Donald Trump needs to get back to basics on the campaign trail October 15, 2020 Tuesday’s Opinium poll showing Donald Trump trailing Joe Biden by a staggering 17 points will likely be the death knell for the President’s campaign. Even at the nadir of Trump’s 2016 campaign, when a leaked tape showed him bragging about him sexually assaulting women, the President’s poll deficit never dipped below 15 per cent in [...]
How UK business leaders can help Covid-hit female entrepreneurs in Africa October 15, 2020 How far does £40 get you? In the UK, and London especially, it might buy you a meal for two, take-out coffees for the month, or a nice cosy jumper to see you through the autumn and winter months. But in sub-Saharan Africa, such an amount could be life-changing. We’re not talking about hand-outs here, [...]
Beware the risk to economic stability if banks are asked to shoulder the full burden of Covid-19 October 15, 2020 The economic cost of Covid-19 has been — and will continue to be — immense. As the Bank of England publishes its surveys on bank liabilities and credit conditions today, it is a reminder that much of that cost will fall on the financial sector, and within that, on the larger banks. But how that [...]
Pay attention, London: Nicola Sturgeon’s spat with Alex Salmond could scupper her mission to break up the UK October 15, 2020 At a time when Londoners are all focusing on the latest lockdown restrictions, wondering what will become of our jobs, and asking if Trump or Boris will still be in post this time next year, does anyone other than expat Scots care who wins the stair-heid rammy between Nicola Sturgeon and Alex Salmond? But care [...]
A message to Rishi from entrepreneurs: Forget tax hikes and let the go-getters get going October 15, 2020 Rishi Sunak certainly deserves praise for his response to the pandemic — so far. Because, as his recent statement to the Commons showed, the real test has only just begun. We have seen the chancellor take decisive action to avoid a bonfire of jobs, and he clearly has his eyes on the future. His speech [...]
Mayor 2.0: London deserves a leader who can punch at the capital’s weight October 14, 2020 It’s more than 20 years now since we saw the creation of an elected mayor of London with executive power over the whole city. Devised at a time of widespread devolution, public response to the role was lukewarm, with only around a third of voters bothering to express a preference either way. It was somehow [...]
Press freedom is under fire in Hong Kong — it’s time for Britain to take a stand October 14, 2020 Freedom of expression is a crucial and universal human right, recognised by international organisations around the world, including the United Nations. And rightly so. It is the job of journalists to shine a light on the authorities that govern us in order to hold them to account for their actions. A free press is an [...]
The government’s ballet dancer ad missed the mark – but let’s not write off retraining October 14, 2020 On Monday, the government faced a great deal of backlash for promoting adverts encouraging retraining — suggesting, among other things, that an aspiring ballet dancer should retrain “in cyber”. Condemned for being tone-deaf and undermining the arts sector, the criticism mirrors a similar reaction to comments made by the chancellor last week, when he claimed [...]
Heavy-handed Westminster diktats have eroded trust — now only localised Covid policy can restore it October 14, 2020 Last month, the official group of scientific advisers — SAGE — warned the government that only a quarter of those who need to self-isolate due to coronavirus symptoms were in fact doing so. This illustrates a concept which is of great practical importance: namely the conflict between individual and collective rationality. Consider Margaret Ferrier, an [...]
Trump or Biden? Either way, global Britain should prepare to step into the void October 14, 2020 US presidential elections are always closely watched across the pond. This time round, in an exceptional year and following a truly extraordinary administration, the anticipation building in Westminster around next month’s vote has reached a fever pitch. The dramatic twists and turns of American foreign policy over the past four years have heightened anxieties about [...]