Furlough fraud exposes the shortcomings of doling out endless amounts of cash January 20, 2022 Outrage has erupted over the news that £5.8bn has been “criminally siphoned off” the emergency Covid-19 schemes that propped up millions of workers and paid for us to eat on the cheap. The very same folk who complained ministers weren’t acting fast enough to provide support, rejecting warnings that furlough was excessively generous, are now [...]
Opinion-in-brief: Time to get off the hamster wheel of animal cruelty January 19, 2022 Yesterday, Hong Kong authorities announced they would cull 2,000 small animals – mainly hamsters – because they had caught Covid-19. There is no evidence that pets can transmit the virus to animals. It is reminiscent of the Danish PM’s decision to cull all minks in the country in 2020. The mink massacre led to the [...]
Russia has caught our attention, now Putin’s threat in Ukraine will be tested January 19, 2022 Since the spring of last year, Russia has amassed military forces near Ukraine’s border. Estimates vary on the size of these forces, but most analysts believe that somewhere in the realm of 100,000 military personnel have been deployed, with perhaps more held in reserve. Given the composition of these units, their capabilities are not in [...]
Boris Johnson may be in political peril but his Covid-19 strategy was worth the risk January 19, 2022 The last days have been of decisive importance in the life of this pandemic: the total number of Covid-19 cases in the country has started to fall, and is continuing to fall. Finally, we are well past the worst. Something to consider is that the figures we see in the headlines, no matter what data [...]
Climate change personal responsibility is a myth to excuse the world’s emitters January 19, 2022 Consumers do have power in their pockets when it comes to tackling climate change. The meteoric rise of ESG in the financial services industry, for instance, has been driven by consumer demand. Equally, in the retail sector the term “sustainable” has become a benchmark for any quality clothing brand as a result of customers wanting [...]
The world in 2022: a map to global politics January 19, 2022 In 2022 the fault lines of global politics will be tested again. City A.M. and the British Foreign Policy Group chart the year ahead. If the pandemic taught us anything, it is the deep ramifications that one country’s domestic politics have globally. From the future of the French President to continual Chinese aggression, here we [...]
Johnson sacrificed the Tories low tax reputation and will pay the price for it January 18, 2022 THE TORIES are becoming a high-tax party because they have become a low-growth party. So said the Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves recently. And she’s right. The Conservative Party has increased taxes to a 71-year high. Government spending is the most it has been since the late 1970s. Meanwhile, our economic recovery remains fragile. Despite solid [...]
Credit Suisse’s scalped chairman lays bare the new rules of post-purpose business January 18, 2022 Perhaps it’s time for an amnesty. All those in prominent positions in public life who flouted a lockdown rule here or there should fess up in return for a short, sharp rebuke from Sue Gray and no further repercussions. No doubt the prime minister would welcome such a resolution. But it would come too late [...]
Explainer-in-brief: All the parties rocking Downing Street and Whitehall January 17, 2022 The number of Downing Street and Whitehall parties has been piling up, so much so that it can be hard to follow. So here’s your calendar. The last discovered party took place on the 16th of April 2021 and involved Downing Street staff dancing to a dj set the night before the Queen attended her [...]
On The Apprentice: the UK must stop treating its entrepreneurs like clowns January 17, 2022 It’s sometimes a shock to recall that The Apprentice has been on our screens for more than 15 years. For a decade and a half, Lord Sugar – originally plain old “Suralan”- has been summoning shiny-suited hopefuls to his wobbly prefab boardroom, pointing at them and making leaden witticisms. The show has been a ratings [...]