Editorial: Downturn the perfect time for some genuine Whitehall reform August 24, 2022 We tried to find some more good news for the front page – we promise – but the truth is it seems harder to find now than it has for some time. Every day brings new data suggesting that things are bad now, and getting worse. But that’s no reason to be (too) down-hearted – [...]
We’re ignoring a basic tool to help the poorest with their energy bills right now August 24, 2022 In the throes of an inflation induced cost of living crisis, energy prices need urgent political and policy attention. The plans put forward tend to vary around traditional conceptions of more tax, less tax or price suppression – but there are also ways the government can do highly targeted interventions to people in need. Targeted [...]
Spiralling energy prices are a powerful lesson for our future plans for green power August 24, 2022 For most politicians and commentators, green taxes are firmly established as an unequivocally Good Thing. True, Liz Truss has called for green levies to be temporarily halted to help drive down energy bills. But even if the next prime minister does intervene, once world energy prices start to fall substantially, she would be under enormous [...]
Six months on, we must continue to stand with Ukraine August 24, 2022 It has been six months since Russia renewed its offensive against Ukraine. During that time, governments and strategists have been forced to let go of their prevailing post-Cold War assumptions about international relations – even in Europe, where peace was thought to be most embedded. Geopolitical competition has returned with a vengeance. Unfortunately for Russia, [...]
Letters: Cry me a river, please August 24, 2022 [Re: Leaky pipes, raw sewage and blame shifting, yesterday] Rivers are drying up and droughts have been declared across much of the UK. Hosepipe bans dotted around the country and tips on limiting water usage at home certainly go some way. But we’re missing the bigger picture here. Keeping plants alive may be out, but [...]
Explainer-in-brief: A new kind of University challenge over fees August 23, 2022 Last week, British students got their A-levels results. But they barely had time to celebrate before they were thrown into a quarrel over university tuition fees over the weekend. Some university bosses are calling for an increase in the fees that British students pay, arguing that as things currently stand it makes more sense for [...]
Leaky pipes, raw sewage and blame shifting. Water firms need to wake up August 23, 2022 There has been much talk about 1976 these days. During that summer the UK experienced a severe heatwave with grave droughts. People had to resort to standpipes on the streets to get water. Kids had to bathe in the same water used by their siblings, as reservoirs dried up. Luckily, today we have a better [...]
Tariff-free trade with developing countries is good – but we can do better to open up August 23, 2022 Some of the world’s poorest countries will get one of the biggest trade boosts to export goods to the UK. Last week, the Department for International Trade announced plans to up the ante on existing EU rules, which already allow for less economically developed countries to export goods into the EU and the UK without [...]
Even as we teeter on the edge of a recession, we will create new opportunities August 23, 2022 NECESSITY, as the old saying goes, is the mother of invention. That’s why periods of economic or social upheaval often coincide with exceptional innovation – the rapid development of the Covid-19 vaccine, based on breakthrough mRNA technology, being a perfect example. Today, the global economy is in precarious shape. Europe, in particular, faces likely recession [...]
Letters: Mind the gap – if you can see it August 23, 2022 [Re: To attract and retain the best talent, the Square Mile must break down class barriers, yesterday] The diverse make-up of the candidates who stood for the leadership of the Conservative Party leadership should be a cause for celebration. But while the likes of Sunak et al. are reaching the summit of their professions, the [...]