Politics & Legislation


VAT rises to 20% - Emergency, Post-Election, Budget - June 22nd 2010

Chancellor George Osborne announced today that the standard rate of VAT will rise to 20% from 4th January next year (2011).
This is one of his measures for accelerating the reduction of the nation’s deficit.
Other measures included:

2 year pay freeze for public sector workers earning over £21,000.
reducing tax credits for families earning over £40,000.
and what he [...]

IR35 looks set for the scrapheap

PCG (the professional association supporting freelancers, contractors and consultants) was established to fight the introduction of IR35, so today’s announcement that it is to be replaced will be welcomed by freelance workers throughout the UK.
It is a triumph for common sense over political dogma.
In the Coalition’s full programme for Government, published today (20th May) the [...]

David Cameron is appointed as UK Prime Minister

At around 8.40pm today David Cameron, leader of the UK’s Conservative Party,  stood on the steps of Number 10 Downing Street and said:
Her Majesty the Queen has asked me to form a new government and I have accepted.
He went on to say,
In terms of the future, our country has a hung parliament where no party [...]

Gordon Brown sets Labour leadership contest in motion

At just after 5pm today ( May 10, 2010), Gordon Brown announced that he would be willing to step down from the post of Labour leader staying no longer than is needed to set political reform in motion and assure economic growth.  He stood on the steps of 10 Downing Street and said:
If it becomes [...]

2010 May 6th UK Election Results in Hung Parliament

The final seat, contested in yesterday’s general election, returned its result just before 5pm today.
The resulting number of seats won, as collated by the BBC, are distributed as follows:

Conservative: 306
Labour: 258
Liberal Democrats: 57
Democratic Unionist Party: 8
Scottish National Party: 6
Sinn Fein: 5
Plaid Cymru: 3
Social Democratic and Labour Party: 3
Green Party: 1
Alliance Party: 1
Independent (Sylvia Hermon): 1

The [...]

Lets go to it. Prime Minister Gordon Brown Announces UK General Election on May 6th 2010

Gordon Brown has returned from his visit to Buckingham Palace where he asked the Queen to dissolve parliament on 12 April ahead of the General Election to be held on May 6th.

UK Budget 2010 - Measures For Supporting Business and Growth

The UK Treasury has released further information following the Chancellor’s Budget Statement (Wednesday March 24th 2010). The following is an excerpt from the notice that outlines the particular measures for supporting business and growth.

The Government took decisive action to support the economy during the financial crisis and its aftermath. As the UK emerges from [...]

2010 UK Budget Date Announced

The UK Chancellor of the Exchequer confirmed today that his Budget Report Statement to the House of Commons will occur  on Wednesday the 24th March 2010 at 12.30 pm.
news source:  http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/budget2010.htm

Alistair Darling confirms return to 17.5 percent VAT on January 1st 2010 in Pre-Budget Report

The UK Chancellor of the Exchequer,  Alistair Darling, introduced a temporary lower rate of VAT in last year’s pre budget report.
There was some speculation that he might have extended this reduction beyond the original term. However, in today’s pre-budget report statement to the House of Commons, he said:
I can confirm that VAT will return to [...]

No Sacred Cows in Pre-Budget Report Please - British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) Economic Forecast - December 2009

British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) Economic Forecast - December 2009
Ahead of the Chancellor’s Pre-Budget Report, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has today published its latest Economic Forecast. The business group, which calls itself “the National Voice of Local Business”, has made downward revisions to its GDP expectations for 2009 and 2010, but is more [...]

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