Autumn Statement 2015: No, Mr Osborne, this is not a crisis of home ownership, it’s a housing crisis – where was the pledge to fix the rental market? November 25, 2015 The chancellor thinks we’re in the middle of a home ownership crisis. We're not, we're in the middle of a housing crisis. At least the Conservatives are consistent. Their one-track focus on home ownership and home ownership alone as the only solution for the UK’s housing crisis never wavers. Despite that the Conservatives still had [...]
The Treasury is now refusing to commit to a £9 hourly living wage by 2020 November 28, 2016 The Treasury is refusing to commit to a £9 national living wage within four years, just days after the OBR downgraded its forecasts for UK growth. The OBR predicted that the UK would need £60bn of extra borrowing over five years, and warned that earnings are no longer expected to reach the levels needed to [...]
Autumn Statement 2015 wishlist: Business owners want George Osborne to address business rates, apprenticeships, funding and the EU referendum November 18, 2015 Dear George, A combination of events in Paris and signs of a slowdown in GDP growth signals a sombre setting for next week’s Autumn Statement. So what can we SMEs – the powerhouse of the UK economy – realistically ask you to deliver? It won’t surprise you to hear that bad news notwithstanding, we won’t be lowering our [...]
Autumn Statement 2015: HMRC corporate tax overreach risks Britain’s business-friendly reputation unless George Osborne acts November 24, 2015 Five years may not be very long in many contexts, but in that time the tax world has changed significantly. The coalition’s Corporate Tax Roadmap, published in November 2010, declared that it wanted to create “the most competitive corporate tax regime in the G20”. In doing so, it highlighted four key ways in which the [...]
Global fintech venture capital soars to $15.2bn as UK market swings back into action post-Brexit vote November 16, 2016 Global fintech venture capital soared in the first three quarters of the year, as the UK market perks up again post-Brexit vote. Worldwide VC investment in the first three quarters of the year was up by 27 per cent year-on-year, with 839 deals completed in the first nine months of the year, with a combined [...]
The Trump-Hammond-Keynesian consensus is wrong: Higher infrastructure spending does not equal greater growth November 14, 2016 To a man with a hammer, everything looks like a nail. Or when it comes to the UK economy: to an economist who believed in fiscal stimulus in 2011, every period of time looks like an opportunity for more government spending. In the aftermath of Donald Trump’s victory last week, even his most vociferous left-leaning economic critics [...]
Transatlantic divide in oil and gas companies leaves European firms better prepared to weather low-carbon economy than those from US November 22, 2016 European oil and gas majors are significantly more prepared for a low-carbon future than their US counterparts, according to CDP. A shift towards gas, investments in alternative energy sources and wider climate governance has created a transatlantic divide, a report from the not-for-profit group, which works with corporations to disclose their carbon emissions, found. In an [...]
Did Theresa May’s “pro business” CBI speech do enough to reassure British companies? November 21, 2016 Simon Walker, director general of the Institute of Directors, says Yes. Businesses were feeling a bit unsure of how the Prime Minister viewed them after her speech to Conservative Party Conference last month, but she struck exactly the right tone yesterday, emphasising her support for entrepreneurs, innovators and free markets. Mrs May has been keen [...]
Brexit buffer: Mark Carney pushes to stay in Single Market until at least 2021 November 27, 2016 Mark Carney is working on plans for a Brexit buffer period, to allow the UK to stay in the Single Market for at least two years after leaving the EU. Many in the City have voiced concerns their businesses are facing a cliff edge after the UK leaves the EU, where rights currently enjoyed would be [...]
Over three quarters of UK subcontractors don’t benefit from national infrastructure projects November 21, 2016 With Philip Hammond's first Autumn Statement on the horizon, the general expectation is that it'll be an infrastructure-laden announcement. And UK subcontractors are among many hoping they'll get some attention. Over three quarters (78 per cent) don't benefit from national infrastructure projects, according to new research from specialist funder Bibby Financial Services (BFS). Helen Wheeler, managing director [...]