The two faces of tech: a force to fight global challenges with a dangerous underbelly threats November 29, 2021 Today tech leaders and government ministers from around the world will attend the Science Museum to discuss one of the greatest issues of our time: the future of tech. Technology is fundamental to almost every aspect of our lives. GPS can let our families know when we’re nearly home; artificial intelligence can instruct our smart [...]
Best of this week in our opinion pages: from a business-friendly Labour Party to the migration crisis in the Channel November 27, 2021 On Monday, party leader Keir Starmer outlined his vision for a Labour Party with business interests at its heart. As the resilience of British businesses get tested by inflation, supply chain problems and labour shortages, Starmer suggested a revival of relations between his party and private companies. This new alliance would focus on upskilling with [...]
Bumper Black Friday and cyber Monday sales are a relic of old consumer habits November 27, 2021 For small businesses, the weekend of bumper sales from Black Friday through to Cyber Monday is not just a race they cannot keep up with, it is a race right to the bottom. No wonder most independents are not taking part. The now classic Black Friday sale is big on discounts and small on nuance. [...]
Plastic surgery, out of sight but not out of mind November 26, 2021 Cosmetic surgery purveyors will be banned from targeting ads at under 18-year-olds. No more facelifts and perfect breasts on social media, newspapers, broadcast programmes and posters. The regulators took this decision following concerns about teenagers struggling with body image pressures. The Advertising Standards Authority has been candid about the impact that advertisement can have on [...]
The public and private divide has shifted and Thatcherism won’t save us November 26, 2021 This, said Margaret Thatcher as she drew Friedrich Hayek’s The Constitution of Liberty from her bag and slammed it on the table, is what we believe. The “vegetables”, as Spitting Image so memorably characterised her cabinet, agreed. Thatcher knew what she believed and the business community knew it too. It was the clarity of her [...]
Today, asylum seekers are in the Channel but it is a global crisis we need to weather November 26, 2021 In the space of six years, around 1,100 people died at sea on small boats, only slightly more seaworthy than those crossing the Channel. Then, they were making the perilous journey that stretches thousands of kilometres from Indonesia to Australia. In 2013, then-Prime Minister Tony Abbott, implemented a policy of turning back the boats and [...]
The boring predictability of our rule of law will ensure Britain’s success November 26, 2021 Power doesn’t disappear overnight. In the immortal words of Paul Simon, it slip slides away. In Helmand, Afghanistan I realised things were falling apart when people stopped coming to the government to resolve disputes. They turned to the Taliban instead. That was 15 years before the end. Subtly, almost unnoticed, here was proof that people [...]
Channel 4’s funding model vs the BBC licence fee November 25, 2021 Channel 4 receives no public funding despite being a publicly-owned not-for-profit corporation, with no shareholders. It is funded entirely by its own commercial activities, and most of its income comes from advertising revenue. Ch4 doesn’t make any programmes in-house and instead commissions them from UK production companies. Any profits go back into programme-making, which allows [...]
Soaring inflation in construction could spell disaster for housing in England November 25, 2021 The construction industry has been hit badly by inflation. Material prices are up: in terms of year on year increase, structural steel is at 65 per cent, reinforcement steel is at 62 per cent and plywood is at 56 per cent. Familiar supply chain problems are causing delays, and the cost of both energy and [...]
In defence of Peppa Pig, an unlikely flagbearer of Britain’s financial finesse November 25, 2021 Whisper it softly, but hidden in Boris Johnson’s bungled speech to the CBI on Monday, was a half decent idea struggling to get out. Forget the repeated apologies, the shuffled papers or the bizarre anecdote about his weekend, the star of the show was Peppa Pig, that irritating cartoon creature that toddlers adore. As the [...]