2015 General Election promises under the microscope: IFS tears into the top party’s manifestos April 23, 2015 The political parties’ manifestos were given a thorough going-over by independent think tank, the Institute for Fiscal studies yesterday. The researchers who conducted the analysis on the proposals from the Conservatives, Labour, Liberal Democrats and Scottish National Party (SNP) indicated that there are large and genuine differences between their offerings. However, all the [...]
Budget deficit drops but pre-General Election growth could disappoint Tories April 23, 2015 Chancellor George Osborne received a budgetary boost yesterday as figures revealed the government had cut the budget deficit, but weak retail sales could hit a key economic growth figure in the run up to the General Election. Government borrowing – as measured by the public sector net borrowing requirement excluding public sector banks – totalled [...]
David Cameron urges City workers: Labour-SNP coalition would be toxic for Britain – don’t put UK’s economic recovery at risk April 23, 2015 We have less than two weeks to save our economy. Stark, but true. At this election, the difference in economic policy on offer is more marked than it has been for a generation. The Conservative offer is clear: a continuation of the long-term economic plan that is turning our country around. Last year we were [...]
The parties’ deficit plans all miss a crucial element: A clear vision for growth April 23, 2015 If you have been following the election campaign so far, you will have heard all the main parties sign up to cutting the deficit. We have been assured over and over that there are plans to tackle and tame the deficit monster. There have been long-term plans, costed plans, credible plans, sensible plans, and fair [...]
London barometer: Home buyers and sellers shrug off General Election uncertainty April 23, 2015 It appears that buyers and sellers are getting bored of political uncertainty and this is reflected in the consistent flow of properties coming to the market. Perhaps this will come as a surprise to many people, but the number of offers being agreed is what we’d usually expect at this time of the year. [...]
London house prices: Could the General Election outcome send the wealthy packing? April 23, 2015 London has a unique property market. Prime and emerging-prime areas of London are driven by people who move to larger and “better” located properties not because they really need to, but because they want to. Nothing soothes a burgeoning ego more than an SW3 postcode. Political rhetoric aimed at plundering this – apparently under-taxed – [...]
General Election 2015: Austerity “would last longer under SNP” – IFS April 23, 2015 Austerity would last longer if the Scottish National Party’s (SNP) spending plans were followed, the independent Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) revealed this morning. At points, their proposed squeeze on public spending would also be tighter than others. In an extensive pre-election document comparing the fiscal plans of the Conservatives, Labour, the Liberal [...]
Voters back up Nigel Farage and say media are most biased against Ukip April 23, 2015 A plurality of British voters think the media is much more likely to be biased against Ukip than any other major political party. The media has often made great play of gaffes and inappropriate remarks made by Ukip politicians and members. However, Ukip consistently points out that the media rarely reports similar offences committed by [...]
IFS: Labour leaves door open to borrowing £90bn more than the Conservatives April 23, 2015 The independent Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has published its analysis of several of the parties' manifestos. The Conservatives, Labour, Lib Dems and the SNP all came in for scrutiny from the think tank – although Ukip and the Greens were left off the list. The IFS' numbers show a substantial difference between the major [...]
Don’t let the politicians mess up your pension April 23, 2015 It can often feel like politicians are only there to get in our way. The coming General Election brings with it a host of sizeable risks – whether the threat of damaging new interventions in markets, the prospect of months of confidence-sapping uncertainty over the stability of the next government, or the possibility that a [...]