Is renewing the Trident nuclear programme necessary for UK defence in the modern world? April 9, 2015 Dr Andrew Futter, senior lecturer in international politics at the University of Leicester, says Yes The threats facing the UK today are unquestionably different to those of the Cold War – and nuclear weapons have little utility against cyber attacks, terrorists or climate change. But this is to misunderstand their role – they have only [...]
Why empowering all women is key to sustained change in the boardroom April 8, 2015 For A topic that attracts so much attention, there’s a surprising dearth of academic research into the rise of women to the boardroom, and particularly the conditions that enable (or inhibit) women’s progression globally. The literature tends to be focused on single countries (80 per cent on the US), on the controversial topic of quotas, [...]
Scrapping non-doms would make Britain less competitive – not more April 8, 2015 “You can easily spend 75 per cent, or 85 per cent, of your time in the UK… but be a non-dom. No wonder people are pissed off.” This wasn’t Ed Miliband yesterday, during his speech announcing his intention to abolish the tax status that applies to over 100,000 UK residents, but a Conservative MP, Richard [...]
London should embrace new technology to make car ownership pointless April 8, 2015 London could lead a revolution in car use and car ownership over the next decade, by divorcing the two. It may soon be unnecessary to own a car to secure the full benefits of car ownership, due to a combination of continued improvement in public transport, the surge in app-based car hire services, and the [...]
As BG Group agrees a £47bn takeover by Shell, is this a good deal for shareholders? April 8, 2015 Iain Armstrong is an equity analyst at Brewin Dolphin, says Yes This is a good deal for Royal Dutch Shell shareholders. First, BG Group has an excellent portfolio of both producing and exploration assets. Second, the fit between the two companies is very strong. Third, this is a relatively low-risk proposition for Shell, given that [...]
General Election 2015: A Labour-SNP alliance could be a fillip for markets – but not for long April 7, 2015 Of all the possible outcomes of the General Election, one scenario in particular has concerned segments of the business and investor communities. A minority Labour government supported by SNP MPs is seen by some investment commentators as a challenging combination. Although Labour has ruled out a formal coalition, there may still be the possibility of [...]
Mutuals will now be able to issue shares – transforming competition in finance April 7, 2015 The Mutuals’ Deferred Shares Bill received Royal Assent last month. The Act will give mutual businesses a new option to raise tier one capital in the form of deferred shares. This is good news for leading mutuals like LV=, but what will this mean in practice and does it change the competitiveness of mutuals in [...]
Capitalism isn’t a recipe for perpetual crisis: It’s both stable and resilient April 7, 2015 The financial crisis did succeed in creating at least one dynamic new industry. Since the late 2000s, there has been a massive upsurge in op-ed pieces, books and even artistic performances offering a critique of capitalism. A founder member of the Monty Python team, Terry Jones, is the latest to get in on the act [...]
General Election 2015: As Tony Blair says he’s “100 per cent” behind Ed Miliband, will this prove positive for Labour? April 7, 2015 Chris Rumfitt, founder and chief executive of Corporate Reputation Consulting, says Yes Tony Blair remains the last politician to really connect with the British people. Indeed, he’s the only man in the last 20 years to win an election outright. So his “100 per cent backing” for Ed Miliband has got to help the Labour [...]
Obama should listen to the people in pushing through his Iran nuclear deal April 6, 2015 Foreign policy analysis in any country tends to be the preserve of a tiny elite: a small number of people practise it, and generally a miniscule section of society follows it. In the UK, to all our shame, a far greater percentage of the population watches The X Factor than exhibits a healthy understanding [...]