That wasn’t what I asked, I’m just wondering which came first, the chicken or the egg.
Trying to sneak the Snoopers Charter in along with revised ant-terrorism laws. The Lib Dems are holding out though, but they’ll probably be gotten around with a little scaremongering.
1984 is getting closer every day over there.
The land of opportunity where everyone gets a fair go of it
[SIZE=6]UK economy records fastest growth since 2007[/SIZE]
The UK’s economy grew by 2.6% last year, the fastest pace since 2007 and up from 1.7% in 2013, official figures have shown.
Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed the economy grew by 0.5% in the final three months of 2014.
That was a slowdown from 0.7% growth recorded in the previous three months.
[SIZE=6][SIZE=3][/SIZE][/SIZE]
Economists were mixed over whether the loss of momentum in the final quarter might be temporary or prolonged.
The ONS’s chief economist, Joe Grice, said it was “too early to say” if this slowdown would persist.
“The dominant services sector remains buoyant while the contraction has taken place in industries like construction, mining and energy supply, which can be erratic,” he said.
But Nancy Curtin, chief investment officer at Close Brothers Asset Management, said the fourth-quarter figure “hardly set the world alight… and it’s clear that [the economy] is slowing”.
She said: “There are clouds looming large on the horizon, and the general election is the biggest of these. Investors don’t like uncertainty.”
The services sector grew by 0.8% in the quarter, but construction contracted by 1.8%. Manufacturing grew by just 0.1%, its worst performance since the start of 2013.
“The main disappointment with growth in the fourth quarter was that it looks unbalanced on the output side of the economy at least,” said Howard Archer, chief UK economist at IHS Global Insight.
But Chancellor George Osborne said the figures showed the economy was “on track”. He warned that the international economic climate was “getting worse”, and so the government must continue with its economic strategy.
Shadow chancellor Ed Balls said the slowdown in fourth-quarter growth was a concern, and that “Tory claims that the economy is fixed will ring hollow with working people” whose “wages are down by £1,600 a year since 2010”.
‘At odds’
The ONS figures are the first estimate of fourth-quarter growth and could be revised up or down as more economic data for the three months is gathered by the statistics office.
Economists at the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) said they “wouldn’t be surprised if the ONS figures are revised up over time, painting a stronger picture for economic performance at the end of the year”.
The construction data which dragged down the fourth-quarter figures were “surprising and at odds with other indicators and surveys” which presented a healthier picture, the CEBR said.
Tuesday figures mean the UK was among the best-performing of the all the major economies in 2014. US growth figures are due to be published on Friday, with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimating expansion of 2.4% for the year.
The IMF forecasts UK growth of 2.7% in 2015. However, Samuel Tombs, of consultancy Capital Economics, has predicted growth of 3%.
“With the recent halving of oil prices providing a timely boost to households’ discretionary spending power, credit still becoming cheaper and pay growth on an improving trend… the best days of the UK’s recovery may still lie ahead,” he said.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-30999206
[SIZE=6][/SIZE]
[QUOTE=“Tassotti, post: 1081641, member: 361”]The land of opportunity where everyone gets a fair go of it
[SIZE=6]UK economy records fastest growth since 2007[/SIZE]
The UK’s economy grew by 2.6% last year, the fastest pace since 2007 and up from 1.7% in 2013, official figures have shown.
Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed the economy grew by 0.5% in the final three months of 2014.
That was a slowdown from 0.7% growth recorded in the previous three months.
Economists were mixed over whether the loss of momentum in the final quarter might be temporary or prolonged.
The ONS’s chief economist, Joe Grice, said it was “too early to say” if this slowdown would persist.
“The dominant services sector remains buoyant while the contraction has taken place in industries like construction, mining and energy supply, which can be erratic,” he said.
But Nancy Curtin, chief investment officer at Close Brothers Asset Management, said the fourth-quarter figure “hardly set the world alight… and it’s clear that [the economy] is slowing”.
She said: “There are clouds looming large on the horizon, and the general election is the biggest of these. Investors don’t like uncertainty.”
The services sector grew by 0.8% in the quarter, but construction contracted by 1.8%. Manufacturing grew by just 0.1%, its worst performance since the start of 2013.
“The main disappointment with growth in the fourth quarter was that it looks unbalanced on the output side of the economy at least,” said Howard Archer, chief UK economist at IHS Global Insight.
But Chancellor George Osborne said the figures showed the economy was “on track”. He warned that the international economic climate was “getting worse”, and so the government must continue with its economic strategy.
Shadow chancellor Ed Balls said the slowdown in fourth-quarter growth was a concern, and that “Tory claims that the economy is fixed will ring hollow with working people” whose “wages are down by £1,600 a year since 2010”.
‘At odds’
The ONS figures are the first estimate of fourth-quarter growth and could be revised up or down as more economic data for the three months is gathered by the statistics office.
