Venture capitalism not politics was the brains behind Britain’s vaccine success February 24, 2021 The largely unsung hero – and perhaps the unlearnt lesson – of Britain’s vaccine success is venture capitalist turned government adviser Kate Bingham and how other venture capitalists like her can create the agile, entrepreneurial policies that ‘Global Britain’ needs. It was not politics as usual that allowed Britain to have the fastest vaccine rollout [...]
Vaccine passports: a free market and plentiful pubs mean they won’t work in the UK February 24, 2021 As the country emerges slowly from lockdown, the debate over so-called vaccine passports gathers pace. Yesterday, Matt Hancock confirmed Britain was looking into the proposition for international travel. Countries such as Greece and Spain have a strong incentive to develop a system with us. Each attracts large numbers of British tourists in a normal year. Whatever [...]
Post-Covid offices will become cultural hubs and even art galleries to tempt staff back to the office February 24, 2021 “Ditch the desks and ditch the boardroom! Tell your people to bring their trunks and they will love working for you.” So said Robert Dowling, CEO of Deanlow Consulting in Ontario in 2016, after revealing that his employees spent their days paddling around a company swimming pool with laptops to promote creative thinking. We’re five [...]
A trade deal with Australia would give the UK the green light to join the CPTPP February 23, 2021 There was a time in British politics last year when the term ‘Australia-style’ was deeply fashionable. As Prime Minister Boris Johnson sought to navigate the UK’s departure from the European Union and secure a Brexit deal, the prospect of trading with the EU on WTO terms – akin to that of Australia’s trading relationship with [...]
Texas blackouts: how a state celebrated for independence went into deep freeze February 23, 2021 Temperatures plunged to below freezing plate on Valentine’s Day in Texas, and much of the state was soon covered with four to six inches of powdery snow that many Texans had never seen before. The snow looked so out of place in my parents’ garden just south of Austin, piled on the cacti and agave. [...]
Business rates from the 16th century are ruining the high-street and an online sales tax isn’t enough February 23, 2021 The pandemic is in many ways not a break from the past but a rapid accelerator, and nowhere has the world sped up as much as in our shopping habits. In the last year, more retail sales shifted onto the internet than had done so in the previous decade. UK consumers spent £24 in every [...]
Squeamish ministers must include casual sex exemption in lockdown roadmap February 23, 2021 Sex and intimacy are a part of what makes us human, but the infinite ways that we all experience our sexuality and inter-personal relationships have been completely lost in the Government’s approach to lockdown and yesterday’s roadmap did not offer any real light at the end of the tunnel. For most of the past year, [...]
Boris Johnson’s lockdown roadmap needs short-term hope and yes, takeaway pints February 23, 2021 In two weeks, we will be legally allowed to sit on a park bench with a friend and have a coffee. In five weeks, two whole households will be given the go-ahead to see one another outdoors. Boris Johnson’s plan to exit lockdown seems completely oblivious to what is happening outside his front door. It [...]
Are politicians tech-savvy enough to tackle social media giants? February 22, 2021 The news has been full of tech stories in what little we’ve seen of 2021: Facebook’s decision to ban news content on its site in Australia, Google’s threat to withdraw its service altogether from Australian users in light of legislation which would oblige tech platforms to pay for news, and Twitter’s intervention by suspending former [...]
Forget grants, scrap VAT on green products for to supercharge the renewable revolution February 22, 2021 There’s a lot of talk about lowering carbon emissions and reaching ‘net zero’ ahead of the UK hosting COP26, the UN climate conference later this year. Businesses are committing to ambitious targets, renewables have overtaken coal, and there’s record investment in green technology. At the same time, the production of new jargon and acronyms in [...]