Did Ivan Massow just become London’s most honest candidate for the 2016 Mayoral election? May 18, 2015 The race to replace Boris Johnson as Mayor just got interesting, after entrepreneur Ivan Massow launched his campaign – in disarmingly honest style. Read more: Who's the next Boris? The runners and riders for the London Mayor election In a video published on YouTube, Massow – known for his outspoken manner – introduced himself, "warts [...]
Nigel Farage’s unresignation, Mayoral candidates and the Avon lady’s funny turn: Here’s what got us talking this week May 15, 2015 It was the week we dealt with the fallout of the election – including the coining of the phrase “doing a Farage” (aka “taking an extra day off to prolong the weekend”). What got us talking this week 1. Barage of Farage Some called it Ukip’s Easter (“on the third day, he rose again”), [...]
It’s baffling that Labour didn’t make more of QE in its election campaign May 15, 2015 George Osborne's management of the economy has been credited with winning the Conservatives the election. Despite repeated criticism and warnings of the dire economic consequences of his austerity policies from adversaries, he continued on. The Labour leadership majored on this theme in the first few years in opposition. In the early days of the [...]
London property prices: Check out how much outdoor space can add to the value of your home May 15, 2015 You can't put a price on fresh air – unless it's in London, that is, in which case the price of fresh air is about 12 per cent of your property's value, according to research from Marsh & Parsons. The estate agent reckons a bit of outdoor space – ie. a roof terrace or balcony [...]
Fishing for hearts and minds: What the political parties should do to rebuild their tattered reputations May 15, 2015 So now the election has been won and lost, we can finally start talking about something else – or can we? The thing that interested me most about the days immediately after the campaign had ended was how swiftly the parties moved from winning votes to building bridges. The slightly tricky thing for the [...]
Shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna withdraws from Labour leadership race May 15, 2015 Labour shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna has withdrawn from the race for Labour leadership, he said today. In a statement posted on his Twitter account, the Streatham MP said he had "not found [the leadership race] to be a comfortable experience". "One can imagine what running for leader can be like, understand its demands and [...]
UK household wealth increased by 20 per cent to £9 trillion last year, driven by property prices and financial assets May 15, 2015 Plunging oil prices and the supermarket price war might be bad for the businesses involved – but for consumers, the overall effect has been a massive positive. In fact, new research has suggested UK households' total wealth increased by £1.5 trillion to £9 trillion last year. That's a rise of just under 20 per cent. [...]
BT share price edges down as Ofcom outlines measures to open fibre networks May 15, 2015 Shares in BT opened almost one per cent lower at 461.65p this morning, after it was revealed regulator Ofcom could force it to open some of its fibre-optic lines to rivals. However, these falls were later clawed back, with shares trading at 463.9p, 0.24 per cent down, an hour later. The regulator said the measures [...]
The Shard just let another 20,000 sq ft of office space to a recruiter May 15, 2015 The Shard may be one of the most recognisable buildings in London, but since its official opening in 2012, office rentals at the building have come in more of a trickle than a gush. But today the building's owners announced its latest letting: 20,200 sq ft of space on the 10th storey will go to [...]
EU migration rules: This is how resettled refugees would be allocated to each country May 13, 2015 This morning the European Commission outlined its emergency migration measures, designed to reduce the number of people making their way across the Mediterranean on boats. The plans included four "pillars" to stem the flow of people making the perilous journey, including a resettlement programme, funded with €50m of EU money, under which as many as [...]
