The best Christmas gift for rail users would be more competition and scrapping HS2 December 21, 2018 This week is set to be one of the busiest of the year for domestic travel. So, as London’s train stations are swamped with those endeavouring to get away for the their holidays, it’s worth dwelling on what would be the best Christmas present for travellers: a properly functioning rail system. Amid the whirlwind of [...]
Ollie Phillips: Johnny Sexton’s outstanding Ireland and dominant Saracens lead my 2018 roll of honour December 20, 2018 There is only one place to start a look back at rugby in 2018 and that’s with its best side. Ireland have been the undoubted stars of the last 12 months. They may not have overtaken New Zealand as No1 in the world rankings, but their first ever home win over the All Blacks last [...]
Horse Racing Betting Tips: Agrapart can slog his way to JLT Hurdle success at Ascot December 20, 2018 IF YOU have finished your Christmas shopping and don’t have plans tomorrow, then head to Ascot for a terrific card featuring the Grade One JLT Hurdle (2.25pm). A race that has served up plenty of small-field uncompetitive affairs in the past has been blessed with 11 runners and has the potential to be a cracker. [...]
Horseracing: David Pipe’s City AM Column December 20, 2018 AS THIS is my last column of the year there is plenty to cover off. I’m looking forward to seeing EDEN DU HOUX back in action at Ascot (3.40pm) this afternoon. This looks a hot bumper, but he did the job nicely at Plumpton earlier in the month and we like him a lot. The [...]
Horse Racing Betting Tips: Baie and Blue boost Ireland’s bid for Welsh National repeat December 20, 2018 THERE is always a feast of racing on both sides of the Irish Sea over Christmas and while not many horses from Britain will be travelling over to the Emerald Isle, the Irish could plunder one of our biggest prizes for the second year running. Thursday’s Coral Welsh Grand National (2.50pm) at Chepstow is always [...]
A second referendum wouldn’t be undemocratic… but it would be disastrous December 20, 2018 As a Dutch Anglophile and a committed European, my natural sympathies lie with those currently aiming to preserve the ties that bind the UK to the European Union. What the massive street protests and the passionate people’s vote campaign make clear is that many Brits are as attached to their newly-won European rights as they [...]
DEBATE: With student debt now blowing a hole in the government’s budget, should tuition fees be cut? December 20, 2018 With student debt now blowing a hole in the government’s budget, should tuition fees be cut? Iain Mansfield, a former senior civil servant, says YES. This week’s decision to reclassify student loans has exposed the myth that tuition fees were the only way of making mass higher education affordable – they were never affordable, just off [...]
Forget Brexit, the government must get cracking on Britain’s industrial strategy December 20, 2018 Given the breakneck speed at which news on UK politics has been moving in December, it’s understandable that the first anniversary of the launch of the government’s industrial strategy went largely unnoticed. But in the face of uncertainty over Britain’s international future, it is all the more important that the government makes progress on delivering [...]
Dear Santa, all we want for Christmas is more freedom – sincerely, the economy December 20, 2018 What does the economy want for Christmas? The answer is what it always wants, but rarely gets: more economic freedom. Economic freedom is actually two presents, not one. To make this Christmas one to remember, the economy wants to unwrap both public and private sector freedom. Public sector freedom comes in the form of a [...]
Why 2019 might be a better year for investors December 19, 2018 | City Talk 2018 has been a disappointing year for most investors. Almost all markets, both stocks and bonds, have fallen in value this year, under pressure from rising interest rates, political developments such as Brexit, and the trade dispute between the US and China. With hindsight, markets were priced for perfection at the start of the year [...]