Queen’s Speech 2015: Here’s the full transcript May 27, 2015 My Lords and members of the House of Commons. My government will legislate in the interests of everyone in our country. It will adopt a one nation approach, helping working people get on, supporting aspiration, giving new opportunities to the most disadvantaged and bringing different parts of our country together. My government will [...]
UK house prices: Is this the return of the first-time buyer? April 23, 2015 As UK house prices have risen, so has the story of the death of the first-time buyer. New data suggests this despair may have come too soon, however. A third of people feel better placed to move home than they did 12 months ago, despite wage growth lagging far behind house price inflation. The figures [...]
National Waiters’ Day: Unions protest outside Pizza Express, Grosvenor House Marriot Hotel over low pay May 21, 2015 Waiting staff are out on protest today in central London over low pay and claims that Pizza Express management are “pocketing an estimated £1m that should go to poorly paid staff”. Unite the union is organising the event, which began at midday on National Waiters' Day, outside the Leicester Square branch of Pizza Express. [...]
London house prices: Capital homes increasingly unaffordable April 19, 2015 Homes in London have become drastically less affordable under the current government, according to a new report published today. A consumer’s capacity to buy a home in the capital is now 77 per cent worse than it was in 2010, according to the latest Ability to Buy index from the estate agent Hamptons International. London [...]
Here’s where the UK ranks among the world’s happiest economies March 3, 2015 While many in the UK are still waiting to see a real increase in their living standards after years of stagnating wages, mediocre growth and high taxes things may not be as dreary as they seem. According to Bloomberg's misery index the UK is one of best economies in the world. With plummeting unemployment and [...]
General Election 2015: Why I will be voting Labour, by Simon Franks May 6, 2015 As a nation, today we need to decide which party is most likely to deliver the kind of society we want. The society I want is balanced, dynamic, outward looking, just, entrepreneurial, and meritocratic. A society full of opportunities for all, regardless of where you live, what your parents do, or what type of school [...]
David Cameron is right: We should balance the budget without tax hikes April 29, 2015 The Prime Minister pledged yesterday to introduce a law to prevent increases in income tax, national insurance and VAT for the whole of the next Parliament. While a law may be a crude tool, it does reinforce two crucial points. First, deficit reduction should come primarily from reductions in public spending rather than further tax [...]
General Election 2015: Here are the Labour party’s five pledges March 14, 2015 Ed Miliband has revealed five electoral pledges with which the Labour party will fight the general election in May. The party will be focusing on cementing the economy recovery, ensuring that everyone can benefit from it, improving NHS and immigration policy, as well as improving the prospects of young people. At a Birmingham rally he [...]
Ed Miliband: David Cameron’s divided party is now a clear and present danger to UK business March 29, 2015 ELECTION COUNTDOWN 38 DAYS TO GO Today the Prime Minister is going to Buckingham Palace. Parliament is dissolved and the General Election is finally underway. This election is not simply a choice between parties and leaders but between different visions of our country, of how we succeed, of the kind of country we [...]
Mythbusting Nigel Farage: Why immigration doesn’t erode social cohesion and trust April 6, 2015 The political scientist Robert Putnam famously found that Americans “hunker down” in the face of social diversity, doing less in the community and trusting people less – even their own compatriots. When Nigel Farage suggested that one reason kids tend not to play on the street nowadays was immigration, he was voicing a common concern: [...]