Time for the government to set out the details of its post-Brexit immigration policy September 18, 2018 Inch by inch, the government is creeping closer to a new immigration policy. With the publication yesterday of the Migration Advisory Committee's (MAC) report, there are no reasons left not to set out a vision for this complicated and contentious area of policy. The expectation is that Theresa May will use her speech to [...]
Time for the government to set out the details of its post-Brexit immigration policy September 18, 2018 Inch by inch, the government is creeping closer to a new immigration policy. With the publication yesterday of the Migration Advisory Committee's (MAC) report, there are no reasons left not to set out a vision for this complicated and contentious area of policy. The expectation is that Theresa May will use her speech to [...]
Two years on, and the Brexit debate is still dominated by the two extremes shouting at each other September 16, 2018 Not every Leave voter punched the air when the referendum result came through, and not all Remain voters sunk to the floor with their heads in their hands. And yet, more than two years on from that dramatic night, the loudest voices in this debate are still the two extremes. Flick through the news channels [...]
Two years on, and the Brexit debate is still dominated by the two extremes shouting at each other September 16, 2018 Not every Leave voter punched the air when the referendum result came through, and not all Remain voters sunk to the floor with their heads in their hands. And yet, more than two years on from that dramatic night, the loudest voices in this debate are still the two extremes. Flick through the news channels [...]
Editor’s notes: A Cornish hero on 9/11, vegans up the creek with no Padella, and policy is for the many, not the pew September 14, 2018 Everyone remembers where they were when they heard about the 9/11 attacks. For many City workers, the event remains a trauma. Michael Spencer, who had hundreds of staff in the World Trade Center, still turns pale when recalling how he sat in London, watching the news footage, trying to get through on the phones. Remarkably, [...]
Editor’s notes: A Cornish hero on 9/11, vegans up the creek with no Padella, and policy is for the many, not the pew September 14, 2018 Everyone remembers where they were when they heard about the 9/11 attacks. For many City workers, the event remains a trauma. Michael Spencer, who had hundreds of staff in the World Trade Center, still turns pale when recalling how he sat in London, watching the news footage, trying to get through on the phones. Remarkably, [...]
Socialists to the left, jokers to the right: the miserable state of British politics September 9, 2018 Take a step back and consider the state of British politics. The Labour party is now firmly, perhaps irredeemably, in the grip of the hard left – from top to toe. Its leadership would subsidise what it doesn't nationalise while its membership revels in a new factionalism that puts loyalty to the dear leader above [...]
Editor’s notes: Jeff Bezos should look closer to home for ideas on where to spend his fortune, new peer Bethell is a Lord to applaud, and the Economist shows how to stand up to social media bullies September 7, 2018 Amazon has joined Apple in the ranks of $1 trillion companies based on market capitalisation. Shortly before his company hit this massive (but meaningless) valuation, founder Jeff Bezos was pondering how to spend his vast wealth. Bezos is estimated to be sitting on a $130bn (£100bn) fortune – and earlier this summer he was asked [...]
If Chequers is dead, a new battle looms: European Economic Area or Free Trade Agreement? September 3, 2018 Chequers, the Prime Minister's official country residence, was gifted to the nation by Lord and Lady Lee after the First World War. A stained glass window carries an inscription offering “this house of peace…as a place of rest and recreation” for Prime Ministers. Despite this noble intention, it's hard to imagine that Theresa May associates [...]
Editor’s Notes: Time for some forward guidance on the next Bank of England governor, Labour loses a man of principle and Warren Buffett’s lunch date August 31, 2018 Mark Carney’s first speech as governor of the Bank of England was on 28 August 2013, at a lunch co-hosted by the CBI and the Institute of Directors. I was working for the latter at the time, and was leaning against the back wall with a glass of warm white wine in my hand as [...]