As Zac Goldsmith plans to run for London mayor, can the Conservatives win again in a Labour city? June 9, 2015 Tom Mludzinski, head of political polling at ComRes, says Yes Whoever is the next Tory candidate faces an Everest-sized task. But Everest has been conquered, and so can London. Boris Johnson is a special politician and winning twice in London as a Conservative is a big achievement. His success was, of course, partly down to [...]
Being made redundant? This 12-point plan can help you make your next move June 9, 2015 This week has already seen two huge British businesses confirmed widespread redundancies. Yesterday Boots revealed it was cutting up to 700 head office jobs, while today HSBC said as many as 25,000 jobs would be going at the bank, of which 8,000 will be from the UK. For many people nowadays, redundancy is a fact [...]
London’s next mayor must harness the City to tackle the housing crisis – David Lammy June 8, 2015 Not a day goes by without a politician talking about the London housing crisis, and rightly so. It is the biggest challenge our city faces, causing serious problems for almost all sections of the capital, from businesses to renters and families to first time buyers. Politicians have a frustrating tendency to talk about housing with [...]
Why a compulsory living wage is not the best way to help society’s poorest June 8, 2015 The Living Wage Foundation – which lobbies employers to pay £9.15 an hour in London and £7.85 elsewhere – has never called for statutory implementation of its cause. It considers itself to be a pragmatic civil society movement, encouraging firms to pay their low-paid workers enough to live comfortably. But the campaign has been hijacked [...]
In praise of the Gurkhas and UK-Nepali friendship June 8, 2015 Tonight, a very special event will take place at the Royal Hospital in Chelsea. In the presence of the Queen and other Royals, a pageant will showcase the two hundredth anniversary of Gurkha service in the British army. Amid the spectacular show, there will be an opportunity, too, to reflect on the devastation that has [...]
After a row over ministers’ freedom to back the No vote, is David Cameron bungling EU renegotiation? June 8, 2015 Tim Knox, director of the Centre for Policy Studies, says Yes Successful negotiation is based on clarity, conviction and consistency. Sadly, in our renegotiations with the EU, clarity is scarce. Are we talking about an optout from ever-closer union? Or is it just a matter of limiting welfare entitlements? So too is conviction. Who can [...]
The Greek crisis will end in calamity: You can’t reconcile the irreconcilable June 7, 2015 Despite conventional wisdom almost constantly (and falsely) reassuring the public in literally thousands of columns that all would come right in the end, here we are, exactly as I said, on the edge of the abyss regarding the Greek crisis. The latest ‘final’ deadline for Greece to release the magical last €7.2bn of its current [...]
How to lose money: Our flawed fixation on the safety of cash is losing us billions every year June 7, 2015 Savers in the UK rely far too heavily on cash. Between us, we have an astonishing £729bn sitting in savings accounts of various kinds, and it’s been earning only around 1 per cent a year on average since 2009. Fifty per cent of that money is in instant access accounts earning less than half that. The [...]
The City must continue to fight to restore its reputation for integrity June 7, 2015 This week at the Mansion House, I will host one of the Square Mile’s biggest events of the year. The annual Bankers’ and Merchants’ Dinner provides an opportunity for the chancellor and the governor of the Bank of England to speak in front of an audience of senior business leaders, captains of industry, regulators and [...]
Will David Cameron fail to achieve fundamental reform of Britain’s EU membership terms? June 7, 2015 Brian Monteith, communications director of Global Britain, says Yes. When one considers the term “fundamental”, one might think that it would include leaving the Common Agricultural and Fisheries policies that increase the cost of food to British consumers and deliver poverty to third world countries. Or we might think it would include reducing the UK’s [...]