Letters to the Editor – 02/04 – Health apps, Best of Twitter April 1, 2014 Health apps [Re: Why the NHS now needs a radical strategy for survival, yesterday] I read Thomas Cawston’s rallying cry to new NHS England chief executive Simon Stevens with interest, in particular his complaint about a lack of innovation in the NHS. He’ll be happy to learn that we don’t need to travel across the [...]
London 2030: An optimist’s vision of the next urban renaissance April 1, 2014 LONDON faces acute problems of growth. We are building barely a third as many new homes as we need. Yet there is no credible plan for the other two-thirds. In 17 boroughs, the average rent is more than half the average wage, and the typical first time buyer is 32. Peak congestion is unbearable across [...]
What economics tells us about the next Premier League champion April 1, 2014 THE PREMIER League season is drawing to an exciting close, and it is by no means clear who will be champions or who will gain the coveted top five European qualifying spots. There could even be a surprise. If Liverpool wins, for the first time since 1995 a team from outside Manchester or London will [...]
Pricing Royal Mail: Welcome to the free market April 1, 2014 LIKE several hundred thousand other ordinary investors, I emerged from Royal Mail’s flotation with 227 shares in my Isa. I don’t normally apply for Initial Public Offerings (IPO), and this one certainly didn’t come without risks. The terms of privatisation required the company to preserve the universal service and Saturday deliveries, which have been dropped [...]
Letters to the Editor – 01/04 – European debate, Globalisation fears, Best of Twitter March 31, 2014 European debate [Re: Why both sides of the debate must up their game on Europe, Friday] Of course politicians are throwing around dodgy statistics. Why? Because both sides of the EU debate lack any comprehensive vision for what Britain’s global position will look like in the future. The Outers want either an expanded Commonwealth, a [...]
Why the NHS now needs a radical strategy for survival March 31, 2014 THERE’S a new boss at the NHS. Today, Simon Stevens takes up the reins as chief executive of NHS England, the quango now responsible for the vast majority of the health service’s £100bn budget. Back in October, many welcomed his appointment to the top job in the NHS. After working for Tony Blair and Alan [...]
The Clegg cliché: How politicians turn fact into fiction March 31, 2014 IT’S TIME to cast aside the dogma and look at the facts”. Sound familiar? Anyone who watched last week’s Europe debate between Nigel Farage and Nick Clegg would have seen the latter use lines like this. But this is more than just rhetorical cliché. It’s part of a narrative that permeates far more widely than [...]
Businesses are ready to spend – but government can make it easier March 31, 2014 AGAINST a range of improving economic indicators, one metric has remained stubbornly sluggish: business investment. A well-balanced recovery requires a significant rise in corporate investment and a shift away from consumer-led growth. Deloitte’s most recent CFO Survey found that risk appetite is at a six-year high, while just 20 members of the FTSE 100 hold cash [...]
Globalisation isn’t keeping us safe – it’s blunting our punishment of Putin March 30, 2014 CALAMITIES often serve a useful purpose in foreign policy, overturning intellectual sacred cows that – until they so dramatically reveal themselves as unfit for purpose – pass for received wisdom. The long-held leftish shibboleth of interdependence presently seems ripe for the chopping block. This cherished nostrum declares that, since countries’ economic affairs are intertwined, mainstream [...]
City Matters: Companies must work with schools to fix Britain’s growing skills shortage March 30, 2014 THE KEY factor behind the success of any business – or indeed city – is its people. The capital is an international business hub, home to hundreds of different nationalities. But it must also demonstrate the local benefits for “ordinary” Londoners, especially young individuals looking to get their first foothold on the employment ladder. That [...]