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 [...]
Boris is right to question the nanny-state impulse to tax our milkshakes July 5, 2019 The milkshake, once defined as tasting of watered-down ice cream, can now be defined as the taste of freedom. Targeted as the next treat to have an arbitrary sin tax slapped on it, the milkshake and its consumers have just found a new ally. This week, Conservative leadership hopeful Boris Johnson reiterated in a press [...]
Hunt is right to take a firm line on China July 5, 2019 Jeremy Hunt has been talking tough on China. Is this because he’s the foreign secretary or because he’s in the fight of his life to become Prime Minister? In a way, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that the UK stands up to China on a matter of law. The two countries signed the Joint [...]
Lagarde’s ECB job is a victory for Macron and a chance for Osborne July 5, 2019 The chatter in Paris is that Emmanuel Macron has played a blinder. On Monday night he was raging to the media about the shoddy state of EU decision making, but by Wednesday evening he was patting himself on the back. Macron pushed Ursula von der Leyen as a compromise candidate for Commission president, simultaneously helping [...]
Pop Master: Longevity in broadcasting July 4, 2019 As some of you will know, I host a podcast called Media Masters. It really does what it says on the tin, speaking to people who’ve conquered the media world about how they got where they are and what drives them. I feel guilty sometimes, as it never actually feels like work. I’ve had the [...]
DEBATE: Is Christine Lagarde a smart pick to take over from Mario Draghi at the European Central Bank? July 4, 2019 Is Christine Lagarde a smart pick to take over from Mario Draghi at the European Central Bank? Yes, says Pierre Ortlieb, an economist at OMFIF Christine Lagarde’s tentative appointment reflects the challenges that the ECB will face in its third decade. Post-crisis unconventional monetary policy and the Bank’s prominence in the continent’s capital markets have [...]
The NHS needs to plan for today, not 10 years into the future July 4, 2019 The NHS was built with one key purpose: to address social inequality by making the best healthcare available to everyone. For years, that aim has driven technological innovations that power better provision of care. However, as we mark 71 years from when it was founded, the NHS is operating in a very different world – [...]
Fintech champions face an uphill climb if they want to expand into America July 4, 2019 When did you last pay with a cheque? I’d be willing to bet that many of you don’t even know where your cheque book is, and if you do, that it’s probably gathering dust. If you’re living and working in a UK city, you’re totally accustomed to new ways of banking – from Apple Pay [...]
Corporate reputation is too valuable to leave to chance July 4, 2019 Corporate reputation is a ubiquitous phrase today. Companies spend enormous sums trying to burnish their reputations. An army of corporate governance experts, politicians, regulators and, dare I say, journalists queue up to judge those efforts – and often find them wanting. Shakespeare, as you might expect, has the best lines on the subject. “I have [...]