General Election 2019: Conservatives on course for 1992-style victory, new poll finds December 4, 2019 The Conservatives are on course for a “small but workable” majority, as the party wins back middle class and middle-aged voters, according to a new poll seen exclusively by City A.M. Boris Johnson is most likely to return to parliament with a majority of between five and 30, giving him the chance of pressing ahead [...]
DEBATE: Are there any signs that UK retailers could be in for a merry Christmas this year? December 4, 2019 Are there any signs that UK retailers could be in for a merry Christmas this year? YES, says Nicholas Mazzei, a corporate social responsibility adviser. There has been much lamentation of the declining retail sector as a mark of our age, but this Christmas is looking to be very merry for retailers. Black Friday was [...]
Our divided country can’t even agree on who our enemies are December 4, 2019 Aristotle wrote that “a common danger unites even the bitterest enemies”. So what hope of unity is there for a nation where the very perceptions of danger become contested? Ahead of this week’s Nato meeting, the British Foreign Policy Group conducted a public opinion survey with pollsters at Opinium, exploring perceptions of the most pressing [...]
Let this dismal election spur us towards national renewal December 4, 2019 For political nerds, a club of which I confess to being a fully paid-up member, elections are usually times of great excitement. Yet this election is by far the most dismal I have ever experienced. My general feeling — matched, it feels, by much of the electorate — is one of deep, gnawing disappointment and [...]
GBP/USD: Sterling hits seven-month high as traders hope for Tory election victory December 4, 2019 The pound climbed to a seven-month high today as traders grew hopeful that the Conservatives would gain a majority at the upcoming General Election, bringing some certainty to the Brexit process. Sterling topped $1.306 this morning before falling back slightly. The GBP/USD exchange rate was 0.4 per cent higher by 10.15am at $1.304, a level [...]
UK economy sent ‘staggering’ as services sector shrinks ahead of election December 4, 2019 The UK services sector contracted last month at the fastest pace since March, survey data has shown, as domestic political uncertainty drove Brits to be cautious with their spending. The IHS Markit/Cips services purchasing managers’ index (PMI) fell to 49.3 in November, down from a score of 50 in October. Although the reading was above [...]
Moody’s downgrades outlook for UK banking system December 3, 2019 The UK banking system’s outlook has been downgraded by credit ratings agency Moody’s, after it cited a swathe of challenges facing lenders in the year ahead. Flagging the persistently low interest rate environment and a competitive mortgage market, Moody’s is forecasting a modest slide in profitability. Read more: Carney appointed UN climate envoy The agency [...]
General Election 2019: Lib Dems squeezed in London as Labour starts to fight back December 3, 2019 London’s swing voters are beginning to return to a resurgent Labour, with the Liberal Democrats starting to fade away, a new poll published today has revealed. Jeremy Corbyn’s party has clawed back eight points since November, to 47 per cent, while the Conservatives edged up one point to 30 per cent, according to a YouGov [...]
English pupils improve at maths in latest Pisa tests December 3, 2019 Pupils in England have shown a considerable improvement in mathematics, according to the latest Pisa test data released today. A new report from the Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) shows that 15-year-old pupils in England performed significantly better in maths in 2018 than in 2015. However, it also found that 66 per cent of [...]
Boris Johnson complaint over Channel 4 melting ice sculpture rejected by Ofcom December 3, 2019 There was nothing wrong with Channel 4’s use of a melting ice sculpture to represent Prime Minister Boris Johnson during its climate debate after he refused to turn up, according to Ofcom. Following the televised debate, the Conservative party lodged a complaint with the media regulator, but this has been rejected. Read more: BBC agrees [...]