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TAG | David Cameron
“Axe Wednesday” as it is now known, has caused further divide between the Labour Party and the coalition government led by David Cameron and Nick Clegg.
490,000 public sector workers will lose their jobs over the next four years, whilst the retirement age is now set to increase to 66.
Business leaders across the South-West of England and the UK are said to have reacted with caution to the Government trying to control spending in order to get interest rates to an all time low.
It has been said that if the economy continues to grow, then it should absorb these losses. No one knows the timescales and this will therefore mean continued uncertainty, particularly for people in the South-West of the country who continue to battle with job uncertainty.
One of the sectors that will be clearly impacted is the Ministry of Defence, which could absorb up to 32,000 job losses. Bristol and the South-West are major centres for the MoD, with multiple sites based in the region.
As critical as the position now stands in terms of further pending cuts to the public sector, the ultimate question is will the private sector be able to bridge the gap for these losses?
With the unexpected win over his brother David, the recent appointment of Ed Miliband to head up the Labour Party has come as a positive move for the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC).
The REC’s key priority is to raise awareness of the positive contribution the recruitment industry makes to the economy. Whilst many Labour MPs posed that infrastructure spending must and should be maintained or increased as the market continues to strengthen, Ed Miliband has been urged to reconnect with businesses locally and nationally.
Economic recovery will further depend on improving the confidence within businesses and that will without doubt mean hiring new people into their organisations. Ed Miliband in his opening hour long speech to his party, posed himself as the “Optimist”, something surely businesses will welcome, versus David Cameron who has been criticised for presenting a pessimistic view of where our economy currently stands.
But is the over zealous “Red Ed” setting himself up for a fall when many areas of the UK are still very much in the recession? His utopian view for a fair society, a fair wage and a better work-life balance will surely come under further scrutiny and criticism when there is still so much work to be done on recovering and strengthening the economy.
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What would a hung parliament mean for employment and recruitment?
Comments | Posted by Tara Heath Arnold in Commerce and Industry
General Election day has arrived!
David Cameron has been campaigning through the night and Gordon Brown and Nick Clegg have been completing the final parts of their campaign. The words “hung parliament” keep recurring and are all over the news today.
I have worked in recruitment for 11 years now and without doubt, the last 18 months have been the toughest of my career.
In our industry, we are front line facing, speaking to candidates and clients on a daily basis and the message that we are now communicating and seeing is that the economy has recovered and that there are increasingly more opportunities available to prospective employees.
People generally don’t like uncertainty and we are without doubt better equipped to deal with certainty and clarity. Therefore after 18 months of a turbulent economy, a hung parliament will without doubt create further uncertainty.
Some might say that a hung parliament would not have an immediate affect and in fact Switzerland had a hung parliament from 1952-2008 which was entitled “The Magic Formula” …… however “Magic” is not what the UK currently needs and I believe it would have a detrimental affect on morale and impact the feel good factor that has returned to the UK.
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Party leaders arrive in Bristol
Comments | Posted by Tara Heath Arnold in Commerce and Industry
As the sun shines down on the historic city of Bristol today, David Cameron, Nick Clegg and Gordon Brown are preparing to go head to head on Sky News at 8pm.Rumour has it, that David Cameron was seen jogging around the docks of Bristol first thing this morning!
Whilst I was driving into the Bristol office this morning, on my way to work, the local radio station was bursting with “pride” that Bristol had been chosen to host the second debate. The first city being Manchester and the third likely to be in the Midlands.
Bristol is now known as the “gateway to the South-West” and historically was renowned for its manufacturing and aerospace industries with Concorde making its final flight and resting place based in North Bristol.
In the last 20 years, there have been a significant number of companies who have relocated their head offices in Bristol and the South-West including Lloyds, AXA and Orange amongst others. At the time this hugely impacted recruitment and career opportunities for the local community.
Whilst the last 18 months have been challenging for many companies within Bristol, we are now seeing further confidence in the market place.
As the days pass, there is a significant increase in job opportunities and businesses opening their doors to us on a more frequent basis. With tonight’s debate, this further heightens the excitement in the Bristol community that seems to be building. Post-election, we anticipate further growth, stability and the feel good factor remaining.
