The UK economy has endured disappointing growth following the 2008-2009 global financial crisis. Prior to the financial crisis, the economy was experiencing GDP growth rates of around 3 percent; but after the economy contracted by 0.968 percent and 3.974 percent in 2008 and 2009 respectively, the UK could only post a 1.799 percent GDP growth rate (constant prices, national currency) in 2010 – one of the slowest recoveries among the OECD nations.
Nearly one in four British children – 3.4 million – could be living in relative poverty by 2020, warned an independent think-tank on Tuesday, taking the nation’s child poverty levels back to the turn of the century when then-Prime Minister Tony Blair first announced plans to “eradicate” it.
Scotland may not be allowed to use the Pound Sterling as its currency in the event that its voters opt for independence next year, said the U.K. Treasury on Tuesday, citing the recent tumult in the euro area as a warning to the challenge of sustaining a formal currency union.
Unveiling a report prepared by a group of non-partisan civil servants and independent economists, the Treasury warned that “even with constraints in place, the economic rationale for the U.K. to agree to enter a formal sterling union with a separate state is not clear.”
The funeral of former British PM Margaret Thatcher saw a nation divided in hatred and love for one of the most iconic world leaders of modern times. While, Inner London today is one of the richest parts of the entire European Union, in the North of England there are towns still with persistently high levels of unemployment due to Thatcher’s past policies.
The U.K. property market is beginning to show some signs of activity again after a couple of years of relative inactivity. February in 2013 saw slight average house prices increases, of 0.2 percent according to Nationwide Building Society or 0.5 percent according to Halifax. Halifax’s figures for the first quarter show increases of 1.9 percent.
Hundreds of U.K. companies may soon be at risk of defaulting due to highly-leveraged buyouts made by private equity funds prior to the 2008 financial crisis, warned the Bank of England on Thursday, with the entire U.K. financial system believed to face massive instability unless the debt can be refinanced or restructured.
The U.K. government is hoping to raise as much as $98,000 by selling off part of its vintage wine collection, which is normally served to foreign heads of state and prime ministers at 200 or more events a year, reported Reuters.
Last Friday, the U.K. lost its much-treasured AAA rating, after Moody’s downgraded its sovereign debt on the back of poor economic growth forecasts. But while the timing of the downgrade was surprising, the move itself was long anticipated – and is unlikely to see the government, nor investors, change their opinions for the future.
Britain’s tax agency should name and shame individuals and companies who use legal loopholes to avoid paying tax, said a UK spending watchdog, warning that the taxman is losing the “game of cat and mouse” to elaborate tax avoidance schemes.
According to the UK’s Public Accounts Committee, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is missing out on approximately £5 billion ($7.8 billion) a year because the taxman is failing to crack down on “morally wrong” tax avoidance schemes.
The finances of the British Royal Family may come under scrutiny by the government later this year, reported The Guardian last week, after a group of MPs challenged the tax exemptions enjoyed by the monarchy, particularly those of Prince Charles, the heir to the throne.
