Capitalism must keep an eye on itself, too November 29, 2019 Appointments to top regulatory jobs do not necessarily set the pulse of the nation racing, but the installation of Samantha Barrass as head of the new Business Banking Resolution Service (BBRS) is one that the City should pay attention to. Not necessarily because we expect the BBRS to be busy — though in its early [...]
The election could redraw the country and reshape the Tories November 29, 2019 Opinion polls don’t just report the state of play, they can help fashion what comes next. The huge YouGov survey of 100,000 voters that translated into a Tory majority of 68 was unusual not just because of its scale but because it analysed every constituency. Most polls take a small national sample and use that [...]
Mother Nature means business: Why leaders need ‘feminine’ qualities November 29, 2019 The business world has come a long way in celebrating and enabling gender equality. But while there might be more women entering the boardroom, we’re still a long way from achieving truly equal representation in the workplace — especially at a senior level. The problem is that while we’re more comfortable with having women take [...]
None of the parties have a credible plan to fix the social care crisis November 29, 2019 Every day, 1.4m elderly people are left unwashed, unsupported, and without the care they need — because our social care system is broken. “Crisis” is an overused term, but in this instance, it’s no exaggeration. And people are increasingly aware of this. Recent polling commissioned by Deloitte and Reform revealed that social care is the [...]
DEBATE: Is Extinction Rebellion’s target of net-zero emissions by 2025 economically viable? November 29, 2019 Is Extinction Rebellion’s target of net-zero emissions by 2025 economically viable? Zion Lights, a science communicator and editor of Extinction Rebellion newspaper The Hourglass, says YES. It’s an odd question — if we don’t achieve net-zero emissions sooner than the current target of 2050, we risk committing ourselves to potential economic collapse. Bank of England governor [...]
Ban MPs from second jobs? We should be encouraging them November 28, 2019 New governments seldom seek to discourage employment. Ministries live and die by their ability to get people into work. Yet in one sector, the Labour party has made a manifesto promise of reducing jobs — by banning members of parliament from taking paid work outside the House. Really, this is the wrong way around. Parliamentarians [...]
I would kill to be CEO of… Royal Mail November 28, 2019 Royal Mail has been struggling for a while. Shares are far below their 2013 floatation price, the company has fallen out of the FTSE 100, and it continues to face challenges as the decline in letter-sending accelerates. With that said, the business has managed to post a significant uplift in both half-year revenues and profits. [...]
Debate: Is Labour right to warn over US interest in the NHS, uncovered in the leaked trade talk papers? November 28, 2019 Debate: Is Labour right to warn over US interest in the NHS, uncovered in the leaked trade talk papers? Yes — Heidi Chow is a pharmaceuticals campaigner at Global Justice Now The leaked Trump trade papers are genuinely shocking. They confirm that drug prices and the NHS really are on the table in these talks [...]
It may be popular, but scrapping hospital parking charges would be a total disaster November 28, 2019 Amid myriad headline-grabbing proposals, you might have missed Labour’s promise to scrap hospital parking charges. This is exactly the kind of local, community-based policy that is likely to win votes — but it is a mistake. They might not be popular, but these car parking charges are actually a good thing. First, the charges bring [...]
NHS stunt reveals how desperate Labour is November 28, 2019 Labour’s unconventional relationship with the media took another couple of twists yesterday. First up, shadow trade secretary Barry Gardiner failed to conceal his irritation when a reporter from ITV asked a question about Labour’s antisemitism problem. He snapped: “Do you have a question about the issue we’re discussing, or was that just an opportune moment [...]