BP and the Royal Shakespeare Company: A drama of misplaced corporate philanthropy October 8, 2019 Last week, the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) ended its eight-year sponsorship programme with BP. This was the result of a campaign led by Ella Mann, an ecology student from Oxford, who pleaded with the RSC to end the deal, saying it was clear that the arrangement was “putting a barrier” between young people and the [...]
Scaremongering won’t save the climate, capitalism will October 8, 2019 Environmental protesters may have shut down central Westminster but they haven’t exactly forced the ship of state in a new direction. With delicious timing, the business secretary, whose Victoria Street offices have been surrounded by Extinction Rebellion activists, yesterday overruled the Planning Inspectorate and gave the green light to four new gas-fired turbines at Drax [...]
How we proved to the world that a woman’s place is in a FTSE 350 boardroom October 7, 2019 With Brexit dominating the news, you may have missed an even-longer-in-the-making development last week: women now make up 30 per cent of the boards of the average FTSE 350 company – a “first” after 450 years of listings on the London Stock Exchange. It took 350 years to reach 10 per cent women on UK [...]
Private schools must learn to turn privilege into purpose October 7, 2019 The heat is on for privilege. As the polarisation of society continues to deepen, private schools risk becoming the tobacco of education. Banning them was a centrepiece of the recent Labour party conference. But the antagonism towards them doesn’t stop there. Even pillars of the Conservative establishment like Michael Gove have questioned the fairness and [...]
The City Corporation is leading the charge for a greener, cleaner, plastic-free capital October 7, 2019 Brexit has been top of the agenda for many City firms in recent years, but one issue that could disrupt business models even more significantly in coming decades is climate change. In the words of Bank of England governor Mark Carney, the transition to a carbon-neutral economy poses an existential challenge – and it is [...]
DEBATE: Does the former Tory leadership hopeful Rory Stewart have a shot at becoming London mayor? October 7, 2019 Does the former Tory leadership hopeful Rory Stewart have a shot at becoming London mayor? Ben Kelly, a commentator for Reaction, says YES. Rory walks on – on to London. But does he stand a chance? Of course he does. The popularity of Sadiq Khan is waning, and the Conservatives’ candidate, Shaun Bailey, is woeful. [...]
The next Bank of England governor must be prepared for a political storm October 6, 2019 When Dame Helena Morrissey revealed she was standing down from Legal & General last week, the City rumour mill was sent into overdrive. The Square Mile veteran and champion of boardroom equality said only that “in a changing Britain” she had “a lot of ideas and other things to achieve”. This rather enigmatic sign-off will [...]
Could the Prime Minister’s fledgling Brexit plan end this paralysing uncertainty? October 4, 2019 “Unrealistic and damaging proposals”, or a “genuine attempt to bridge the chasm”? That was the debate raging in parliament yesterday, as the Prime Minister briefed MPs on his new plan for a Brexit deal. The reaction to Boris Johnson’s innovative attempt to break the Brexit deadlock has been mixed. Labour and the Liberal Democrats have [...]
Green finance is still stuck in the slow lane after New York Climate Week October 4, 2019 Attendees to New York Climate Week were treated to the city at its late-September finest – blue skies, warm sunshine, and a hint of fall colour creeping into the leaves of Central Park. Unfortunately, the beauty of this backdrop did not inspire enough concrete action on climate change. For many, the overriding feeling from last [...]
Boris can talk a good pro-market game, but matching policies are yet to follow October 4, 2019 This government, unlike governments before it, is not afraid to announce its pro-market and pro-enterprise philosophy. Boris Johnson’s declaration of support for capitalism on stage at the Conservative party conference is not exactly the stuff of breaking news headlines. But while it may not be newsworthy, it is certainly noteworthy, as it represents a huge [...]