Great stuff on the deficit; less good for UK businesses May 12, 2010 WE are only just into day three of the new government and already powerful themes are beginning to emerge. The policies announced yesterday can be divided into three categories: those that will address the crippling budget deficit and will therefore help stave off an immediate fiscal, sterling and gilts crisis; those that will boost competitiveness [...]
Business and King welcome spending cuts May 12, 2010 BANK OF ENGLAND governor Mervyn King yesterday hailed the new coalition government’s plans for an immediate £6bn cut in public spending to tackle Britain’s record peacetime deficit, saying it was imperative that Britain’s fiscal problems are dealt with sooner rather than later. Breaking from his traditional silence on fiscal policy, the governor said he had [...]
City balks at shock rise in Capital Gains May 12, 2010 THE City yesterday lashed out at the decision by the Conservative led coalition to increase Capital Gains Tax (CGT), warning that it would seriously inhibit investment. After the coalition government said CGT would be raised as part of a rejigging of the tax system Simon Walker, Chief executive of the British Private Equity and Venture [...]
CITY VIEWS: WILL THIS COALITION DELIVER A STABLE APPROACH TO FINANCIAL REFORM? May 12, 2010 ALEX PICKARD | PMI HEALTH GROUP “It remains to be seen what will happen as the coalition is made up of parties from opposite ends of the political spectrum. It’s now more a question of what they will compromise on. The Lib Dems want to look at capital gain tax increases, while the Tories want [...]
Meet the new PM May 11, 2010 DAVID CAMERON seized the reins of power last night, becoming the first Tory Prime Minister to cross the threshold of Number 10 in thirteen years. Flanked by wife Samantha outside Downing Street, Cameron addressed the country and announced he was inviting the Liberal Democrats into a “full and proper” coalition government. There were none of [...]
Prime Minister, your task will be truly immense May 11, 2010 WHEN Margaret Thatcher became Prime Minister in 1979, she quoted St Francis of Assisi on the steps of 10 Downing Street; after Tony Blair triumphed in 1997, he was greeted by Labour Party workers waving union jacks and a great wave of public optimism. David Cameron’s victory speech yesterday was far more somber and humble, [...]
New politics even worse than the old May 9, 2010 IF that’s the new politics, I already miss the old kind, warts and all. What we witnessed yesterday was embarrassing: groups of exhausted men meeting in secret locations in Whitehall; behind-the-scenes discussions about the future of the country, with everybody tearing up their manifesto promises; and all the while Gordon Brown, who has been humiliatingly [...]
SMEs looking for support at Westminster May 6, 2010 SMALL and medium-sized firms make up 99 per cent of all UK businesses, but although our nation relies on entrepreneurs to provide employment to millions of citizens, small firms have felt ignored by politicians during the election campaign and the economic downturn. A survey by accountancy firm Haines Watts, for which 650 business owners from [...]
Why Britain needs a Conservative government May 4, 2010 WE are now just one day away from the most important election for a generation. The country is at a crossroads: we have crawled out of recession but our prosperity faces its greatest threat since the 1970s. A discredited government and political establishment have presided over an out of control budget deficit and a bloated, [...]
A Lib-Lab coalition would be bad for business May 4, 2010 I can’t vote in this country, but I can pay tax, so I feel that that gives me some right to share with you my feelings and those of more than a hundred leading entrepreneurs in the UK as the election approaches. For entrepreneurs, a Liberal Democrat-Labour coalition would be disastrous for British business. The [...]