O’Leary deserves credit for flying Ryanair through the Covid-19 storm July 25, 2022 Michael O’Leary is not everybody’s cup of Irish tea. But the Ryanair boss would be right to enjoy a celebratory cuppa aboard one of his flights (that’ll be €2, fella) as his airline returns to profitability in a summer marked by chaotic scenes across Europe at his rivals’ check-in desks. The story of how is [...]
Long-term funding deal must come without too many strings attached July 24, 2022 Until we see the details of central government’s (eventual) funding offer to Transport for London, it is dangerous to be too cheered by the arrival of the long-awaited and absurdly delayed proposal. For two years, the Mayor and TfL’s commissioner Andy Byford have been making a clear case for a settlement that helps secure London’s [...]
Tory leadership race has created a surplus of Twitternomics July 21, 2022 Economics really has become the new battleground for armchair commentators. Are unfunded tax cuts inflationary? Should we worry about the UK debt stock nearing the same size as the economy? Such questions have sparked long Twitter threads that have generated even longer threads in response. Who’d have thought the dismal science was so interesting to [...]
Final two need to lay out genuine plans for Britain’s economic future July 20, 2022 Congratulations to Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss, the two survivors in the Tory leadership race. When they look at the in-tray should they become Prime Minister, they may wonder if it was worth it. For on day one – whoever takes the gig – they will have to face up to the fact that Britain’s [...]
Re-do Brexit? Let’s use the levers we already have July 18, 2022 Please, not again, Even in this groan-inducing contest, Penny Mordaunt’s pledge to ‘re-do’ Brexit was enough to leave even the most ardent Westminster watcher in despair. The idea of revisiting the interminable summits and political bravado that defined our politics – and crowded out anything more productive – for years is surely one for the [...]
Zahawi speech may be policy light, but it can be substantial July 14, 2022 On Tuesday evening of next week, the Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi – no, we’re not quite used to it either – will take to the lectern at the Mansion House and deliver what is usually one of the most anticipated speeches of the year. This particular Mansion House speech had been marked in the calendar for [...]
Absurd rush through Tory contest is robbing the party of a battle of ideas July 13, 2022 The images of the farthest reaches of the cosmos beamed back to Earth from the James Webb telescope invite all of us to consider the great unknown. The mysteries of the universe – from the Big Bang to whether there really is intelligent life out there – are all in those images. Closer to home, [...]
Plenty of sympathy for aviation chiefs but time for excuses is running out July 13, 2022 Running an airport or an airline is no doubt a hard job, not least because people most often notice you when something has gone wrong. One wag on twitter says he has a recurring nightmare in which he serves as a social media manager for a major carrier, and it is true that very few [...]
Policy matters but it’s philosophy not details this contest should uncover July 11, 2022 The headline on our front page – about the Tories’ row over tax cuts – is not strictly correct. The argument is instead about cancelling a proposed tax hike – corporation tax’s increase to 25 per cent – or reversing another recent increase, to national insurance. Alas that nuance doesn’t fit into a headline, so [...]
We are better off with a new leader than a Boris bunkering in No10 July 7, 2022 Governments, like children, are best seen and not heard. This administration has been in an almost permanent state of tantrum since day one. It is hard to conclude Boris Johnson has the power to lead his party, this government or the country. The second to last thing an embattled Britain needs is another leadership contest distracting from what could, with mismanagement, turn into a full-blown economic crisis, if it has not already done so.
