Don’t fear the SNP: The City can do business with Scottish nationalists May 12, 2015 When Parliament reconvenes next week, there will be many new faces among the throng of MPs being sworn in. For the first time, with no fewer than 56 representatives, the third largest party in the House of Commons will be the SNP. What will that mean for the City’s relationship with Westminster? On the one [...]
Polling errors and the financial crisis: Why groupthink is to blame for both May 12, 2015 The election is done and dusted, but many interesting questions remain. Was there a swing to the Conservatives at the very last minute, or was it indeed possible to foresee the victory in advance? Snippets are emerging which suggest that the electorate had made up their minds well before polling day. Rod Liddle, the entertaining [...]
London MPs must find a common voice – or see the capital overlooked May 12, 2015 The General Election has left the UK looking more politically divided than ever. The SNP dominates in Scotland, Labour in the Northern towns, and the Tories in the South of England. Only Wales and London have retained a somewhat variegated appearance and, with the decimation of the Lib Dems, even they have become less colourful. [...]
Weeks from running out of cash, can Greece only blame itself for failure to reach a deal? May 12, 2015 Ruth Lea is economic adviser to the Arbuthnot Banking Group, says Yes As expected, there was no deal concerning Greece’s funds at Monday’s Eurogroup meeting. Since Syriza took power, Greece’s creditors have consistently and unambiguously stated that it must agree to significant reforms before they endorse the release of the remaining €7.2bn (£5.2bn) of the [...]
Why I can’t feel sorry for LinkedIn as its share price tumbles May 12, 2015 When I read that shares of the business networking company LinkedIn plunged by 20 per cent, I felt quietly cheered. I’m so pleased about it, in fact, that I’m thinking of sending all their connections an email inviting them to congratulate it. Inappropriate? Maybe, but no more so than the one they sent my contacts [...]
Bring forward the EU referendum: The UK’s tech sector can’t wait two years May 11, 2015 As the dust settles on one of the most extraordinary General Election campaigns in generations, a new battle looms on the horizon for Tech City. The nation now faces a war over “Brexit”. David Cameron’s promise to hold a referendum by 2017 on the UK’s EU membership will have major repercussions for the economy and, [...]
The election’s lesson for politicians: Stop obsessing about opinion polls May 11, 2015 Very few predicted last week’s election result correctly. In hindsight, it’s easy to see that this was because the vast majority of us became so utterly enthralled by the weekly, if not daily, splurge of opinion polls. And these, of course, proved to be disastrously wrong. The British Polling Council has already launched an independent [...]
Labour must ditch tribalism to reclaim London’s suburbs May 11, 2015 There is no getting away from it: last Thursday’s result was a crushing defeat for the Labour Party. This new era requires a new generation of leaders, who must have a vision that appeals across political and geographical divides, and the ability to reach beyond Labour’s core base. Those who turned away from Labour need [...]
As licence fee critic John Whittingdale is made culture secretary, is this bad news for the BBC? May 11, 2015 Sam Bowman, deputy director of the Adam Smith Institute, says Yes John Whittingdale has described the licence fee as being “worse than a poll tax,” and wants to decriminalise non-payment. That is a good idea: 10 per cent of magistrate court cases are for licence fee non-payment. Every week that means 3,000 people are fined [...]
Memo to the Prime Minister: How you can save the Union from destruction May 10, 2015 To: Prime Minister David Cameron Re: Saving Scotland Mr Prime Minister, let me congratulate you on your famous victory, which almost none of us – including myself – saw coming. You have accomplished the almost impossible, securing an increase in parliamentary representation (of 24 seats) for an incumbent party after a full term [...]