Day: February 15, 2016

    David Cameron is to visit Paris on Monday evening for talks with President Francois Hollande ahead of a crunch EU summit on Thursday. Securing French agreement to a package of EU reforms will be crucial if a deal is to be reached in Brussels at the end of this week, clearing the way for a referendum on UK membership before the summer. The Prime Minister must win over Mr Hollande on proposals for protections for non-eurozone states, which have caused consternation in Paris. Mr Cameron is insisting on legally-binding assurances that countries which do not use the single currency will not face discrimination as the eurozone integrates further. But France has made clear that it will resist anything which looks like special treatment for the City of London. The visit to Paris com...

    UK property asking prices have hit an all-time record high of almost £300,000, new data suggests. House sellers so far this month have been seeking an average of £299,287 across England and Wales, according to property website Rightmove. The figure is an increase of £8,324 or 2.9 per cent from the average asking price in January, and is £2,738 above the previous all-time high set in October 2015. The biggest increases were in London, where the average asking price has risen by 10.5 per cent over the last year, to £643,843, and in the East, where it rose 10.7 per cent to £321,630. Related: It's official - these are the 25 best places to live in the UK Demand for housing is also increasing to record highs, with 4.9 million phone and email enquiries last month, the website sa...