Fishburn Hedges

The Pre-Budget Report presented Labour with one of its last opportunities to frame the economic debate ahead of the general election campaign. In a widely predicted move, Chancellor Alistair Darling avoided announcing any widespread cuts, arguing that this would hamper recovery. Instead he focused on securing investment and growth and raising revenue from the wealthy, claiming that the majority of...

Well down in the polls, with the country heavily in debt and still in recession, Alistair Darling is faced with an unenviable task on 9 December. With a general election on the horizon, he must try to turn around the Government’s political fortunes and set the tone for the economic debate that better favours Labour. This PBR could turn out to be Labour’s last roll of the dice.So, what will the...

Today has seen publication of findings from the MacLeod Review of Employee Engagement and Investment. The review was set up by the government to enhance understanding of employee engagement - its benefits, drivers and barriers - and to find out what makes employees committed and enthusiastic to come into work on a Monday morning. It also examined whether wider engagement of the workforce could i...

Alistair Darling doesn’t look like the type to phone in sick, but few could blame him if the thought had crossed his mind last night, as he prepared to present one of the most difficult Budgets of post-war years. Darling tried to make the best of a dire combination of rising debt and reduced revenues by asserting Labour’s plan to invest to grow, rather than cut its way out of the recession. H...