Reaching for net zero: why we need a super-deduction for green skills January 10, 2022 Last year, a raft of new policies began to provide an outline for a new kind of British economy – one for which the future is most definitely green. A big piece of the puzzle is still missing, however. There’s no clarity about where the people to fill the promised green jobs are. We’ve already [...]
Why the energy crisis is set to derail the UK economy in 2022 January 7, 2022 A wave of concern over the swelling cost of living is sweeping across Britain. While households are bracing for higher tax bills and are already being stung by food prices leaping, it is swelling energy costs that will hit hardest in 2022. The UK’s benchmark gas prices have quintupled since January 2021, leaping from £54 [...]
Opinion-in-brief: Politics more important than ever for deal-making January 7, 2022 This week the Government gained new powers to impose conditions on, block or reverse certain investments. No one could reasonably disagree with the intention behind the National Security and Investment Act, but its breadth and depth are striking – estimates suggest a fifty-fold increase in transactions scrutinised. More broadly, it illustrates a tension in current [...]
Better regulations, not more, are the answer to greenwashing controversies January 7, 2022 Last year, we talked a lot about climate action and what the financial industry could do to make a difference. At Cop26, the former governor of the Bank of England Mark Carney unveiled his brainchild for combating climate change: the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero. At the time, Carney boasted $130tn mobilised in pursuit [...]
Try, try and try again is the mantra when solving business and political dilemmas January 7, 2022 In 2003, start-up fever on the West Coast of the US was like a new Gold Rush. Investors chasing ideas were throwing money in the hope of magical returns. Part of this rush was based on faith and some of the investors believed tall tales when they should have dug harder to find gold. That [...]
Even a well-told story won’t save Big Tech from the cold hard stare of global attention January 7, 2022 On December 30th, the historian Timothy Snyder published a review of unimprovable snideness in the New York Times. His victim was an American academic, Jonathan Gottschall, whose new book, “The Story Paradox”, examines the role of stories in society. In his book, Gottschall argues that the “science” of storytelling has been understudied and its power [...]
Opinion-in-brief: Time to move to online learning to upskill our workforce January 6, 2022 January is considered one of the best months for job hunting. But with half of the UK workforce requiring upskilling by 2025, there is a need for accessible skills training at a huge scale. The traditional model of in-person learning is defined by long and costly courses with low completion rates. We need something different, [...]
On the global stage, is 2022 the happy new year we’ve been hoping for? January 6, 2022 As ever, Oscar Wilde put it best: “We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.” Optimism, the most underrated quality in our cynical age, is necessary to get through the day. Analytically, it is also often of more use than the doom and gloom that passes for the [...]
It’s now or never: Importers from China must act now to avoid coming price rises January 6, 2022 Last year was a difficult one for London businesses importing goods from China. Supply chain difficulties, rocketing prices for raw materials and increased shipping prices have seen the cost of doing business with Chinese suppliers shoot up. Currency fluctuations are also having a significant impact on UK buyers with the US Dollar and Chinese Yuan [...]
Tories need to change their green tune to play well in much-needed constituencies January 6, 2022 We are at a landmark moment for climate change and politics in this country. Recent polling by Ipsos Mori found that 35 per cent of the public believe the Conservatives have good policies on climate and the environment, versus just 32 per cent for Labour. What may seem like a small lead is instead a [...]