Obama’s reputation needs protection against his own Secret Service detail April 25, 2012 NO LONGER servants, and no longer civil.” Winston Churchill’s adage to describe the British bureaucracy could also be applied to the public mood today across the United States. The White House has been on the defensive over the past ten days, seeking to mitigate the fallout from two scandals that will certainly contribute to the [...]
It’s time to think creatively about growth in the UK April 25, 2012 WITH Britain said to be back in recession after four years of economic turmoil, it’s time we had a creative rethink. A lot has been said about the need for an enterprise-led recovery – and you will find no greater champion of entrepreneurship than me. Small and young businesses are the backbone of our economy, [...]
As Britain returns to a technical recession, what course should George Osborne take? April 25, 2012 PLAN A+ Mark Littlewood George Osborne must not change course. On the contrary, he needs to redouble his efforts and rediscover the steely determination that the coalition has recently lacked. The government’s apparent bravery in tackling public expenditure looks set to result in spending flat-lining, not markedly falling, between now and 2015. The budget deficit [...]
RAPID responses April 25, 2012 Hope against hope [Re: A tax on heritage, Tuesday] I own a Grade II listed house that we wanted to refurbish. We’ve spent a large amount on design proposals and planning permission and we may have to shelve our project and sell up as we can’t afford the extra in tax. We’re not building a [...]
What businesses want in London’s new mayor: A wishlist from the CBI April 24, 2012 IN A YEAR of exciting events, the London mayoral elections are first in the capital’s diary, followed in the summer by the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the 2012 Games. The spotlight will be on London, so there’s no better time to redouble our efforts to promote the city as a world-leading business centre. Whoever wins [...]
State spending leads to growth in Grossly meaningless Domestic Product April 24, 2012 TWO years ago, the Bank of England (BoE) predicted that GDP would today be growing at a rate of 2.5 per cent a year. It is in fact growing at 0.0 per cent or thereabouts. An economic forecaster overestimating GDP growth by 2.5 percentage points is like a weather forecaster predicting that the temperature will [...]
The chancellor’s cuts to loss relief will hurt startups April 24, 2012 A FRIEND of mine responded to an invitation to a Big Society philanthropic event, “not sure I want to be associated with a group of tax evaders (previously known as philanthropists)”. I believe the event was cancelled. The foolishness of limiting tax relief on charitable giving has already been exposed; but there has been less [...]
Is the Leveson Inquiry becoming an attack on the fundamental freedom of the press? April 24, 2012 YES Mick Hume The Leveson Inquiry is the enemy of a free press, a showtrial which found the tabloids guilty before it started. David Cameron set it up not to investigate phone-hacking but to sanitise and tame the entire “culture, practice and ethics” of the media. Who needs state censorship, when you can get a [...]
RAPID responses April 24, 2012 Decaying heritage [Re: A tax on heritage attacks the heart of local business, yesterday] I completely agree with the sentiment and tone of this article. The charity, church and not for profit sectors are not legitimate targets for governmental revenue-raising on this kind of scale. One hopes, by now, the message has dawned. We need [...]
Super Mario talks a good game but Italy’s entrepreneurs have lost out April 23, 2012 ITALIAN Prime Minister Mario Monti recently proclaimed “historic” labour reform and even declared the “financial aspect” of the crisis to be over. But don’t pop the Prosecco yet. Italy’s biggest impediments to business – rigid labour rules and uncertain contract enforcement – are alive and well. Monti’s upbeat attitude should be tempered by Italy’s ongoing [...]