The Debate: Is pre-Budget speculation helpful? Opinion We want to write it, you want to read it, but is pre-Budget speculation actually helpful? We put two experts head to head.
FCA’s diversity requirements go ‘far beyond remit’, report warns Economics The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and other public sector diversity initiatives go “far beyond” remits set by legal requirements, a report has warned, prompting Reform UK to vow to reset systems to reward “talent and merit alone”. Analysis in a paper by the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) has suggested that diversity policies advanced by [...]
Former Margaret Thatcher adviser and top lobbyist Kevin Bell dies News One of Margaret Thatcher’s advisers and a well-known City figure, Kevin Bell, has died. Bell, who died aged 68, was an influential lobbyist and respected among conservative thinkers across Westminster. He led campaign groups and public affairs giants throughout his career, heading up the likes of Fleishman-Hillard and Maitland Political. Bell was also worldwide president [...]
Solar panels must be fitted on all new homes from 2027 in net zero push May 1, 2025 New rules will mandate that housebuilders fit solar panels on the roofs of almost every new-build home from 2027, in a move slammed as an “ideological crusade”. According to a report in The Times, the policy change would add around £3,300 to the cost of building a semi-detached or terraced house, with a £4,000 premium [...]
“Older and poorer” – the UK’s future? September 19, 2024 The Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, said last week that the UK risks becoming “a country with an NHS attached.” Coming from a Labour MP this constitutes admirable candour. The problem is, we’re long past that point already. The NHS is by far the biggest employer in the country (over two million people) with a budget [...]
Serious Fraud Office ‘should be replaced with a new body’, say IEA August 23, 2024 The UK anti-fraud agency should be replaced with a new body dedicated to combating economic crime, says a new paper by think tank IEA