UK’s £225bn professional services industry risks ‘catastrophic’ hit from Brexit October 14, 2020 Britain’s £225bn professional services industry has been ignored by the government and is under “catastrophic” threat of losing business to the EU post-Brexit, a parliamentary committee has warned. A House of Lords’ EU services subcommittee report published yesterday said the UK’s accountants, lawyers, recruiters, architects and advertisers are under risk of losing contracts and jobs [...]
Mayor 2.0: London deserves a leader who can punch at the capital’s weight October 14, 2020 It’s more than 20 years now since we saw the creation of an elected mayor of London with executive power over the whole city. Devised at a time of widespread devolution, public response to the role was lukewarm, with only around a third of voters bothering to express a preference either way. It was somehow [...]
Press freedom is under fire in Hong Kong — it’s time for Britain to take a stand October 14, 2020 Freedom of expression is a crucial and universal human right, recognised by international organisations around the world, including the United Nations. And rightly so. It is the job of journalists to shine a light on the authorities that govern us in order to hold them to account for their actions. A free press is an [...]
Think tanks warn Sunak not to hurt UK’s ‘tax competitiveness’ October 14, 2020 Free-market think tanks have warned the government not to raise taxes on companies and dividends to try to mend the hole in the public finances, arguing that it would be an act of “self-sabotage”. The UK budget deficit is set to hit £350bn this year, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) think tank said yesterday. [...]
Today: Boris Johnson to meet EU chief in crunch trade deal meeting October 14, 2020 Boris Johnson and EU chief Ursula von der Leyen will hold last minute Brexit talks today as the two sides try to salvage a last minute trade deal. The two have agreed to meet ahead of an EU summit on 15 October, with Johnson saying last week that he needs to see a deal is [...]
Exclusive: TfL set for crunch talks as London bosses call on Sunak to solve cash crisis October 14, 2020 Exclusive: TfL set for crunch talks to solve cash crisis as London bosses call on Sunak to step-up to save services
The government’s ballet dancer ad missed the mark – but let’s not write off retraining October 14, 2020 On Monday, the government faced a great deal of backlash for promoting adverts encouraging retraining — suggesting, among other things, that an aspiring ballet dancer should retrain “in cyber”. Condemned for being tone-deaf and undermining the arts sector, the criticism mirrors a similar reaction to comments made by the chancellor last week, when he claimed [...]
Heavy-handed Westminster diktats have eroded trust — now only localised Covid policy can restore it October 14, 2020 Last month, the official group of scientific advisers — SAGE — warned the government that only a quarter of those who need to self-isolate due to coronavirus symptoms were in fact doing so. This illustrates a concept which is of great practical importance: namely the conflict between individual and collective rationality. Consider Margaret Ferrier, an [...]
Trump or Biden? Either way, global Britain should prepare to step into the void October 14, 2020 US presidential elections are always closely watched across the pond. This time round, in an exceptional year and following a truly extraordinary administration, the anticipation building in Westminster around next month’s vote has reached a fever pitch. The dramatic twists and turns of American foreign policy over the past four years have heightened anxieties about [...]
Boris Johnson freezes ministers’ salaries amid MP pay rise backlash October 13, 2020 Boris Johnson has frozen ministerial salaries amid growing unease about the possibility of a £3,000 pay rise for MPs. The PM’s official spokesman said that the decision was “only right” given the current pressure on public services. The move means that ministerial salaries remained frozen at 2010 levels for House of Commons members and at [...]