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About The London Economic
The London Economic emerged from a political blog sharing platform created by Jack Peat in 2012. It was developed through to 2014 into an alternative news website in an attempt to redress the political power of the mainstream media.
While it focuses on UK political affairs, it also has Business, Economics, Food, Sport, Entertainment, Lifestyle, Travel and Property pages.
Brexit “a complete shambles” and Government has failed business
Joe Mellor - 12 November 2018
A leading business figure has slammed Brexit and the Government’s handling of the negotiations.
Terry Sargeant, boss of ThyssenKrupp in UK, believes that Ministers are more focused on keeping their party together rather than ensuring that businesses are not harmed post-Brexit.
Mr Sargeant told The Guardian: “If you make a market more difficult than it is at the moment, then what is the attraction to the investor?
“I do not see how we can continue doing business where supply chains are so interlinked with being part of the customs union.”... See more
Jeremy Corbyn receives standing ovation from packed out Youth Parliament
Jack Peat - 9 November 2018
eremy Corbyn received a heartwarming standing ovation from a packed out House of Commons today.
The Leader of the Opposition joined aspiring politicians for the UK Youth Parliament’s debate in Westminster, and was warmly received after being introduced by the Speaker of the House John Bercow.
Captioning Corbyn as a man who “says what he means, and he means what he says” Bercow noted how Corbyn has passionately campaigned for young people.
The Labour leader delivered a huge election upset in 2017 after a surge of young voters backed his spirited campaign.... See more
“Unforgivable cowardice” Government won't allow company to criticise May over Grenfell Tower fire
Joe Mellor - 8 November 2018
A shocking article by The Times has claimed that WSP, engineering company, was warned not to create “adverse publicity” about the Cabinet Office or other Crown bodies (this includes May’s office)
The Times said WSP experts were hired after the Grenfell Tower tragedy on 14 June last year, which killed 72 people.
The contract reportedly stated WSP should ensure that neither it nor anyone working for it should “embarrass” or be “in any way connected to material adverse publicity” relating to the Cabinet Office or other Crown bodies.
Labour’s shadow home secretary Diane Abbott said the revelation of the terms of the contract was “shameful”.... See more
Universal Credit causing major hardship, says report
Joe Mellor - 26 October 2018
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.... See more
Demoralised UK Border Force face post-Brexit meltdown
Chris Hobbs - 28 September 2018
Chris Hobbs is a retired Met police officer who worked extensively at border controls in both the UK and Jamaica.
Government proposals that EU nationals and non-EU nationals will ‘be treated the same post-Brexit’ is being greeted with a mixture of hilarity and incredulity by UK Border Force officers.
After a summer of chaos at our major UK airports in terms of queues with woefully inexperienced civil servants being drafted in to staff passport controls, it is clear that our airports and indeed our controls at seaports would simply be unable to cope with the extra demand.... See more
Workers and businesses set to thrive as Labour broadens ownership in our economy
Jack Peat - 24 September 2018
Both workers and businesses will thrive under Labour Party plans to force large firms to give workers shares in the company, a Warwick Business School professor has said.
John McDonnell set out proposals to make large corporations give workers shares worth up to £500 each year as part of a radical shake up that looks to broaden ownership in our economy.
In his main party conference speech, the shadow chancellor set out plans for “inclusive ownership funds” as well as detailing how vast executive salaries would be trimmed and “the profiteering in dividends” would be ended.... See more
This is how many homes London needs to cope with rising population over next 25 years
Jack Peat - 20 September 2018
London will need an extra 844,000 new homes in order to house its rising population over the next 25 years.
Official figures show the number of homes in the capital will need to rise by a quarter by 2041 if current trends continue, bringing the new total to 4.3 million households.
Tower Hamlets, Barking and Dagenham are likely to be the boroughs that will shoulder the lion’s share of the growth, with Hackney also in for a 35 per cent rise in residential properties.... See more
4.5 million UK children are living in poverty
Joe Mellor - 17 September 2018
A shocking new study has discovered that over 14 million people, 4.5 million of them children, and living in poverty.
The investigation also discovered that 12% of the total UK population is in “persistent” poverty, having spent all or most of the last four years below the breadline.
The statistics, by Social Metrics Commission, have been gathered from a new measure to calculate social disadvantage.... See more
Economy is slowing to a “snail’s pace” due to Brexit
Joe Mellor - 17 Spetember 2018
Economists at the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) say growth will slow to 1.1 per cent this year. The influential business lobby group is also highly concerned of the impact of a no-deal Brexit.
