Skills gap is costing UK business £4.4bn each year July 8, 2019 The UK’s skills shortage is having a significant impact on many employers’ productivity and competitiveness. In fact, the impact on productivity is so severe that the government has put addressing the skills shortage front and centre in its industrial strategy. For most businesses, buying skills in seems the easiest way to tackle shortages, but this [...]
How the US shale revolution changed the face of geopolitics July 8, 2019 In theory, we all know that major technical revolutions change and fundamentally disrupt the face of the world we live in. In practice, analysts of all stripes are too often glacially slow to realise this process when it is at work, let alone what it means. These events (such as the advent of the mass-produced [...]
Boris has a plan to turbocharge Britain’s economy July 8, 2019 No one should be in any doubt that this is a serious moment for our nation. The failure to deliver Brexit has led to investment being put on hold and confidence in our political process undermined. That’s why it’s so important to have a Brexit campaigner, committed to leaving on 31 October, as our next [...]
DEBATE: Boots is shutting 200 stores in the next 18 months – will this be enough to ensure its survival? July 8, 2019 Boots is shutting 200 stores in the next 18 months – will this be enough to ensure its survival? Rebecca Crook, chief growth officer at digital product agency Somo, says YES. Some 800m people a year walk through the doors of Boots, yet we know that being a heritage brand is not enough for today’s [...]
It’s time for aspiration and ability – not birth and background – to dictate progress July 8, 2019 In the UK, our sense of fair play is a source of national pride. We like to think that if you study hard at school and work hard in employment, opportunities are there for the taking. We are, however, increasingly finding evidence to the contrary. Throughout the country, we see those at the top being [...]
Bears are gathering to welcome bullish Boris July 7, 2019 Did the economy shrink in the second quarter of the year? While it is impossible to be sure, we will get another clue this week when the Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes its GDP estimate for May – and so far, the signs are not good. Read more: Boris Johnson to crack down on [...]
Has your business got real Pride? Don’t just talk the talk July 5, 2019 It’S 50 years since the Stonewall Riots, when New York’s gay community hit the streets to protest against police harassment, leading to the US gay rights movement and the worldwide LGBTQ campaign as we know it today. Progress continues to be made – and brands have been quick to spot the potential, both to promote [...]
Legalising cannabis would be the ultimate Conservative policy July 5, 2019 What if you were in the running to be the next leader of the Conservatives, and I told you that with a single popular policy, you could return your party to its traditional pro-liberty roots, put the UK at the forefront of a new cutting-edge global industry, and inspire the millennial generation to vote Tory [...]
DEBATE: Now the Brexit Party has joined the campaign, is it time to switch to proportional representation? July 5, 2019 Now the Brexit Party has joined the campaign, is it time to switch to proportional representation? Professor Tim Bale, co-author of Footsoldiers, a forthcoming book on Britain’s party members, says YES. It may come as a surprise to some that Nigel Farage is a fan of electoral system reform. After all, he’s not normally keen [...]
It shouldn’t take someone like Philip Green to reform corporate governance July 5, 2019 No one has done more for corporate governance in the UK than Sir Philip Green. The man formerly known as “the King of the High Street” may not be a beacon of business stewardship, but hear me out. Over recent years, a number of significant developments to the UK’s renowned corporate governance system have come [...]