As we move on from Russia, let’s be clear-eyed about our relationship with the Saudis August 18, 2022 When it comes to foreign policy, hawkishness is clearly in vogue. In the Conservative leadership contest, both the Truss and Sunak camps have vied to accuse each other of being dovish on China and soft on Russia. Would prime minister Truss or Sunak be a surer friend to Volodymyr Zelensky? Who would bring the hammer [...]
Keir Starmer’s plan to freeze the price cap would leave us all out in the cold August 18, 2022 There is an old nursery rhyme about how an elderly lady tried to rectify swallowing a fly by swallowing a spider, only to quickly realise she would now need to deal with the spider. She proceeds to consume a whole host of animals until she predictably dies. It’s a pleasingly nonsensical and morbid illustration of [...]
Banks and lenders can step in to push ESG reporting without waiting for new laws August 18, 2022 Environmental and Social Governance – or ESG – has dominated debates in the business world. But it’s difficult to separate the volume of the talk from concrete results. There is now a framework for companies to disclose climate-related risks and opportunities, but these reporting rules are only mandatory for around 1,300 of the biggest businesses [...]
Letters: Don’t point the finger at me August 18, 2022 [Re: Inflation deals record blow to UK workers’ living standards, August 16] The latest statistics from the Office for National Statistics highlight the fact that the UK labour market is constantly reacting to a cocktail of external forces which impacts its balance, creating a headache for employers. Whilst the statistics show that the number of [...]
Our kids are getting their news from TikTok – and Putin is using it against us August 17, 2022 Every year, telecoms regulator Ofcom releases a survey on how people consume the news. This year’s winner was TikTok, the fastest growing news source between 2020 and 2022. In the UK, the Chinese-owned app was as popular for news as Sky News’ website and app. Among teenagers in particular – those between 12 and 15 [...]
The Conservative case for net zero is the only one that makes sense to cut our bills August 17, 2022 Only the Conservatives can meaningfully make the UK net zero without overzealous intervention.
A Northern Irish compromise is a balancing act of conflicts August 17, 2022 The Northern Ireland Protocol, the compromise Boris Johnson signed in October 2019 in order to secure Brexit, was – and remains – a running sore first for the Conservative party and now for the Unionist parties in Northern Ireland. The Protocol has effectively created a border down the Irish Sea, with goods moving from mainland [...]
Letters: A history of challenger banks August 17, 2022 [Re: Canary Wharf’s giants stand by idly as Brits flock en masse to challenger banks, August 15] Fintech arose out of necessity, reacting to an era when financial institutions were not able to meet new market conditions brought on by the global recession. Their complacency on legacy systems and resistance to innovation was a product [...]
Explainer-in-brief: Instagram’s attempt to outshine TikTok August 16, 2022 Instagram is scrambling to keep up with its competitor TikTok – and events last month showed how trying to copycat the latter can fall flat. Instagram had to reverse some of its new features after users complained the app was becoming too much like TikTok. Users were also aggrieved their home feeds got inundated by [...]
Lift our economic spirits by keeping duties and tax down on Scotch Whisky August 16, 2022 You will struggle to find another industry that is like the Scotch Whisky industry. One that’s continued to invest in the UK economy despite the lost exports, tourist visits and hospitality income during the pandemic, rising production and shipping costs, and the loss of more than half a billion pounds in revenue because of tariffs [...]