The Tories’ bold pitch for Labour voters isn’t all bad for business October 13, 2016 Businesses are often surprised by government announcements, mistaking civilised interactions with ministers and advisers for their real political intentions. Politicians might sympathise with a particular policy, but it will always be overridden by the political imperatives of the day. And so it is that many businesses have been caught off guard by the government’s shift [...]
Was the Marmite-gate row with Tesco over post-Brexit price hikes a PR disaster for Unilever? October 13, 2016 Arlo Brady, managing partner of the Brewery at Freuds, says Yes. This has been an uncomfortable few days for Unilever. A company that rightly prides itself as a world leader in corporate reputation has found itself in a bitter deadlock with the British public, withholding supplies of Marmite from the nation’s breakfast tables as it battles [...]
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan must remember refugees and asylum seekers in his bespoke Brexit deal October 13, 2016 Earlier this week, Sadiq Khan delivered a speech to the Confederation of British Industry counselling against a "hard Brexit", in which the UK would leave the single market without privileged access for its businesses. This forms part of Khan’s concerted efforts to protect his metropolitan constituents, a very large number of whom own or are employed [...]
MPs should debate Brexit, not frustrate it October 13, 2016 Parliament is back in session after the theatre of the party conference season and there are plenty of meaty topics into which our legislators can sink their teeth. The Treasury Select Committee has been grilling HMT's top officials; Tory backbenchers have called for a new Royal Yacht Britannia; Boris Johnson has lambasted Russia over its actions [...]
Brexit will be unequivocally good for the UK economy in both the short and long term October 12, 2016 When questioned on Brexit by the BBC’s Andrew Neil at a conference earlier this week, I made what appeared to be a radical statement: “Brexit will be unequivocally good for the British economy.” Understandably, Neil came back at me sharply, demanding to know how my statement could be reconciled with City firms shifting their location [...]
Beyond Heathrow versus Gatwick: The government should set airports free to compete for future growth October 12, 2016 The question of where to build a new runway in the South East has been stuck in the hangar for decades. But the lack of progress has not been for want of trying. Far from it. In fact, for all the time that’s been devoted to this issue over the last 40 years, we should have [...]
Theresa May’s statism is the wrong way to build a more prosperous post-Brexit Britain October 12, 2016 Labour has lurched to the hard left and Ukip does not currently seem equipped to capture the significant number of voters on lower incomes who are worried about immigration and the impact of globalisation. So it is understandable that the Prime Minister is seeking to seize the coveted centre ground. For that purpose, Mrs May’s [...]
Would the chancellor just damage the incentive to save if he tinkers with pension tax relief at the Autumn Statement? October 12, 2016 Steve Webb, director of policy at Royal London and former pensions minister, says Yes. Some things in life are about more than the short term, and pensions planning is surely one of those things. But how can individuals, employers and the pensions industry plan for the future when the rules are changed on an almost annual [...]
Will Samsung’s image burn and crash after Galaxy fires? October 12, 2016 Yesterday, Samsung permanently halted production of its Galaxy Note 7 model after the devices were reported to be catching on fire due to a battery fault. It comes just a month after the manufacturer undertook a recall of the product following similar incidents. But how serious a crisis is this for the South Korean tech giant? [...]
Pound’s crash reflects poorly on Downing Street October 12, 2016 Former Bank of England governor Sir Mervyn King spoke out on Monday regarding the previous week’s so-called flash crash in the value of the pound. “The whole thing has generated reactions which are over the top,” King said. Just 24 hours later and sterling was, last night, printing figures below $1.21 as foreign exchange traders in [...]