Blame the Green Belt for Britain’s dire housing crisis: Reform is long overdue January 13, 2015 The UK, and particularly London, is in the midst of what should be seen as a housing crisis. According to LSE professor Paul Cheshire, new build houses are about 40 per cent bigger in the Netherlands and 38 per cent bigger in Germany than they are in England. And yet housing goes for 45 per [...]
Osborne: Labour and Ukip will drag UK into decline May 20, 2014 THE CHANCELLOR George Osborne will deliver a stinging attack on Labour and Ukip in a speech later today, warning of job losses, falling wages and price rises if the parties’ anti-business agendas are allowed to win out in 2015. Addressing the Confederation of British Industry, Osborne is expected to take aim at Ed Miliband’s economic [...]
The real reason you should be depressed by political soundbites April 7, 2014 POLITICAL sound-bites can be excruciating. They hang around for a year or two before disappearing when they become untenable. Who can forget Labour’s “too far, too fast”, or the Conservatives’ “global race”? With just over a year to go before the general election, you’ll be depressed to hear the current offerings look entrenched. The Conservatives [...]
Amazing Spaces’ George Clarke on how to deal with empty homes March 12, 2015 Last week, over a thousand City workers stood at the bottom of Tower 42’s monumental staircase and thought, “Why did I sign up for this?” Joining them was City A.M.’s digital team and architect-turned-TV personality George Clarke, who reached the top of the skyscraper in a very respectable nine minutes and 29 seconds, all in [...]
UK closes in on full £4.5bn repayment from IceSave December 18, 2014 The remains of failed bank Landsbanki yesterday paid another £1.36bn to the UK government, returning money that the Treasury paid out during the financial crisis. Landsbanki’s online UK arm IceSave had attracted deposits from 230,000 Britons through attractive interest rates, with firms, councils and savers putting their cash into the accounts. But when it crashed, [...]
Letters to the Editor – 02/05 – Inflation spike, Rent controls, Best of Twitter May 1, 2014 Inflation spike [Re: How the Goldilocks recovery will trigger a sharp inflation rise, Wednesday] I would love to be Andrew Lilico’s bookmaker, as he’s agreed to a £1 to £1 bet against the odds. But I do agree with his analysis that there is little spare capacity in the UK. The underlying rate of growth [...]
Households are full of hope now inflation is falling April 16, 2014 Politicians are tiptoeing around the news that wages are growing faster than inflation – nobody wants to be first to say the cost of living crisis is over, after years of soaring prices. But households themselves expect to feel better off over the next year, just in time for the election. People don’t feel better [...]
Letters to the Editor – 23/04 – Labour’s spending, The West’s decline, Best of Twitter April 22, 2014 Labour’s spending [Re: The cost of living crisis isn’t over – but Ed Miliband still won’t solve it, yesterday] It is difficult to see how Labour intends to deal with high childcare costs, while also promising to raise the national minimum wage or introduce a (much higher) living wage. Unless the intention is just to [...]
Blame the coalition for rising childcare costs: London’s mayor must get a grip January 14, 2015 I’m A dad to two wonderful teenage daughters, so I know that being a parent in London can be challenging. Like most Londoners, my job is hectic. I often leave home before my girls are up in the morning, and in the evening, votes and constituency meetings mean I don’t get home till late. My [...]
Budget 2015: Here are George Osborne’s best quotes plus his Budget speech in full March 18, 2015 George Osborne's final Budget during this parliament had few surprises but plenty of great quips, including – to the dismay of bookies everywhere – a quip about Ed Miliband's now-infamous second kitchen. Here's a selection of our favourites from today's big speech. (Source: Getty/City A.M.) (Source: Getty/City A.M) (Source: Getty/City A.M.) [...]