Five radical ideas for the new London mayor’s to do list, including car-sharing, devolution and the green belt March 15, 2016 In the fifteen years since five million Londoners chose Ken Livingstone as their first directly-elected mayor, Greater London has been transformed. The capital’s population has grown by one-fifth, and today London’s reputation as a global centre for finance and business is complemented by world-class universities, a rapidly expanding visitor economy, and growing tech, creative industries [...]
Memo from business to politicians: Don’t let the EU referendum paralyse real governing February 24, 2016 So now it’s official. Britain’s politicians and opinion-formers will spend the next four months in hyper-drive, as they seek to convince the public of the case to leave or remain in the European Union. Many Westminster-watchers have already cleared the decks, reasoning that little else will get done while megaphone diplomacy, claims, and counter-claims dominate the [...]
Treasury is considering giving more powers to Bank of England over the buy-to-let market December 17, 2015 The Treasury is looking for feedback on giving the Bank of England more powers to control the housing market. Treasury officials announced today that they have opened a new consultation on the powers the Bank should have over the UK buy-to-let mortgage market in particular. The Bank's financial policy committee (FPC) is responsible for identifying, monitoring [...]
Weak FTSE index should give Osborne sleepless nights December 14, 2015 How many people, back in January, were predicting that the FTSE 100 index would start with a “5” come December? Certainly not the experts at one leading bank (we’ll grant anonymity… for now) who forecast a reading close to 8,000, or its more restrained peers who thought the blue-chip index would be in the low-to-mid [...]
MPs raise new concerns around the funding of local authority care provision December 2, 2015 The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has raised concerns about the funding of local authority care services in a new report due out today. The report, which reviews how the Care Act has been implemented so far, warns that “carers and the people they care for may not get the services they need because of continuing [...]
Autumn Statement 2015 roundup: From London Help-to-Buy to potholes, here’s everything the chancellor announced today November 25, 2015 There weren’t many surprises in today’s Autumn Statement – from housing to the Northern Powerhouse, we were fairly well-versed in the measures included. Indeed, shadow chancellor John McDonnell’s decision to quote Mao ZeDong in the Commons may have been more eyebrow-raising than any of George Osborne’s measures. Landlords once again found themselves punished, with a new three [...]
UK’s pension system is still lagging behind: landmark freedoms have not gone far enough say critics October 22, 2015 Sweeping reforms to the UK pension system do not go far enough, according to an international report that says Britain fares badly compared to many peer countries. Despite recent changes, the UK's public and state pensions remain "almost entirely unfunded", say analysts from the Melbourne Mercer Global Pensions Index (MMGPI), while the basic state pension [...]
Treasury and Financial Conduct Authority open consultation to improve financial advice October 13, 2015 The Treasury and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) have opened a consultation into what can be done to improve people’s access to financial advice. Financial advisers and members of the public have until just before Christmas to tell the government and the regulator what they think should be done differently, they said yesterday. The FCA has faced criticism in [...]
Network Rail could be privatised, says HS1 boss Nicola Shaw September 20, 2015 Network Rail could be speeding towards future as a private company, after the boss brought in to shake up the company following serious failures said privatisation was "on the table". "It can't not be" said Nicola Shaw, speaking to the BBC, about the future prospects of Network Rail, which is responsible for the upkeep of [...]
The government must understand the impact of the bank surcharge before it goes any further September 7, 2015 The tax policy of the UK government for the banking sector has changed dramatically over the last three administrations, with very little consultation or detailed impact assessment. Labour introduced a bankers bonus tax; the coalition focused primarily on the bank levy; and, in the summer Budget, the current Conservative government announced a slow and [...]