Going green: The City is leading the charge towards a sustainable financial future January 27, 2020 This year, for the first time ever, the climate crisis dominated the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report. The five top threats to the global economy identified all concerned the environment. Unprecedented climate events are happening with alarming regularity. The message is clear: we must urgently work together to achieve the transition to a green [...]
Levelling up is possible — but the government has to listen to what people want January 27, 2020 Levelling up. This slightly odd turn of phrase is set to become one of the defining tests of the new Johnson government. Inequalities between the regions and nations of the United Kingdom are not a new problem, and nor are central government policy initiatives designed to tackle them. Business communities — particularly those outside the [...]
You could be sitting on a data goldmine, so keep your data safe January 27, 2020 How much data do you think you produce each day? Take a moment to think about it. The figure you came up with is likely wildly underestimated. The reality is that we collectively produce quintillions of gigabytes of data every day. Cut yourself some slack — coming up with an accurate number is no easy [...]
Why Boris is a mixed blessing for the City January 26, 2020 Boris and the Conservatives’ thumping electoral victory inevitably led to an uptick in confidence, but dealmakers should keep an eye on the course Number 10 is plotting. Business is celebrating the thwarting of Labour’s most anti-business leader since Michael Foot and the abatement of Brexit-related uncertainty. But we may be left wanting if we expected [...]
Davos Diary: Day 5 January 24, 2020 So here I am, on the final day of the 2020 World Economic Forum. It seems a lifetime ago that I woke up early on Monday morning, the Alpine air fresh in my nostrils and excited for the week ahead. Since then, it’s been a whirlwind of heavyweights, celebrities, insights and networks: Thunberg, Trump, Charles, [...]
Businesses need to be heard on immigration January 24, 2020 Over the last few years, the Home Office has managed to preside over the Windrush debacle, been forced to apologise for a heavy-handed refusal to issue visas because of minor administrative errors, and admitted that it has no idea of how many customs agents it has. It is, in short, a department in which things [...]
Boris can lead a Conservative council housing revolution January 24, 2020 With Boris Johnson now undisputed world king of the post-Brexit scene, the only relevant policy debates are those going on inside the government itself. These are yielding unusual fruit. Esther McVey, a deep-dyed Thatcherite and an advocate of blue-collar Conservatism, has been arguing for more council housing. The housing minister wants to help those “left [...]
Sweden’s disastrous experiment with rent controls should be a cautionary tale for London January 24, 2020 How to make excellent meatballs, win Eurovision with style, and start a domestic argument over flatpack furniture — Sweden has taught the world so much. But setting aside our love of ABBA and Ikea, there’s another lesson to take from the experiences of our Scandinavian cousins. Sadiq Khan will spend the first half of 2020 [...]
Suffering from choice paralysis? How to defeat the indecision epidemic January 24, 2020 A clearly important decision gets delayed multiple times — or not made at all — causing office-wide frustration. It’s a situation that will sound all too familiar for many of us. In the past, we used to suffer from too few options to choose from; today, we suffer from too many. Abundance of choices has [...]
Good riddance to the £30,000 immigration salary threshold January 24, 2020 Brexit is coming, in exactly one week’s time. Now it is on to the details — and no area is more crucial to Britain’s future prosperity, nor more associated with the EU debate, than immigration. There are real dangers if we get the new rules wrong. It was therefore a relief to read reports this [...]