Economics

By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor Jeremy Corbyn has vowed to bin the EU’s highly controversial free trade deal (TTIP) with America. During an anti-Brexit rally he promised to get rid of the trade deal if he is voted in as PM before it is implemented. He hates the deal so much he said he is happy to work with rebel Conservatives and SNP in parliament to halt the deal. TTIP has worried people on both sides of the electoral divide...

By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor They say keep it in the family, well in one city they have for nearly six hundred years. Research of tax records in Florence, Italy, has revealed that the wealthiest families in the city currently are the same lineage as from 1427. Generation after generation of the elites if the city, have continued to reap the financial rewards the city creates. The poorest however, remain poor, rarely raising above the economic status they were born...

By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor The streets of the capital are paved with gold, well not quite, but people who live in the capital have the most disposable income in the country, even when taking in sky-rocketing rents and the cost of buying a home spiralling out of control. The ONS (Office of National Statistics) report revealed this information. Londoners had an average of £23,607 to spend after tax deductions in 2014, almost a third more than the UK average....

By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor Another day another claim about Brexit, and what could happen to the UK economy if we decided to leave. Today was the turn of the IFS (Institute for Fiscal Studies) who have said that leaving the EU would mean the Treasury would have to slash billions of pounds from British welfare and public services. The IFS believe that in the case of a “Brexit” there would be years of austerity and tax rises, which would...

"When corporations sit above Government, we are in big, big trouble." You have probably already heard and read about TTIP, but maybe you aren't quite sure how it will effect you? In a nutshell, TTIP stands for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. TTIP is a proposed deal between the EU and the US aimed at making it easier for the world’s two biggest economies to trade, leading to a projected increase in income for both continents. TTIP sets to make trade...

By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor Generous tax breaks have helped create a “shadow” welfare state for the 20 per cent wealthiest in the UK, research has revealed. The Fabian Society believe these high earners will take almost the same as the worst off fifth take in benefits. The Fabians’ general secretary, Andrew Harrop, indicated his research illustrates the latest Budget was another step in remodeling the welfare state as we know it. This shift has moved resources from the poorest...

By Prof Mary Mellor The justification for austerity is that the public sector must live within its means. There is a plausibility in the claim that the state is like a household that should not spend more than it earns. This kind of ‘handbag economics’ draws its analogy from a mythical household. Real households do not live within their means. If they did the economy would grind to a halt. Modern prosperity is built upon debt and the main aim...

By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor Tory Minister Anna Soubry made a shock admission as pressure grows to save the port Talbot steel plant. Business minister Soubry says 'temporary ownership' of Tata steel's assets could be an option. This comes as the company made the shock decision to put up for sale the loss making arms of its UK operation. The Tory minister said there is "huge sympathy" for the steel giant, but also added it is losing £1m a day....

By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor This is an animated interview with IMF whistleblower John Perkins, author of "Hoodwinked" and "Confessions of an Economic Hitman." This short film manages to squeeze in a lot of information into a couple of minutes. Have a watch and see if you agree with his theory. Watch Video Here