George Osborne finds magic money machine at Metro Bank April 8, 2015 George Osborne may have solved the British government’s huge annual deficit problem. He’s found a magic money machine! The chancellor was in Kingston yesterday, visiting a branch of Metro Bank in order to hail news that the challenger bank will employ 3,300 new staff, and aim to have a total of 150 branches by 2020. [...]
General Election 2015: Is the Green Party’s boyband video the most bonkers election broadcast ever? Here are five of the best April 8, 2015 The Green party has launched its new Party Election Broadcast. It has David Cameron, Ed Miliband, Nick Clegg, and Nigel Farage depicted as a rather bizarre boy band, singing a power ballad about austerity. No. Really…. Incredibly, the Green video may not actually be the most bonkers election broadcast a party has ever [...]
Lord Ashcroft marginals poll: Ukip vote share drops 10 points in Conservative held seats April 8, 2015 Tory peer Lord Ashcroft's latest poll from the marginal constituencies shows a mixed picture for the two main parties and heralds bad news for Ukip. This week, all 10 results come from Conservative held seats where Labour is the principle opponent. According to the poll, which is a snapshot of public opinion not a prediction, [...]
Election fatigue or just plain bored? Schoolgirl face-desks as David Cameron campaigns April 8, 2015 We've all been there. The guy next to you starts banging on about politics and suddenly you feel an overwhelming urge to rest your eyes, just for a second… and before you know it, you're being rudely waken up after the snores got that little bit too loud. And let's face it, who here [...]
General Election 2015: Green Party ad features singing coalition quartet and mocks lack of diversity April 8, 2015 The Green Party has released what can only charitably be described as a different kind of party political broadcast. Rather than use the story of an individual family like or a well-known and popular actor to make their case the Greens opted to present a singing quartet of Nigel Farage, Ed Miliband, Nick Clegg and [...]
NHS letter “orchestrated by Labour”, say Tories April 8, 2015 The Conservative Party has accused Labour of "orchestrating" a letter claiming the government has dealt a serious blow to the NHS. However, speaking to the BBC, the Tories pointed out some of the 140 doctors who had signed the letter were public Labour supporters and advisers. Published in The Guardian, the letter claimed the last [...]
General Election 2015: How will the FTSE 100 be affected by political uncertainty as we head to the polls? April 8, 2015 Elections are times of great volatility for the markets, and 2015's edition looks like it could hold a roller-coaster 60 days in store. Looking back to 1992 and 2010 – the two most close and dramatic elections in recent years – it's clear that markets don't like the uncertainty and respond with plenty of jitters [...]
Non-doms pay £6bn in income tax and Labour’s ban could damage the UK’s ability to attract entrepreneurs April 8, 2015 As Labour looks to hit non-doms in one of the few substantive policy announcements of the campaign so far, some experts are warning Labour not to kill the goose that lays the golden egg. According to international law firm Pinsent Masons, non-doms paid a whopping £6.18bn in income tax alone in 2012-13 despite the actual [...]
General Election 2015: Tory campaign wins out with voters April 8, 2015 Despite the relentless stream of negative ads, posters and dodgy stats the voters appear to be more receptive to the major parties' campaigns than are the pundits. As we lurch through the second week of the campaign, a new YouGov poll heralds good news for the Tories' election guru Lynton Crosby. The Conservative Party's campaign [...]
Labour divided: Ed Balls says Miliband’s pledge to end non-dom status will “cost Britain money” April 8, 2015 Ed Miliband's big vow to end non-dom tax status is in danger of being overshadowed by his shadow chancellor's vocal opposition to the policy – after footage emerged of him saying abolishing the scheme will "probably end up costing Britain money". Miliband will pledge to scrap the non-dom status, held by around 155,000 people, in [...]