City Hall Tories want control of stamp duty October 20, 2015 Conservatives in City Hall want Whitehall to hand control over stamp duty to local authorities – and are bolstering their case by claiming devolution could lead to more than 40,000 new homes in London each year. Greater London Authority (GLA) Conservatives said today that City Hall could finance the building of 42,614 homes each year [...]
Londoners face further rental rate increases October 20, 2015 There is no slowing down for rental rates in the capital, with the average cost per month for a one-bed flat coming in at over £1,000 in three quarters of boroughs. Only nine London boroughs have average rents for one-bed flats below £1,000 per month now, according to the monthly Landbay Rental Index. This is [...]
Young Workers Index: German-style training could boost UK GDP October 20, 2015 If the UK could bring down the number of young people not in work or education to German levels, the economy would be boosted by around £55bn, according to PwC’s Young Workers Index. The index measures the labour market impact of workers aged between 20 and 24 across Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) [...]
George Osborne faces more tax credit pressure October 20, 2015 Pressure is building on chancellor George Osborne to reconsider his plans to slash tax credits, with Labour and Conservative MPs alike attacking the proposals ahead of an expected “fatal motion” in the House of Lords. MPs debated the tax credit cuts in the House of Commons yesterday, with new Tory MP Heidi Allen drawing attention [...]
Revival in business financing justifies UK interest rate hike, says Bank of England’s Ian McCafferty October 20, 2015 Solitary Bank of England dissenter Ian McCafferty has said a recovery in lending justifies an interest rate hike coming sooner rather later, especially if rates are to go up only gradually in future. McCaffery who was the only member of the Bank’s nine-strong monetary policy committee to vote for a hike at the beginning of [...]
Mark Carney says Bank of England’s EU referendum input will be “a bit of a yawner” October 20, 2015 Bank of England governor Mark Carney has played down the Bank’s analysis of a UK exit from the EU, telling an influential group of MPs it would be "a bit of a yawner". The Bank is due to publish its findings tomorrow after investigating the potential impact leaving the EU would have on its ability to steer the [...]
UK and London house prices: How long does it take to save a deposit for a property? 104 years for people in Brighton October 20, 2015 Wannabe homeowners in Brighton are worse off than Londoners when it comes to jumping onto the first rung of the property ladder. A resident in the town would need to save for more than 104 years to amass a deposit for a property in the area, based on average salaries and property prices, The average cost of a [...]
Well, this is awkward: Xi Jinping’s trade deals visit overshadowed by growing concern over China’s impact on UK steel industry October 20, 2015 The government is making its case for stepping up the Sino-British relationship by announcing £30bn worth of new trade and investment deals, despite escalating concerns that the UK steel industry is crumbling at the hands of Chinese manufacturers. The Prime Minister announced the business deals, which the government says will create more than 3,900 jobs [...]
Britain’s businesses are not rattled by Chinese slowdown, Grant Thornton research shows October 20, 2015 Britain’s businesses are standing firm as world-wide business sentiment takes a hammering from China. UK business confidence over the three months to the end of September towered above the global average of 38 per cent at 67 per cent, down from the peak of 79 per cent in the previous quarter when businesses were buoyed [...]
Treasury reveals £15bn annual saving from chancellor George Osborne’s tax credit reforms October 19, 2015 The government has leapt to the defence of its plan to slash tax credits, publishing figures that reveal a £15bn annual saving from reforms introduced since 2010. Chancellor George Osborne is under growing pressure to row back on his plan to slash the threshold at which tax credits start to be withdrawn. Some members of his [...]