MPs went on £70,000 iPad, iPhone and laptop spending spree before the General Election May 13, 2015 A cohort of 60 MPs spent £70,000 on iPads, iPhones and laptops as the election loomed. They may not have broken any rules, but the spree meant expenses watchdog Ipsa (the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority) wrote to politicians to express concern. Read more: How MPs stepping down at this election could make millions on their [...]
UK house prices: Barratt Developments storms to highest ever number of forward sales May 13, 2015 Housebuilder Barratt Developments just beat its record for the highest number of forward sales. UK house price growth may have slid from the dizzying heights of last May, but Barratt is reaping the benefits of consistent market growth. The figures Throughout the 19 weeks to 10 May, Barratt said: “market conditions have remained strong throughout [...]
How coalitions dominate Europe: David Cameron’s majority makes UK one of only three single party governments May 12, 2015 The UK may have what David Cameron would describe as a “strong and stable government”, led by one majority party, but the rest of the EU looks quite different. Of the 28 countries in the EU, only the UK, Malta, and Spain have single parties in power, with the others being led by coalitions. Some [...]
Eurozone banks are at risk of failing now as much as they were in 2008, new research finds May 12, 2015 If you think the European Central Bank and Bank of England’s stress tests have made Europe’s banking crash proof, think again. Despite the changes to the banking system, many institutions are still as vulnerable as they were before the 2008 crash, according to research by the University of Portsmouth. Banks in Italy, France, and Spain [...]
Experian’s growth stalls despite strong UK performance May 12, 2015 One word sums up Experian’s growth during the last financial year: sluggish. The figures Total revenues were $4.8bn (£3.1bn), while revenue growth was at one per cent at actual exchange rates, rising to three per cent at constant currency rates. Organic revenue rose one per cent, after a stronger final quarter. Benchmark profit before tax [...]
General Election 2015 mapped: How many MPs are women and which party has the most female MPs? May 11, 2015 Britain now has the highest number of female MPs it's ever had – but the UK still lags behind other more equal nations. Of the 650 MPs elected on 7 May, 191 are female, or 29.4 per cent. That compares with 22.6 per cent after the 2010 election The parties Labour is the most gender-neutral [...]
General Election 2015: George Galloway starts legal action after losing Bradford West constituency to Labour’s Naz Shah by over 11,000 votes May 11, 2015 George Galloway has announced he will be starting legal proceedings in an attempt to have his 11,000-vote defeat in the General Election overturned. Galloway won the Bradford West seat for the Respect Party in a by-election in 2012, but suffered a 29.7 per cent reverse after last week's voting, losing to Labour’s Naz Shah by 19,977 [...]
Lonmin to restructure business and cut up to 3,500 jobs as profits tumble May 11, 2015 South African mining company Lonmin has announced it could axe 3,500 jobs as it seeks to cut 10 per cent from its labour costs. In its half-yearly results released today (six months to 31 March) the miner, which owns the Marikana platinum mine where 34 workers were shot dead by police during a strike in [...]
General Election 2015 results map: How many seats did the Conservatives and Labour win in London and what has changed since 2010? Liberal Democrats lose all but one seat May 9, 2015 The Tories didn't win everywhere: Labour increased its number of seats in London in the General Election. While yesterday’s result wasn’t a landslide, it certainly looks a lot like one on a map, and David Cameron has described the win as his sweetest victory. Great swathes of the country are now blue and, as some have [...]
General Election 2015 results: Here’s who came second in every seat, including 120 silver medals for Nigel Farage and Ukip May 9, 2015 The result of the General Election may have been clean cut – a majority victory for the Conservatives, but the second place seats tell another story. Ukip is the obvious winner by this count – despite losing its leader, Nigel Farage, to a second-place finish, the party got one seat and came second in 120 [...]
