The British capital is strongly in favour of staying in the European Union and strongly connected with it tooIn 1975, the last time Britain held a European referendum, Londoners voted resoundingly for staying in what was then the European Economic Community. The margin was 67%-33% - a thumping 2 to 1. Yet the capital, along with other urban areas, was not the centre of pro-Europe sentiment. The shire counties of England were even keener on economic integration with their continental neighbours. London was eurosceptic by comparison.Today, it appears to be a little more eurosceptic that it was 41 years ago. And yet, unlike the rest of the country, it is still very firmly europhile. A recent poll suggested that Londoners will vote to remain in the European Union (EU) on Thursday by a 60%-40% margin, confirming that the metropolis is the most Europe-friendly part of the entire UK with the possible exception of Scotland. Continue reading...

Economists are agreed, as they never were on the euro, that quitting the EU will make Britain poorer. How strange, in an economically conservative country, that many are refusing to listenThe economic debate in British general elections has become a ritual. The manifestos are published, the Institute for Fiscal Studies pores over them and explains how, say, Conservative tax plans imply forgoing revenues of £10bn or so, or how Labour pledges on public services would require spending an extra £10bn or so instead. Each side declares a “black hole” in the finances of the other, and spends the rest of the campaign alleging that the other side has a secret plan to fill the gap with either stealthy tax rises, or the closure of NHS wards.It is never a particularly edifying argument, but it bears testament to the broad mainstream consensus about how to make Britain prosper. For the numbers involved in the tax-and-spending squabble are typically of the order of a percentage or two of government spending, or a fraction of a percent of national income. For economic radicals, this makes elections a pathetically narrow choice. For progressives, the extreme deference that has to be shown to the bean-counters’ concerns about sums which could easily get lost in the rounding of the public accounts is frustrating. British democrats on all sides, however, have learned to live with it, accepting that elections have to be fought this way, given the extreme caution of most British voters in matters financial. Continue reading...

‘Economic arguments are clearly in favour of remaining in the EU’, economics professors writeTen of the world’s leading economists have issued a warning about the consequences of the UK leaving the EU as the City prepares for the pound to plunge and shares to fall in the event of a Brexit vote in Thursday’s referendum.Related: We Nobel prize-winning economists believe the UK is better off in the EU | Letters Continue reading...

Economic issues are central to the UK referendum debate. We believe that the UK would be better off economically inside the EU. British firms and workers need full access to the single market. In addition, Brexit would create major uncertainty about Britain’s alternative future trading arrangements, both with the rest of Europe and with important markets like the USA, Canada and China. And these effects, though one-off, would persist for many years. Thus the economic arguments are clearly in favour of remaining in the EU.

Major changes to the capital’s most famous shopping street look to be on their way, though how closely they match Sadiq Khan’s manifesto promise remains to be seenSadiq Khan is not the first London mayor to pledge to transform Oxford Street from a clogged, smogged motor highway lined with shops into a clean, green avenue of retail walking therapy, but he just might be the last. That is because he just might do it - or, at least, provide the political drive to help others to take big strides in that direction.If it happens it will be, in part, because Khan will have brought the same energy and know-how to bear on the problems threatening one of the most famous shopping streets in the world that characterised his capture of City Hall. It will also be because wider circumstances have rendered continuing inaction unacceptable.Work with Westminster Council, local businesses, Transport for London and taxis to pedestrianise Oxford Street. I will start by bringing back car-free days and possibly weekends before moving towards full pedestrianisation. Our eventual ambition should be to turn one of the world’s most polluted streets into one of the world’s finest public spaces - a tree-lined avenue from Tottenham Court Road to Marble Arch. Continue reading...

Europe has been moving in a direction that rightwing Conservatives would tend to supportIt is now nearly nine years since the problems of three hedge funds heralded the arrival of global financial and economic chaos. Britain’s EU referendum this week is the latest manifestation of that crisis.That is not the way the debate in the UK has been framed. For one side, the decision is all about taking back control, especially over immigration. For the other, it is about the potential consequences for the economy in general and individuals in particular.Related: We Nobel prize-winning economists believe the UK is better off in the EU | LettersRelated: Brussels isn’t the bad guy. Tory cuts cause Britain’s troublesRelated: The humiliation of Greece is an act of economic war by the EU | Letters Continue reading...

