UK house prices: Home ownership falls for first time in over a century as renting soared June 19, 2015 The UK experienced its first fall in home ownership in a century between 2001 and 2011, according to data from the Office of National Statistics. Some 64 per cent of the 23.4m households in England and Wales were owner-occupied in 2011 – down from 69 per cent in 2001. Rented households accounted for 36 per cent [...]
Nicola Sturgeon calls for devolved government leaders to have input into EU renegotiation June 19, 2015 Nicola Sturgeon, first minister of Scotland, has demanded that her views should be heard in David Cameron's renegotiation talks with the EU. As the Prime Minister continues his discussions with EU leaders in a diplomatic blitz of Europe, Sturgeon called for a "forum" which would allow the administrations of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to [...]
London mayor race: Tessa Jowell says age is her advantage June 19, 2015 Dame Tessa Jowell believes age is her advantage in the race to become London mayor, saying she could not have done the job "with confidence" earlier in her life. Read more: Who has declared in the race to succeed Boris Johnson? Jowell drew parallels between herself and Hillary Clinton's bid for the White House in America, saying: [...]
Labour leadership race: Poll shows Burnham is slight favourite as 6 pc of party supporters back fake candidate June 18, 2015 Andy Burnham is the slight favourite to become the next leader of the Labour party, as he is preferred by 15 per cent of people. An Ipsos Mori poll shows that 14 per cent of British adults support Yvette Cooper as the next Labour leader – just one percentage point behind Burnham. A fake candidate [...]
EU president says compromise is needed as he discusses “controversial” reforms with David Cameron June 18, 2015 The president of the EU has said that compromise is needed as Cameron pressed on with his plans to renegotiate Britain's relationship with Europe. President Martin Schulz met the Prime Minister at Downing Street, as Cameron continued his bid to court European leaders. He later hosted Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny. Mr Schulz said there were [...]
First Minister’s Questions: Nicola Sturgeon faces questions on poor NHS waiting times June 18, 2015 Scotland's First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, faced questions on NHS waiting times in today's session of First Minister's Questions. Sturgeon answered questions on A&E waiting times from Labour MSP Iain Gray. Gray said that the SNP missed its four hours target for the 296th week in a row, and asked why things were particularly bad in [...]
Select committee results announced as Keith Vaz regains Home Affairs chair and Meg Hillier takes public accounts June 18, 2015 The results of the select committee elections have been announced as 26 chairs have been elected to the influential parliamentary positions. No ballot was necessary for 11 committees, where there was just one candidate for each chair. These include the two committees that will be controlled by the SNP, Scottish Affairs and Energy and Climate [...]
Internet sales account for 11.5 per cent of retail as total spent online falls in May June 18, 2015 People in the UK spent £733m online in May 2015, down from £755.5 in April, data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) has revealed. Internet purchases accounted for 11.5 per cent of total sales in the UK for the month, which totaled £6.4 trillion. While the month-on-month figure was down, people in the UK spent 7.7 [...]
Labour leadership race: Candidates clash over business as Kendall urges party to back “wealth creation” June 18, 2015 The four candidates in the race to succeed Ed Miliband as leader of the Labour party have clashed over the party's relationship with business in the first televised debate. Andy Burnham, the favourite in the race, said that Labour had to be the party that helped "everyone get on in life". Asked if a budget [...]
South England employment rate drives boost – while Northern Ireland and the north east lag behind June 17, 2015 South east and south east England have the highest employment rates in the UK, while Northern Ireland and north east England lagged behind. Figures released by the Office of National Statistics reveal that 31m people in the UK were in employment in April 2015, forcing the unemployment rate down to 5.5 per cent nationally. Meanwhile, wage [...]
