DEBATE: Does it really matter who becomes the next leader of the Liberal Democrats? July 2, 2019 Does it really matter who becomes the next leader of the Liberal Democrats? Alex Deane, a Conservative commentator, says YES. It is all too easy in British political life to write a party off – and it’s usually wrong. I know Tories who thought in the Blair heyday that they’d never be in power again. [...]
A citizens’ assembly is the wrong way to tackle climate change July 2, 2019 Last week, our interim energy minister signed into law the UK’s commitment to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions. That was the easy part – achieving it will be more challenging. To help parliament in its search for solutions, no fewer than six select committees recently joined forces to announce their plan for a citizens’ assembly [...]
We need a Prime Minister who can channel the potential of Digital Britain July 2, 2019 Are we in danger of having a leadership contest about the future of our party, while completely missing the point about the future of our country? The two finalists in the Conservative leadership race are being quizzed endlessly about Brexit, tax and spend, public services, and their private lives. All these have some importance, of [...]
No Jeremy – bailouts did not cost £1 trillion July 1, 2019 Imagine this: a young person finds themselves in financial trouble, perhaps as a consequence of their own actions, and can’t keep up payments on their £250,000 mortgage. A generous parent steps in and acts as guarantor on the mortgage, and also lends their chastened offspring £50,000 to get by. Over the following years, the young [...]
Wimbledon 2019: Believe it or not, tennis is a sport in decline July 1, 2019 Wimbledon is once again nearly upon us. And despite the munificence of the championships and inspirational successes of Andy Murray, it is a staggering indictment that the long-term trend is a declining sport, turning over £1.5bn per annum. Read more: Wimbledon men’s tennis is still finding its titanic trio hard to replace In its latest [...]
Should 160,000 Tories choose our next Prime Minister? Yes, actually June 28, 2019 Discussing the Tory leadership election on Sky News earlier this week, host Adam Boulton asked me why the party members seemed so relaxed about Boris Johnson’s controversial private life. “Isn’t this the party of family values?” Boulton asked. It’s a fair point. Three quarters of the party’s 160,000 members believe that “young people today don’t [...]
At last, a sensible immigration plan – and it comes from Boris June 28, 2019 It is not often that I agree with Boris Johnson. But when the frontrunner to be the next Prime Minister announced his immigration proposals yesterday, for the first time in this leadership race I found myself on Team Boris. In a digital hustings, Boris revived an idea that he had trumpeted during the Vote Leave [...]
DEBATE: Should London follow Berlin and introduce rent freezing? June 28, 2019 Should London follow Berlin and introduce rent freezing? Gina Miller, founding partner at SCM Direct, says YES. I appreciate that many economists say rent control forces rent down, which can lead to landlords reducing the stock of rental property. But as the economics professor Richard Arnott has stated: “real-world rent control, at least in its [...]
Entrepreneurs need a free market, not student loan giveaways from Jeremy Hunt June 28, 2019 Entrepreneurs are a frequent component of a politician’s stump speech. MPs love to boast about their regard for job creators. Regardless of which end of the political spectrum you’re on, if you put any importance on healthy economic growth, you know that these people are vital to our success. But for all the lip service [...]
Businesses are becoming better corporate citizens, so why is public perception lagging behind? June 28, 2019 When I left politics for business two decades ago, it was taken for granted that those who ran the country would be held more accountable than those who ran our companies. Today, in many cases, levels of scrutiny on business now seem more intense. Leave aside the fact that conduct and persistent policy failures which [...]