By: Alys Denby

Alys Denby is opinion and features editor of City AM. She writes the weekly Free Thinking newsletter and presents the video series of the same name. She regularly appears in broadcast media including BBC, Channel 5 Sky News, Times Radio, LBC and GB News. She has previously worked for a think tank and as a parliamentary researcher

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The debate: should voting be compulsory?

Opinion

Andy Burnham is said to be considering voting reform. Two writers go head to head on whether Britain should introduce Australian-style compulsory voting YES: Everyone’s vote should count, not just those who turn up British politics has a turnout problem. Just three in five registered voters went to the polls in the 2024 general election. [...]
Is ABBA Voyage suitable for children? You bet it is!

Life&Style

It’s one of those questions that follows a person for a lifetime: what was your first gig? The Spice Girls at Wembley, since you asked – a fact at which I cringed during my goth phase but of which I am now proud. A young person’s first experience of live music is a defining moment [...]
Aspire’s David Collyer: my curry catastrophe at the Cinnamon Club

Opinion

Square Mile and Me: We dig into the memory bank of the City’s great and good. Today, David Collyer, global senior vice president at Aspire, on being a Ferrari fan and a curry catastrophe What was your first job? A paper round – I used to dread Sundays because of the broadsheets but it’s where [...]

The Debate: should Andy Burnham have made a woman his Chancellor?

July 22, 2026

Rachel Reeves was proud to be Britain’s first female Chancellor but the Labour party have still never had a female leader. So should Burnham have put a woman in the finance brief? Two writers go head to head… Yes: economic leadership should reflect the economy it serves Labour doesn’t need a female Chancellor simply for [...]
Burnham’s Thatcherism jibes are just tired socialist talking points

July 20, 2026

Oasis caution against looking back in anger, yet the narrative Manchester’s other favourite son rehearsed in his first speech as Prime Minister was based on hackneyed old grievances, says Alys Denby Here we go again. Britain has gone through as many prime ministers in the last 10 years as it did in the previous 37 [...]
Argentina’s already beating England… on economic freedom

July 15, 2026

Javier Milei’s free market reforms are turning the Argentinian economy around. The UK could learn a few lessons from this Margaret Thatcher fan, says Alys Denby When Britain took on Argentina in the Falklands war, we were fighting a brutal military dictatorship which tortured its citizens and invaded the sovereign territory of ours. Tonight, England [...]
The City will bid good riddance to Rachel Reeves

July 14, 2026

Rachel Reeves should be remembered: for dissembling, breaking promises and making Brits poorer. Little consolation, then, that her likely successor Ed Miliband will be so much worse, says Alys Denby Rachel Reeves will make what is likely to be her final Mansion House Speech this evening and will encourage Andy Burnham to continue her legacy. [...]
Andy Burnham will crumble like a biscuit he can’t even name

June 18, 2026

Andy Burnham’s record and character will not withstand the national scrutiny that will come with a bid to become Prime Minister, says Alys Denby Once, when asked which was his favourite biscuit, Andy Burnham replied “beer and chips and gravy”. If the Mayor of Manchester wins the Makerfield by-election today and graduates from local celebrity [...]
Cruxy founder: The worst advice I’ve ever had? Stay in your lane

June 18, 2026

Each week, we dig into the memory bank of the City’s great and good. Today, Carrie Osman tells us about going from mucking out stables to building a tech start-up in Square Mile and Me CV What was your first job? Helping out around stables from when I was about three! Horses teach accountability faster than [...]
Conservatives have the right diagnosis, but can they cure Britain’s ailments?

May 20, 2026

Mel Stride has set out his vision for the economic future of the UK, Matthew Bowles gives his analysis Westminster has spent much of the past week discussing the emergence of a supposed “Burnham premium” on British borrowing costs – the suggestion being that the mere prospect of Andy Burnham returning to national politics could [...]

City trading ‘higher than thought’, FCA believes

Will Formula 1 need to refund sponsors for cancelled Middle East races?

Is the Maybach GLS the most excessive SUV?

By: Alys Denby

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