UK & World News
The latest UK & World news stories from the Press Association.
PM, Osborne 'wedded to old rules'
01:05, Feb 9 2012
George Osborne is failing British businesses and families because he is the "last bastion of the old mindset", Ed Miliband is to claim.
The Labour leader will also accuse the Chancellor and Prime Minister David Cameron of proving they are "wedded to an old set of rules" by intervening "haphazardly and belatedly" on bonuses.
Mr Miliband will argue that tackling excessive payouts is "pro-business" as he launches a sustained attack on the duo's record on fairness.
"Mr Osborne wants to present himself as a champion of business, but the painful truth is he is the last bastion of an old mindset that is letting down British business and letting down British families," he will say. "He says that action to tackle big bonuses is 'anti-business'. It is not.
"It is pro-business to demand responsibility at the top and an end to the something-for-nothing culture which has damaged our economy in the financial crisis at every level, wrecked businesses and left everyone else squeezed."
The attack comes in direct response to Mr Osborne's vow to stamp out "anti-business culture" - widely seen as a swipe at Labour - and claim that the row over bonuses and pay threatens to undermine the jobs and prosperity provided by the free market economy.
Giving the inaugural lecture at the Sheffield University Political Economy Research Institute, Mr Miliband will accuse the Chancellor of letting down business, working people and the economy as a whole.
"George Osborne has failed to give business the certainty it needs by bringing in a clear set of rules for an economy in which responsibility is hard wired in from the benefits office to the boardroom," Mr Miliband will add.
"Instead, he and David Cameron have intervened haphazardly and belatedly on bonuses while showing they are wedded to an old set of rules which are bad for people in the squeezed middle, bad for business, and bad for our economy.
"By defending an unreformed bonus culture, this Government confuses the interests of the economy as a whole with the interests of an irresponsible few. We need banks to be lending to small business rather than handing out big bonuses. We need executives to recognise that exceptional rewards should only be for exceptional performance. We need a proper plan for growth and jobs."
Pair set for child cruelty sentence 16:05, May 21 2012
A mother and stepfather who forced their 11-year-old son to live in a filthy converted coal-bunker have been put behind bars. more
Bomber kills 90 at military drill 15:05, May 21 2012
At least 90 soldiers were killed and dozens of others injured when a suicide bomber blew himself up at a military parade drill in the Yemeni capital Sanaa. more
Mandelson denies deal with Murdoch 15:05, May 21 2012
Lord Mandelson has denied there was any deal between Labour and Rupert Murdoch's newspaper empire ahead of the 1997 general election. more
MacAskill defends Megrahi release 15:05, May 21 2012
Scotland's Justice Secretary has defended his decision to release the Lockerbie bomber almost three years ago as the only man convicted of the tragedy is buried in Libya today. more
Bomber kills 60 at military drill 14:05, May 21 2012
At least 60 soldiers were killed and dozens of others injured when a suicide bomber blew himself up at a military parade drill in the Yemeni capital Sanaa. more
Olympic flame goes out during relay 13:05, May 21 2012
The Olympic torch went out for the first time during the London 2012 relay, organisers have confirmed. more
Missing children website relaunched 13:05, May 21 2012
An official website to help find missing and abducted children from the UK has been relaunched by the police's specialist child protection agency. more
Watchdog launches Hunt inquiry 13:05, May 21 2012
Westminster's sleaze watchdog has launched an inquiry into Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt following claims that he failed to register donations from media firms, it was revealed. more
38 soldiers killed in Yemen attack 12:05, May 21 2012
At least 38 soldiers were killed and dozens of others injured when a suicide bomber blew himself up at a military parade drill in the Yemeni capital Sanaa. more
Miliband attacks social inequality 12:05, May 21 2012
Ed Miliband has accused the Government of taking backward steps on social mobility by allowing inequality to grow and denying bright youngsters from poor backgrounds the chance to succeed. more
The latest UK & World news stories from the Press Association.
