City Matters: Why we need to reward the City of London’s hidden talent – for doing good April 6, 2014 FOR THE last three decades, the Lord Mayor’s Dragon Awards have recognised outstanding corporate community partnerships by businesses across the capital. London is one of the world’s leading financial centres and is home to some of the most innovative and dynamic businesses in the world. Many of these companies utilise the skills and enthusiasm of [...]
Letters to the Editor – 07/04 – The establishment, Best of Twitter April 6, 2014 The establishment [Re: It’s not just Clegg who’s lost contact with reality – it’s the whole establishment, Friday] Great article. This is the reason why the other leaders don’t want Nigel Farage in a pre-general election TV debate. They would all lose. They are completely disconnected from the real world, and think they know better [...]
City & Gild: Brands can reflect economic green shoots as well as they do the spring weather April 4, 2014 It’s official, I’m getting excited – and as someone who models himself on Geoffrey Palmer in Butterflies, this is Big News. What’s the occasion, I hear you cry? Just look around – as the gloom of winter recedes the green shoots of brighter days can be seen everywhere. The sack-cloth and ashes of baggy jumpers [...]
Letters to the Editor – 04/04 – Royal Mail IPO, Soccer geography, Best of Twitter April 3, 2014 Royal Mail IPO [Re: Pricing Royal Mail: Welcome to the free market, Wednesday] Simon Walker is entitled to his view that the Royal Mail pricing needed to be cautious, although there could have been few who looked at the valuation at the time and did not spot that money was being given away. In such [...]
Sorry Ofgem: Why simpler energy tariffs are not in consumers’ interests April 3, 2014 OFGEM says that energy customers want simpler tariffs. To that end, it has limited energy suppliers to at most four tariffs. It has also prohibited various discounts, charges and special offers. But is this what customers expected from “simpler tariffs”? Would they still support that policy if they knew what it would mean? Findings from [...]
It’s not just Clegg who’s lost contact with reality – it’s the whole establishment April 3, 2014 I HAVE never seen anything like it. Nick Clegg’s trouncing in a televised debate with Ukip leader Nigel Farage this week was spectacular. Not so much for the drubbing of the deputy Prime Minister – even among the Lib Dem faithful, his popularity has been in the doldrums for years. Nor for the strengths of [...]
Letters to the Editor – 03/04 – Royal Mail, City villages, Best of Twitter April 2, 2014 Royal Mail It’s impossible to accurately price something in the absence of a market, but that does not excuse the government for wasting taxpayer money on the Royal Mail float. Business secretary Vince Cable’s search for long-term investors inevitably reduced demand. And it should come as no surprise that many investors identified as long-termists didn’t [...]
How we’re revitalising markets for economic growth April 2, 2014 MARKETS when they work well are incredibly powerful. When we drive around we don’t have to think about the supply chain needed to produce the 30,000 or so parts that go into a modern car. As we shop for groceries we don’t need to consider what it takes to assemble fresh food from dozens of [...]
Why there’s nothing ethical about progressive taxation April 2, 2014 IN THE Constitution of Liberty, Friedrich Hayek states that his views on progressive taxation (where the tax rate rises as the income being taxed increases) are so extreme, he will offend almost everyone. I feel the same, writing a column that takes on not only Adam Smith, but George Osborne and the entire progressive tax [...]
How one London council is cutting tax while improving services April 2, 2014 THOSE touring Hammersmith and Fulham to buy or rent property will often find estate agents mentioning council tax. While other bills keep rising, council tax in the borough, where I am a councillor, keeps coming down. It is due to drop by another 3 per cent in April next year. In 2006, council tax, at [...]