A pensions Green deal that needs energy to understand March 3, 2017 The Green deal: a government-sponsored scheme eventually discarded after failing to adequately explain its benefits and providing poor value to participants. I’m referring, of course, to a Tory-Lib Dem coalition energy-efficiency programme, but is it a description which applies equally well to Sir Philip Green’s £363m settlement with regulators over the pension crisis at BHS? On [...]
Britain can enjoy another golden age of advertising outside the EU March 3, 2017 Between the 1970s and 80s, British advertising grew rapidly from a cottage industry to eventually transform the UK into the creative capital of the world. London agencies began buying up their New York counterparts and acquiring the lion’s share of global marketing budgets. This process began long before we joined the Common Market. It had [...]
The real business rates scandal is that the government is abolishing accuracy March 3, 2017 How much income tax should you pay? The question is not about the tax rate but the accuracy of the amount. Should HMRC take from you a sum which, plus or minus a margin of error, reflects your earnings, investments and reliefs? Or should your contribution be an accurate assessment? Why settle for anything less [...]
Experts aren’t the problem: The problem is conceited experts March 3, 2017 Famously, Michael Gove attacked experts in the EU referendum campaign. And, of course, the experts have fought back, leading Gove to add appropriate context to his remarks. Nobody wants brain surgery from a non-expert. At the same time, there is a paradox. On the one hand, we should use reason to try to improve the [...]
Should the government unilaterally guarantee the rights of EU nationals in Britain? March 3, 2017 Jon McLeod, chairman of UK corporate, financial and public affairs at Weber Shandwick, says Yes. We have already heard the moral case for guaranteeing the rights of EU citizens in the UK. While it is important, the main reason to take the step endorsed by the House of Lords is naked self-interest. For a start, [...]
Editor’s Notes: It’s hard to see how Corbyn’s Labour party could sink any lower, Brexiteers attempt some cheer and Michael Gove takes to Twitter like a duck to water March 3, 2017 An American has taken out an advert in the Times to lay claim to the British throne. Allan Evans, of Colorado, says he is a descendant of a royal Welsh line dating back to the third century, and that “in 30 days’ time” he “shall claim his royal estate”. I was reading about Evans’ dubious [...]
Theresa May’s industrial strategy has come under fire from an influential committee of MPs March 3, 2017 Prime Minister Theresa May's flagship industrial strategy runs the risk of failure without more long-term planning, an influential committee of MPs has warned. May has made the strategy a central tenet of her premiership, but has today been told that it lacks cross-government co-ordination and any framework for future decision-making. One week before chancellor Philip [...]
General inflation is now outpacing rent rises March 3, 2017 Inflation is now outpacing rental price growth in the UK, and, in London, rents have barely changed over the last year. According to data from Homelet, UK rents grew on average by 0.8 per cent annually in February, and in London rents edged up by just 0.4 per cent. Overall inflation is now at 1.8 per [...]
British private sector growth picks up as the UK consumer’s strong form continues March 3, 2017 Private sector growth picked up in February as services geared towards consumers continued to impress, according to a survey of British companies. The balance of firms from across the UK economy reporting growth increased from 10 per cent to 15 per cent positive in the three months to February, according to the Confederation of British [...]
House of Commons committee tells Pensions Regulator to up its game after BHS March 3, 2017 The MPs' committee that investigated the collapse of high street giant BHS has told the Pensions Regulator that it must be "nimbler" and "more assertive" to avoid a similar crisis in future. The work and pensions committee has been pushing for reform of the pensions watchdog, but has said the body's response has been "light" and that [...]