UK unemployment falls again: How do other EU countries compare? February 19, 2015 The unemployment rate in the UK dropped again yesterday, falling to 5.7 per cent. The UK, like the United States and Germany, is lucky to have a growing workforce and luckier still to have growing wages. Across the European Union, countries are in far greater distress. Some, like Greece have very high unemployment: in Alexis [...]
Labour spin isn’t shot to pieces quite yet – Bottom Line February 18, 2015 Yesterday marked the 10th anniversary of the ban on fox hunting, but the positive economic news that came out had many wondering if Labour’s campaign fox had been shot. Good economic news is undoubtedly a boost for the coalition parties’ election hopes. This is particularly true of the Tories, who have put their “long-term economic [...]
Neil Kinnock: Mansion tax is just the cost of lunch for the “prosperous” February 18, 2015 Former Labour leader Neil Kinnock has dismissed fears that the so-called mansion tax would hurt the pockets of middle class Londoners, saying it was little more than they spend on lunch. The controversial policy being put forward by the shadow government would see a levy imposed on homes worth more than £2m. The [...]
In charts: Bonuses help push UK wage growth up to 2.1 per cent as unemployment falls February 18, 2015 The UK’s unemployment rate tumbled to 5.7 per cent between October and December, while growth in pay rose to its highest since 2013, according to "corking" figures published by the Office for National Statistics today. Pay leapt 0.4 percentage points to 2.1 per cent including bonuses, but slowed to 1.7 per cent excluding bonuses. The [...]
Record low inflation should not rule out a post-election rate rise February 17, 2015 The long-term view of UK inflation is much more positive than January’s figures suggest. Yesterday’s numbers showed that the UK inflation rate has fallen further – to 0.3 per cent. But the decline is showing signs of bottoming out – and temporary fluctuations should not distract us from this. Excluding food, drink, tobacco and energy, [...]
Lifelong Labour voters Ant & Dec can’t picture Ed Miliband as PM February 16, 2015 TV starrs Ant and Dec are getting ready to rumble over the General Election. The pair have given an interview that will turn Ed Miliband’s stomach more than taking part in a bushtucker trial. Anthony McPartlin said: “I voted Labour all my life, but last election I voted Tory because I was thoroughly disillusioned with [...]
General Election 2015: Businesses don’t actually hate Ed Miliband’s economic plan February 16, 2015 Labour may have come under fierce criticism for his approach to business (see "50p rate of tax") but it turns out the private sector wasn't totally turned off by Ed Miliband's latest proposals. Speaking to an audience at the Jaguar Land Rover factory in Wolverhampton (very "man of the people"), Miliband set out a raft [...]
General Election 2015: Three things we learned about Ed Miliband from his Obama strategist David Axelrod in his interview with the Guardian February 16, 2015 The man who helped get Obama elected and invented what’s probably the most famous political slogan of our times – “Yes We Can” – is on the campaign trail (sort of) with Ed Miliband as the Labour leader’s hot-shot election strategist. Miliband hired the political heavyweight David Axelrod as an adviser in a bid to [...]
Labour promises to keep corporation taxes low in bid to shed anti-business image February 16, 2015 Labour today promised to keep corporate taxes competitive should the party win the general election, but to shift the focus to small firms and workers. In a bid to counter the party’s anti-business image, Ed Miliband pledged to implement an industrial policy which he said would help firms of all sizes, as well as lower-paid [...]
Revamped Institute of Directors finds its voice in time for general election February 15, 2015 With its grand architecture, and seemingly arcane rules, the Institute of Directors (IoD) has often felt more like a gentleman’s club than a political body. However, under director general Simon Walker, the renowned business institution is getting a bit of a shake-up. Previously characterised as a rather safe organisation, the IoD has been far more [...]