Voter ID reforms are fixing a problem that never existed in UK elections December 13, 2022 Next May, people across England and Northern Ireland will head to the polls for the local elections. But some may find they may not be able to vote, unless they have the right kind of photo identification. It will be the first time new voter ID rules will be put to the test, despite a [...]
We don’t need more puppet devolution with Whitehall still holding the purse strings December 13, 2022 There is no doubt in my mind that devolution is the right way forward for local politics and for the UK as a whole. As a former Mayor and local politician, I know that if you want to make a difference to your local community, and if you want to improve the place where you [...]
Energy firms say they want to do good, so why don’t they care about social mobility? December 13, 2022 The UK’s Big Six energy companies have raked in more than a billion pounds of profit as record hikes in bills force many families to choose between heating and eating this winter. Yet not a single one of them could be bothered to enter the country’s leading Index on how well employers are doing to [...]
Our secret services need to learn how to come out into the open to succeed December 12, 2022 We know very little about our intelligence agencies. Secrecy has long been the British way: Harold Macmillan summed the attitude up when, in 1963, he was asked in the House of Commons about Kim Philby’s defection to Moscow. The old actor-manager replied wearily, “It is dangerous and bad for our general national interest to discuss [...]
The special relationship with the US is fertile ground for investment into the UK December 12, 2022 Last week, a new bilateral energy deal between the UK and the US, to reduce global dependence on Russian gas, underlined the continuing strength of the “special relationship”. In a joint statement, Rishi Sunak and Joe Biden stressed the need for “allied countries to deepen their cooperation to ensure resilient international systems which reflect our [...]
All quiet on the home front: a resettling is on the cards for new homes and mortgages December 12, 2022 The UK economy has weathered its fair share of turbulent storms over the past few years: from a global pandemic, to war, burgeoning energy prices and now escalating cost of living pressures and interest rates; yet the housing market has remained robust throughout. But rising costs are catching up with potential homebuyers. The next two [...]
Letters: Startup survival of the fittest December 12, 2022 Agile startups can relieve pain points faster than big businesses – so long as they can survive the
Explainer-in-brief: The travel industry ready for more rows December 12, 2022 This year has been marked by travel chaos. Earlier in the year, strikes, cancellations and staff shortages lead to mass queues at the airports over the summer. Heathrow, as a result, instigated a passenger cap to reduce the number of people flying in and out of the airport. It was lifted in November, but with [...]
Explainer-in-brief: Britain’s baby challenge December 9, 2022 The UK is seeing out the perils of an ageing society already. We have a social care system stripped down, which, in turn, is preventing the NHS from functioning as elderly patients stay in hospital beds because of lack of adequate care elsewhere. And Britain is only set to get older with the average age [...]
A new coal mine in Cumbria won’t save the burning problems for the UK December 9, 2022 After years of political ping-ponging, the decision has been made: we’ll have the first new coal mine in thirty years in the UK. It will be located in Whitehaven, in Cumbria, and it’s meant to bring 500 direct jobs to an impoverished area that has often felt forgotten by central government. The indirect jobs in [...]