Lack of government investment in five key areas – jobs, vacancies, wages, housing and the NHS – is the real reason we’re sufferingDon’t blame the EU for your troubles, blame Tory austerity. This is the message Labour voters should hear from Jeremy Corbyn. It is a message Ed Miliband could have made more forcefully during his term as Labour leader, when the conversation on the doorstep turned to immigration. Instead, he appeared to choke with embarrassment.Corbyn has a higher embarrassment threshold. He could look the immigration question in the eye and not blink. Unfortunately, the Islington North MP considers debating immigration off limits. Continue reading...

With the referendum approaching, we round up experts’ opinions on what effect they think a Leave vote would have on the economic landscapeA vote to quit the European Union would have many consequences for the UK, some more apparent than others. George Osborne argues that life after Brexit would be characterised by market turmoil and a shock to the government’s finances that will force ministers to impose even more austerity. Here we look at what business groups, analysts and economic forecasters have said will be the effect on the economic landscape should the UK vote to leave. Continue reading...

Annual report on the British economy predicts ‘negative and substantial’ effects if Britain left the EULeaving the EU would hit British living standards, stoke inflation and wipe up to 5.5% off GDP, the International Monetary Fund has warned with less than a week to go until the referendum.The IMF used its annual report on the British economy to say Brexit would plunge the UK into recession next year and that it could see no economic advantage in leaving the EU.Related: IMF chief urges Britain to stay in Europe Continue reading...

Latest tranche staves off country’s most pressing problems, but there is widespread concern the deal is simply buying timeThe prospect of Europe’s febrile politics being injected with another dose of Greek summer drama has been averted after creditors signed off on billions of euros of bailout loans that will enable Athens to make imminent debt repayments.After months of negotiations over the terms of the €86bn (£68bn) rescue programme thrashed out last year, the country’s third, eurozone lenders said Greece had made enough policy progress to warrant the disbursement of further aid. Continue reading...

Praising British openness to other nationalities, Christine Lagarde warns of a worrying rise in economic nationalismThe head of the International Monetary Fund has made an impassioned plea for the UK to vote to stay in the EU, arguing that membership of the bloc has made the economy stronger and the country more diverse and creative.Related: Bank of England: economy will be hit hard if Britain leaves EU Continue reading...

It’s a fantasy that the EU will trade with us on our terms. Only by remaining will we have any cloutAlmost everyone agrees that the EU is not working well. It is also true that on almost any scenario, whether we are in or out, this region will remain our biggest and closest market. Whether it thrives or not is, or should be, of fundamental interest to us. All that matters is whether it thrives more or less by the UK being out or in.Related: What happens next if Britain votes to leave the EU?If the vote is to remain, the UK has a wholly new platform from which to lead the debate for reform Continue reading...

Former London mayor suggests Mark Carney was talking economy down by warning that pound could fallBoris Johnson has dismissed fears about the value of sterling in the event of Brexit and suggested the Bank of England governor, Mark Carney, is guilty of talking the economy down.Related: Why the Bank of England was right to reveal Brexit anxiety Continue reading...

UK central bank warns that big economic decisions are already being delayed by uncertainty over the EU vote, as it leaves interest rates on hold yet again

Poll finds businesses in London and Scotland most concerned about Brexit, with those in Midlands, northern and eastern England most optimisticA third of businesses in the UK think Brexit would be bad for the economy, according to a poll that also shows company bosses in London and Scotland are most worried about a vote to leave the EU in next week’s referendum.The survey of 3,394 business owners and finance directors found those in the Midlands, east of England and northern England were the most optimistic about Brexit being helpful to the economy. Continue reading...

Andrew Cox and Simon Winfield have much in common but disagree on how to vote in the referendum. Here they discuss what Brexit would mean for businessAndrew Cox and Simon Winfield run businesses in the Black Country. Both export to the EU and beyond. Both worry about UK skills shortages and both want more help for manufacturers. But there is one thing they don’t agree on: how to vote in the EU referendum.Cox believes Britain needs to shake off the constraints of EU membership to flourish. Winfield reckons staying in the EU is vital to his business and to Britain’s prospects. Continue reading...

Central bank’s monetary policy committee says pound likely to tumble and markets would react erratically to Brexit, as interest rates remain at 0.5%The Bank of England has issued a fresh warning that a vote to leave the EU in next week’s referendum risks knocking economic growth, pushing the pound sharply lower and sending shockwaves through the global economy.Related: Bank of England warns Brexit uncertainty is hurting the economy – business liveRelated: Cameron criticises former Tory leaders who question Bank over EU Continue reading...

Defaults in the hugely indebted corporate sector could derail state-owned banks, triggering a systemic crisis, economist saysChina’s total debt was more than double its gross domestic product in 2015, a government economist has said, warning that debt linkages between the state and industry could be “fatal” for the world’s second largest economy.

