Failure to reform Europe’s capital markets will blunt the UK’s entrepreneurial edge November 27, 2014 BRITAIN has long regarded itself as having a certain entrepreneurial flair that sets it apart from its continental cousins. And now it’s official. The recently released annual Global Entrepreneurship and Development Index placed Britain fourth in the world, and well ahead of its European neighbours. The ugly truth, however, is that Britain’s entrepreneurial edge will [...]
As the European Parliament votes to break up Google, is it politicising competition law? November 27, 2014 Philip Booth, professor of insurance and risk management at Cass, and editorial and programme director at the Institute of Economic Affairs, says Yes. Taking competition action against innovative industries is bad policy – unless the EU wants a stagnant economy. Google is operating in a sector where change happens very quickly, and dominant firms that [...]
Migrant entrepreneurs are shunning the UK – and we are all worse off as a result November 26, 2014 DEPUTY prime minister Nick Clegg has finally joined what shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper has described as an “arms race of rhetoric” on immigration, backing proposals to curb benefits to European Union migrants. He does, however, remain opposed to restrictions on the right of EU citizens to move freely and seek work within the UK, [...]
We need to talk money: Why it’s time to break this damaging British taboo November 26, 2014 MANY of my recent articles – on elderly care provision, student finance, and housing in particular – have focused on these problems from the point of view of public policy. But this is only one half of the story. The other half is how ordinary people have to grapple with these serious financial issues every [...]
What do Emily Thornberry and the deficit have in common? It’s all about narrative November 26, 2014 EMILY Thornberry has had a wretched week. The high-flying MP for Islington South resigned from her position as shadow attorney general, and was widely pilloried in both social media and conventional newsprint, for tweeting a picture of a white van and England flags during the Rochester and Strood by-election. Yet the saga tells us more [...]
Is the proposed £25m pay package for new BG Group chief executive Helge Lund defensible? November 26, 2014 Alex Edmans, a finance professor at London Business School and Wharton, says Yes. Compared to the pay of ordinary workers, £25m is an astronomical figure. But the correct benchmark is the value Helge Lund may create. BG Group’s market cap is £35bn, and it’s fallen 18 per cent this year. If he restores just 1 [...]
The UK could be the world capital of the sharing economy if we take these steps November 25, 2014 EVERYONE seems to be talking about the “sharing economy”, and while this may not be a model that will work for every industry, it is a trend that requires attention. So much so that, in September 2014, the UK government raised the need for an independent report to examine the social and economic potential of [...]
Labour has identified the right problem – but independent schools can’t build a New Jerusalem alone November 25, 2014 TRISTRAM Hunt, the Labour shadow education secretary, argued yesterday that independent schools need to be doing much more to form meaningful partnerships with state schools. If they don’t do so, they will risk being stripped of up to £700m in tax breaks, should Labour be elected in the general election next Spring. He said that [...]
Iran nuclear crisis: The sharks are circling and war is not impossible November 25, 2014 IF THE conventional wisdom of the mainstream press could sum up the current state of the Iranian nuclear talks in one headline, it would absurdly read “Optimism as talks fail to end”. Even by their standards, this fails to pass the laugh test analytically. Instead, an alarmed pessimism must be the correct response. For after [...]
As Carney says the UK still needs stimulus, is he too gloomy about our economic prospects? November 25, 2014 James Sproule, chief economist at the Institute of Directors, says Yes. The UK is set to enjoy the best growth in the G7 – not the most competitive economic growth league in the world, but still a contest worth winning. Yet despite this, policymakers remain concerned about the UK’s economic prospects. It is certainly true [...]