DEBATE: Is the Government doing enough to combat vaccine misinformation? March 23, 2021 Richard Exon, Founder of Joint says Yes The UK has one of the most successful vaccine rollouts in the world. On Saturday it vaccinated a record 844,285 people – a combination of first and second doses – in a single day. So, half of all UK adults have now had their first dose of the [...]
Covid-19, a year on: What we’ve learnt on Zoom March 23, 2021 In this series, City A.M. looks back at the last year of the pandemic and Covid restrictions and takes stock of its impact on industries and issues at the heart of British society. Read more: Read the full Covid-19, a year on series here. Over the last year, the language we have used has changed. Words like [...]
Hyper-local offices and central HQs could chart the path forward to save cities March 23, 2021 Enforced home working and lockdown travel restrictions have, for many, led to a journey of local discovery. To name but a few, the surprise and delight of hidden parks and gardens discovered during our daily exercise ration and great independent food shops providing welcomed morning coffee hits and morale-boosting treats. However, despite the lack of [...]
Say what you will about Dominic Cummings, he’s spot on about science funding March 22, 2021 This week saw the return of Dominic Cummings to the public stage as he gave evidence to a parliamentary committee on the launch of his brainchild, ‘ARIA’, the new UK Advanced Research and Invention agency. At least that’s what he was meant to be there for. Inevitably, the focus drifted into a broader discussion of [...]
Covid-19, a year on: The Corporation and the State March 22, 2021 In this series, City A.M. looks back at the last year of the pandemic and Covid restrictions and takes stock of its impact on industries and issues at the heart of British society. Read more: Read the full Covid-19, a year on series here. The state and the market have long been locked in a cautious dance. [...]
Is Sadiq Khan’s re-election as London Mayor inevitable? March 22, 2021 On Thursday 6 May, Londoners will go to the polls. Or, more likely, many won’t; turnout last time was 45 per cent to elect a new mayor, or else confirm the incumbent in office. This is the largest single exercise in democracy the UK has, excepting referendums, with an electorate of around five and a [...]
International policymakers must have regulatory coherence to support economic growth March 22, 2021 The vaccination rollout campaigns in both the UK and across the world have allowed us to start dreaming of life after the pandemic. As the global economy begins to open back up again, we will start to see the green shoots of our recovery. One important way that the financial and professional services sector is [...]
The greatest space mission will be tackling climate change and protecting our planet March 21, 2021 Efforts around the world are focused on making businesses more sustainable, with ever greater emphasis on innovative technology to help solve the climate crisis we face. There was a dearth of climate-related announcements in Rishi Sunak’s Budget speech earlier this month. Sunak did, however, reiterate the Government’s plan to establish the UK as a “science [...]
London needs a transport shake-up, with cheaper rail prices, e-scooters and new funding systems for TfL March 20, 2021 One year into the pandemic and London is on the brink of a transport revolution. For many the only obvious step change has been a retrograde one. Londoners continue to avoid public transport with almost the same zeal with which we once crammed ourselves onto tube carriages. Driving cars, while not quite back in vogue [...]
Don’t believe naysayers predicting the death of London and a exodus to rural idyll, the capital will be rich with post-pandemic opportunities March 20, 2021 London, as I know and love it, is a place of streets swelling with people, of shimmering, seductive shops, enticing bars and restaurants from every corner of the earth, and of constant sound – the hum of the UK economy. The capital attracts more than 20 million overseas visitors a year, drawn in by theatres, [...]