Boots chief executive: Miliband government would be a “catastrophe” February 1, 2015 Ed Miliband's credibility with business leaders has been dealt yet another blow after the chief executive of one of the most-well known companies in Britain said a Miliband government would be a "catastrophe". Stefano Pessina, the head of Boots told the Sunday Telegraph: If they (Labour) acted as they speak, it would be a catastrophe. [...]
From the LSE Gaddafi scandal to RBS: Sir Howard Davies’ comeback is nearly complete February 23, 2015 With Westminster being rocked by new cash for access revelations, now is a pertinent moment to pose the following question: How long does it take to bounce back from a scandal? Time can be a great healer of reputations, yet some people in the public eye fail to recover from a hit to their standing. [...]
As it receives a mauling in the House of Lords, will tax credit cuts be this government’s poll tax? October 26, 2015 Tim Farron, leader of the Liberal Democrats, says Yes The Conservative Party’s cuts to tax credits are as misguided as their attempts to bring in the poll tax. This is effectively a tax rise targeted towards millions of the lowest paid people in our country. And remember, these people are doing the right thing – [...]
Revealed: The Treasury’s key role in the UK’s EU policy – and why it matters now January 6, 2015 Living up to its billing as the perennial “awkward partner” of Europe, Britain is once again articulating its unease with European economic integration. And previous decades contain plenty of examples of where defiant rhetoric has been swiftly followed by defiant action. The common explanation for this frequent uncommunautaire behaviour has been that UK governments have [...]
Gimme 5: Upcoming events for entrepreneurs November 24, 2014 TEN Power Lunch with Nick Hungerford How tech entrepreneurs can disrupt financial services Free event with The Entrepreneurs Network and the co-founder and chief executive of Nutmeg. 4 December, 12.45pm to 2.15pm www.tenentrepreneurs.org UCL Advances Sales Strategy Workshop Teaching the crucial steps you must take to create a powerful sales strategy for your business, [...]
George Osborne heads to Brussels to argue against £1.7bn EU bill November 6, 2014 George Osborne is today expected to argue that the UK will not accept an instalment deal to pay the £1.7bn bill Brussels has demanded in full over the course of 2015, after a spokesman for the Prime Minister said that this would be “unacceptable”. The chancellor has been sent to negotiate a reduction in the [...]
Ros Altmann: The savers’ champion talks pension reform, QE, and the pension annuities bombshell March 26, 2015 "I was gobsmacked.” Ros Altmann summarises her reaction to the Budget last year, when the chancellor first outlined his dramatic plans to bring pension freedoms to all. On the afternoon of that Budget day, Altmann, a pensions expert and campaigner, adviser to successive governments, and investment manager and economist, could barely contain her excitement when [...]
Lord Myners’ report into Royal Mail mustn’t get lost in the post November 5, 2014 It's the privatisation row that won’t go away. Royal Mail’s shares may have performed limply since their post-flotation peak earlier this year, but their initial surge makes it a safe bet that the sell-off will feature heavily during next year’s general election campaign. Two reports – from the National Audit Office and the Business [...]
Alistair Darling warns of economic woes if tax powers are devolved to Scotland November 24, 2014 Plans to devolve full tax and welfare powers to Scotland could lead to higher borrowing costs for the UK, according to Alistair Darling. The Labour MP and former chancellor, who led the “Better Together” campaign in the run up to the independence vote on 18 September, said in the FT that giving Scotland full control [...]
Inflation set to stay low for up to three years November 12, 2014 THE BANK of England (BoE) yesterday shifted its expectations of a first rate hike to late 2015 as it forecast inflation to stay below target until 2017. The UK’s economic growth was predicted to slow in 2015 to 2.9 per cent after forecasting 3.5 per cent growth for the whole of 2014. Weak growth in [...]