Industry News
18th June 2008
Lords Amendment to Delay UK's Lisbon Treaty Ratification
Lord Howell, the Conservative peer, has tabled an amendment to the EU (Amendment) Bill at Third Reading that would delay the UK's ratification of the Lisbon Treaty to 20th October at the earliest. The Lords are due to vote today, and the delay would allow a full response to be thought through following last week's Irish No vote in the country's referendum.
18th June 2008
No Labour Party Candidate Against David Davis
The Labour Party has confirmed that it will not field a candidate against David Davis in the forthcoming Haltemprice and Howden by-election. Former Sun newspaper editor, Kelvin MacKenzie has yet to confirm whether he will stand against Davis. The Liberal Democrats have already said they will not contest the seat.
17th June 2008
Survey Reveals Public Split on David Davis
Ipsos MORI's survey for The Independent about David Davis, the former Shadow Home Secretary, who resigned over the Government's terror detention plans "suggests that the public are somewhat divided on the issue of his resignation". The survey found that 48% felt he had been wrong to resign his Parliamentary seat to stand again in protest against the Government. Nontheless, 35% said that they would vote for Davis in the by-election if they lived in his constituency. Read the Release on the Ipsos MORI website and download the topline results
17th June 2008
Baker MP Pay Review Report
The Review of Parliamentary Pay and Pensions by Sir John Baker has been published, looking into the options for determining MPs remunerations and identifying an independent mechanism so that Parliamentarians do not have to vote on their own pay. The principal recommendation is for "MPs’ pay to be increased each year in line with the previous year’s increase in public sector average earnings, to keep MPs’ pay in line with the earnings of public sector workers generally". It is understood from this morning's Cabinet meeting that all Government Ministers have 'agreed' not to take up their 1.5% increase for the financial year. Download the Review together with the Government's Memorandum.
17th June 2008
MEPs Approve Slovakia Joining Euro Club
Voting in the Strasbourg Plenary, MEPs have approved the Slovak Republic's adoption of the euro. The report by Maltese MEP David Casa said that although Slovakia meets the criteria, care should be taken concerning inflation and more efforts are required to explain the benefits of the euro to citizens. With a final decision due by Member States, once agreed, the country will take on the currency from 1 January 2009 and will be the 16th EU Member State to join the euro club. Read all about it
15th June 2008
Tories Stretch Poll Lead
A YouGov poll for the Sunday Times shows the increasing Conservatives on 47%, Labour with 25% and Liberal Democrats on 18%.
15th June 2008
Commons Lobbying Inquiry: Ministers in Spotlight
The Public Administraion Select Committee Inquiry on Lobbying will hear oral evidence on Thursday 19th June at 10am from: Tom Watson MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Cabinet Office; Iain Wright MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, DCLG; and Tom Harris MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport.
15th June 2008
Europe's Mixed Messages over Lisbon Treaty's Future
EU Member States and Institutions have been grappling with the future of the EU and the Lisbon Treaty following the No vote in Ireland. Major members, such as Germany and France believe that the implementation of the new Treay, set to come into force on 1st January 2009, should not be delayed. France takes over the EU Presidency at the start of July, and was one of the countries to vote no to the Lisbon Treaty's predecessor. The Czech Republic's President on the other hand has said that the Treaty is finished. This week's European Council meeting in Brussels will hear directly from Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowan on the result. European Commission President Barroso said in a statement that the "European Commission believes that the remaining ratifications should continue to take their course". Only 18 of the 27 Member States have so far ratified the Treaty. In the UK, the third reading of the Lisbon Treaty is still set to take place this Wednesday. Conservative leader David Cameron said the Lisbon Reform Treaty should be "declared dead".
13th June 2008
Defra Targets Dumping of Illegal Waste
The Department for Environment, Food And Rural Affairs has launched a consultation on targetting and tackling the criminals behind organised fly-tipping and the illegal dumping of waste. The plans would provide local authorities and the Environment Agency with new powers to stop, search and instantly seize vehicles suspected of being involved in waste offences. Environment Minister Joan Ruddock said "Fly-tipping poses a serious threat to humans and wildlife. It damages our environment and spoils our enjoyment of our towns and countryside. There are a large number of rogue operators out there claiming to dispose of waste responsibly but then dumping it in public areas as the high profile case in Essex this week highlighted. These are the people we've got in our sights". Download the Consultation documents
13th June 2008
Ireland Rejects EU Lisbon Treaty
In the only referendum to be held across the Member States on the European Union's Lisbon Treaty, Irish voters have firmly rejected the proposal. With a turnout of 51%, the No vote outweighed those in favour by 53.4% to 46.6% per cent. Of the 43 constituencies, only eight supported the new measure. In a statement following the announcement of the result, Taoiseach Brian Cowan said "In a democracy, the will of the people as expressed at the ballot box is sovereign. The Government accepts and respects the verdict of the Irish people". Read his statement here
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63
.gif "The Enterprise Forum")
