The Oxbridge obsession ignores the potential for social mobility in businesses June 15, 2022 Where you were born and what your parents do still matters for the opportunities you will have and the progress you will make in the UK. It’s not fair, but it’s true. Achieving social mobility in our society is one of the most important challenges both government and business face today. It’s unsurprising then that [...]
Letters: Trust the digital native kids June 15, 2022 [Re: Our pledge to bridge the digital divide will shape our post-pandemic future, yesterday] Following London Tech Week and the government’s announcement of a new Digital Strategy to make the UK a global tech superpower, more needs to be done to increase our tech prowess. Young people in the UK are unlikely to secure highly [...]
London Tech Week, Day 2: London on the global stage June 14, 2022 The dust is just about settling after a whirlwind day one of London Tech Week. We saw a range of government announcements, updates on UK tech investment levels and in-depth discussions on diversity in tech. What quickly became obvious on day one, and even more so today on day two, is that London Tech Week [...]
Explainer-in-brief: Priti Patel bets big on Rwanda June 14, 2022 Today was set to be the first flight from the UK to Rwanda as Priti Patel marked the start of the Home Office policy to send refugees to the African nation. It has been mired by controversy and legal challenges. The number of migrants ending up on today’s flight is set to be low – [...]
Our pledge to bridge the digital divide will shape our post-pandemic future June 14, 2022 Laptop on, coffee mug in hand, smartphone charged. This was many people’s mornings during the pandemic. As Covid-19 ravaged London, we all had to shift from being office-bound commuters to stay-at-home workers. It was then that the digital divide in our city became apparent to everyone. It wasn’t just the divide between the retail and [...]
London’s tech success can be the backbone of the nation’s economy as growth wavers June 14, 2022 Across the western world economies face big structural challenges: growth, productivity, inflation and real wage levels. The holy grail of economic policy is how to break out of this cycle. As Tech Minister, I believe the UK must throw everything behind being a science and tech superpower. Just as our economy was transformed by Thatcher [...]
As we remember Grenfell, we must find a way to give the survivors of the blaze closure June 14, 2022 Today marks the fifth anniversary of the Grenfell Tower fire. 72 people died in that inferno – 18 of them were children. The number of people living in the council-owned building was 297; the 223 survivors are still, today, waiting for justice. The tragedy that unfolded on the night of the 14th of June 2017 [...]
Letters: The Met’s trust challenge June 14, 2022 [Re: Crime in our capital city will stay high unless confidence in the Met is restored, June 10] As the cost-of-living crisis continues to bite, we’re seeing fresh waves of concern about a potential spike in crime figures . The Met currently has more police officers than ever before, yet it appears there is still [...]
London Tech Week, Day One: Diversity under the spotlight June 13, 2022 There is no denying that UK tech is experiencing a golden age. As London Tech Week kicks off today with events across the capital, we have a great deal to celebrate. Figures today from the UK’s Digital Economy Council show that investment in UK startups is set to break records by the end of this [...]
Explainer-in-brief: The story behind the Tiverton and Honiton by-election June 13, 2022 Last Friday, the prime minister paid a visit to the rural Devon constituency of Tiverton and Honiton. Since the seat was created in 1997, it has always been in Conservatives’ hands. Local residents will head to the polls on June 23 to choose their new MP, since Neil Parish had to resign after admitting to [...]