Why Greggs is beating Pret in the battle of the lunch break May 30, 2024 While Pret has failed to commit to any real market position, Greggs is reaping the rewards of building an irreverent and loyal fanbase, says Dougie Hastings There’s an old saying in London – you’re never more than 6ft from a rat and 50m from a Pret a Manger. But the popular high street sandwich chain [...]
Let’s be honest, young adults should be free to make their own choices May 30, 2024 From smoking bans to national service, depriving young adults of basic freedoms is a growing trend among policy makers, says Matthew Lesh Growing up we were told a straightforward story about how to succeed: try hard at school, get into university or some sort of training, find work in a relevant field, save for a [...]
Campaign cock-up of the week: Reeves’ backfiring business endorsements May 30, 2024 In this column, former No 10 advisor Giles Kenningham analyses the worst comms screw-ups of the election campaign. So what won week one?
National service will damage the economy May 30, 2024 Forcing every 18-year-old into unpaid national service will harm our already decimated hospitality, retail and leisure sectors
Will it work? National service May 29, 2024 Sunak's national service plan has dominated the first week of his election campaign, but, regardless of politics, will it work?
The Notebook: Jeremy Hunt’s fight with the FCA sets a dangerous precedent May 29, 2024 Lucy McNulty takes the Notebook pen to talk watchdog politics, election grandstanding, and what the FCA could learn from the PRA.
The unspoken truth about pensions May 29, 2024 Neither party is willing to face up to the fact that when it comes to state and public sector pensions, there really is no money left, says James Price General elections really ought to be a platform from which the seismic, structural challenges facing our country are debated. Governments need fresh mandates if they are [...]
I loved ‘national service’, but Sunak’s scheme doesn’t pass muster May 29, 2024 Volunteering for the RAF under a little-known scheme in the 80s was like a Boys’ Own adventure for Andy Blackmore, but an under-funded, under-resourced reboot won’t get the results Rishi Sunak wants Left, right, left, right, left, right, left. No, that’s not the commentary track to a game of political ping-pong between Labour and the [...]
For Labour, these last 24 hours have been years in the making May 29, 2024 She may not have much of a Texan drawl, but Rachel Reeves’ commitment yesterday to no new tax hikes under a Labour government certainly matched the import of George Bush Senior’s commitment more than three decades ago. It is a commitment that we, and much of corporate Britain, will hold her to if Labour does [...]
Economic performance under Labour and Conservative governments: a reckoning May 29, 2024 Voter apathy over the upcoming election is rational – history suggests the economic outcome will be broadly the same regardless of whether Labour or the Conservatives form the next government, says Paul Ormerod The election campaign has kicked off and already the air is thick with promises and counter-promises. Despite all the efforts of politicians [...]