As Britain turns its head to China, it must keep hold of strategic strength in Europe March 16, 2022 It was an apt anniversary; a year ago last week, the government published the “integrated review”, designed to reshape Britain’s global posture in the aftermath of Brexit. Along with the previous decisions to merge the Department for International Development into the Foreign Office and increase defence spending by over £16bn over four years, the review [...]
Explainer-in-brief: Russia pushes China into a tight corner with weapons request March 15, 2022 Chinese President Xi Jinping has been dragged into the harsh spotlight after reports suggested Russia had asked Beijing for weapons to support their offensive in Ukraine. President Xi has played a game of keeping China at arm’s length from the conflict in a bid to maintain his relationship with Vladimir Putin without antagonising Western countries. [...]
When solidarity dissolves, Britain needs to get a grip of immigration rules March 15, 2022 Yesterday, Secretary for Levelling up Michael Gove unveiled the Homes for Ukraine scheme, aimed at welcoming “tens of thousands” of refugees fleeing the war. The scheme seeks to complement the first corridor the government made available for Ukrainians who have relatives in the UK. Discontent inside and outside Westminster has been rife, with Downing Street [...]
Our businesses have been built by industrious refugees seeking a new future March 15, 2022 Exactly a hundred and forty years ago, a refugee fled eastern Europe fearing for his life. On arriving in Britain, Michael Marks began selling food from a stall in the Kirkgate Market in Leeds. Two years later, after meeting Thomas Spencer, the pair set up Marks and Spencer. Now it is one of Britain’s most [...]
We need to build up Britain’s piggy bank and help young workers saving for the future March 15, 2022 Ten years ago, a government policy came into law that would go on to financially benefit over 10 million people in the UK, giving them a greater stake in our economy and more security later in life. Automatic enrolment is an untold, underappreciated success story that we should look to build on and expand. For [...]
Letters: Sunak, stand up for the little guy March 15, 2022 [Re: Sunak urged to ‘turn wise words into action’ by FSB chair after small retailers feel ‘abandoned’, March 11] While “levelling up” has become the government’s phrase of the year, for the vast majority of small and medium-sized businesses this is a slogan without substance. Although schemes like Help to Grow are a step in [...]
Explainer-in-brief: Europe proves a hostile market for Big Tech March 14, 2022 European and UK regulators have teamed up for the second time in less than a year to crack down on tech giants skirting anticompetitive practices. On Friday, the Competition and Markets Authority in the UK and the EU Commission launched a probe into an online advertising deal between Google and Meta to allegedly shut out [...]
UK looks north: Oil and gas remain key to energy independence March 14, 2022 The UK is seemingly committed to North Sea oil and gas as it cuts itself off from Russian energy supplies following the invasion of Ukraine.
We must not put ourselves into turmoil for a short-lived upper hand on Russia March 14, 2022 Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the security of our energy supply – already volatile over the last few months – has taken on a renewed urgency. It is not a new concern—the “energy gap” has been a hot topic for at least the last decade—but the prospect of disrupting, suspending or severing entirely our economic [...]
Big Tech’s heyday of privacy abuses is coming to an end – and it’s going to cost them March 14, 2022 When it comes to data privacy, a slew of recent, multi-million-pound fines for data privacy breaches, have showed exactly how closely regulators are watching for transgressions. Already this year the UK’s Ministry of Justice has been served with an enforcement notice (which could lead to a fine of £17.5m) by the ICO; the Internet Advertising [...]