It’s all fun and games, until Labour crashes the economy September 27, 2017 Labour is “war-gaming” crashing the economy. That’s not the exaggerated spin of the hysterical mainstream media – it’s the words of shadow chancellor John McDonnell himself. McDonnell told Momentum activists at a Labour conference fringe event on Monday night that “people want to know we’re ready” for the chaos that could hit if the party [...]
Britain needs future-facing leaders, not nostalgic dinosaurs like Rees-Mogg and Corbyn September 8, 2017 Jacob Rees-Mogg – committed Brexiteer, potential contender for the Conservative leadership, and devout Roman Catholic – is against abortion and same-sex marriage. Who would have guessed? Rees-Mogg’s comments on ITV on Wednesday, especially his assertion that a rape victim should be forced to carry an unwanted pregnancy to term, raised eyebrows among the commentariat. But [...]
Speechwriters, take a leaf out of Donald Tusk’s book September 5, 2017 I have a crush on Donald. No, not that Donald: not the illiterate, illiberal charlatan with a knack for whiny 5am tweets. The subject of my thoughts is the President of the European Council Donald Tusk. And my crush is strictly professional: I think he is one of the most skilled communicators around. This is [...]
BBC gender pay gap row: The 45 top women demanding equality in open letter to boss Tony Hall July 23, 2017 Some of the most famous faces and voices at the BBC have called on the broadcaster's top boss to address the gender pay gap revealed after salaries of the highest earnings were published last week. In an open letter signed by the likes of presenters Clare Balding and Alex Jones and Newsnight hosts Emily Maitlis [...]
Don’t be a Maybot – answer the question July 21, 2017 Does it drive you mad when people don’t answer your questions directly? The Prime Minister is the indisputable master of the genre. A few months ago, she told the BBC that the UK needed “strong and stable leadership” when asked about Harry Potter’s mugwumps. More recently, when asked by Channel 4 if the critics who [...]
Editor’s Notes: If politicians want to win back trust they should start by ditching the lies, plus: Downing Street’s new BBC hire, measuring GDP and innovative Estonia July 7, 2017 This afternoon I’m hosting a discussion on the theme of experts and how to earn trust in a post-truth world. On the panel will be Andy Haldane of the Bank of England, Hetan Shah of the Royal Statistical Society and Julia Grant of Pro Bono Economics. Our host is the consultancy giant FTI, which has [...]
Queen’s speech: Here’s the full text, featuring a flurry of Brexit bills June 21, 2017 The much-anticipated Queen's speech for 2017 has been delivered, outlining Theresa May's plans and her pledge to win "the trust and confidence" of the British people. Below is the full text of the speech. The Queen's speech 2017 My Lords and Members of the House of Commons. My government’s priority is to secure the best [...]
General Election 2017: YouGov figures put young vote at less than 60 per cent June 14, 2017 New figures analysing the ages of voters in last week’s General Electionhave suggested that turnout among those aged 18-24 was less than 60 per cent. Twitter reports in the aftermath of the election claimed that a greater than expected number of young people voted in the General Election last Thursday, with some sources hailing numbers [...]
Jeremy Corbyn can’t rewrite his reprehensible IRA history May 31, 2017 This election campaign should have been a non-stop humiliation for the Labour party. Instead, we have witnessed an uncertain Theresa May make a mess of her campaign, whileJeremy Corbyn has proven to be a cannier politician than expected. There is so much mud to throw at him that he should have drowned in it long [...]
Editor’s Notes: Tory immigration policy will harm the City and our economy, Corbyn’s deleted Chavez past and City AM founders included in Change Makers series May 26, 2017 Back when George Osborne was chancellor and Theresa May was home secretary, the pair would argue over the wisdom of seeking dramatic reductions in net migration. May was obsessed with the idea, and clearly still is, whereas Osborne was instinctively more comfortable with the view that immigration was nothing to worry about and the benefits [...]