PM David Cameron’s Conservative-Lib Dem Coalition has faced acute embarrassment over the issue of Chancellor George Osborne in a first-class train coach after buying a standard ticket on Friday. The office of the Chancellor has clarified that he always meant to pay for the ‘upgrade’ and that an assistant of his had requested a meeting with the train manager to do so.

Chancellor George Osborne has again spotlighted the contentious plan to reduce employees’ rights by proclaiming that the employees will be given shares in their companies in exchange for surrendering their legal rights at work. The plan is that the companies will be able to present to their employees from April 2013 between £2,000 and £50,000 in ‘tax-free’ shares if the employees annul their rights to claim unjust sacking, to redundancy…

Chancellor George Osborne has voiced to the Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham that the UK government is determined to trim an additional £10bn from the ‘benefits budget’ in order to counter the stubborn problem of deficits, which have been wounding the UK economy. George Osborne, whose governmental position has prestigiousness as well as powerfulness, has remarked that the well-heeled UK people would have to shell out higher taxes but the…

Bob Diamond, the CEO of Barclays, resorted to blaming other banks for misleading markets about their ability to borrow and regulators for taking no notice of the happenings. “This isn’t just Barclays. Throughout 2007 and 2008, no institution of the 16 banks reporting three-month dollar Libor was at the higher end more consistently than Barclays. Barclays was getting questions about why it was always high and we were saying, ‘We…

It would be unfair to hold the deputy governor of the Bank of England responsible for the rate-rigging scandal, believes George Osborne, who suggested Labour ex-ministers and aides could have played a part in the row. Referring to the memo that BoI released on Tuesday, Osborne said the Bank has made it clear that they did not ask Barclays to “cut its Libor rate”. The Chancellor’s statement comes after Bob…

Amid indications of another post-Budget climbdown from Coalition ministers, government has announced another major U-turn today, scrapping George Osborne’s so-called “Charity Tax” proposal. Charity Tax U-turn is the government’s fifth U-turn this weeks after U-turns on the pasty tax, the caravan tax and VAT on listed buildings alterations. But, the charity tax - a clampdown on tax relief for gifts - is the biggest till now, as the move was expected to raise £400 million for the…

It’s another blow to the Conservative-led government, as George Osborne has agreed to modify its controversial budget proposals to extend VAT on takeaway hot pies - in a move that was labelled by Labour as ‘U-turns from a shambolic government’. After a protest orchestrated by Greggs, the nation’s largest chain of high-street bakers, the government has signalled a retreat on tax rises on pasties and caravans. The climbdown over pasty tax will cost the Treasury £70 million annually. Now,…

The International Monetary Fund in its annual review of the UK’s economic record warned that government should prepare an economic Plan B to prevent the economy from tumbling into recession. IMF said the Bank of England should consider more quantitative easing (QE) and even cutting interest rates due to continuing economic weakness in the UK. “Growth is too slow and unemployment, including youth unemployment, is too high. Policies to bolster demand before low growth becomes…

After the embarrassing defeat in the 2012 UK local elections, Prime Minister David Cameron on Monday pledged to ‘focus on what matters’, saying he got the message from the elections “loud and clear”. The prime minister said he has no excuses such as low turnout and economic downturn to explain party’s poor performance at polls. “The message people are sending is this: focus on what matters, deliver what you promise…

The rift between the government and charity heads over tax cuts took a tart turn last night after former Philanthropist of the Year Richard Ross accused the government of coming in the way of genuine causes and then justifying their step by claiming that philanthropy is just a smokescreen to avoid paying taxes. George Osborne’s decision to lower tax relief on philanthropic spends has infuriated charity, arts and research organisations…