The suicide of the US political elite is a terrifying threat to global stability April 11, 2016 Political risk analysts, like most humans, have a terrible time looking at themselves in the mirror. I remember at one seminar of the prestigious Council on Foreign Relations, we were asked to list the top three political risks in the world. Dutifully, the usual suspects were called upon: global terrorism, Putin’s adventurism, financial meltdown, and [...]
Too often it’s the UK – not Brussels – to blame for the costly burden of regulation April 11, 2016 Everyone remembers the story about the EU imposing new rules on straight bananas. What about Brussels banning double-decker buses? Or more recently, as Boris Johnson found to his embarrassment, the claim that EU regulation prevented children from blowing up balloons? These sometime comedic stories even have their own word: “euromyths”. It is often said that [...]
From infrastructure delays to skills shortages, ebbing business confidence isn’t all about the EU referendum April 11, 2016 For some weeks now, all eyes in Westminster – and most in the City – have been on the EU referendum. Talk has focused almost exclusively on what may happen when the British people make their historic choice to Remain or Leave on 23 June. Yet for many businesses, particularly those beyond the City, Britain’s [...]
Don’t dismiss regulation outright: New measures can be a lifeline for gambling addicts April 8, 2016 The gambling industry has had a hard time lately, with profits suffering with tightening legislation and a number of high profile criticisms from campaigners and the distressed public. But despite the sector's problems, it is fair to say gambling is on the rise – and the traditional British pastime is becoming a life changing addiction [...]
Marks & Spencers has released another set of disappointing numbers – is the new boss the same as the old boss? April 8, 2016 So here we are again. Marks & Spencer has put out another set of dismal results, marking the 17th quarter of clothing sales declines out of 18 at what is the nation’s defining retailer. The story was similar to so many that we’ve heard before: general merchandise was a disappointment (although admittedly, the 2.7 per cent [...]
Steel crisis: Protectionism is a disastrous policy – but don’t thank the EU for banning Parliament from even considering it April 8, 2016 Protectionism is bad for you. It stifles the free exchange of goods and services, it pushes up prices, and it kills jobs – not just in the competitor nation whose trade is blocked, but in the nation which believes it is protecting itself by raising trade barriers. Take steel, the latest fashionable focus for those [...]
Far left Bernie Sanders has exposed Hillary Clinton’s joyless campaign for what it really is April 8, 2016 Hillary Clinton is facing a growing challenge in the Democratic primary from an enthusiast for food rationing. No joke. The Daily Beast’s Michael Moynihan has dug up comments Bernie Sanders (then mayor of Burlington, Vermont) made in the 1980s, in which he praised countries where “people line up for food”, agreed that “bread lines are [...]
In defence of “tax havens”: Why the world would be much poorer without offshore finance April 8, 2016 Offshore financial centres (OFCs) have taken a bashing in the press in the last few days following the Mossack Fonseca leaks. But the truth is that the major OFCs are extremely well regulated and have been so for many years. It is far harder to set up a company in Jersey than in the UK, [...]
Is the government wrong to be using £9.3m of taxpayers’ money to fund pro-EU literature? April 8, 2016 Harry Fairhead, a policy analyst at the TaxPayers’ Alliance, says Yes. The government should never waste money on the sort of patronising propaganda that will be landing on our doormats. Taxpayers across the country have different views on the EU, so it is abhorrent for the government to be using our money to tell us what [...]
EU referendum: London will be stronger if the UK remains as a semi-detached member of the club April 7, 2016 Any freedom gained by Brexit will come at the expense of opportunity and London will bear the brunt if Britain votes to leave. London will be stronger if the UK remains as a semi-detached but full member of the club, as negotiated by Prime Minister David Cameron in his reform deal. London has flourished by being [...]