All the day’s news as chancellor warns of £30bn black hole if UK leaves the EU, and Nigel Farage leads pro-Brexit flotilla along the Thames

This week we learned that the directors of the housebuilding company Persimmon are to share a bonus of £600m (Executive pay is obscene – restructuring the economy is the only way to curb it, G2, 14 June). This revelation was greeted with calls for these executives to “show restraint”, given the ongoing shortage of affordable housing. After all, as the Conservative party tells us, “we’re all in this together”.I was reminded of an earlier campaign to encourage the rich to show restraint and demonstrate solidarity with the people disadvantaged by government policy. I’m thinking of events in 1795, when wheat prices in England rose precipitously. Working people relied on bread, and spent a significant percentage of household income on it. Concerned that the high cost of bread would cause hardship, and that hardship might lead to unrest, MPs called on the wealthy to show restraint. Gentlemen up and down the country signed pledges and issued public statements affirming that until prices fell they and their households would eat more economical wholegrain breads, and would not use scarce grain for non-essential purposes such as in hair powder. Continue reading...

Barclays will be hardest hit if Britain votes to leave EU and all dividend payouts will be axed, say bank experts at BernsteinBank shares are likely to fall sharply if there was a vote for Brexit and dividend payouts to shareholders would be axed, according to a forecast by City analysts.Related: No sleep for City banks on EU referendum night Continue reading...

Anti-EU campaigners send a flotilla of fishing boats up the Thames on Wednesday. The group was organised by Ukip leader Nigel Farage. They were met by Bob Geldof on a pleasure cruiser and pro-EU campaigners and clashed, via loudspeaker, over the issue of fishing under EU law. Geldof accused the Ukip leader of being a fraud

Number of non-UK nationals working in Britain is up by 229,000 to 3.34 million year on yearFor now, all UK economic data has to be seen through the prism of the looming EU referendum. It is not a question of whether the figures are good or bad in themselves, but whether they are helpful to camp remain or camp leave.In the past week, the releases have been in favour of the Brexiteers. Industrial production was up, the trade deficit narrowed and inflation was better than the financial markets had expected. The latest report on the labour market continued the trend.Related: Unemployment rate at record low despite stall in private sector hiring Continue reading...

Almost three quarters of UK working-age population employed with latest increase mainly due to rise in self-employmentUnemployment dropped to its lowest rate since 2005 in April, to a level which without the looming Brexit vote would set off interest rate warning bells at the Bank of England. .The unemployment rate fell to 5% from 5.1% in March, while the number of jobs in the economy jumped 55,000 from March to set a record high employment rate of 74.2%. Once the jobless rate falls below 5%, the Bank believes wage pressures start to build. Continue reading...

Rather than slashing spending, the government would be wise to take a pragmatic approach to the economy if we left the EUPicture the scene. It is 28 June, five days after Britain has decided to leave the European Union. Since the referendum, the financial markets have been panic-stricken. Shares and the pound have fallen, despite the efforts of the Bank of England to calm nerves.David Cameron has called a meeting of the cabinet to be addressed by George Osborne. Eight days before the vote, the chancellor had warned that a Brexit vote would force him to deliver an emergency budget that would raise £30bn – half from tax increases and half from spending cuts.Related: George Osborne: vote for Brexit and face £30bn of taxes and spending cuts Continue reading...

Thinktank paints a grim picture of immediate aftermath and beyond if Britain votes to leave EU, including recessionA vote to leave the European Union would trigger economic and political convulsions in the UK, plunging the country back into recession and sending the pound sharply lower, a forecasting group has warned.Investors would rush to dump UK assets including shares and bonds in the immediate aftermath of voters choosing Brexit, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit.Related: FTSE 100 hits three-month low as Brexit fears grow Continue reading...

Forget the economy – those who want Brexit are happy to take a short-term hit for the long-term benefits over immigration and sovereignty. So why are they wrong? First, if the government can’t reduce immigration on the portion that it already controls, Brexit will make no difference. Even with immigration at historic highs, unemployment is still near historic lows. If foreigners weren’t taking up our jobs, we wouldn’t have enough hands to go round.Second, the pressure on infrastructure is not just the fault of immigration; natural growth is significant. Almost as many new mouths are born each year as come from another country. Yet investment in housing, the NHS and education has not been keeping pace – a neglect made worse by a programme of unpopular cuts. And third, how much control would we have over “our” country after Brexit, anyway? Are we so happy with the decisions “they” make in Westminster? How many people voted for austerity? Higher tuition fees? How many support fracking, or scrapping the “green deal”? Most people still have little ability to influence government policy. Continue reading...

