Just Stop Oil protests should not justify carte blanche powers to the police December 5, 2022 You would need the patience of a saint, or a dyed-in-the-wool eco-warrior, not to have been even slightly irritated by the recent activities of Just Stop Oil protestors. Whether it’s young people throwing soup over some of the world’s most valuable paintings or twenty-eight-year-old Indigo Rumbelow reduced to yelling at a television interviewer, these are [...]
Founders have hard choices to make to keep our startups in pole position in the future December 5, 2022 The cynical optimism of “not wasting a good crisis” isn’t much use to most early-stage companies facing the onslaught of skyrocketing prices. The level of VC investment in UK startups plunged by over 50 per cent in the third quarter of this year, a trend that unfortunately looks likely to accelerate through the last quarter [...]
Letters: Looming talent shortages December 5, 2022 [Re: Halfords focusing on offering shoppers more essentials as they slash discretionary spending, Nov 23] Unsurprisingly, the cost of living crisis is impacting shopping habits. In fact, Fourth’s data shows consumers will spend less on a variety of items from holidays to groceries next year. So we may expect more announcements from retailers, and whilst [...]
The Great Smog must be firmly in the past: our City will display exemplary air quality December 5, 2022 Seventy years ago this week, five days of toxic air brought London to a standstill. Flights were grounded, cars abandoned, and trains cancelled. The “Great Smog” – as it became known – descended on the capital, as smoke and noxious fumes from coal fires, vehicles, and factories mixed with fog and mist. Initial estimates suggested [...]
Explainer-in-brief: Behind Dominic Raab’s jail drives December 2, 2022 Dominic Raab is under the spotlight – again. After facing complaints of bullying from senior civil servants, he’s now accused of having led a failed prisons policy as Secretary for Justice. It emerged this week that prisons are so full that the Justice Department had to ask to use 400 police cells for inmates. Raab [...]
Only clear thinking will put the UK’s scientific agenda on the right track December 2, 2022 Money is short. Across the board, government departments are under extreme pressure to spend less, and the new Business Secretary, Grant Shapps, finds himself in a difficult situation. In recent months his department has been bombarded with requests for funding from a range of industrial companies, most of which can make a plausible case for [...]
This Saturday is a chance to support the small businesses livening up our streets December 2, 2022 As fewer lights twinkle on Britain’s high streets, and individuals tighten their belts anticipating tough times ahead, small businesses are unsurprisingly fearful of what winter will bring. It’s not the backdrop we’d hope for to mark a decade of Small Business Saturday tomorrow, but it underlines the ongoing importance of supporting the UK’s 5.5 million [...]
Britain could be getting high on the benefits of a full-scale medical cannabis industry December 2, 2022 One in five of the world’s best-selling prescription drugs are developed in Britain. And, with the legalisation of medical cannabis in 2018, the UK has an opportunity to capitalise on a new market. But while the regulatory framework is being developed, and patient studies are underway, there is a significant way to go to deliver [...]
Letters: Support for small businesses December 2, 2022 [Re: Exclusive: Business rates hike a ‘ticking time bomb’ for London economy, Mayor warns, November 29] The nation’s small and independent retailers are often described as the backbone of our high streets because of their important role in local communities and how much they contribute. While it’s rarely an easy environment for small businesses to [...]
World AIDS Day: stigma about HIV and AIDS is damaging lives and productivity in the City December 1, 2022 Harun Tulunay lost his job when he was first diagnosed with HIV because he wasn’t aware he was legally protected in the workplace, and stigma around his condition meant it wasn’t easy to speak with his HR department. He is one of many Londoners who has been treated unfairly despite people living with HIV being [...]