A levelling up agenda cannot afford to overlook the UK’s beating financial heart March 16, 2020 With the strong and unpredictable economic headwinds of 2020, last week’s Budget came at a critical juncture. All eyes were on the new chancellor, in particular on what the Budget might propose to alleviate some of the short-term Covid-19 shocks to the economy. Efforts to support households and businesses, particularly SMEs, through the Covid-19 outbreak [...]
Coronavirus and football: What happens if the Premier League is cancelled? March 14, 2020 As Liverpool’s footballers emerged from the dugout at Anfield on Wednesday evening, fans stretched their hands down towards them from the flanking stands in search of a high five. Most players ignored them. Sadio Mane, Liverpool’s second highest goalscorer of the season and African player of the year, reached up to grant one supporter his [...]
Modular housing: Four common buyers’ questions answered March 13, 2020 Modular housing; off-site construction; MMC. You might have seen these terms bandied about by the housing minister, or heard the news earlier this month that a 49-storey modular housing tower has been approved in Croydon, which will be one of the tallest in the world. But what does it all mean? Broadly, MMC – or [...]
We’re going to have to help each other out March 13, 2020 Major events of the kind that come to be seen as era-defining tend, over time, to attract a simple question: “Where were you when you heard it?” The assassination of JFK, the death of Princess Diana and 9/11 are just a few examples, and it’s reasonable to assume that to this list Brits may add [...]
How to lead your business through a crisis like coronavirus March 13, 2020 Leadership, at every level, is about to be tested in a way in which it has never been tested before. We’re now in uncharted territory in the spread of Covid-19. The first thing to accept is that leading in a crisis is very different from leading in normal times. I learned that the hard way [...]
Trump’s America is heading into twin coronavirus crises March 13, 2020 The Covid-19 pandemic has come to America. As of Thursday, there were 1,376 confirmed cases, up from just 221 a week before. As has been the case in every country that has seen an outbreak, calls for the government to act have been growing. And on Wednesday night, it did. In a televised address to [...]
The Covid-19 crisis can move us past the politics of easy answers March 13, 2020 The Black Death begat the end of feudalism and the start of the Renaissance. In the seventeenth century a golden age of architecture and science emerged from a London ravaged by fire and plague. Pestilence can be the cradle of creative destruction, and perhaps it can move us past the age of populism and the [...]
Spending like a drunken sailor does not create a thriving entrepreneurial economy March 13, 2020 “If I announced that Budget, the Tories would be jumping up and down,” shadow chancellor John McDonnell said with a smirk yesterday morning. Indeed, Wednesday’s Budget is the biggest giveaway of taxpayer money since 1992. Borrowing will increase by £125bn. Debt will reach a record high at £2 trillion. There was some good news for [...]
DEBATE: Do the chancellor’s reforms to entrepreneurs’ relief strike the right balance for founders? March 13, 2020 Do the chancellor’s reforms to entrepreneurs’ relief strike the right balance for founders? YES, says Mike Cherry, national chairman at the Federation of Small Businesses. Compromise is a fact of business life. Every dealmaker knows that it’s better to bend a little than break off negotiations. Entrepreneurs’ relief is a vital incentive that’s central to [...]
Work from home: Could coronavirus kill your commute? March 12, 2020 Next time you are sitting on the train, the bus, or the Tube, look around you. You will notice that the carriage is not as crowded as usual. If you are a clockwork commuter like me, you will notice that characters from your morning commute are no longer making their regular appearance. The chap with [...]