Boris sings an uplifting tune but the mood music is more sinister July 26, 2019 Put aside for a moment the enormity of the challenges facing the new Prime Minister and ignore, briefly, the vulnerability of his government and the divisions over Brexit. Instead, permit yourself to enjoy the sight and sound of a leader who actually dares to exude optimism. Boris Johnson has pledged to sweep away the “doomsters [...]
Could Jacob Rees-Mogg help Boris Johnson to revolutionise our planning system? July 22, 2019 Boris Johnson hasn’t exactly broken a sweat in this leadership election. He’s ducked debates, declined interviews and appeared generally unenthusiastic about subjecting himself to too much scrutiny. His defenders may point out that he’s participated in a large number of hustings for party members, but these have been treated as occasions to give his supporters [...]
Why Taiwan thinks that freedom is contagious July 19, 2019 The grand Renaissance style building feels like an embassy, but it isn’t. David Lin talks like an ambassador, but he isn’t. His official title is Representative, and 50 Grosvenor Gardens is Taiwan’s Representative Office in the UK. Taiwan has its own democratic system, currency and military but its official name remains the Republic of China [...]
May goes not with a bang, but with a whimper July 19, 2019 This time next week Theresa May will be embarking on her first weekend out of office. Her successor, most likely Boris Johnson, will be settling into the sofa at Number Ten. Prime Ministers, much like chief executives, can get obsessed about their legacy. City veteran Martin Gilbert once said that leaving is hard because when [...]
Europe can’t afford to turn away from London July 15, 2019 Brexit may be something that the UK is doing alone, but its consequences will be felt far beyond our shores. This is particularly true in the case of cross-border financial services since London acts as a global financial hub. On the future of the City’s relationship with the EU, there has been little progress beyond [...]
Panorama revealed a Labour party that’s rotten to the core July 12, 2019 The Labour party has declared war on the BBC. In response to (in fact, ahead of) Wednesday night’s Panorama film about the party’s handling of antisemitism within its ranks, a concerted campaign was whipped up online to discredit the journalist at the helm, John Ware. How times change. Back in 2002 a group of MPs [...]
Deutsche Bank: saved in the nick of time? July 11, 2019 Will this be seen as the week when the Deutsche Bank supertanker started to turn, or began to list? The scale of the restructuring announced by chief executive Christian Sewing was certainly dramatic, but it left many in the City asking why the bank had waited so long before attempting to change course. Traders in the [...]
Labour should be riding high, instead they’re drowning in scandal and incompetence July 9, 2019 With the Tory party engaged in a civil war (albeit one tempered by the Queensbury Rules) a competent opposition could expect to spend the summer shoring up a lead in the polls and presenting itself as a government in waiting. Unfortunately for the Labour party, competence eludes them. Yesterday, Jeremy Corbyn was finally forced off [...]
Hunt is right to take a firm line on China July 5, 2019 Jeremy Hunt has been talking tough on China. Is this because he’s the foreign secretary or because he’s in the fight of his life to become Prime Minister? In a way, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that the UK stands up to China on a matter of law. The two countries signed the Joint [...]
Lagarde’s ECB job is a victory for Macron and a chance for Osborne July 5, 2019 The chatter in Paris is that Emmanuel Macron has played a blinder. On Monday night he was raging to the media about the shoddy state of EU decision making, but by Wednesday evening he was patting himself on the back. Macron pushed Ursula von der Leyen as a compromise candidate for Commission president, simultaneously helping [...]
