Attacks on central bank independence must be called out for what they are July 10, 2019 There lies great danger in normalising the extraordinary political events of our time. In the last 24 hours alone, reports have emerged of a plot to channel Russian oil money to a governing party in the Eurozone’s third biggest economy; a campaign group behind the UK’s leader of the opposition has disseminated an attack video [...]
Boris Johnson can deliver a bolder economic vision for Britain July 10, 2019 Brexit Britain is at an impasse. Half-in, half-out, with our politics gridlocked, we are now in serious danger of undermining our traditional attractiveness as a magnet for global investment. This week’s quarterly survey of FTSE CFOs by Deloitte shows that 83 per cent expect the UK’s economic prospects to worsen as a result of Brexit [...]
DEBATE: Should the next Prime Minister legalise recreational cannabis? July 10, 2019 Should the next Prime Minister legalise recreational cannabis? Morgan Schondelmeier, head of development at the Adam Smith Institute, which this week published a new paper on cannabis legalisation, says YES. The next Prime Minister must give the green light to legalising cannabis. We’ve seen the push in the UK towards relaxing the rules around medicinal [...]
We need a man in Washington who can walk the Trump tightrope July 10, 2019 Diplomats are a curious bunch. Usually to be found currying favour by whispering quietly in foreign capitals, their role is largely an unseen one, providing information back home, and intervening subtly to promote their nation’s interests. So when a diplomat becomes the news story, as opposed to providing commentary on a news story, it is [...]
Daydreams are the key to creativity and business success July 9, 2019 I believe that there’s a reason why people phase out and daydream at work: it’s that their work is utterly tedious and offers them little reward besides the paycheck. If their work doesn’t require any personal input or even rudimentary thought, it’s no wonder that employees become disengaged from it. But dreaming – either daydreaming [...]
Would Nigel Farage be a good pick to be the next UK ambassador to the US? July 9, 2019 Would Nigel Farage be a good pick to be the next UK ambassador to the US? Benedict Spence, a freelance writer, says YES. Remove from the equation what you make of the politics of Nigel Farage and Donald Trump, and your suspicions over their relationship. The fact that they have such a relationship would make [...]
Challenge the narrative that brands must sell out to succeed July 9, 2019 We live in a world where words continue to lose their meaning. Take “authentic”. It has been hijacked by brands trying to stand out from the crowd, when what they’re really selling is as authentic as chicken tikka masala is to Indian food. This wasn’t something I had given too much thought to until a [...]
Why don’t banks care about SMEs? July 9, 2019 For a service sector dealing almost solely with numbers and structured data, the world of small business lending could not be better suited to disruption by digital machines. But recently, Bank of England governor Mark Carney rightly pointed out that, despite small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) facing a £22bn funding gap, almost half don’t [...]
Climate catastrophising risks shutting down vital debate July 9, 2019 In April, the cry of climate catastrophe seized the political agenda. A trinity of David Attenborough documentaries, Greta Thunberg-inspired school strikes, and Extinction Rebellion protests took over both traditional and social media. It was the only subject driving the zombie government’s agenda forward when, Trump-like, environment secretary Michael Gove watched Blue Planet 2 and tweeted [...]
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 [...]