Reasons to be cheerful in an age of extraordinary technological progress February 11, 2026 Headlines are dominated by the oncoming AI apocalypse. The 21st century, far from being an age of decay, may prove to be the most creative and constructive period in human history, says Madsen Pirie We are told that the world is in irreversible decline. Newsfeeds deliver a daily diet of disasters, wars, fires, floods, political [...]
Why the net zero transition is not about building more wind turbines February 11, 2026 The UK is electrifying faster than it is building the infrastructure to support it. The transition won’t fail because we can’t generate enough power, but because the grid isn’t stable enough to deliver it. says Emma Parkinson The EV charger story is being treated like a consumer inconvenience – a queueing problem, a pricing problem, [...]
London markets are poised to turn a corner in 2026. Here’s how to prepare February 11, 2026 There is a clear and renewed appetite for the UK market, particularly from overseas investors. Here’s what will come next and what London needs to do to benefit, says Ross Mitchinson I’m more optimistic than ever about London’s prospects as a dominant investment destination for the year ahead. At a recent landmark dbAccess UKI Conference [...]
Warnings on AI from the Industrial Revolution February 11, 2026 The mechanisation of weaving in the 19th century didn’t just affect jobs, it led to years of political unrest culminating in the Peterloo Massacre. Leaders had better be ready for what’s coming with AI, says Paul Ormerod Last week the US AI company Anthropic released a tool which it says can automate legal work such [...]
Why the Tory Party tried to persuade Karren Brady to run for London mayor February 10, 2026 The Tories need a political heavyweight to come forward and run for mayor. We once tried but to no avail, writes Giles Kenningham
Mandelson scandal proves it’s time to rewrite lobbying rules February 10, 2026 Peter Mandelson, the Prince of Darkness, operated in the shadows. Only improved transparency around lobbying can prevent the next scandal, says Alastair McCarpra Pete Brown’s book Clubland, on the history of Britain’s working men’s clubs, includes an account of early lobbying in Westminster. Faced with the potentially damaging 1902 Licensing Act, the Club & Institute Union [...]
Britain’s failed net zero experiment is a wake-up call February 10, 2026 A net zero revolt is underway in the West, driven by the unsustainable economic costs of aggressive net-zero mandates, says Bjorn Lomborg A new pragmatism is infusing the climate debate in the West, driven by voters weary of soaring energy bills and annoyed by increasingly hysterical and patronising climate rhetoric. From Washington to Westminster, Berlin [...]
Brace yourself for the chaos that will follow Starmer’s departure February 10, 2026 Anas Sarwar is not a name often seen in the pages of City AM but he’s earned his place after yesterday’s hastily announced press conference in which he called for Keir Starmer to resign as Prime Minister. Prior to his intervention there had been radio silence from Starmer’s Cabinet ministers, not one of whom had [...]
Why your boss might tell you to wear an Oura ring February 10, 2026 Physiology is becoming the next boardroom obsession with employers deploying wearable healthtech to track performance, says Paul Armstrong There’s a growing gap between how businesses model risk and how performance actually degrades. Corporate performance is still described through revenue growth, operating margin, capital efficiency and market share, yet the real constraint on execution increasingly sits [...]
Sanae Takaichi rolled the dice and won – what next? February 9, 2026 Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi secured a commanding victory in a snap general election, clinching a two-thirds supermajority that signals a new, more assertive phase in the country’s economic and foreign policy, says Helen Thomas Japanese prime minister Sanae Takaichi’s decision to call a snap general election was a high-risk move. Just like investment theory [...]