Chelsea FC becomes first team to pay the living wage of £9.15 an hour in London December 11, 2014 Chelsea has become the first professional football club to be accredited as a Living Wage employer by the Living Wage Foundation, the club said yesterday. The accreditation means that from January, Chelsea will pay all its directly employed staff a living wage – £9.15 an hour in London and £7.85 outside the capital. The rate [...]
Conservative manifesto: Extending right-to-buy will transform the prospects of low income families April 14, 2015 The centrepiece of the Conservative Party manifesto, unveiled yesterday, was a significant expansion of the right-to-buy scheme. Giving families the ability to own their own home is a wonderful thing, and extending the scheme to housing associations, as the Conservatives propose, will certainly do that. The broad economic benefits of home ownership are well established, [...]
Boris Johnson praises Chelsea for becoming first Premier League club to adopt living wage December 11, 2014 London mayor Boris Johnson has praised Chelsea for becoming the first Premier League club to sign up to the living wage. The current league leaders have been accredited by the Living Wage Foundation which advises companies pay staff a minimum of £9.15 per hour in London and £7.85 per hour everywhere else. Workers [...]
Ed Miliband accuses British businesses of recruiting workers at “slave wages” January 5, 2015 Labour leader Ed Miliband has kicked off his party's election campaign with a major speech in Manchester setting out his party's offer to the British people. Miliband tackled many themes of his leadership, including the cost of living and the NHS. He also didn't make the mistake of forgetting to mention the deficit or immigration [...]
UK inflation falls to 0.3 per cent in January, its lowest since records began in 1989 February 17, 2015 UK inflation has fallen to its lowest level since equivalent records began in 1989, as plunging oil prices and a bitter supermarket price war push down the cost of living. The consumer price index (CPI) – which measures the cost of items in a typical family's shopping basket – rose just 0.3 per cent in January [...]
Why Brits shouldn’t brag about beating the French March 9, 2015 Brits seem on track to notch up two victories against historic rival France in 2015. Bookmakers have the English team finishing higher in the Six Nations rugby championship than France. The UK is also set to leapfrog France as the world’s fifth largest economy – the consequence of stronger growth and a rising pound. The [...]
Stricter immigration rules, lack of skills and red tape could stunt UK firms’ hiring plans December 21, 2014 UK firms are worried that a lack of skills, stricter immigration rules, and over-regulation could scupper their plans to expand next year. Business are looking to take on more workers with 50 per cent of firms planning to add to their headcount in 2015, according to survey data released today by the Confederation of British [...]
Businesses including PwC, KPMG and Axa back four-week limit on unpaid internships proposed by campaign group Intern Aware February 26, 2015 Some of the UK’s biggest businesses are backing a ban on internships which force young people to work for long periods of time without pay. Accountancy giants KPMG and PwC along with insurance firm Axa are putting their weight behind campaigner’s calls to place a four-week limit on internships which do not offer pay. Campaign [...]
SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon calls for boost to UK state spending February 11, 2015 As the Scottish First Minister sets out her election agenda, Chris Papadopoullos reports from University College London Scottish National Party (SNP) leader Nicola Sturgeon ventured to University College London (UCL) yesterday where she received the backing of loyalists and anti-cuts activists, as she laid out her election pledges. “I am impressed with Sturgeon thus far, [...]
Budget 2015 summary: Analysts, economists and think tanks give their verdict on Osborne March 18, 2015 George Osborne delivered a Budget stacked with facts, figures and policies intended to ward off Labour's cost of living offensive and get the electorate on side before May the reactions are already flooding in. Here is a sampling of analysts' reactions to the final set-piece event of the coalition government. BNP Paribas' Dominic Bryant gives [...]