Labour looks destined to sit out the next 10 years in political wilderness February 14, 2020 On Monday Lord Michael Ashcroft published a detailed and searingly honest critique of the Labour party’s failed 2019 election. Based on polling and focus groups of former Labour voters, he painted a picture of a party that had drifted so far away from the values and aspirations of ordinary people that its drubbing was inevitable. [...]
Sajid Javid opts to go down with the ship February 14, 2020 Just under three months ago, Boris Johnson promised a room full of business leaders that Sajid Javid was guaranteed to remain in office as chancellor. He praised Javid and gave a “categorical” commitment to the CBI conference that he will remain in post. Yesterday, Javid was told that if he wanted to keep his job [...]
BP’s plan is far bigger than a PR move February 13, 2020 The closest thing to a boastful holiday snap on Bernard Looney’s new Instagram page is a rather dreary image of Bonn. BP’s new boss was in the German city last week, so the caption tells us, to meet the head of the UN’s Framework Convention on Climate Change. It should have come as no surprise [...]
It’s time for Labour to wake up and smell the coffee February 11, 2020 Following their third consecutive electoral drubbing in 2005, Lord (Michael) Ashcroft set out to offer the Conservative party some frank advice. His book, Smell the Coffee, was a forensic account of where the party was going wrong and why they were unpopular. It played a big part in David Cameron’s subsequent modernisation project. Today, Lord [...]
Levelling up does not require cutting down February 10, 2020 Towards the end of last year, this column suggested that 2020 “could be the year when the voice of the provinces is heard more clearly than the roar of the metropolis”. We recognised that the seizure by the Tories of scores of formerly safe Labour seats would mean a recalibration of Conservative priorities, indeed — [...]
The Lords will benefit from Square Mile lifers February 7, 2020 If you were designing Britain’s constitutional system from scratch, it is unlikely the House of Lords in its current form would make it into the final draft of your masterplan. With 794 members, it is now the second largest legislative body in the world, trailing only the National People’s Congress of China in that dubious [...]
Alastair Stewart should take comfort in the reaction of his friends and fans February 6, 2020 Last week this column made way for my interview with Sadiq Khan, so I didn’t have the chance to write about the outrageous treatment of broadcaster Alastair Stewart. In the week since, the veteran journalist has maintained a dignified silence, but the chorus of support from friends, colleagues and strangers has grown ever louder. To recap, [...]
Why Legal & General is trying to slay the chair and CEO role February 4, 2020 Blackrock’s Larry Fink is a big fan of using shareholder muscle to influence corporate culture. From climate change to “profit with purpose” he’s vowed to exercise his fund’s substantial clout in pursuit of “sound corporate governance” and “an unwavering focus on long-term sustainability”. Fink’s eyebrows may have risen a little, then, upon discovering that fellow [...]
All eyes turn to China ahead of markets reopening February 2, 2020 When China’s financial markets plunged into crisis in the late summer of 2015, the authorities in Beijing were left panicking. Having encouraged tens of millions of their citizens to invest in the stock market, they were unprepared for the consequences of a mass sell-off. As millions of small investors began to offload shares, the government [...]
Carney goes out not with a bang but a whimper January 31, 2020 There may be a part of Mark Carney that will be glad to see the back of the Bank of England. His eight-year tenure, which ends in March, has been dominated by political turbulence and so, perhaps inevitably, rows about the politicisation of the Old Lady. Threadneedle Street is not alone in being pulled into [...]
