City Matters: Delaying a decision on airports threatens London’s role on the global stage December 15, 2013 IT HAS not been a good week for airports, airlines or passengers. Not only did an air traffic control glitch lead to hundreds of flights across the country being cancelled, but thick fog also later caused significant delays and disruption in the South East. As the industry deals with the backlog, it seems somehow fitting [...]
Why higher education is this country’s secret industrial powerhouse December 15, 2013 WHEN considering the powerhouses of the British economy, most people’s minds flick to the City, or perhaps pharmaceuticals or retail. Yet it’s British universities – the envy of the world – which have the potential to save the British economy. Higher education is the UK’s secret industrial powerhouse. UniversitiesUK suggests that our universities are responsible [...]
Letters to the Editor – 16/12 – UK drugs policy, Passenger duty, Best of Twitter December 15, 2013 UK drugs policy [Re: Failing UK drugs policy should take a leaf from Uruguay and Portugal, Thursday] We need to stop this foolish and unwinnable war against cannabis. Independent research has shown that a tax and regulate policy would produce a large net gain for the UK economy, while saving millions of pounds from the [...]
Few predicted London’s reinvention but we can build for its future growth December 12, 2013 LONDON is changing. But then again, it always is. The theme of my new book Reinventing London is that change is the lifeblood of a great city. Over the past 30 years, the capital has replaced around 1m jobs in manufacturing, largely around the edge of the city and along radial routes, with over 1m [...]
The Long View: Three reads for Christmas: Glamour, Cicero’s web and high-tech fiction December 12, 2013 I WROTE at the end of November that the rise of the selfie marked the death of the audience and the rise of an age committed to universal self-expression and performance. This week, even world leaders have been joining in. When David Cameron and Barack Obama were caught taking silly pictures of themselves at Nelson [...]
EU wargame: Reform can happen but Brexit could still be amicable December 12, 2013 IN BUSINESS, as in diplomacy, “war games” or simulations are a useful tool for mapping out tricky negotiations or complex geopolitical issues. The technique is often used by the CIA to play out security scenarios. But it was also reportedly used by Germany to work out what a Grexit might mean for the Eurozone economy [...]
Letters to the Editor – 13/12 – Drug legalisation, Airport debate, Best of Twitter December 12, 2013 Drug legalisation [Re: Failing UK drugs policy should take a leaf from Uruguay and Portugal, yesterday] Those that support the continuation of the failed policy of drugs prohibition are supporting the continuation of criminal control, as well as the shameful waste of vast sums of taxpayer money in trying (and failing) to prevent distribution and [...]
Volcker Rule is nothing to celebrate and financial markets could suffer December 11, 2013 FORMER Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker made his way through the snowy streets of Washington, DC on 10 December to attend a celebratory lunch. To widespread applause, the new rule that bears Volcker’s name has now been finalised by the five regulatory agencies responsible for it. Yet after the thousand page rule has taken hold [...]
Banking regulations are causing problems for the humanitarian chain to Syria December 11, 2013 WHENEVER anyone dips a hand into their pocket for a worthy cause on the other side of the world, it’s only human to focus on the striking images of a starving child or a bereaved family. Thoughts of the world’s banking and regulatory systems will hardly loom large, so those who give could be forgiven [...]
Failing UK drugs policy should take a leaf from Uruguay and Portugal December 11, 2013 DRUGS are harmful, whether they are legal or illegal. The challenge is how to reduce the harms they cause. For decades, countries have tried to stop drug use by handing out criminal justice sanctions. People are arrested, tried, and convicted, at vast expense. But this has not stopped the ready availability of a huge range [...]