Shockingly, this would be the slowest rate of growth since the global financial crisis of 2009. The previous prediction was 1.3 per cent, still a sluggish growth rate for the UK economy.
Adam Marshall, the group’s director general, said the UK economy is slowing to a “snail’s pace” due to hesitation in the business world over Brexit.
Marshall said: “The drag effect on investment and trade would intensify in the event of a ‘messy’ and disorderly Brexit. Businesses need the Brexit negotiations to deliver clarity, precision and results at pace over the coming weeks.”... See more
“In face of austerity Sadiq has worked tirelessly to support Londoners,” Khan backed for 2020 Mayoral bid
Joe Mellor - 14 September 2018
GMB, Britain’s general union, today announced its backing for Sadiq Khan’s to continue as the Labour Party’s Mayoral candidate in the upcoming 2020 London contest.
Paul Maloney, GMB Southern Regional Secretary said: “In the face of savage austerity and a Tory Government, Sadiq has worked tirelessly as Mayor to support Londoners.
“By investing in social and council housing, freezing transport fares and with record City Hall investment in the Met police to tackle gun and knife crime, Sadiq has shown he is on the side of London’s workers.”... See more
London no longer the world’s number one financial centre & Brexit is a factor
Joe Mellor - 13 September 2018
The latest Z/Yen Global Financial Centres Index showed New York overtaking the UK’s capital for the first time since 2015.
The City think tank said there was evidence London had been knocked, but only slightly, by uncertainty over Brexit.
However, it doesn’t make great reading to see London knocked off its perch as we approach the potential stormy waters of Post-Brexit Britian.... See more
Brexit could put an end to next day deliveries
Jack Peat - 9 September 2018
Next day deliveries could become a thing of the past due to warehouse labour shortages after Brexit. EU nationals make up more than 20 per cent of the workforce in 18 industries, exclusive official figures show. And a third of warehousing and storage workers are EU nationals.
GMB warned today that next-day-deliveries could become a thing of the past unless employers improve wages and conditions after Brexit. In the economy as a whole, EU nationals’ share of the workforce rose to 7.6 per cent in 2017, up from 7.2 per cent the year before.The two industries with the highest reliance on EU labour were the processing of fish and meat (EU nationals made up 57 per cent and 45 per cent of the workforce respectively).
The findings will spark fears for the future of some industries if there is not certainty over the status of current EU workers and a clear plan for meeting the UK’s labour shortfalls after Brexit.
Tim Roache, GMB General Secretary, said:“As Brexit approaches it is becoming increasingly clear that many of the comforts we take for granted, such as next-day-deliveries, could become a thing of a past... See more
Food Crisis UK – Almost 4 million children don’t have enough money for healthy diet
Joe Mellor - 5 September 2018
A shocking new report has discovered that nearly four million children in the UK are too poor to have access to a healthy diet.
The report, by the Food Foundation, calculated that a family of four needs to spend over £103 to ensure they have a healthy diet rich in vitamins, minerals and other essential food stuffs.
Sadly, around 3.7 million children come from households who earn under £16k a year, which means they are unlikely to be able to afford a healthy diet.... See more
Britain in the red: Income falls short of spending under Tory government
Jack Peat - 5 September 2018
Average household income has fallen short of spending in every quarter since May became Prime Minister, new research has found.
The TUC study reveals that households have been pushed £1,250 into the red during her time in charge.
In every quarter since May’s arrival in Downing Street (2016 Q4 to 2018 Q1), families’ outgoings have outstripped their incomes – resulting in a total deficit of £34 billion.
As she took office, May promised to support “just about managing” families. But this analysis shows that the pressure on household budgets has increased under her government, pushing “JAMs” even closer to the financial cliff-edge.
In 2017, the ONS reported a calendar year shortfall of £900 per household, the first time in 30 years that the average household has spent more than it brought in.... See more
“No new ideas” How Boris Johnson’s Brexit capitulation should be no surprise for his readers:
Ben Gelblum - 3 September 2018
With parliament about to restart and Boris Johnson’s blonde ambition clearly irking since he had to resign as Foreign Secretary, today’s Telegraph carries a striking portrait photo and a warning to Theresa May that her Brexit plan would spell “victory for Brussels.”
“We have gone into battle waving the white flag,” despaired the ex-Foreign Sec in what much of Westminster wrote off as another cynical attempt at a leadership bid.
BoJo bemoaned that the impossible Irish border situation / customs conundrum should not be a major impediment to Brexit two years on. The fact that the Government hasn’t managed to fix a way of stopping a hard border between Northern Ireland and either the Republic of Ireland or Britain while leaving the customs union was proof that were attempting to “stop a proper Brexit”.... See more
