Business rates that hit London need reform October 11, 2016 Business rates are a blunt instrument, one which is set to deliver a heavy blow to London’s retailers, offices and hotels. Rates are due to rise from next April after a revaluation of rateable values for England’s 1.85m commercial properties by the Valuation Office Agency. It is the first such revaluation since 2010. Analysis by [...]
Gatwick gets my vote for a new runway – but why can’t we let Heathrow expand too? October 10, 2016 As Britain begins the challenging process of navigating its way through uncertain times, one thing remains clear: the need for us to continue being a forward-looking trading nation. The latest predictions suggest that London’s airport system will be full in less than 10 years, which means additional airport capacity is more important than ever to show [...]
Theresa May should use Nobel-winning insights – not anecdote – to guide executive pay reform October 10, 2016 The 2016 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics was awarded yesterday to Harvard’s Oliver Hart and MIT’s Bengt Holmstrom for their ground-breaking work on contract theory. Their work has profound implications for contracts in many fields: financing contracts between investors and firms, business contracts between customers and suppliers, and – most topically – employment contracts between [...]
The Single Market battle is the Remainers’ last stand in the Brexit war October 10, 2016 It has all the hallmarks of a last stand. Having abandoned resistance to the referendum result itself, Remainers are rallying to the cause of staying in the Single Market. Re-using the referendum hymn sheet, the same politicians, businesses and pressure groups who predicted doom and gloom from the decision to vote Brexit are now forecasting postponed doom [...]
Should we be worried that politics is getting nastier? October 10, 2016 Rachel Cunliffe, deputy editor at Reaction, says Yes. There’s a chasm between the policies of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, but you wouldn’t know it. In between Trump calling Clinton the “devil”, accusing her of having “tremendous hate in her heart” and threatening to prosecute her, there was precious little time for analysing policy. That’s politics [...]
Despite growing pressure from MPs, David Davis says there will be no parliamentary debate on Single Market membership October 10, 2016 David Davis has reiterated the government will not offer MPs a vote on the terms of Brexit, despite growing pressure from across parties. Speaking in the House of Commons today, Davis said the UK's referendum vote represented a “clear overwhelming and unarguable mandate”, warning that “no-one should seek to find ways to thwart the will of [...]
Trump follies should make Britain count its Brexit blessings October 10, 2016 Investors can breathe a sigh of relief that the biggest Black Swan is treading water. Thanks to one lewd recording – dating back a decade – Donald J Trump’s race to the White House could be in serious jeopardy. The diminishing chances of a Trump presidency have put Europe back in the market’s crosshairs, as [...]
Theresa May has scorned calls for parliamentary vote on Brexit, despite a prominent Leave backer accusing her of “tyranny” October 10, 2016 Theresa May has ruled out a fresh parliamentary vote on the terms of Brexit, even as a Leave-backing MP compares Downing Street's approach to “EU tyranny”. Yesterday a cross-party band of MPs demanded that parliament be granted approval of the final nature of the UK's departure from the EU, and in particular any future participation [...]
Brexit vote sparks surge in overseas job searches October 10, 2016 The number of Brits searching for a career abroad has jumped in the months after the EU referendum, according to an analysis of online job adverts. Recruiters Indeed found searches for jobs outside the UK had jumped 20 per cent since the 23 June vote, with Ireland, Australia and Canada the top prospective destinations. Analysts [...]
Make America Great Again: This is where you can buy Kenneth Bone’s red knit jumper October 10, 2016 Forget Donald or Hillary, Kenneth Bone was the stand-out star of the US Presidential Election debate last night. In a sometimes shocking debate, Bone was an instant hit on Twitter when he raised the tone with an intelligent question about the candidates' energy policies. Read more: In quotes: The most shocking moments from the US presidential debate [...]