Scrap the TV licence, the BBC should just stick to the national news February 15, 2020 It is good that the BBC model is being disrupted by social media — allowing isolated individuals threatened by brown envelopes and sinister demands to be united in their opposition to the multi-billion pound media enterprise. Essentially, the broadcaster needs to be radically stripped down to just one channel: BBC News and Weather. All other [...]
Reshuffling the deck: Loyalty, not merit, is the key to a promotion February 14, 2020 Politics may be show business for ugly people, but cabinet reshuffles have more of a feel of football’s transfer deadline day. Ambitious and hopeful MPs keep their phones close by, hoping to see a withheld number and hear the words “Downing Street for you”. Hacks and politicos watch on the sidelines, tracking who is in [...]
Sajid Javid opts to go down with the ship February 14, 2020 Just under three months ago, Boris Johnson promised a room full of business leaders that Sajid Javid was guaranteed to remain in office as chancellor. He praised Javid and gave a “categorical” commitment to the CBI conference that he will remain in post. Yesterday, Javid was told that if he wanted to keep his job [...]
It’s time to make space for cosmic investing February 14, 2020 Valentine’s Day 2020 will be about more than roses and chocolate. It marks the 30th anniversary of one of the most iconic images of all time: a parting photograph of Earth taken by the Voyager 1 space probe. This image became notorious as the Pale Blue Dot, a seemingly insignificant pixel against a vast black [...]
Is Valentine’s Day just a marketing gimmick? February 14, 2020 Is Valentine’s Day just a marketing gimmick? Nicholas Mazzei, a corporate social responsibility adviser, says YES. Love is a commodity in much demand, and there is little enough of it to go around. The decline in the amount of sex men in the US are having has been linked to the rise of popularism and [...]
Don’t frame it as a front in the culture war, BBC reform can be in everyone’s interests February 14, 2020 With the announcement last week of a consultation on decriminalising non-payment of the licence fee, ministers boycotting core programmes following accusations of bias, and veiled threats from the government about its potential demise, fans of the BBC would be forgiven for thinking that their treasured broadcaster is under attack. But by framing this as a [...]
Employee appreciation: Showing your office some love is not just for Valentine’s Day February 14, 2020 Love is in the air, everywhere you look around. From office DJs to doughnut days, workplaces today are increasingly turning to kooky perks to show employees love and appreciation. But like any good date, employee appreciation should be carefully thought out. It requires a proper strategy, and consistency. No one-off show of love will make [...]
Free ports can revitalise the UK’s forgotten coastal communities February 14, 2020 Britain has always been a maritime nation. But for decades, our coastal communities have been ignored. Now, in the wake of Brexit, it’s high time we invested in these areas — and the government’s announcement that it is beginning a consultation on 10 free ports is a major step towards realising the potential of these [...]
BP’s plan is far bigger than a PR move February 13, 2020 The closest thing to a boastful holiday snap on Bernard Looney’s new Instagram page is a rather dreary image of Bonn. BP’s new boss was in the German city last week, so the caption tells us, to meet the head of the UN’s Framework Convention on Climate Change. It should have come as no surprise [...]
Brexit: A drawbridge to equivalence February 13, 2020 Diehard Brexit followers will know we are making progress when politicians move from trading soundbites and references to ticking clocks to rejecting each other’s positions on future alignment and regulatory equivalence. This week’s spat — sparked by a sneaky photo revealing the UK wanted “permanent equivalence” and answered by Barnier advising that certain people in [...]