Whether or not one agrees that immigration is a threat to the UK, the numbers coming here from the EU will surely increase significantly during the “interregnum” – maybe two years or longer. Also, what will happen to the many British working in the EU when/if we leave? Won’t these be less able to work in the EU then? They may well choose to return to the UK. So, if we choose to leave, we can expect a significant increase in the numbers arriving from the EU seeking work – presumably the very outcome that leavers fear?

Economist who sought to improve the lot of women during global changes in work and technologyThe radical economist Swasti Mitter, who has died of cancer aged 76, pioneered the investigation of how global changes in work and technology have affected women in developing countries.She applied the skills of a hard-headed, mathematically inclined economist, plus an exceptional capacity for empathetic social investigation, to the human consequences of shifts in the international division of labour. Beginning by collecting the testimonies of Bangladeshi immigrant homeworkers in the clothing industry in the East End of London in 1982, she went on to trace connections between the casualisation of labour in Britain and the operations of transnational corporations in developing countries. Continue reading...

Sterling and shares have slid as the City reacts to polls showing the Leave on track to win next week’s referendum

Prices in the restaurants and hotels sector were 2.6% higher in May than they were a year earlierOil prices have risen. A lower pound is making imports dearer. The more generous minimum wage is pushing up the cost of hiring labour. Signs of inflationary pressure can be seen everywhere apart from in the official measure of the cost of living.As usual, the City was expecting the headline annual inflation rate to rise in May. As usual, it was wrong. Instead of rising to 0.4%, inflation remained at 0.3%, where it has been in each month of 2015 apart from March, which was affected by the early timing of Easter.Related: UK inflation unchanged at 0.3% in May Continue reading...

The challenge posed by low-cost producers such as China will continue, whatever the EU referendum outcomeManufacturing matters and Brexit can help. Although a service sector economy, UK manufacturing is vital in achieving balanced and regional growth and reducing the large trade deficit.Strong global influences are challenging manufacturing, not least low-cost producers led by China. These will continue, whatever the referendum outcome. But Brexit provides greater flexibility to cope and position for the future.Related: Sir James Dyson dismisses Brexit trade fears as 'cobblers'Related: Would the pound be weakened by Brexit? Continue reading...

Pro-Brexit Tory minister says of £160m being contributed to EU, £100m would go on NHS but then flounders over restThe employment minister, Priti Patel, has struggled to explain how a post-Brexit government would spend money it currently contributes to the EU.Remain campaigners accused Vote Leave of peddling “fantasy economics” after it claimed it would protect those, such as farmers and scientists, who are currently funded by the EU. Continue reading...

This turbulence reinforces the in camp’s message about the economic risks of leaving the EUBrexit pursued by a bear. Traders in the City of London are not especially renowned for their cultural appreciation but Shakespeare’s most famous stage direction has been adapted to sum up the mood with just over a week to go before the referendum.There was certainly a bit of A Winter’s Tale feel about the financial markets as investors pored over the latest opinion polls suggesting the leave side is on course for what, only a month ago, looked like an improbable victory.Bond markets looking good. Lot of international investors happy to buy UK gilts ahead of Brexit Continue reading...

Much of weakness in consumer prices blamed on uncertainty created by EU referendumInflation remained at 0.3% in May after a rise in transport costs and hotel bills was offset by the falling cost of clothes and food.The Office for National Statistics said a slide in the price of games, toys and hobby items also played a role in keeping the consumer prices index (CPI) at the same level as April and below 1% since the end of 2014.

BP’s call for a ‘meaningful carbon price’ is the latest example of wrongly trying to apply economic theories and tools to the environmentBP’s Statistical Review of World Energy is a standard industry reference document. It’s a useful indicator of trends, if occasionally the victim of politics. Continue reading...

It is a reasonable assumption the pound would fall following a Brexit – what happens after that, however, is not so easy to predictThe pound has been falling on the foreign exchange markets as opinion polls have suggested that the result of the EU referendum on 23 June is too close to call. According to the Treasury’s worst-case forecast, sterling could drop by 15% after a Brexit vote. Continue reading...

It’s a scandal. Charlatans in pinstripes are being allowed to wring dry their companies, with the taxpayer footing the billOn Wednesday, two very different men will have to explain themselves. Both appear in London, to a room full of authority figures – but their finances and their status place them at opposite ends of our power structure. Yet put them together and a picture emerges of the skewedness of today’s Britain.For the Rev Paul Nicolson, the venue will be a magistrate’s court in London. His “crime” is refusing to pay his council tax, in protest against David Cameron’s effective scrapping of council tax benefit, part of his swingeing cuts to social security. In order to pay for a financial crisis they didn’t cause, millions of families already on low incomes are sinking deeper into poverty. In order to pay bills they can’t afford, neighbours of the retired vicar are going without food. The 84-year-old faces jail this week, for the sake of £2,831.Related: BHS collapse could cost taxpayer £35m Continue reading...

