President Xi Jinping’s UK visit: How Britain can truly become China’s best partner in the West October 19, 2015 As the Queen welcomes the President of China to Buckingham Palace today for a state visit, both leaders can reflect on the significant progress made in UK-China relations. Indeed, much has changed. The Chinese economy, despite its slowdown, has grown massively in recent decades; it is eight times larger today than in 1999, when the [...]
Brexit debate: As cabinet ministers demand to campaign for No, will Cameron’s authority collapse because of EU referendum? October 19, 2015 Chris Rumfitt, founder and chief executive of Corporate Reputation Consulting, says Yes Since John Major lashed out at his own cabinet back in 1993, Europe has divided the Conservatives like no other issue. From being a minority pursuit back then, hardline euroscepticism is now the mainstream position within the party. But some cabinet ministers want [...]
Ofsted chief Sir Michael Wilshaw reminds government that apprenticeships need to be worth the effort October 19, 2015 Politicians love apprenticeships. The current government is committed to delivering three million of them in the next five years and ministers’ speeches on the topic tend to have a ring of Stalin’s tractor production statistics. It’s easy to see why politicians are attracted to the lever marked ‘apprenticeships’. With hundreds of thousands of school leavers [...]
Forget Syria: Putin is on the verge of victory in Ukraine October 18, 2015 The western commentariat doesn’t know what to do with Russian President Vladimir Putin, or the enigmatic country that he leads. This can be seen in the comically diverse opinions presently being gravely intoned as to what Putin is doing in both Syria and Ukraine. “Putin is a genius”; “Putin is a fool”; “Russia is regaining [...]
It’s a golden era for UK-China relations: Our transparent markets are at its heart October 18, 2015 On Wednesday night, I have the great privilege of hosting a Chinese delegation for a State Banquet at the Guildhall. I am delighted to return the wonderful hospitality that I, and my delegation of British business leaders, received in China last month, to celebrate the strong relationships that have been forged between our countries’ financial [...]
London can revive its industry and double house-building by getting creative with its space October 18, 2015 The average Briton spends eight hours and 41 minutes using digital devices each day, according to Ofcom – more than they sleep. It is therefore little surprise that we are also the biggest online shoppers in Europe, and this rapid growth in e-commerce partly explains London’s resurgent industrial sheds market, required to stock goods. Transactions [...]
As the Tories come under pressure over tax credit cuts, should Osborne reconsider his decision? October 18, 2015 Harry Fairhead is a policy analyst at the TaxPayers’ Alliance, says Yes. The government should reconsider where it tries to make savings. The working tax credit bill is huge, continues to grow rapidly and so does need to be brought under control. However, tax credit reforms will hurt those on low incomes, and there are [...]
Interview: City A.M. talks to Mark Britnell, chairman of global health at KPMG October 16, 2015 As chairman of KPMG’s global health practice, Mark Britnell understands the changing face of healthcare better than almost anyone. With over 20 years' experience in healthcare, Britnell has overseen the largest new hospital build in British history, established the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine and worked as director general of the NHS (2007-2009). His book ‘In Search of the Perfect [...]
Christopher Bailey’s sky high pay is hard to justify as Burberry’s profits sink October 16, 2015 Burberry, the luxury fashion brand popular with Romeo Beckham and Yanis Varoufakis, must be getting pretty bored with criticism over the size of its executives’ pack packages. Annual eight-figure payments to former boss Angela Ahrendts attracted attention in the wake of the global financial crisis, while current chief Christopher Bailey faced a shareholder revolt before [...]
A short history of libertarianism (or how free will lost its way) October 15, 2015 State intervention in all aspects of life has reached a level that, just a few centuries ago, would have been almost unimaginable. Why then have libertarians, those who value the rights and free will of the individual, not been able to inspire people to reject this unprecedented encroachment of the state? To understand why, we [...]