We stayed home, now we have to protect the NHS with structural reforms May 25, 2021 If a single line has permeated every facet of the government’s communications during the Covid-19 pandemic, it has been the cultish imperative to “protect the NHS.” This instruction has been, implicitly or explicitly, the justification for every restriction implemented. By reducing transmission, we would prevent the NHS from being overwhelmed by patients with coronavirus and [...]
Belarus’ act of aviation piracy and kidnapping proves the obvious: anyone can bully the EU May 25, 2021 Yesterday, within about five minutes of one another, both my partner and a colleague drolly made the same comment: “I know Ryanair is tough about customer service, but I didn’t realise you had to pay extra to avoid being kidnapped.” There were, of course, referring to the dreadful act of piracy that occurred over the [...]
Shadow Trade Minister: The future of Britain’s steel industry is at risk if Liz Truss slashes tariffs May 24, 2021 In 1971, the UK’s steel manufacturing industry employed around 320,000 people. By 2016, just 24,000 worked in steel manufacturing – and that number is even lower today. The steel industry has been in decline ever since its peak in the 1970s. Despite its national strategic importance in supporting our nation’s defence and manufacturing sectors, not [...]
Flood the streets with art: traffic-free weekends and an all-night celebration in the City for a cultural comeback May 24, 2021 The City’s reopening is building up to a crescendo with the return of visitors and audiences to some of the Square Mile’s iconic cultural institutions. One of the things that I – like many others – have missed the most during lockdown has been the opportunity to enjoy world-class art and culture in person rather [...]
After the Martin Bashir scandal, the BBC must claw back its status as a cultural embassy for Britain May 24, 2021 It has been a bad weekend for the BBC. The fall-out from Lord Dyson’s report on Martin Bashir and his infamous interview with Diana, Princess of Wales, has exposed not just individual wrongdoing by a rogue journalist but an institutional desire—and ability—to look the other way and excuse appalling behaviour because it delivered a scoop [...]
Beyond Pret sandwich sales, how do we measure the recovery of London? May 23, 2021 After more than a year of lockdown restrictions, words like “recovery” are thick in the air. Indeed, the Bank of England is forecasting annual growth of 7.25 per cent, the fastest rate since 1941; positive news, but it is not the most digestible statistic for much of Britain’s population. The most important benchmarks are ones [...]
Virtual internships could break down social mobility barriers in the City May 22, 2021 Earlier this month, Boris Johnson announced working from home guidance would come to an end on June 21. This is a reassuring sign that life is coming back, slow and surely, into the City – an encouraging sign for graduates looking to secure a role with a leading firm this year. Many young people will [...]
The Sunday Times Rich List will steal the show, but it should be those at the top of philanthropy who earn our admiration May 22, 2021 The Sunday Times Rich list was published yesterday with much fanfare. As well as the customary intrigue about who made it and who didn’t, who is up and who is down, another ranking, the Giving List, will also be published. It lists philanthropists according to the percentage of wealth they have given away. Whereas once [...]
Rishi Sunak must stop dragging his heels and seize a once-in-a-lifetime chance to fix global corporate tax May 21, 2021 Anger at the never ending stories of global corporations dodging tax is set to hit boiling point. Barely a day goes by without a fresh tale of a big multinational paying ultra-low rates of tax. Even after a year of record sales during the pandemic, Amazon Europe did not pay any corporation tax on the [...]
Great British Railways: an eerie reminder of state ownership detested by free marketeers and socialists alike May 21, 2021 The current amount of taxpayers’ money being paid to operate and maintain the railways is unsustainable, the authors of the Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail report wrote in the opening pages. The railways lack a guiding focus on customers, are too fragmented, too complicated, and too expensive to run. Instead, the authors herald a new age, [...]