Vince Cable: Osborne has no room in budget for pre-election bonanza
Business secretary says any pre-election giveaway would undermine credibility, but acknowledges there is some opportunity for modest tax cutsVince Cable has warned that George Osborne has no room in...
View ArticleVince Cable says Lib Dem-SNP deal after election is inconceivable
Business secretary rules out any arrangement with a party committed to breakup of UK, and tells the Guardian he expects still to play major role in next parliamentVince Cable has declared that it would...
View ArticleGeorge Osborne’s top five budget claims – and how they could be shot down
The chancellor will be trumpeting jobs, growth and helo for families in his budget speech - and his opponents will have their ammunition readyGeorge Osborne will fire the starting gun on the 2015...
View ArticleHalf a million more people claiming housing benefit under coalition
UK bill rose £650m a year on average with soaring rents, though government claims substantial savings for taxpayersBritain’s failure to build affordable homes has led to a soaring housing-benefit bill...
View ArticleEd Miliband could force firms to share profits with staff under new policy
Labour considers plan to ensure low paid benefit from economic growth as part of legislation that would affect about 53% of people employed in UKCompanies will be forced to share their profits with...
View ArticleBritain’s housing crisis is a human disaster. Here are 10 ways to solve it
Rising house prices have been willed by public policy over decades. The fallout for families, communities and business has been severe“Every day I cry,” says an activist on a stall in Stratford, east...
View ArticleSelling off our national assets is a wilfully destructive policy | the big issue
This is just making a short-term dent in a persistent deficitWill Hutton is quite right about the long-term impact of this government’s policy of selling off the country’s assets (“Eurostar, kerching!...
View ArticleFor Britain to thrive we need fast access to the internet everywhere | Will...
The disparity in UK broadband speeds is more than an irritant. It means yet again we slip behind our competitors overseasDon’t live in a “not-spot” where super-speed broadband does not go. For 20 years...
View ArticleNick Clegg's speech to the Lib Dem spring conference: Politics Live blog
Rolling coverage of George Osborne and Ed Balls’ pre-budget interviews on the Andrew Marr show, and the Lib Dem spring conference in Liverpool, including Nick Clegg’s speechOsborne fails to rule out...
View ArticleBudget 2015: George Osborne’s new Jerusalem isn’t on the horizon yet
The chancellor promised many things in the 2010 ‘emergency’ budget. How close has he come to delivering?When George Osborne delivers what could be his last budget on Wednesday, just weeks before the...
View ArticleWhy George Osborne is still man of the moment
Chancellor could still win the election for the Tories if he can make it all about deficit reduction and not whether living standards have risen in this parliamentThe red box. The rabbits pulled from...
View ArticleUK shops could get tax cut after business-rate review
The review, to be announced by Danny Alexander, will look at how businesses use property and how the system can be modernisedShops in the UK’s high streets could see their taxes cut after next year as...
View ArticleDanny Alexander launches review of business rates – video
The chief secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander, launches a review of business rates, saying that the annual tax in England is flawed. Lib Dem Alexander's move follows an announcement in last...
View ArticleHow was George Osborne’s budget performance? Our columnists' verdict
Guardian writers give their reactions to the chancellor’s pre-election budget statementContinue reading...
View ArticleOsborne offers tax cuts and help-to-buy Isas in highly political 2015 budget
Chancellor also signals end of austerity before the end of next parliament but Labour claims Tories would be forced into severe spending cutsGeorge Osborne has delivered a pre-election budget designed...
View ArticleGeorge Osborne's budget for 'Britain, the comeback country' – video highlights
An edited version of Wednesday's budget statement by the chancellor, George Osborne, the last before the general election. Osborne says a new personal savings allowance heralds a bright future under a...
View ArticleEd Miliband responds to George Osborne's 2015 Budget - video highlights
Highlights of Labour leader Ed Miliband's response to Wednesday's budget statement by the chancellor, George Osborne, the last before the general election. Miliband criticises Osborne, saying the...
View ArticleBudget shows government has failed to eradicate deficit, says Farage - video
UK Independence Party (Ukip) leader Nigel Farage unpicks some aspects of George Osborne's 2015 Budget on Wednesday. Farage says that the budget demonstrates the government's failure to eradicate the...
View ArticleBudget analysis: 'There were gimmicks and giveaways' - video
Economics editor Larry Elliott and executive editor Jonathan Freedland discuss George Osborne's final coalition budget. With the general election just weeks away, it was packed with offers to voters...
View ArticleThe Guardian view on George Osborne: the chancer chancellor | Editorial
He poses as a steadfast steward, but the record as well as the budget suggests that he is a man who reliably puts expediency above principleHe is reliably economical with words and in three sparse...
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