Economics

More people are worse off under Universal Credit, according to a report published by a cross-party committee of MPs. Following evidence given by organisations including Mind and anti-poverty charity The Trussell Trust, the Public Accounts Committee has published their latest report which adds to the growing concern surrounding Universal Credit. Responding to the report, Director of External Relations at Mind, Sophie Corlett said:“Today’s hard-hitting report from the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) adds to mounting concerns about Universal Credit. The damning...

The richest countries in the world have this week collectively advised Britain to reverse Brexit or risk destroying its economy. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), an intergovernmental economic organisation made up of 36 member countries, made the explosive suggestion of a further referendum to reverse Brexit after a report warned of severe consequences following the divorce. Its analysis suggests a “no-deal” Brexit would wipe up to a staggering £40 billion off UK economic growth by 2019, with...

The UK faces a period of lower growth due to Brexit, according to another forecaster. The EY ITEM Club said the UK will have three years of lower than predicted economic growth, and if no deal is agreed on Brexit it is likely to be even worse. The EY Item Club predicted GDP growth of 1.3% this year and 1.5% in 2019, down from 1.4% and 1.6% respectively in its previous outlook three months ago. Howard Archer, chief economic adviser...

There were renewed concerns in the Eurozone that Italy’s anti-establishment 5-star movement would ditch the Euro. Both the right-wing League, who govern the country with the 5-star movement, campaigned on an anti-euro platform. However, they backed away from the move when they came into power in June. Rumours have since been circulating that Italy might be considering leaving the single currency, but that was quashed last night. Italian Deputy Prime Minister Luigi Di Maio said: “No-one need fear an exit...

it will be many of the "just about managing" that May came to power promising to help that will suffer the most

An IMF report has concluded that the UK’s public finances are some of the worst on the planet. Since the banking crash of 2008 nearly £1tn has been slashed from the public sector, which is 50% of GDP. Bailing out the banking sector and public sector pension liabilities hugely contributed to the poor state of the UK’s public finances. Of 31 countries only Portugal was in a weaker position. The Gambia, Uganda and Kenya rank above the UK. Norway ranked...

Danske Bank Chief Executive Thomas Borgen has quit after he was embroiled in a huge money-laundering scam. An investigation into the bank’s dealings discovered a potential £177bn fiddle through its Estonian operation,between 2007 and 2015. The Danish bank said many of those payments were suspicious. Mr Borgen said: "Even though the investigation conducted by the external law firm concludes that I have lived up to my legal obligations, I believe that it is best for all parties that I resign."...

By Vanessa Ganguin, founder of London immigration firm Vanessa Ganguin Immigration Law EU citizens should not be given preferential access when applying for UK visas, according to the long-awaited Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) report on the future of EEA migration. The EEA migration in the UK: Final report was commissioned by the former Home Secretary Amber Rudd in July 2017. Its remit was to provide evidence to inform the creation of a new migration system for the UK following Brexit, which will...

The IMF had a stark warning to the UK ahead of the final Brexit negotiations. They said that a no-deal Brexit would inflict “substantial costs” to the UK economy. The IMF expects Britain's economy to grow by 1.5% in both 2018 and 2019 if a broad Brexit agreement is struck. However, any Brexit would “entail costs,” but a no deal scenario would be a “significantly worse outcome.” Christine Lagarde, the IMF's managing director, told a news conference in London: "Those...