General Election 2015: The 10 key points of Labour’s “pro-business” manifesto April 13, 2015 Labour has launched its manifesto ahead of the General Election on May 7 – and the party has chosen to go toe-to-toe with the Conservatives on the economy. Ed Miliband promised Labour was "pro-business, not pro-business as usual". Some of the policies have been formulated to directly appeal to the business community – but others [...]
General Election 2015: Labour to reassure voters of fiscal responsibility in today’s manifesto launch in Manchester April 13, 2015 Labour is making fiscal responsibility the central pledge in its manifesto, as the left-wing party seeks to reassure voters that it can be trusted with country's purse strings once again. Party leader Ed Miliband and his entourage headed to Manchester today for today's official launch of the manifesto, which will guarantee each of its policies [...]
General Election 2015: Labour in fight for economic credibility April 13, 2015 Labour will try to turn the tables on the Conservatives today by launching a manifesto that puts economic competence at the heart of its bid to win power on 7 May. “Every policy in this manifesto is paid for. Not one commitment requires additional borrowing,” the document says, while shadow chancellor Ed Balls will argue [...]
General Election 2015: Nutmeg CEO Nick Hungerford wants a government that is honest about state pensions and embraces entrepreneurship April 12, 2015 ELECTION COUNTDOWN 24 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. NICK HUNGERFORD: CEO, NUTMEG What I want is a government which is going to be honest with the people of [...]
General Election 2015: Introducing the business wish list April 12, 2015 As we enter the final days of the election, we have decided to ask a select group of business leaders what would make them vote for one of the parties. We’ve not asked them to name the party they support because for many this would count them out of giving an opinion. [...]
Stewart Wood: The man behind Ed Miliband shaking up his party’s approach to business and the economy April 12, 2015 Stewart Wood, the Labour peer, is not exactly a household name. He is more likely to be found following his beloved Liverpool football team around the country than touring the television studios for political programmes. However, his influence as a long term ally of party leader Ed Miliband is becoming increasingly clear. Wood [...]
Why politicians should stop using employment law as an electioneering tool April 12, 2015 Faced with stubbornly unchanging polls and less than a month before the General Election, what can a party leader do to prevent the nation drawing the duvet over its collective head on 7 May? Into the arena is pulled employment relations law. All the main parties have something to say here – the coalition points [...]
Are markets too sanguine about the risks that the impending General Election poses? April 12, 2015 Nick Peters, co-portfolio manager of Fidelity Multi Asset Income fund, says Yes. Over the last six months, the FTSE 100 has risen just over 10 per cent, lagging behind US and European markets. But this hasn’t been a result of markets worrying about May’s election: it’s driven more by the heavy bias of the FTSE [...]
IFS slam Labour and Tory plans targetting pension tax relief as “damaging and counterproductive” April 12, 2015 Tory and Labour plans to cut pension relief for top earners have come under fire from the independent Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS). Director of the IFS, Paul Johnson warned that even though both sets of policies apply to a relatively small number of people they nevertheless could prove to be "complex, damaging and counter-productive". [...]
Nicola Sturgeon struggles to explain SNP economic policy as Jim Murphy promises no further cuts in Scotland April 12, 2015 SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon struggled to articulate her party's economic policy during a shambolic debate between the main party leaders in Scotland. In the third televised Scottish leaders' debate Sturgeon reiterated her desire to see Scotland granted full fiscal autonomy. Sturgeon was immediately attacked by Tory leader Ruth Davidson and Lib Dem Willie Rennie, who [...]