Why Cameron thinks his tokenistic cabinet reshuffle will deliver him the election July 16, 2014 David Cameron’s last reshuffle before the general election is over and Westminster is still reeling from the shock of it all. Political heavyweight Michael Gove is out, demoted from education secretary to chief whip where he can be kept close to Cameron but away from the teachers he’s whipped into a frenzy with his controversial [...]
This is the start of a new democratic space race – and Britain is at its head July 16, 2014 Yesterday's announcement that the government has shortlisted eight potential sites for a UK spaceport, and enabled a regulatory regime for manned spaceflight, is a breakthrough moment for our £11bn space sector. While the industry has already enjoyed Bric-style growth rates in recent years, we are now on track to remove crucial blockages to UK leadership [...]
David Cameron’s Cabinet reshuffle freshens things up but keeps big-hitters in play July 15, 2014 The Prime Minister was widely expected to tweak his senior team with a small-scale reshuffle this week, keeping his most high-profile ministers in place. Instead, David Cameron has opted for a complete shift at the top of his party from which even his closet allies aren’t safe, as he readies his party for the 2015 [...]
The wrong renewables: Why relying on offshore wind will prove a costly error July 14, 2014 Politicians everywhere have to decide between satisfying long-term national needs and achieving short-term electoral rewards. It is hard to imagine a more worrying sign of this conflict – as a report from the National Audit Office (NAO) last month helped highlight – than the present policy confusion in the UK over renewable energy. On the [...]
Don’t silence Lord Lawson: We can’t leave climate change policy to the scientists July 14, 2014 The row between former chancellor Lord Lawson and the BBC has escalated over the past week. In a letter to a green activist, the head of the Beeb’s Editorial Complaints Unit Fraser Steel has reportedly apologised for Lawson’s appearance on the BBC Today Programme to discuss climate change and the extensive flooding at the start [...]
Smithfield has been saved from destruction – now we must rescue it from neglect July 14, 2014 Eric Pickles’s rejection of the redevelopment plans for Smithfield Market will have been as surprising and unwelcome to the City of London as Germany’s stunning World Cup defeat of the home team was to Brazil on the same day. But for both, the events of last week could turn out to be a blessing in [...]
Will a tougher national interest test for takeovers hurt Britain’s standing as an open economy? July 14, 2014 Dr Roger Barker, head of corporate governance at the Institute of Directors, says Yes. We are concerned that any extension of the national interest test could increase the politicisation of the UK’s takeover process. We don’t want politicians to meddle in takeover decisions based on populist considerations or due to the influence of lobbying by [...]
This Middle East tragedy will become a catastrophe if Obama missteps now July 14, 2014 My wife recently passed along to me an almost unutterably beautiful video from the Royal Shakespeare Company. In it, Camille O’Sullivan performs “Daughter, Dear Daughter” from the Bard’s moving The Rape of Lucrece, giving voice to the universal anguish of a parent burying a child. It ends with the harrowing plea, “Then live, sweet Lucrece, [...]
City Matters: Why the frustrating rejection of Smithfield redevelopment helps no one July 14, 2014 In 2018, the first Crossrail trains will come roaring in to Farringdon Station and commuters will spill out along its 200m platform. Some of them will be working in the new office buildings going up on Farringdon Street, as the railway helps revitalise the area. None will be working in the new Smithfield Quarter building [...]
Sunday trading laws are outdated: They hurt us consumers in our wallets July 14, 2014 If you woke up early yesterday morning and thought it might be a good time to get the weekly shop done, you would have had to forget it. Sorry, this is England. If you want to go shopping, move to Scotland, where big supermarkets like Sainsbury’s open early and stay open until 10pm on a [...]