By vowing to cancel Article 50, the Lib Dems are turning their backs on liberal democracy September 20, 2019 Liberalism has a proud history in European democracy. As a concept, liberal democracy has defined the West for over a century, but belief in the greater good can only come if the people decide what is good for them. For all the talk of bringing the country together, the Liberal Democrats are following the march [...]
British Airways and the pilot strike: Are shared profits schemes the answer? September 20, 2019 British Airways’ operations ground to a halt last week due to a pilots’ strike. The airline’s flight crews argued that they should be rewarded with a cut of the company’s rising profits, having previously taken hits to their pay when BA struggled. While the pilots have called off a strike due to take place on [...]
DEBATE: Should companies be supportive of employees who want to take part in today’s climate strike? September 20, 2019 Should companies be supportive of employees who want to take part in today’s climate strike? YES, says Amelia Womack, deputy leader of the Green Party. Climate chaos does not mean business as normal, and it’s especially important that the business community sends this message. Already, the climate emergency is likely to cost the world’s largest [...]
The UK faces a bipolar economic outlook September 20, 2019 The fact that the UK’s economic prospects appear both bipolar and nebulous is a measure of the unique period that we are in. While Boris Johnson began his premiership in high energy, with the strong conviction that Britain would exit the EU by 31 October, this momentum has quickly evaporated. Earlier this month, MPs voted [...]
Nuance doesn’t go viral, but attacks on journalists certainly do September 19, 2019 The Supreme Court hearing that has made headlines this week is a case of the most profound constitutional importance. In the words of the government’s defence lawyer it invites judges into the “forbidden territory” of politics. Those taking on the government are convinced of their role as the defenders of liberty. The barristers appearing in [...]
DEBATE: Are MPs on right that UK firms need more robots? September 19, 2019 Are MPs on the Beis committee right to say that British businesses have too few robots? YES, says Chetan Dube, chief executive at IPsoft Whether it’s a physical robot or digital colleague, MPs on the business, energy and industrial strategy (Beis) committee are absolutely right that UK businesses need to step up their automation efforts [...]
Since when was coding a job just for boys? September 19, 2019 It is national coding week, and the same tired debate is raging once again: why are so few software engineers women? An industry that is shaping our lives only represents a small minority of society. It’s bad for our collective futures, and bad for business. New data from coding bootcamp provider Makers has shed fresh [...]
The west can no longer afford to ignore Iranian aggression September 19, 2019 The most curious question about last weekend’s destruction of Saudi Arabian oil infrastructure was not who carried it out, or even how, but why it occurred at this particular juncture. Saudi Arabia and Iran – the almost-certain aggressor given both intent and ability to carry out such an attack – have been shadow boxing with each [...]
The Tories should be the natural party of immigration September 19, 2019 For many years, the Tory party has had an obsession with immigration – and, more to the point, cutting it. Thanks to David Cameron’s misguided pledge to bring net migration down to the “tens of thousands”, the party has thrown both economic evidence and its core philosophy out the window in pursuit of that unreachable [...]
Private providers aren’t the problem with student finance, they’re part of the solution September 19, 2019 As our students start or return to their courses this month, so higher education funding has once again come under the close scrutiny of journalists, concerned parents, and young adults envisaging a debt-filled future. Student finance has become an annual debate at this time of year, ever since the introduction of tuition fees in 1998. [...]