Editorial: Transport for London needs a funding model fit for a modern capital September 22, 2021 On the tube, mind the gap is supposed to be a cautionary warning for absent-minded tourists. Alas over the course of the pandemic it’s become something rather more serious – a constant, if pithy, reminder of the black hole at the heart of Transport for London’s finances. London is a great global city, but the [...]
Opinion-in-brief: Cyber crime is here to stay, we need to fight back September 22, 2021 There is a rising tide of cybercrime in the Big Data world. This year’s London Tech Week should be an opportunity to bolster our digital technologies, making them more secure for the future. Cyber crime is becoming the biggest cyber threat facing the UK. Also known as ransomware, it is malicious software that uses encryption [...]
A letter from Google to Big Tech September 21, 2021 Tomorrow the Treasury Select Committee will call representatives from across tech companies to explain the role we each play in helping prevent financial scammers exploiting online platforms. In the UK, people are targeted by increasingly sophisticated scammers on and offline, causing financial and emotional difficulty for many people. According to UK Finance, in 2020, total [...]
Financial services were forgotten by Brexit and London deserves better September 21, 2021 I have always been optimistic about London’s ability to bounce back from the terrible economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic. The good news is my optimism was well founded – as we’re already seeing many positive signs. Our “Let’s Do London” campaign is working, enticing Londoners and visitors back to experience all that central London [...]
DEBATE: Could nuclear prevent another energy crisis? September 21, 2021 Britain is in the throes of an energy crisis. There are myriad reasons from unusually low amounts of wind to sky-high gas prices. As we turn to net zero a familiar debate over the place for nuclear energy in our carbon-neutral arsenal. Eammon Ives of the Centre for Policy Studies says YES to nuclear The [...]
Editorial: The energy cap can’t go right now – but free markets have better answers September 21, 2021 It is not, perhaps, the best time to argue for free markets and open competition in the energy market. Analysts are anticipating that the increase in the wholesale price of natural gas will see a host of firms wiped out; their economics are simply unworkable. The only thing protecting consumers from spiralling energy prices, then, [...]
Coutts CEO: When time is money, why we spent it on becoming a certified B Corporation bank September 21, 2021 Coutts recently became the largest UK private bank and wealth manager to become a B Corp. It has taken a lot of people and a lot of work over the last two years to get through the stringent scrutiny and analysis by B Lab UK required for certification. But time is often equated with money [...]
Britain needs to sober up from our addiction to gas September 21, 2021 This will be a winter where energy prices seldom stay out of the news. With the combination of cracks appearing in our creaking electricity system, record global gas prices, and the largest overnight benefits cut in history risk colliding in a way that piles yet more pressure on families already struggling. In the short term, [...]
Labour’s plans to crackdown on private equity are only the beginning of the political dog fight September 20, 2021 Political interest in private equity has ramped up over the last year. After a string of high-profile political interventions on recent PE deals, from defence to retail, the Labour Party has made it their mission to scrap the carried interest tax rules that PE fund managers benefit from. Returns would no longer be booked as [...]
Tunnel vision: the private sector has the ability to transform British infrastructure September 20, 2021 Last week came an unsurprising denouement: the proposed link between Scotland and Northern Ireland, via a bridge or a tunnel, was being shelved. The Treasury could not countenance the estimated £15 billion cost. This was a project with Boris Johnson’s name all over it: big, bold, innovative and eye-catching. It would be a solid piece [...]