Should 160,000 Tories choose our next Prime Minister? Yes, actually June 28, 2019 Discussing the Tory leadership election on Sky News earlier this week, host Adam Boulton asked me why the party members seemed so relaxed about Boris Johnson’s controversial private life. “Isn’t this the party of family values?” Boulton asked. It’s a fair point. Three quarters of the party’s 160,000 members believe that “young people today don’t [...]
Attracting talent from India is crucial for UK success June 24, 2019 Three years ago today, as the country absorbed the result of the EU referendum, few people were talking about the intricacies of trade policy, the complexity of bilateral negotiations or the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. Three years on, and while the country appears no closer to a negotiated exit than it was 1,000 [...]
There’s a first time for everything… including marrying your friends June 21, 2019 Over the years I’ve ticked off most of the public speaking formats. I’ve enjoyed after dinner speeches, panel discussions, debates and events of all sizes. Last week, I ticked off another category of performance by conducting my friends’ wedding. The only other time I’d been as surprised at a suggestion was when the proprietors of [...]
The leadership race has reignited the party’s capitalist spirit June 17, 2019 The man most likely to be the next Prime Minister will this morning sit down with 25 leading City figures in a bid to mend relations with the business community. Boris Johnson reportedly said “f**k business” when confronted with industry groups’ concerns over Brexit last year. The remarks have hung around his neck ever since [...]
Editor’s Notes: Davos – a festival of irrelevance and hypocrisy January 25, 2019 Davos brings the same delights every year. From the press release about the number of private jet movements to Oxfam’s annual criticism of the global super-rich, there are predictable elements to this week-long event. Another thing you can always be assured of is that some staggering hypocrisy will be on display. I came across a [...]
Bank of England governor Mark Carney tries, and fails, to prevent Brexit analysis frenzy November 28, 2018 House prices plummeting 31 per cent. Unemployment shooting up to 9.5 per cent. GDP collapsing by 4.3 per cent amid a sharp recession. These were the scenarios the Bank of England used to conduct its mandated “stress test” for some of the UK’s biggest financial companies back in 2016. Last year, the wonks at Threadneedle Street [...]
Hammond shows how to ease austerity the Conservative way October 30, 2018 The Philip Hammond of a few years ago would have seen a few billion pounds courtesy of an unexpected windfall and promptly locked it away, like the chairman of the bank in Mary Poppins. But something has changed. Yesterday, Hammond was more Tigger than Eeyore. He announced a whopping £30bn of extra public spending by [...]
The City helps fuel economic growth right across the country, so be wary of those who want to clip its wings October 28, 2018 One of the most pernicious elements of Labour's current economic platform is the idea that the City is entirely distinct from (and damaging to) the so-called real economy. Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell's stump speeches routinely contain attacks on predatory bankers, fat-cats and financial speculators. The labour leader also seems to have a personal vendetta against [...]
Editor’s Notes: Brexit can’t mean an end to good governance, respite for Grenfell survivors, and from pulling pints to pitching policy October 26, 2018 There are complaints that Brexit is taking up so much time in Westminster that parliament doesn’t have the energy or the space to focus on anything else. In reality, legislators are as busy as ever but they may well be too distracted to offer effective legislative scrutiny. Last night, no fewer than nine human rights [...]
Jes Staley seeks to brush off Bramson challenge but Barclays still faces the headwinds October 24, 2018 Barclays CEO Jes Staley struck a bullish tone yesterday, insisting his investment banking division was on the up. Third quarter profits jumped to £1.5bn, up from £1.1bn a year ago. If this puts a spring in Staley's step, there are plenty of items in his in-tray to pull him back down to earth – not [...]
