Outgoing London mayor Boris Johnson understood what makes London great May 6, 2016 Whoever emerges as London’s next mayor will be filling some enormous shoes. Boris Johnson’s legacy can’t really be quantified in the way you’d weigh ordinary politicians’ achievements. Yes, he can point to Crossrail and huge transport investment, hundreds of thousands of new jobs, a wildly successful Olympics, falling crime, lower mayoral council tax, and big [...]
Why pro-Europeans should back Brexit – to save Europe from the EU May 6, 2016 The EU could not accommodate our desire for reform, we were told, because to do so would have opened the floodgates to further demands from across our beleaguered continent. After all, had the UK managed to negotiate a good deal with the EU, any of the other 27 nation states would naturally have followed suit. [...]
US Presidential Election: Clinton doesn’t just need to beat Trump – she needs to jettison Sanders’ poisonous socialism May 6, 2016 The votes are in – literally. Donald Trump is the presumptive Republican nominee, after his strongest competitor Ted Cruz dropped out of the race after a crushing defeat in the Indiana primary. Democrat Bernie Sanders actually remains competitive with Hillary Clinton if you only look at the number of delegates each candidate has won in [...]
The first 100 days: What the new mayor of London needs to do to hit the ground running May 6, 2016 By the time today’s edition of City A.M. hits the streets, Londoners will have voted for their new mayor. With no overnight count, we are in a tantalising no-man’s land between the polling stations closing and the results being announced. By any measure the mayor’s in-tray is going to be full. From housing to transport, new [...]
Does blaming slower growth on the EU referendum just mask deeper problems with the UK economy? May 6, 2016 James Sproule, chief economist at the Institute of Directors, says Yes. Economic data seem to suggest that UK businesses and consumers alike are holding back on long-term commitments as they are worried about the EU referendum. Quite possibly, but this is only part of the story. Economic slowdown is not just affecting the UK, it seems [...]
Why the EU referendum should not be used as a scapegoat to explain falling M&A activity May 5, 2016 Barack Obama probably dealt with a wide array of important issues during his recent UK visit, but it’s doubtful anyone noticed. Only one subject dominated, and that was the US President’s views on Brexit. So loud is the discourse surrounding the EU referendum that, as was the case with President Obama’s visit, it threatens to [...]
The UK economy is slowing – and it’s not all down to Brexit May 5, 2016 The April purchasing managers' indexes (PMIs) painted the bleakest picture of the UK economy so far this year. The surveys signal a near-stalling of economic growth, down to just 0.1 per cent. How worried should we be? News that the surveys saw an increased number of companies complaining about ‘Brexit’ uncertainty caught the headlines, suggesting that we [...]
Why the government should sell off Channel 4 into the nasty and horrible world of private sector competition May 5, 2016 Channel 4 tells us, for some reason, that they don't want to be sold off into that nasty and horrible world of private sector competition. They've commissioned a report which tells us all that it wouldn't be a good idea and perhaps, for those currently running it, it wouldn't be. The rather more important question [...]
Betting on a one-horse race for City Hall May 5, 2016 By the time the sun rises tomorrow morning London will have a new mayor, and all signs point to Labour’s Sadiq Khan being the man to take over from Boris Johnson. Such has been Khan’s polling dominance over Conservative rival Zac Goldsmith, the Tooting MP could have safely ordered curtains, carpets and desks for his [...]
What Next for the UK’s struggling high street? May 5, 2016 Retailers are having a tough old time of it. After last week’s casualties (BHS and Austin Reed) it seems likely that others could follow, and yesterday’s update from one of the high street’s more reliable traders underscored just how jittery the market has become. As a rule, Next tends to downplay its confidence about any [...]