Theresa May’s survival as Prime Minister will leave an impact long after Brexit December 18, 2018 Nothing has changed. That was the widely held conclusion from Theresa May surviving her no confidence vote last week. The Prime Minister has kicked the can down the road on putting her proposed withdrawal agreement to parliament. But parliamentary arithmetic is unaltered. Her deal, as it stands, still looks dead on arrival. In the absence of [...]
Have you got a Scrooge loose at work? December 18, 2018 Festive cheer may be in short supply in the UK’s workplaces this Christmas – and it’s got nothing to do with Brexit, rail fare rises, or miserly pay increases. Instead, it’s the fact that a growing number of employers have cancelled the annual staff party. At one firm, an employee reports receiving an email out [...]
Halo Top ice cream defrosted from the startup doldrums to become a retail success December 17, 2018 Junk food is, rightly, under assault. This year, we’ve seen the introduction of a sugar tax on soft drinks, and last month London mayor Sadiq Khan announced a ban on junk food advertising on the capital’s public transportation network. This comes after tougher TV advertising rules introduced last year, which meant that ads for food [...]
Productivity lessons from the procrastinator Prime Minister December 17, 2018 Can we assume, given that you’re reading this section of the paper, that you are currently delaying doing something you really ought to be focusing on? I don’t mean to lecture you. I myself currently have an Oliver Spencer tab or two open on my browser. I spent most of last Wednesday Googling the viability [...]
How automation can improve the millennial working experience December 17, 2018 Automation is set to surge in impact over the next few years, nowhere more so than in the world of work. While this represents a huge opportunity for economic growth, some employers are concerned that certain jobs may be at risk of being replaced by bots. At the same time, employers are managing the challenges [...]
DEBATE: Will the new ban on stereotypes in advertising help improve gender equality? December 17, 2018 Will the new ban on stereotypes in advertising help improve gender equality? Christi Tronetti, marketing director at creative agency isobel, says YES. There is an unconscious gender bias in advertising that needed to be addressed. Do we really need to see men struggling to change nappies in this day and age? Or women beaming as [...]
Judge Theresa May on her policies, not on her gender December 14, 2018 “Having failed at an impossible task no one else wanted, the men in grey suits are lining up to push… their female leader off the glass cliff.” So tweeted the Women’s Equality Party (WEP) on Wednesday afternoon, before the confidence vote in Theresa May’s leadership took place. It’s not exactly a kind write-up for the [...]
As the warning signals flash red, now is the time to back business December 14, 2018 When thinking of the great moments of British enterprise, you would be forgiven for being consumed by nostalgia. The golden age of manufacturing, Victorian industrialists, Alan Turing, the internet, Concorde, the discovery of DNA – what then of today, the Brexit Blues? Think again. This is the age of the entrepreneur – 99 per cent [...]
Giving to a charity at Christmas is great, but we should think of helping others all year round December 13, 2018 It is nearly Christmas, and it is well known that the theme of the season is the giving of gifts and thinking of others. As a result, it is also a popular time of year for people to give to charity. In fact, data from the Charities Aid Foundation shows that November and December are [...]
Carrot or stick? For Aldi and Lidl, equal pay goes hand in hand with commercial success December 13, 2018 Kevin the Carrot, who once again features in Aldi’s Christmas advert, is proving a bigger hit with shoppers than even Elton John, star of the John Lewis ad. Soft-toy versions of the animated vegetable sold out at 4am on the day of release in some areas and have reportedly provoked fights among customers desperate to [...]