General Election 2015: Osborne promises to get 2.4m first-time buyers onto housing ladder with property “revolution” April 5, 2015 Chancellor George Osborne has pledged to bring about a “property revolution” in the UK, helping 2.4m more first-time buyers to get on the property ladder. In an interview with The Sunday Telegraph, he said he intended to double the number of first time buyers to 500,000 a year over the next five years, should the [...]
Boris Johnson beats May and Osborne as public’s favourite for next Tory leader March 27, 2015 Boris Johnson is by leaps and bounds the public's choice to replace David Cameron as Tory leader, should he step down part way through a second term. Earlier this week, Cameron ruled out standing for a third term as Prime Minister, leading many commentators to write that he had effectively fired the starting gun on [...]
Bank levy here to stay forever, says Osborne March 24, 2015 BRITAIN’S lenders face having to pay the bank levy forever, as the chancellor yesterday revealed that the crisis-era tax was here to stay. The levy was initially presented as a way to make banks pay for the crash, and to encourage them to shrink back down to a manageable size. But even when the deficit [...]
French minister Ségolène Royal rebukes George Osborne’s “spiteful” mockery of Hollande’s economy March 24, 2015 During last week's Budget, George Osborne's jokes at France's expense played well in the chamber of the House of Commons – at least among Tory MPs. The chancellor mocked the opposition for wanting to emulate the French economic model in operation under Francois Hollande. France is beset with high unemployment and low growth and has struggled [...]
Startup-friendly? What George Osborne’s Budget means for entrepreneurs March 22, 2015 Small businesses favour certainty over circus tricks, and the announcements made in last week’s Budget have received a generally positive response from entrepreneurs that I have spoken to – especially in the context of a growing economy. FOR THE ENTREPRENEUR Many will be happy that Entrepreneur’s Relief remained largely unchanged, providing a 10 per cent [...]
Budget 2015: Gordon Brown beats George Osborne on job approval rating March 20, 2015 Now the dust has settled; the pollsters are digesting the public's reaction to Osborne's Budget and how they rate the chancellor. The good news for Osborne is that YouGov found for the first time since 2010 that more people approve if his job performance than disapprove. However, the chancellor of five years still failed to [...]
General Election 2015 boost for Osborne as government on track to meet borrowing targets after bumper month of tax reciepts March 20, 2015 George Osborne is on schedule to meet his full year target for cutting the budget deficit, after a raft of self-assessment tax returns made February’s deficit the smallest since 2008. The deficit last month was £57.5bn, compared to £68.3bn last February and a peak of £95.2bn in 2009. In February 2008 it was £38.5bn. The [...]
Budget 2015: George Osborne urged to explain £12bn of planned cuts March 19, 2015 Pressure is mounting on chancellor George Osborne to reveal where planned welfare cuts will eventually be implemented. “It is almost two years since he [Osborne] announced his intention of cutting welfare spending by £12bn,” said Paul Johnson, head of the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS). “Apparently the plan is to have those £12bn of cuts [...]
Budget 2015: George Osborne’s fiscal tricks are as bad as Gordon Brown’s: We need an umpire March 19, 2015 No New Zealander likes to be reminded of the infamous “underarm incident”. Cricketer Brian McKechnie, facing the final ball of a hard-fought series, needed six runs to clinch it for New Zealand. The Australian bowler walked in and rolled the ball – underarm – down the pitch to McKechnie. Even the Australian Prime Minister was [...]
Most consumers aren’t feeling the benefits of Osborne’s recovery March 19, 2015 George Osborne used yesterday's Budget to trumpet the government's economic record. With a dramatic fall in unemployment, respectable economic growth and low inflation, the Conservatives believe they have strong record to run on. Osborne labelled Britain the "comeback country" and said the government had brought the UK back from the brink. But how many consumers [...]