Economists at the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) said they “wouldn’t be surprised if the ONS figures are revised up over time, painting a stronger picture for economic performance at the end of the year”.
The construction data which dragged down the fourth-quarter figures were “surprising and at odds with other indicators and surveys” which presented a healthier picture, the CEBR said.
Tuesday figures mean the UK was among the best-performing of the all the major economies in 2014. US growth figures are due to be published on Friday, with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimating expansion of 2.4% for the year.
The IMF forecasts UK growth of 2.7% in 2015. However, Samuel Tombs, of consultancy Capital Economics, has predicted growth of 3%.
“With the recent halving of oil prices providing a timely boost to households’ discretionary spending power, credit still becoming cheaper and pay growth on an improving trend… the best days of the UK’s recovery may still lie ahead,” he said.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-30999206
[/QUOTE]
I have a phone interview with a crowd in the midlands on Friday afternoon for some consultancy work. Things are really picking up in the UK, far more jobs in my industry compared to last summer. Would move back over in a heart beat
Why?
I have many great friends over there, the cost of living, the work opportunities, the fact that there is plenty to see and do, the friendliness of the people and many many more reasons.
Barnabus withering on the vine without you BC.
Prime Ministers Questions on 5 live Wednesday is fast becoming my favorite part of the week, some savage banter, Cameron is well able to dish it out
I see a lad from Barnsley was killed fighting those ISIS wankers, what a hero, Jeremy Vine had a phone in the other day and a load of lads rang in saying they were going out joining the kurds, ex marines and what not, it really gave me a great feeling, these lads have just had enough and are going to do something about it instead of talking shite like Obama. the sense of morality and fighting for what is right really gave me a lift
Nightmare couple of weeks for Cameron at PMQ. Debates have been shambolic from him. Broadcasters have called his bluff
We’ll see who is bluffing in May. He is dead right. It’s an outrage that the DUP and SF are not invited.
[QUOTE=“Raymond Crotty, post: 1102644, member: 25”]Nightmare couple of weeks for Cameron at PMQ. Debates have been shambolic from him. Broadcasters have called his bluff[/QUOTE]he’ll walk the election, the economy is booming, no one in their right mind would let Labour have the opportunity of fucking things up again
Much the same as in Ireland, Enda and Fine Gael must be left in situ for the sake of the country.
Except cheerleader @Raymond Crotty
I’m getting €1:38 for every pound at the moment, savage, things are only going to get better too, all you mugs stuck with the Euro, hon the Torys, hon the south east of England and the Home Counties
No he won’t. He should with following in his favour:
- nearly entire media opposing Labour
- Lib Dems set to take a hammering.
- Most unpopular Labour opposition leader possibly ever
- UKIP dwindling
Unfortunately for Cameron he is deeply unconvincing himself and has very little backbone. His destruction of the NHS has been a disaster and he left Gove do way too much damage in education. There is no way Tories will get overall majority thankfully.
I’m getting 6,100 riel for every pound at the moment, savage, things are only going to get better too, you mug stuck with the pound, hon the CPP, hon the Angkor Kingdom and our demonisation of Cameron’s Tories.
[QUOTE=“Raymond Crotty, post: 1102763, member: 25”]No he won’t. He should with following in his favour:
- nearly entire media opposing Labour
- Lib Dems set to take a hammering.
- Most unpopular Labour opposition leader possibly ever
- UKIP dwindling
Unfortunately for Cameron he is deeply unconvincing himself and has very little backbone. His destruction of the NHS has been a disaster and he left Gove do way too much damage in education. There is no way Tories will get overall majority thankfully.[/QUOTE]
Whoa! Not the Tories fault that no one buys the Guardian any more. The BBC are permanently anti-Tory.
The Lib Dems don’t know who they are. I hope they get wiped out but they won’t.
Labour knew what they were getting when they elected the brother stabber. The architect of the bonkers climate change bill. A fella who never worked a day in his life.
How has the NHS been destroyed?Cameron ring fenced health spending. He should have taken an axe to it, like they are finally doing to welfare spending. 5million brits wasting their lives on benefits thanks to Labour bribing the electorate for 13 years. Bringing in an army of emigrants and alright sorts like @Tassotti[/USER] , [USER=1137]@The Big Cheese[/USER] and [USER=1170]@flattythehurdler to run the country for them.
Gove damaged education by bringing in choice for parents and demanding increases in standards. British kids need to learn about the basics. It’s only the scores of the immigrant kids that keep averages up in London for example. If you are white working class, Labour doesn’t care. That’s why UKIP are doing well.
Cameron’s mistake was not to move to the right. Forget the touchy feely Islington shit and go back to Conservative basics, restore military spending, slash International aid and bring back fox hunting.