World

Since 1996, federal law has prevented non-citizen US residents, like myself, from voting in elections. We pay taxes, hold down jobs and own property, but don’t get a say in the leadership of the nation. This isn’t uncommon: in the UK, only Irish and Commonwealth citizens get to vote in the general election, on top of those already qualifying as British. But in the US, the discourse is polarised between citizens and illegal immigrants, with little discussion spared for the people caught somewhere in the middle. And with just a day left in the race, President Obama has created another small furore – in certain circles – with his ambiguous

A parliamentary committee has concluded that the triple lock on the state pension has to go because it is “unsustainable” and “unfair” on younger families. The pledge means that each year, parts of the state pension will be increased by either inflation, earnings or 2.5pc – whichever is the higher. When I served as pensions minister, my experience led me to believe a double lock would be better. Here’s why:- Triple lock has been used by politicians and Government to cover up pension policy failures: I discovered, as a Minister, that when people raised problems about any aspect of pensions policy, the official reply was that the Government had the triple lock. That

In September, Marine Le Pen travelled to Brachay, a microscopic right-wing commune in northeastern France. Despite its diminutive size, this French locality has the greatest percentage of Front National voters – 72 per cent – so its politicians consider it emblematic. With her raucous gusto, produced thanks to decades of smoking, Le Pen regaled the local, mainly middle-aged assembly with a Trump-like speech, claiming she was there to listen to ‘les oubliés de la France’, the forgotten voices of this country, all 59 of them. There she was, in an outfit the French media appropriately described as ‘Madame Tout Le Monde’. In other words, Madame Everybody (if not quite Anybody) — a

Forget your state-by-state polling; your analysis of the voting preferences of suburban mothers in Pennsylvania; never mind your understanding of America’s shifting demographics; your breakdowns of the Latino vote in swing states, or your perception of America’s anger issues. This election, like most elections, will be decided by personality. We all know that Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton score very low on the likeability front. Trump is more reviled than Clinton, but in one important way he has the edge on her: he is funny and she is not. Look at this clip of him addressing the crowd in Florida: Now that, no matter how much you loathe him, is

Polite, well-heeled New Hampshire is the last place you’d expect to see a voodoo doll. But there it was, pointed out by my producer, clutched by a woman called Mavis. This being a Trump rally, it was of course a Clinton likeness, complete with pins. Residents of the granite state pride themselves on being a sophisticated lot, but the doll sent a certain shiver up the spine.  Come to think of it, I was already shivering. It was the end of a long week traipsing through four states following the Trump campaign. The Secret Service kept us waiting outside for three quarters of an hour in the pelting New England

In the final week of the US Presidential campaign, City Index explore how financial markets might react to Trump and Clinton in the White House. There is potential for significant market activity, especially if Trump secures a victory, as investors worry about an unpredictable president at the helm. We may see equity markets and the US dollar drop as investors put their investments into safe havens such as yen and gold. Over the longer term, Trump may lean towards a more hawkish FED and higher interest rates, which could lead to a stronger US dollar. This in turn may weigh on the price of gold. Clinton, on the other hand, is seen by Wall St as