The cigarette display ban is a smoking gun in the war on free expression August 20, 2012 THERE’S something odd about my local Tesco. Since April, the kiosk at the entrance has looked incredibly dull. As I was recently trying to work out why, I saw a sign saying that all cigarettes and tobacco-related products must now be hidden behind closed doors – to comply with UK regulations. As an economist, I [...]
As David Cameron relaxes in Mallorca, is the UK a better place to go on summer holiday? August 20, 2012 YES Patricia Yates What’s not to love! Consistently in the world’s top 10 most visited destinations, last year saw around 31m overseas visitors come here to enjoy what we have to offer. From West End theatre to cutting edge art, from castles to stately homes, Britain is renowned for its diverse culture and the depth [...]
Rapid Responses August 20, 2012 Universities work [Re: Release our business schools from the dead hand of state regulation, yesterday] Professor Len Shackleton’s proposed “shake-up” of UK higher education is wrong on a number of fronts. For a start, he fails to recognise the success of our world class universities which, despite years of under-investment, continue to deliver for this [...]
Release our business schools from the dead hand of state regulation August 19, 2012 THE UK’s centrally-planned universities could do with a shake-up. One way to do this is to begin the privatisation of higher education in those areas most suitable for it – particularly business education. Higher education has many purposes. But the most important is the preparation of young people to enter the world of work, and [...]
How UK business can match Team GB’s performance August 19, 2012 A WEEK since the Olympics closed, some commentators are already talking post-Games blues. But this is our honeymoon period, our chance to capitalise on a successful fortnight of the UK at its best. We’ve witnessed an amazing journey. An east London wasteland has been transformed – 1.5m cubic metres of contaminated soil was painstakingly cleaned, [...]
The financial sector is vital to unlocking Britain’s potential for growth August 19, 2012 AFTER an incredible couple of weeks for the UK, the first leg of London 2012 has drawn to a close. It has shown the very best of Britain, with athletes from over 200 countries coming to demonstrate their excellence. Team GB excelled, just as Britain excels in business. There’s an old joke that the British [...]
As Facebook’s shares drop to record lows, can the internet firm easily salvage the situation? August 19, 2012 YES Richard Nunn The true valuation of Facebook is not about short-term gains or losses, but a medium-term play about how it monetises its user base of nearly 1bn people. The five tranches of share lock-up expirations will affect its price in the short term, as it will inevitably discourage new investors from buying the [...]
Rapid responses August 19, 2012 Rental promise [Re: Boris needs to be innovative to get the private sector building houses, Friday] Yes, London needs more homes. But it specifically needs more affordable rental homes. With record rents being reported in the capital, it’s only by increasing rental housing stock, and building property specifically designed for long-term rent, that we will [...]
Boris needs to be innovative to get the private sector building houses August 16, 2012 THE Mayor of London owns 530 hectares of land and is the largest public landowner in London. He is responsible, with the London Boroughs, for addressing the needs of the 350,000 Londoners on the housing waiting list, for planning for the future housing needs for the capital, and for a budget of around £3bn to [...]
The Manchester medal factory: Be grateful for this strange cluster of genius August 16, 2012 THE Manchester velodrome is a medal factory. It won as many golds in this summer’s Olympics as the whole of Australia. As well as a cause for national celebration, that’s a problem. Because the truth is, we don’t know enough about why. Genius clusters. Renaissance Florence. Elizabethan London. The Scottish Enlightenment. Extraordinary individual achievements, sporting [...]