Challenger banks face an uphill battle as George Osborne widens levy net July 15, 2015 The heads of the UK’s fast-growing crop of challenger banks were entitled to reach for a stiff lunchtime drink as they absorbed the first Conservative Budget for two decades last week. At a stroke, George Osborne’s decision to impose a super-tax on industry profits above £25m undermined everything he has said about broadening competition [...]
Britain will not foot the bill for Greek loan, says George Osborne: We’re “not in the euro” July 14, 2015 Chancellor George Osborne laid down the gauntlet to his Eurozone peers yesterday and said that the UK would refuse to put £1bn towards a short-term loan to Greece. If Brussels insists the UK foots part of the bill, it would threaten relations between British and EU leaders as Osborne gears up to renegotiate the country’s [...]
Scandinavia provides the evidence for George Osborne’s war on welfare July 14, 2015 George Osborne’s Budget has been met with predictable outrage from the poverty lobby. The cuts to the welfare budget will allegedly create shocking levels of deprivation. Young people in particular, it is stated, have been singled out for punitive measures. On the face of it, the arguments seem plausible. Many people on benefits will get [...]
Heads up, George Osborne: The tooth fairy gave £20m to children last year July 14, 2015 In George Osborne's quest for tax receipts, this might be one to investigate: it turns out the Tooth Fairy has given kids £20m in the past year. And it's all tax free… Yep – a study by The Magic Door Store, which (of course) sells miniature doors for fairies, showed the Tooth Fairy has become [...]
Chancellor George Osborne: No UK cash will be used in the making of a Greek bailout July 14, 2015 Chancellor George Osborne is moving to block any attempt to use British taxpayers’ money as part of the Greek bailout, Treasury sources have announced. The chancellor has apparently said he will block any move by the EU to use UK taxpayers’ money as part of Greece’s €12bn (£8.5bn) bridging loan. Osborne is reported to have [...]
Ignore the rhetoric: George Osborne’s July Budget was a retreat from market liberalism July 13, 2015 George Osborne’s desired message was clear. He claimed last week’s Budget was a new settlement for a “higher wage, lower tax, lower welfare country”. The Tory media duly reported it as such. But political rhetoric often doesn’t match reality. Osborne’s Budget fails on his own terms, and marks a retreat from the market-based consensus of [...]
Budget 2015: Why tech startups based in the “Northern Powerhouse” were left disappointed with George Osborne July 10, 2015 A whopping £100bn. That’s what the digital industry contributes to the UK economy. A thriving industry and a significant driver of UK economic growth, the digital economy is growing faster than the average of 8.1% across the G20 countries and is expected to grow at 11% a year this decade. Read more: These are the [...]
Rationale of bank surcharge under fire as IFS think tank blasts George Osborne’s 2015 July Budget July 9, 2015 A leading think tank has criticised the volatility of the UK’s bank levy and the thinking behind a new bank surcharge as part of a wider assault on what it described as a “deeply disappointing” Budget. There would have been 13 different bank levy rates in 10 years by 2020 under Wednesday’s Budget plans, [...]
George Osborne’s productivity plan: Tories promise housebuilding boom to lift economy July 9, 2015 Chancellor George Osborne will today put housebuilding at the centre of his plans to reverse Britain’s poor rates of productivity. Alongside business secretary Sajid Javid, Osborne will argue that “sweeping new changes to planning laws” can boost productivity by allowing people to live – and businesses to be located – in more efficient areas. The [...]
How can George Osborne revive UK productivity? Reform regulation and the public sector July 9, 2015 In Wednesday’s Budget, George Osborne announced that he would publish a Productivity Plan today. After growing by about 2 per cent a year for many decades, the UK’s productivity growth appears to have come to a juddering halt since the financial crisis. So what should be in the plan – in addition to the measures [...]