So, according to Prime Minister Gordon Brown, “I take full responsibility for what happened – that is why the person that was responsible went immediately.” Leaving aside the fractured English doesn’t that mean he, Gordon Brown, has resigned? Clearly not. Brown used the “S” word on TV from Glasgow, where the Cabinet was meeting. As [...]
Despite the Prime Minister hailing it as a success, it emerged over the weekend that only about £12 Million of the £1 Billion government loan guarantee scheme has actually been lent to companies. Last week Gordon Brown sought to defend the government’s record on helping business by repeatedly citing the £1bn loan guarantee scheme as [...]
Well there are a few people like me who think he never had the plot to start with. In all honesty since the moment he got into 11 Downing Street as Chancellor the man has been nothing but a total disaster zone. I really found it hard to credit how the media could promote him [...]
The British Treasury has set up an independent review to examine the operations of offshore financial centres and their effect on the UK economy. The review will look at the current and future risks posed by the current economic crisis to the financial business of British Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories including Jersey, Guernsey, the [...]
On Wednesday of this week European politicians voted to scrap the UK’s long running opt-out from the Working Time Directive which limits the working week to an average of 48 hours. Despite the wishes of British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Business Secretary (and former EU Commissioner (Lord) Peter Mandelson) several Labour MEPs voted to [...]
As Chancellor Mr Brown kept telling everyone how successful Britain’s economy was under his stewardship and as Prime Minister he tells us that because of him Britain is in a better position than other countries to weather the credit crunch. Not only have I never believed him but now it seems that his successor as [...]
Well what other conclusion can you come to when a senior opposition MP is arrested, held for nine hours, and has his home and offices searched by anti-terrorism Police simply for doing his job? What was his crime? Embarrassing the Labour Government! Strictly speaking Mr Green was arrested on suspicion of “conspiring to commit misconduct [...]
I enjoy watching Question Time on the BBC each Thursday. It can be amusing and entertaining usually because of the crass stupidity of some of the panellists. I don’t object to politicians and celebrities displaying their ignorance and political bias as at least it helps us make an informed opinion about them, but sometimes they [...]
As of today’s date 24 MPs have signed an Early Day Motion which on the face of it is supportive of small businesses but in actual fact is totally pointless. In fact it could be evidence, if such is needed, that MPs really have no idea of the realities of business life. The motion reads: [...]
For years now the European Union severely limited the ability of national governments to reduce VAT rates – which fact seemed to have escaped Tony Blair who promised cuts during the 1997 General Election though he “found out” later. Good excuse not to keep your manifesto promises eh? However following a meeting earlier this month [...]
As small businesses struggle to obtain funds to continue in business the UK Government continue to announce initiatives which are more spin than substance. The motive for the Treasury making available £400bn of taxpayer support last month was to prevent the collapse of the banking system. Quite right too, but anyone who thinks it was [...]
Robert Peston, the BBC’s business editor, is coming under fire for his many “scoops” which according to critics helped fuel the flames of the banking crisis and led to the collapse of Northern Rock, Bradford & Bingley and HBOS. Before joining the BBC in 2006 Peston was a successful journailist working for the Financial Times, [...]
In the early hours of what was a sunny Sunday morning (how unlike today) I drove from Shropshire to London to appear on a London Weekend Television programme debating the forthcoming referendum on giving Scotland and Wales devolved governments. It was the morning after the funeral of Princess Diana and all along the route into [...]
Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro was born in the Oriente province of eastern Cuba. He is still alive but it can only be a matter of time before his control is finally broken and Cuba again becomes a member of the international community. When that happens there are going to be massive business opportunities so it’s [...]
The Virgin Islands were named by Christopher Columbus on his second voyage (1493) for Saint Ursula and her virgin followers. Over the next three hundred years, the islands were held by Spain, Britain, the Netherlands, France, and Denmark-Norway. The Danish West India Company settled on Saint Thomas in 1672, on Saint John in 1694, and [...]
In the early hours of 2nd August more than 100,000 Iraqi soldiers backed up by 700 tanks invaded the Gulf state of Kuwait. The Iraqi forces established a provisional government and President Saddam Hussein gave a speech in which he threatened to turn Kuwait city into a “graveyard” if any other country dared to challenge [...]
The phrase Act of Union 1800 actually refers to two acts: the Union with Ireland Act 1800 (an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain) and the Act of Union (Ireland) 1800 (an Act of the Parliament of Ireland). These two Acts merged the Kingdom of Ireland and the unified Kingdom of Great Britain, (being [...]
However as he was aged only one at the time it was not until 1581 that he gained full control of his government. He was well aware of his heritage and of the sad circumstances of his mother’s life and death. Of her internecine war with her cousin Elizabeth I of England. To many people [...]
The “This was their finest hour” speech was delivered by Sir Winston Churchill to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom on 18 July 1940. It was given shortly after he took over as Prime Minister on 10 May, in the first year of World War II. It was the third [...]
Gerald Ford was the thirty-eighth President of the United States, and served from 1974 to 1977. He was the first – and so far only – President to hold the office without ever having won a national election either as President or as Vice President. In 1973 Ford was the leader of the Republicans in [...]
