PM prepared to plough billions for into financial sector

Earlier this month the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling, indicated that they were prepared to plough billions of pounds more into the financial sector through the use of taxpayer’s money in order to try and get things moving again. Read more

Tags: purse, part, gordon brown, Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, Prime Minister and the chancellor, month, Alistair Darling, government financial help

25% of the nation could face fuel poverty

Energy prices have been at the centre of heated controversy over the course of this year. At the start of the year the big energy firms in the UK cheerfully announced that because the price of wholesale energy had risen the cost of energy usage for customers would be going up, and just weeks later, true to their word, they increased energy usage costs quite significantly, leaving already struggling household to cope with more financial worry and strain. Read more

Tags: quarter, situation, money, fuel, electricity bill, report

Who is the best ‘pilot’…Brown or Cameron?

Following a highly controversial and frank interview given to a national newspaper by the Chancellor, Alistair Darling, with regards to the state of the economy earlier this week, the Justice Secretary Jack Straw has now spoken out to BBC reporters about his take on the situation. In relation to the interview that Darling gave, Mr Straw stated that he did not think that Darling had spoken out of turn when he gave the interview, but he added that the chancellor had, in fact, been referring to the global economic situation and not specifically to the economic crisis facing Britain. Read more

Tags: economic management, david cameron, prime minister, whilst, interview

Who is telling the truth – Brown or Darling?

For many months now both consumers and industries have been concerned about the slowdown that has hit the UK’s economy. With the nation hitting a period of stagflation, which is a toxic combination of stagnant economic growth and soaring inflation levels, it seems that the nation has been thrown into chaos. Even the Monetary Policy Committee and the Bank of England have been at loggerheads over recent months with regards to the movement of the base rate, with some wanting to increase the rate to curb inflation and others wanting to cut the rate to boost the economy. Read more

Tags: economics, United Kingdom, Alistair Darling, Labour, crisis, nation

Inflation levels hit 11 year high

June saw inflation levels rise to an eleven year high of 3.8% as a result of soaring food and petrol prices, according to recent reports. The rate of inflation for May had already hit highs of 3.3%, resulting in the governor of the Bank of England, Mervyn King, having to write to the chancellor, Alistair Darling, to explain why inflation had soared so high and what would be done to bring it back down. However, the situation is now even worse, with inflation nearly double the government’s 2% target. Read more

Tags: Everyone, inflation, committee meeting, gordon brown, governor, way

Hips divide industry figures

Home Information Packs (Hips) have won the first round of debates which could see their introduction on June 1st postponed.

The packs were given the go-ahead following a House of Commons vote but now they face a challenge in the House of Lords.

The housing market has been responding to the victory in the Commons, with the Association of Home Information Pack Providers (Ahipp) saying that it is good news for the environment.

“Yet again, government has demonstrated its commitment to reducing the carbon emissions of our housing stock and to improving the house buying and selling process for consumers across England and Wales, through the implementation of Home Information Packs,” said Mike Ockenden, director general at Ahipp.

“Industry is ready to deliver Hips and the benefits that the packs will offer to both consumers and the environment.”

The same view is not shared by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) however, which has commenced Judicial Review proceedings against the government over the introduction of Hips.

It has called upon the government to take “action” and postpone their roll out on June 1st.

“The introduction of Hips will have few benefits to the consumer and adversely affect the housing market and the wider economy,” said Jeremy Leaf from Rics.

“The government should be brave and postpone their flawed plans for home buying reform. By preventing this potentially damaging and chaotic policy Gordon Brown could give substance to his claim to lead a listening government.”

Tags: hips, Politics, director, england, reform

Green mortgages to become the ‘norm’

Gordon Brown announced during his Budget yesterday that people who take out a mortgage on a carbon-neutral home will no longer have to pay any stamp duty.

This news, announced during what is widely expected to be the Chancellor’s final Budget, was welcomed by many as the kind of financial break that is needed to encourage us all to reduce our carbon footprint.

In light of the announcement, the Co-operative Bank has revealed that it believes eco home loans will soon become the norm in the UK.

The firm is so confident that environmental concerns will have a big impact on the future of mortgage lending that it is planning to update its current green portfolio.

“We plan to extend our green mortgage proposition, which is currently available on all our products, by developing an innovative solution to reward and encourage homeowners to actively reduce their CO2 emissions,” revealed David Anderson, chief executive at the bank.

“We are convinced that green mortgages will be the most common form of home loan in the future and that is why we are working on several features that will make our range even more eco-friendly.”

A number of other lenders have also confirmed that they too will be extending their current portfolio of green loans.

The Co-operative Bank’s claim that eco home loans will be the norm in the future has been supported by a recent survey, carried out by More Than insurance, which revealed that 70 per cent of Brits wants all new build homes to be carbon neutral.

A fifth of all Brits also said that they would be willing to pay more for an environmentally-friendly home.

Tags: norm, future, More Than insurance, gordon brown, Subprime mortgage crisis

Stamp duty reforms get mixed response

The housing industry has reacted angrily to Gordon brown’s failure to raise the lower threshold for stamp duty.

Some experts had been hoping that the Chancellor would introduce a higher threshold so that it would be in line with the average UK house price.

The average person now has to get a mortgage above £125,000 lower stamp duty threshold as house prices have risen dramatically in recent years.

However, Mr Brown failed to offer a break to people looking to buy a home in this bracket, meaning that almost all property buyers are now required to pay at least one per cent stamp duty.

“House price inflation remains a key concern for everyone in the UK, particularly first-time buyers and so it is disappointing that this year’s budget has not addressed the UK’s out of date stamp duty thresholds,” commented Duncan Berry, director of mortgage sales at GE Money.

The Chancellor’s promise to completely do away with stamp duty on carbon-neutral homes up to a value of £500,000 however, has bee welcomed, although Nationwide has highlighted that Mr Brown is letting down the poorest in society.

“We feel that it is important to do more to help hard-pressed homebuyers,” said Stuart Bernau from Nationwide.

“We have calculated that if the stamp duty threshold had been raised in line with house price inflation since 1993 it would now stand at £206,000.”

Tags: lower stamp duty, GBP, concern, lower threshold, bracket, gordon brown, first time buyers, line