General Election 2015: David Cameron, Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg on how they’re going to solve the housing crisis (and which is their favourite room) April 23, 2015 House prices are too high and there aren't enough homes on the market, a new – not altogether surprising – study has suggested. But with an election just days away, property search giant Rightmove, which conducted the research, decided to take it to the leaders of each party to see what they're going to do [...]
Have UK government borrowing figures just given Osborne a pre-election boost? April 23, 2015 Chancellor George Osborne just received a pre-election boost after official figures released today showed he met his target for lowering the country's budget deficit in the 2014/15 financial year. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said public sector net borrowing, which fills the hole between spending and revenues, fell to £7.4bn in March, down 5.6 percent [...]
Happy St George’s Day: Why another bank holiday would be a terrible idea April 23, 2015 Happy St George's Day. Today people across England will celebrate the country's rich history – not to mention a plethora of weird and wonderful traditions that make up this vibrant culture. But lest we forget amid the merriment: we are in the middle of a General Election. No good time will be allowed to pass [...]
The final countdown: Should we fear the outcome of the most tightly fought election for a generation? April 23, 2015 The UK is approaching the most unpredictable General Election for a generation. In our increasingly fractured political landscape, there is no clear frontrunner between Labour and the Conservatives, while a surge of support for the UK Independence Party, Scotland’s SNP and the Green Party has complicated the picture further. Many commentators have voiced concerns over [...]
Behold the era of market meddling: Whoever wins the General Election, the age of intervention is upon us April 23, 2015 In the run up to every General Election, the business community voices its concerns over what a Labour government would mean for UK plc. There is the regular letter to The Telegraph, signed by 100 business leaders, in a show of support for the Conservatives. There is much worry, and some hysteria too. Many readers [...]
General Election 2015: KPMG chairman Simon Collins wants more focus on business and a long-term housing strategy April 22, 2015 ELECTION COUNTDOWN: 14 DAYS TO GO Every day until the final week of the election campaign, we ask a business leader to say what policies would entice them to vote for a particular party. SIMON COLLINS: CHAIRMAN, KPMG ■ My top ask is for politicians to promote business. Business creates the wealth, [...]
Lib Dems deny involvement in Grant Shapps Wikipedia case April 22, 2015 The Liberal Democrats moved last night to distance themselves from an increasingly complicated story involving Conservative party chairman Grant Shapps and the editable online encyclopaedia Wikipedia. On Tuesday, it was reported that Wikipedia blocked a user account “Contribsx” on suspicion the account was being used by Shapps or someone close to the party chairman to [...]
Your Move: London rental prices have soared 27pc under David Cameron April 22, 2015 Residential rents in London have far outstripped the rate of inflation under the current government, according to a new report out today. Rent in the capital increased by 27.4 per cent since the last General Election, according to the latest Buy-to-Let index from estate agents Your Move and Reeds Rains. Consumer Price Inflation (CPI) increased [...]
Why markets shouldn’t necessarily fear a minority government in the UK April 22, 2015 After taking account of polling by Lord Ashcroft in the key 150 marginal constituencies, the opinion polls have been consistently suggesting that no single party will have a clear majority after 7 May (effectively, gaining over 323 seats, given that five Sinn Fein MPs are unlikely to take their seats in the House of Commons). [...]
Private investors could swing the election – but parties are offering nothing April 22, 2015 The manifestos have finally been published and we now know what each party is promising. Unfortunately, not one seems to be listening to the voices of personal investors. According to Platforum’s latest Direct to Consumer research, there is now £132bn invested on direct to consumer investment platforms by some 5.8m active investors. This is a [...]