General Election 2015: The Conservatives have outlived their usefulness – it’s time for a Southern Party March 15, 2015 I feel gloomy about the outcome of the General Election. If you could choose your enemy in politics, I presume David Cameron would pick Ed Miliband ahead of anybody else on the Labour benches with the possible exception of that portly prat Tom Watson. But I look at the issue from the other end [...]
Why Clarkson fills a gap no one else can March 14, 2015 I love BrewDog. It’s not just that I’m an ale drinker – I love the brand’s attitude, and refusal to conform or bow to public pressure. Last year, in response to criticism from industry regulator the Portman Group – a body James Watts (the brand’s co-founder) described as a “gloomy gaggle of killjoy jobsworths” [...]
The end of an illusion: What Boris Nemtsov’s murder means for the international community March 14, 2015 On February 27, Boris Nemtsov, the Russian statesman, physicist, and outspoken critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, was executed by unknown assailants just outside Moscow’s Red Square. A liberal reformer, Nemtsov was a key figure in the introduction of capitalism to post-Soviet Russia. He was also seen as a uniting figure, someone who could bring [...]
Saudi Arabia won’t cut production – because it knows the oil age is ending March 12, 2015 There have been many explanations, including on these pages, for why Saudi Arabia has not cut production to shore up the price of oil. These range from the use of the oil price as a foreign policy weapon – whether to wage economic war against rivals Iran, or to help their US allies bring Russia [...]
Apprenticeship Week: We can celebrate a revolution in the UK’s skills market March 12, 2015 As many of us look forward to the weekend, I’m here reflecting on the eighth National Apprenticeship Week and the hundreds of events that have taken place across the capital, recognising how apprenticeships have transformed the skills market in the UK. As the mayor’s ambassador for training and enterprise, and as head of emerging talent [...]
As MPs say UK surveillance lacks transparency, should we be worried about being snooped on? March 12, 2015 Jim Killock is executive director of Open Rights Group, says Yes Yes, we should be worried. If you run a business, have commercial secrets, or rely on secure communications like VPNs, there is a lot to be concerned about. UK data is shared with the US so there is little protection for your political or [...]
Mipim 2015: Tech takes its toll on the property sector March 12, 2015 I was up early on the third day of Mipim to chair a panel of Sir Eddie Lister, chief of staff at the Greater London Authority; Sir Howard Bernstein, chief executive of Manchester City Council; and Bernstein's counterpart in Birmingham, Mark Rogers, all of whom made a powerful case for further devolution of power to [...]
Mega-city London will fall behind New York without a radical plan for growth March 11, 2015 At last, a real sense of urgency is starting to define the debate surrounding the future of London. As chancellor George Osborne and mayor Boris Johnson warned in their recent Long Term Economic Plan for London, the capital risks losing its leading status as a pre-eminent global city unless action is taken to plan for [...]
2015 General Election TV debates: Broadcasters won’t empty chair David Cameron – they’ve good commercial reasons not to March 11, 2015 The extended row over the proposed TV election debates has reached a deadlock. David Cameron has said he will take part in just one, but the broadcasters (supported by Tory opponents) are committed to running three. What will break this impasse? In my view, commercial factors will force the UK’s broadcasters to give up their [...]
Why transparency over pay is vital if we’re to reach gender equality March 11, 2015 Good news can sometimes feel like a rarity, but recent PwC data shows that the UK has improved its position in an international league table of female participation in the workplace, moving up four places to fourteenth in a ranking of the 27 OECD economies. It’s a welcome improvement, but there is still some way [...]