The Conservatives are shifting to the left to destroy Corbyn’s Labour September 29, 2016 The Labour Party is in rapid decline. Now Jeremy Corbyn has been confirmed as Labour’s alternative Prime Minister at the next election – and with far-left activists in apparent ownership of the party – it is hard to see anything other than internal resignations, defections and desertions. The party as we know it looks to [...]
Massive business rate hikes will be a disaster for growth and investment in London September 29, 2016 Hundreds of thousands of companies across the UK are nervously awaiting today’s release of new property valuation data that will determine how much they will have to pay in business rates. As if the prospect of having their rateable values reassessed after a seven-year gap wasn’t scary enough, government announcements this week create a toxic [...]
From server rooms to boardrooms: Cyber crime issues must become top priority for UK bosses September 29, 2016 Cyber crime is big business. Attacks can come from opportunists, commercial rivals, terrorist groups, bored teenagers, organised crime and nation states. The goal could be anything from online vandalism to data theft or destabilisation. Faced with such threats, a new industry has emerged promising an array of state-of-the-art systems to keep your data and commercial [...]
Blackout Britain: Don’t blame the EU alone for the UK’s energy crisis September 29, 2016 Today, the government will release its monthly statistics on total energy production in the UK. This new data will no doubt reflect the poor state of the UK’s energy system, which has suffered from a series of highly damaging state interventions that have burdened consumers with unnecessary costs and left the UK with a worrying [...]
Brexit isn’t a Woolworths moment for commercial property in the City September 28, 2016 In the days following the EU referendum, I found myself looking back to one of the seminal moments of 2008: images showing hundreds of Woolworths shops closing their doors for the final time. At that point, no other event seemed to better illustrate the effects of the global financial crisis on the UK high street. With hindsight, [...]
Trumponomics is big, bold and brash – but less unorthodox than you might think September 28, 2016 Donald Trump is an undoubted political maverick. But is he an economic maverick too? The answer is yes and no. Yes he’s a maverick on trade policy, arguing for the rejection of the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Trump has also called for a 35 [...]
Has Labour under Jeremy Corbyn become completely irrelevant? September 28, 2016 Alex Deane, managing director at FTI Consulting and common councilman in the City of London Corporation, says Yes. While I’m a Tory, there’s no schadenfreude for me in answering “yes” to this. Our country needs a strong opposition; while Jeremy Corbyn continues to lead Labour, we do not have it. Legislation which should be challenged goes [...]
Supermarket wars: Sainsbury’s move to eat rivals’ lunches could turn sour September 28, 2016 British supermarket giant Sainsbury’s recently changed the terms of its lunchtime meal deal offering – much to the dismay of many customers. It decided to remove its more expensive “taste the difference” sandwiches from the deal, and has rebranded the lunchtime option to “on the go”. The move was met with bewilderment on social media [...]
Stuck in a rut? Here’s how to help the Brits who feel left behind September 28, 2016 England cricketer Stuart Broad was lambasted last year when he tweeted: “I’ve heard if you earn minimum wage in England you’re in the top 10 per cent earners in the world.” What was no doubt intended to be an innocuous observation prompted a wave of outrage on social media from people furious that a wealthy [...]
Even domestic banks will suffer if Britain pursues a hard Brexit September 27, 2016 During his farewell speech to the Ukip party conference, Nigel Farage identified his three key objectives for the government’s impending Brexit negotiation. In addition to his demand that the UK reclaim control of its fishing waters, Farage called for the country to leave the Single Market and for the reintroduction of blue British passports. While [...]