DEBATE: Are there any signs that UK retailers could be in for a merry Christmas this year? December 4, 2019 Are there any signs that UK retailers could be in for a merry Christmas this year? YES, says Nicholas Mazzei, a corporate social responsibility adviser. There has been much lamentation of the declining retail sector as a mark of our age, but this Christmas is looking to be very merry for retailers. Black Friday was [...]
Our divided country can’t even agree on who our enemies are December 4, 2019 Aristotle wrote that “a common danger unites even the bitterest enemies”. So what hope of unity is there for a nation where the very perceptions of danger become contested? Ahead of this week’s Nato meeting, the British Foreign Policy Group conducted a public opinion survey with pollsters at Opinium, exploring perceptions of the most pressing [...]
For richer or for poorer? The economic case for marriage is worth remembering December 4, 2019 An important piece of social news emerged last week. According to the Office for National Statistics, the divorce rate in 2018 fell to its lowest level for nearly 50 years. The overall trend is clear and well-established. The divorce rate rose steadily from the late 1950s, with sharp rises immediately following the Divorce Act of [...]
Let this dismal election spur us towards national renewal December 4, 2019 For political nerds, a club of which I confess to being a fully paid-up member, elections are usually times of great excitement. Yet this election is by far the most dismal I have ever experienced. My general feeling — matched, it feels, by much of the electorate — is one of deep, gnawing disappointment and [...]
Celebrating a brand’s heritage can improve public perception December 4, 2019 As the year draws to a close, 2019 has seen some well-known British brands celebrate anniversaries and centenaries. Two of Britain’s largest supermarkets, Tesco and Sainsbury’s celebrated their 100th and 150-year anniversaries respectively, while British Airways also celebrated its 100th year of trading. Camelot, which owns the National Lottery and Euromillions, was another to celebrated [...]
Our school system needs tinkering, not ripping up December 4, 2019 Education, education, education. Brits of a certain vintage will remember those three words, underpinning the foundations of New Labour’s message in 1997. The effectiveness of Tony Blair’s reforms is still being debated, not least with regard to his policy of sending 50 per cent of students to university, but one cannot question how effective those [...]
Avoiding the mistakes of the British Steel pension scandal December 4, 2019 For those of us who haven’t been blessed with gold-plated pensions, the mere thought of sacrificing a guaranteed income in retirement might seem insane. So it may come as a surprise that around 210,000 people transferred out of defined benefit pension schemes in 2018/19, more than double compared to the previous year, according to figures [...]
Stop comparing business with football December 4, 2019 There are many similarities to be drawn between the executive boardroom and the football pitch. Both are high-stakes environments, full of competition and ruthlessness. They also host some of the most meaningless jargon in the history of the English language (think “game of two halves” and “reaching out about disrupting industries”). And, dare I say [...]
The conflict of interest around pension transfers December 4, 2019 Going back 40 years, most employees were members of defined benefit pension schemes. Things have certainly changed. Access to defined benefit schemes has dropped significantly, while the proliferation and membership of defined contribution schemes has soared. In April 2015, the pension freedoms liberated funds by offering individuals easier access to their savings from age 55 [...]
Corbyn can’t fix your miserable commute December 3, 2019 Jeremy Corbyn is well and truly getting into the Christmas spirit — he’s making a list, checking it twice, gonna find out who’s naughty or nice, Jeremy is coming to town. Momentum activists could turn that into a Christmas number one. But who’s on the Labour leader’s list? Well, he’s pretty clear about who’s been [...]