Software giant has stunned Wall Street by agreeing to buy business social media network LinkedIn

Sterling and Asian stocks fall to two-month lows amid uncertainty about EU vote and state of world economyFinancial markets suffered falls on Monday amid growing fears that Britain could vote to leave the EU.

Austerity and underinvestment have given us offices that are cold, ugly and miserable. It’s time for a change

Focus on boosting pay risks ignoring debt problems for millions on zero-hour contracts, Citizens Advice saysFour-and-a-half million people in England and Wales are in insecure work, according to research by Citizens Advice, which has warned too much focus on boosting pay risks ignoring the problem of unpredictable incomes for many households.

Labour MP Dan Jarvis backs call for levy on richest 0.1% to help cut deficit and protect public servicesA one-off tax on Britain’s super-rich is the only feasible way to tackle the government’s spending deficit and protect vital public services, according to a report backed by the Labour MP Dan Jarvis and the left-of-centre Fabian Society thinktank.The levy would apply to UK residents with more than £10m in assets, with a supplementary charge for those with more than £20m in shares and property.Related: World's wealthiest people just got 5.2% wealthierRelated: Recession rich: Britain's wealthiest double net worth since crisis Continue reading...

New rules aim to shame employers into ending wage disparity between the sexes but tougher penalties, such as a pay gap tax, are neededMore than three decades after the equal pay act, the gender pay gap still stands at about 19%, with the average British woman earning around 80p for every £1 earned by a man.David Cameron believes he has a few ways to narrow the gulf and has vowed to eliminate it “in a generation”. But for many people that is clearly too long to wait. Continue reading...

Economic discontent over globalisation leaves many voters wavering. Corbyn and McDonnell could make a decisive intervention for Remain if they choseBrexit is pointless – utterly pointless. It cannot even be distinguished by the label “project”, because the Brexit people are unable tell us with an ounce of conviction what they have in store.The essence of their campaign is entirely negative: keep out immigrants – although some of the more prominent Brexiters, in common with so many of us, are descended from immigrants – and take a leap into the economic and trading unknown. The supply chains of so much business are now trans-European, but these would be needlessly disrupted as the nation turned in on itself. No wonder the markets are unsettled; and those of us with long memories know that when markets become seriously unsettled, it is difficult to prevent things from getting totally out of hand.So far the impression is that the Labour leaders have been half-hearted about their conversion to the European cause Continue reading...

The chancellor and Bank governor Mark Carney have a chance to put the pro-EU position to the City this week – but have few new cards to playGeorge Osborne’s critics sense that his reputation as a master tactician is unravelling. His “omnishambles” budget of 2012 was a clue to the limits of his powers.More recently, he entered the battlefield in the EU referendum with all guns blazing, only to run out of ammunition weeks before the vote. Analysts were bemused that the chancellor and the prime minister had fired all their shots before most people had woken up to the fact that a referendum was even taking place. Continue reading...

Janet Yellen, the head of the Federal Reserve, has been criticised for dithering, but there are many factors stopping her from raising interest ratesWhen Janet Yellen sits down with her colleagues on the Federal Reserve’s interest rate-setting committee this week, another slice of her credibility will be on the line.America’s recovery since the financial crash has not followed the path it was supposed to. The central bank’s constant dithering over whether to raise interest rates has made it appear weak and unable to influence events. Continue reading...

Concerns over 23 June referendum compounded fears of a global economic slowdown, falling oil prices and next week’s Federal Reserve meetingInvestors are bracing for more choppy trading on financial markets in the final run-up to the EU referendum after Brexit jitters knocked the pound to a seven-week low, dented share prices and fuelled demand for safer assets such as bonds and gold.With opinion polls tight and less than two weeks to go before the vote, sterling came under pressure and it was down more than 1% against the US dollar at one point on Friday. In late afternoon trading the pound was worth $1.43.Related: FTSE falls sharply amid new Brexit warnings - as it happenedRelated: No single market access for UK after Brexit, Wolfgang Schäuble says#gold price appears to be tracking odds of #Brexit. We expect jump to at least $1,400 if UK votes to leave EU. pic.twitter.com/oDfYh59ZQp Continue reading...