General Election 2015: What the parties are offering small business March 1, 2015 Before the 2010 General Election, Britain’s small business community was a rather uncoordinated mass, largely invisible to the political elite. This time around, the UK’s 5m small firms can’t and won’t be overlooked. This newly-drawn constituency has legs, and we know how to use them. In a brave small business world, the party that can [...]
Lib Dems pledge to torpedo Labour’s tuition fees policy in any future coalition March 1, 2015 Ed Miliband fails to win an outright majority and finds himself in the position of forming a Labour-Lib Dem coalition, his latest pledge on tuition could be the first policy in jeopardy. Lib Dem Climate Change Secretary Ed Davey said his party would block Labour's plans to cut tuition fees from £9,000 to £6,000 and [...]
From Greece and Natalie Bennett to the banks and London’s skyline: Here’s what got us talking this week February 27, 2015 There was a lot of talk about a dress. And quite a bit about the llama drama. But here at City A.M. Towers, we were obsessing about plenty of other things. Greece finally managed to break the stalemate over its debt, negotiating a four month extension with Germany, and ending weeks of debate about a [...]
First it was Scotland, now it’s Wales – David Cameron says he will devolve powers across the UK February 27, 2015 Prime Minister David Cameron has promised to give more powers to Wales through a devolution package unveiled earlier today. "We want to deliver new powers to Wales so that more decisions are taken closer to the people and give greater responsibility to the Welsh Assembly," he said during a speech at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium. [...]
Ukip viewed as “racist” and “nasty” by 44pc of voters February 27, 2015 As Ukip meets for its spring conference in Margate the pollsters have both good and bad news for Nigel Farage's party. Ukip will be pleased to hear that over a third of the public trust them more than any other party to handle immigration. Never before in British politics has one of the minor parties [...]
General election 2015: There’s a 74 per cent chance Ed Miliband will be the next PM, according to poll February 27, 2015 Despite reports of consistent unpopularity among both his supporters and opponents, there's a pretty high chance Ed Miliband will become our next Prime Minister after May's general election. To be fair, the Populus/Hanover election outcome predictor is not based on just a head-to-head between the Conservatives and Labour – it takes into account all possible [...]
What is the likelihood of Brexit? 17 per cent according to top think tank February 27, 2015 One of Britain's leading think tanks has revealed its preidction of the likelihood a British exit from the EU. Open Europe, which launched its "Brexit barometer" last night, estimated Britain had a 17 per cent chance of leaving the EU. The estimate will dash the hopes of Eurosceptics who are banking on public dissatisfaction with [...]
General Election 2015: Labour brushes off talk of an SNP alliance February 26, 2015 Shadow chancellor Ed Balls has moved to play down rumours that Labour could form a post-election alliance with the Scottish National Party. Labour didn’t, however, deny the plan but Balls did say that a deal with the SNP was not high up the Labour wish list. Speaking during a visit to Scotland Balls said: “It [...]
Fast-growth businesses wary of a Labour government February 25, 2015 The Labour party’s uncomfortable relationship with the world of business is laid bare this morning, with a new survey revealing that fewer than seven per cent of fast-growing firms think its policies would support their growth. When asked “which political party do you think has the best policies to support your business’s expansion?”, 71 per cent [...]
As senior Tories call for him to play a big role in the campaign, should the party bank on Boris Johnson? February 25, 2015 Charles Lewington, managing director of Hanover Communications, says Yes Giving Boris a prominent role in the campaign may not have a dramatic effect on the election result, but if the Tories are going to win enough seats to form a government (especially in London), they need to use every asset at their disposal. When Boris [...]