasonably cold comfort to him, given he’s already lost his Cabinet job, but Grant Shapps has today seen a Wikipedia administrator who accused him of editing his own page and those of other ministers reprimanded. Wikipedia conducted an investigation, which concluded there was no evidence Shapps was connected to an account called
