Letters: Prevention is better than cure November 1, 2022 [Re: Sunak confronted by patient over nurses’ pay, Oct 28] On his visit to a South London hospital on Friday, Rishi Sunak was confronted by a patient over nurses’ pay. The government “is trying”, he said; but as the patient rightly said, they need to be trying harder to deliver a stronger NHS. With health [...]
Explainer-in-brief: Why does Cop27 seem to be the party no one wants to go to? October 31, 2022 Rishi Sunak’s decision not to attend Cop27 was heavily criticised last week. The PM will be focusing on “other pressing domestic commitments”, according to Downing Street. The new environment secretary Therese Coffey and last year’s Cop26 president Alok Sharma will be attending the conference in Egypt. The news that Sunak won’t go came as a [...]
Is Elon Musk a free speech champion or a bombastic fool? Perhaps, he’s both October 31, 2022 Finally, it has happened. In a story with more drama and grandstanding than Wagner’s Ring Cycle, Elon Musk has bought Twitter for $44bn. The man himself announced the success of his deal in a tweet – of course. He has also dubbed himself “Chief Twit”, with which some may agree for the wrong reasons. There [...]
The new government must combine growth with stability, betting big on our trade links October 31, 2022 Now that the turmoil in Westminster has abated, households and businesses across the UK will be hoping that the era of Rishi Sunak’s government will be slightly duller than what preceded it. Stability is an asset that has traditionally underpinned our international attractiveness and competitiveness. It is a cornerstone of the UK’s appeal across the [...]
Time to make the switch: a green pension can be your most impactful investment October 31, 2022 Last week London was hit by a mini-heatwave, with temperatures as high as Spain in October, a month in which Londoners usually start putting on their warm coats. As temperatures rise, concerns about our impact on the environment do too. Hot weather exacerbates our eco-anxiety, according to the World Economic Forum think tank. Our thoughts [...]
Letters: The FCA is on the attack October 31, 2022 [Re: FCA poised to clampdown on greenwashing with ‘ESG’ curbs, 25 Oct] The FCA comments on greenwashing shouldn’t come as a surprise: the FCA has been flagging greenwashing as a concern for some time. Moreover, it’s a continuation of the FCA’s work in other areas to ensure that every product ‘does what it says on [...]
Britain’s workforce is sick and tired and it’s killing our economic prospects October 28, 2022 Britain’s economy is under the weather and if left unchecked, we risk becoming tarred as the sick man of Europe once again.
From ballet and opera to festivals and clubs, our definition of culture has changed October 28, 2022 Pre-Covid, the night time economy contributed £66bn per year to the UK, making it the UK’s fifth largest industry, accounting for 1.3 million jobs and 8 percent of the UK’s total workforce. Just three years later, we’ve nearly been wiped out and there is little chance that we will recover anytime soon. Part of this [...]
The cost of doing business amidst the culture wars is an entirely new question of risk October 28, 2022 Mankind has long pondered the question of what it means to be good. Now corporate bodies are facing the same dilemma. Brand activism – the expectation on companies to be proactive drivers of social change – is here to stay. But getting the messaging right in the era of culture wars is difficult: it’s hard [...]
Explainer-in-brief: A cabinet rift in the shape of Qatar October 28, 2022 The new government is only days in, but a potential Cabinet squabble is already shaping up following foreign secretary James Cleverly’s request for gay football fans to “be respectful” to host country Qatar during the World Cup. Homosexuality is illegal in Qatar. “With a little bit of flex and compromise at both ends, it can [...]