General Election 2015: What are the parties tweeting about? April 9, 2015 Voters may complain about a certain homogeneity, but there are clear differences between Westminster's biggest parties in the first week of campaigning – according to their Twitter accounts, at least. In the week since the leaders' debate, the Conservatives, Labour and the Liberal Democrats have each tried to steer the General Election conversation in their own [...]
How the City of London is making millions selling off roads for redevelopment April 9, 2015 The City of London has made over £10m from the sale of roads in the last four years – in attempts to facilitate redevelopment in the capital's business district. Figures obtained through a freedom of information request show that between 2010-11 and 2013-14, the City sold nine plots of "surplus highway land", raking in a [...]
Which party is the most expensive to campaign for? (Spoiler: If you’re a Ukip candidate, you’re going to be out of pocket) April 2, 2015 Ever thought about going on the campaign trail for the general election? Campaigning costs money, and parties are seeking cash from their grassroots supporters. We looked into how much it costs to buy a couple of pieces of party-themed merchandise – a rosette, a t-shirt and a mug. The Labour party is the cheapest party [...]
London’s fire hotspots: Tower Hamlets is the worst borough for fire engine callouts April 2, 2015 As the Holborn fire knocked out much of central London's power supply yesterday, many Londoners experienced disruption as 2,000 people were evacuated from the nearby area. But its borough, Camden, is not even one of the 10 worst London boroughs for fires in 2015. Tower Hamlets is the worst, with the fire service being called out to 153 incidents [...]
Think Meerkat’s growth is impressive? These are the fastest growing social apps March 26, 2015 Meerkat, the new live video streaming app that launched just a month ago, is enjoying strong growth after its latest deal valued it at approximately $40m. Silicon Valley venture capitalists have helped Meerkat raise millions of dollars in new funding. It was led by Greylock Partners, which has previously backed the likes of Facebook, Instagram [...]
One in three Twitter users have changed their vote because of a tweet March 19, 2015 Social media could prove essential in the general election, with research showing that a third of Twitter users aged 18-34 have changed their vote because of something they have seen on Twitter. Some 83 per cent of Twitter users said they were going to vote – dropping to 74 per cent among users aged 18-34. This is significantly higher [...]
One chart showing how much the finance sector dominates the FTSE 100 March 19, 2015 The FTSE 100 is dominated by companies in the financial and retail sectors, with these making up 43 per cent of the UK’s top companies. There are 23 FTSE 100 companies in the financials sector – which includes 10 in insurance and five in banking. The largest of these companies is HSBC, with a market [...]
UK boys leave girls behind in maths and science March 12, 2015 Girls in the UK are getting left behind by their male counterparts in science and maths, according to new research. Despite girls performing well in reading, the United Kingdom fails to give them adequate education in science and mathematics. The gender gap in science education is particularly poor, with the UK being among the worst [...]
Mapped: The world’s biggest tax havens February 12, 2015 After the news that HSBC's Swiss private banking arm helped customers evade millions of pounds in tax, the news that Switzerland is the world's biggest tax haven will be unsurprising. The Financial Secrecy Index, which is completed by the Tax Justice Network and ranks the world's 82 largest tax havens, is based on two factors [...]
Married couples are the UK’s happiest people – but money worries put strain on relationships February 12, 2015 With Valentine's Day just around the corner, it's fitting that new figures published today show 84.4 per cent of those in married or civil partnerships said they were "happy" in 2014. When asked to rank life satisfaction out of 10, 32 per cent of married people gave an answer of nine or 10. This compares with 26 [...]
