Podcasts

Government ministers have revealed a Scottish Referendum is now looking "inevitable". Nicola Sturgeon previously said another vote "makes common sense" and her party would be ready to hold it in late 2018. We spoke to our Scottish correspondent Maurice Smith to find out more.

Philip Hammond's plan to increase national insurance on the self-employed has sparked a rebellion amongst many Tory MPs. The Chancellor argues that the move is "fair" and "necessary".

Cancer diagnostics company Volition announced its results today, and the company confirmed it made significant progress in 2016. The company’s Nu.Q test for Colorectal cancer won a ‘CE mark’ last year which proved that the test was accurate. A final logistics trial for the test is now underway in Denmark and Volition should start generating revenue for the first time this year. Cameron Reynolds, Volition’s CEO, explained to Ed Bowsher what else can we expect from the firm this year, especially as the company now expands outside Europe.

Georgie Frost was joined by Rachel Springall, personal finance expert at moneyfacts.co.uk this morning. Today on the agenda, they discussed why BT has agreed to legally separate from its Openreach division. Plus they look into how Lego has recorded its highest revenues in its 85-year history. . All these stories and more on The News Review.

To go through all the political headlines this morning with Georgie Frost was Ryan Heath, Senior EU Correspondent at POLITICO starting with the EU Leaders Summit. Theresa May was there and came to the defence of her Chancellor in a speech at the Summit. She has delayed the introduction of controversial National Insurance rises which has caused quite a stir over here. This was supposed to be the PM's last Summit before the triggering of Article 50. How is she treated among European leaders knowing she won't be there long term?

Joining Georgie Frost to discuss the latest market headlines was Share Radio's very own Nigel Cassidy starting with Lego. Their success has been quite remarkable. But the big market story of the morning is BT and Ofcom. They've reached an agreement on future governance of Openreach. Nigel explains what has been decided.

New research conducted by Halifax has found that 'homeowners in one in three UK areas earn more from bricks and mortar than the day job'. Halifax suggests that average house prices have increased by more than the total average of employees' net earnings. So what impact does this have on homeowners and potential buyers? Martin Ellis, housing economist at Halifax joined Nigel Cassidy to give his analysis.

The anti-secrecy website Wikileaks has published thousands of the CIA's secret documents, including what it says are it's hacking tools. Founder of Wikileaks, Julian Assange said that, after some thought, he will give technology companies exclusive access to these cyber-weapons, so that they can be defended against. This has caused quite some embarrassment for the CIA, as the agency who is supposed to protect us, is somewhat unprotected. Joining Nigel Cassidy is Jason Murdock, Technology and Cybersecurity reporter with the International Business Times to discuss further.

British citizens should be able to keep various benefits of EU membership including freedom of movement after Brexit, the European parliament’s chief negotiator has said. Guy Verhofstadt said Britons could be allowed to keep certain rights if they applied for them on an individual basis. “All British citizens today have also EU citizenship. That means a number of things: the possibility to participate in the European elections, the freedom of travel without problem inside the union". Joining Nigel Cassidy is Chris Bailey, Founder of financial orbit to discuss today's top finance news.

In his first spring Budget, Philip Hammond declared war on the UK's productivity gap. And his first front: Britain's classrooms. Alongside an expansion of technical education, the Chancellor pledged more cash for free schools. Some see this extra money as heralding a new generation of grammars. These new free schools could later decide to become selective if the Government repeals the ban on new grammars. Is No 10 preparing for more grammars? Share Radio's Alex Clark spoke to Neil Carmichael, Conservative MP for Stroud and Chair of the Education Select Committee.