Sports clubs defy the normal rules of markets and won’t bend to a football watchdog February 22, 2023 Popularity of sports club is driven by their performance on the field, not by their financials. The very best efforts of a football regulator wouldn’t be able to change the way cultural markets work, writes Paul Ormerod.
Explainer: How the Conservatives lost the farmers’ vote February 21, 2023 The Conservatives have lost Britain’s farmers. In December, support for the Tories among farmers dropped to 42 per cent. For the first time in living memory, less than 50 per cent of the farming community said they would vote Conservative if there was an election tomorrow. In December 2021, that number was 57 per cent. [...]
Jeremy Hunt’s fiscal rules are holding back the UK economy – it’s time for change February 21, 2023 Bean counters are running the Treasury again. I’m imagining sheets of paper plastered with Jeremy Hunt’s current fiscal rules pinned up around Whitehall to remind departments of the belt-tightening needed to balance the books. Fiscal rules are targets Chancellors have aimed to meet since George Osborne pivoted away from Gordon Brown’s “Golden Rules” in 2010 [...]
The liar’s dividend of deepfake tech means we don’t trust what we can see February 21, 2023 Deepfake videos featuring everyone from Barack Obama to Tom Cruise are everywhere on social media. They could be fun memes - or they could be dangerous disinformation, writes Elena Siniscalco
A British Silicon Valley won’t happen with wishful thinking February 21, 2023 Jeremy Hunt wants Britain to be the next Silicon Valley, but the one organisation which might’ve made it true has lost its government funding, the soon-to-be former CEO of Tech Nation gives his experience on a transformation made of nothing but hard work.
Rent controls will only help those already in homes and hobble everyone else February 21, 2023 Sadiq Khan thinks rent controls are a great idea for London. They're not: they would reduce investment and therefore supply in a private rented sector that's already struggling, writes Ian Fletcher
Explainer: A highway to subscriber-only social media February 20, 2023 If it’s good enough for Musk, it’s good enough for Mark Zuckerberg apparently.
Analysis: Fintechs need to get back to basics and forget the flashy stuff February 20, 2023 Fintech firms in the UK have long driven new products trying to change the game in financial services, but as investment dries up in the face of a recession, they need to go back to basics, writes Lyle Wraxall.
Culture war concerns are creating new divisions for Conservatives to traverse February 20, 2023 Rishi Sunak has dug a line in the sand on culture war issues, but it's already created new ideological division which could split the Conservative Party, writes Eliot Wilson
Vault Festival, London’s take on Edinburgh Fringe, desperately needs our help February 20, 2023 Just under Waterloo Station, you'll find a venue which for eight weeks every year creates a fertile ground of comedy, cabaret and the dramatic arts. The Vault Festival has brought us comic relief, but now it's being turfed out of its unique venue and needs Londoners to save it, writes Adam Bloodworth.