Tory MoneySupermarket Budget is the best foil to Labour’s Wonga economics March 17, 2014 AHEAD of the last Budget before the 2015 election, Britain’s political battle lines are being carved out. Voters will be tempted by alternative menus combining less debt, higher spending and lower taxes. Since no party can credibly offer more than two of the three, the Conservatives’ best chance of winning is to demonstrate that trimming [...]
Can you handle these 3 facts on immigration? March 5, 2014 Last night, a Newsnight report claimed the publication of a much-anticipated cross-governmental report on immigration has been put off by Downing Street, because it points to immigration having a smaller impact than the government claims. The BBC's detailed how Number 10 sources have said the report isn’t ready for release, but how, according to officials, [...]
Britain is in debt to a new generation of foreign entrepreneurs | City A.M. March 5, 2014 IMMIGRANTS are good for jobs. Yes, you’ve read that right: even though much of the public believes that migrants depress the labour market, the truth is that foreign entrepreneurs are actually responsible for a great number of British jobs. Without these migrants, there would actually be fewer opportunities for locals and far fewer start-ups – [...]
Britain is in debt to a new generation of foreign entrepreneurs March 4, 2014 IMMIGRANTS are good for jobs. Yes, you’ve read that right: even though much of the public believes that migrants depress the labour market, the truth is that foreign entrepreneurs are actually responsible for a great number of British jobs. Without these migrants, there would actually be fewer opportunities for locals and far fewer start-ups – [...]
Wage growth gains pace yet jobless rate ticks up February 19, 2014 THE UNEMPLOYMENT rate edged up slightly in the final three months of last year, yet official figures released yesterday painted a positive picture for the labour market including signs of a pick-up in wage growth. Total pay in the October-December period was up 1.1 per cent compared to a year earlier. Yet the figure for the [...]
Europe has reached a turning point – we now need to rescue it from the EU February 17, 2014 THE COMING European Parliament elections could be a turning point: our moment to save Europe from the EU. But for that to happen, Europeans must realise the real future they face under the current system, and the risks involved in underestimating Brussels. I have been interested in politics since I was a kid, and that [...]
Poorest hit hardest by inflation February 9, 2014 Soaring inflation in recent years has hit those on the lowest incomes harder than those at the top, the Living Wage Commission said in a report out today. Weekly spending by the lowest paid 10 per cent rose by 43 per cent from 2003 to 2012, the report found. Over the same period the national [...]
In 3 charts: The UK jobs recovery has a dark side January 30, 2014 Despite a recent and rapid drop in the UK’s unemployment rate, an international comparison by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) today recalls the dismal aspects of the UK labour market. The recent drop in unemployment for the UK is certainly impressive, especially in comparison to stubbornly high Eurozone unemployment rates. British unemployment plunged from [...]
The main winners from Help to Buy? Rich men in London January 23, 2014 Nearly 40 per cent of would-be homeowners under the age of 40 are planning to apply for the government's controversial Help To Buy scheme in 2014, according to research from Experian Consumer Services. In November, Halifax and RBS reported strong interest in the first phase of Help to Buy receiving more than 2,000 applications in [...]
Minimum wage to rise by 11pc January 16, 2014 Business warns Osborne’s move could jeopardise the recovery GEORGE Osborne has given the strongest hint yet that he wants to see the minimum wage increased to £7, despite urging caution earlier this month. The chancellor told the BBC that he would like to see an above-inflation rise in the minimum wage, currently set at £6.31 [...]