General Election 2015: David Cameron, Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg on how they’re going to solve the housing crisis (and which is their favourite room) April 23, 2015 House prices are too high and there aren't enough homes on the market, a new – not altogether surprising – study has suggested. But with an election just days away, property search giant Rightmove, which conducted the research, decided to take it to the leaders of each party to see what they're going to do [...]
General Election 2015: KPMG chairman Simon Collins wants more focus on business and a long-term housing strategy April 22, 2015 ELECTION COUNTDOWN: 14 DAYS TO GO Every day until the final week of the election campaign, we ask a business leader to say what policies would entice them to vote for a particular party. SIMON COLLINS: CHAIRMAN, KPMG ■ My top ask is for politicians to promote business. Business creates the wealth, [...]
Lib Dems deny involvement in Grant Shapps Wikipedia case April 22, 2015 The Liberal Democrats moved last night to distance themselves from an increasingly complicated story involving Conservative party chairman Grant Shapps and the editable online encyclopaedia Wikipedia. On Tuesday, it was reported that Wikipedia blocked a user account “Contribsx” on suspicion the account was being used by Shapps or someone close to the party chairman to [...]
General Election 2015: Alex Salmond says he’s “writing the Labour Party’s budget” April 22, 2015 David Cameron has tweeted a video of former SNP leader Alex Salmond joking that he is writing the Labour Party's budget. A boisterous Salmond told an audience that when a Scottish Labour politician told Andrew Neil Jim Murphy will not be writing the Labour Party budget, he knew that already because he was the one [...]
Scotland will have a £9.7bn black hole under SNP plans for fiscal autonomy, says IFS April 22, 2015 The SNP suffered a blow to its fiscal credibility this morning, after the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) forecast a £9.7bn black hole in Scotland's finances by the year 2020 if it achieves fiscal autonomy. The independent think tank released the research note the day after Nicola Sturgeon launched her manifesto promising an end to [...]
Milifandom Twitter storm: What is it, who started, is it the new Cleggmania April 22, 2015 Ed Miliband has taken a lot of stick over the last five years for not being the most charismatic of political leaders. But the wonders of social media have allowed Ed's fans to amplify their voice and express their devotion without being spun by the gatekeepers of old media. Twitter has exploded with a host [...]
Milifandom Twitter storm: What is it, who started, is it the new Cleggmania TEST April 22, 2015 Ed Miliband has taken a lot of stick over the last five years for not being the most charismatic of political leaders. But the wonders of social media have allowed Ed's fans to amplify their voice and express their devotion without being spun by the gatekeepers of old media. Twitter has exploded with a host [...]
General Election 2015: Grant Shapps denies Wikipedia sock-puppet claims, saying he “was elsewhere” when changes were made April 22, 2015 Conservative party chairman Grant Shapps has denied claims that he edited entries about himself and rival MPs on Wikipedia. Rumours that he was a “sock-puppet” – using a false alias to spread misinformation – have been circulating around the blogosphere for many years. But they resurfaced yesterday when the Guardian reported that Wikipedia had blocked [...]
General Election 2015: Tory divide over campaign attack dog tactics April 21, 2015 David Cameron’s bid to keep the keys to Downing Street is facing friendly fire from some of his own Conservative colleagues. Tory candidates told City A.M. they are anxious about their party’s failure to pull ahead in the polls with just over two weeks to go until the election, with several critical of a negative [...]
General Election 2015: Mastercard’s Ann Cairns wants greater devolution and more technological innovation April 21, 2015 ELECTION COUNTDOWN: 15 DAYS TO GO Every day until the final week of the election campaign, we ask a business leader to say what policies would entice them to vote for a particular party. ANN CAIRNS: PRESIDENT, INTERNATIONAL MARKETS, MASTERCARD ■ Reduce reliance on cash to drive economic growth – Cash costs [...]