Johnson has called time on Covid-19 laws but it will come at employers’ expense February 22, 2022 Yesterday, Boris Johnson set out the government’s vision on “living with Covid-19”. The main announcement was the end of the legal requirement to self-isolate if positive. By the end of this week, people will only be “advised” not to leave home if they have the virus. This signals a shift from “state mandated” rules to [...]
Opinion-in-brief: Free Covid-19 tests enable personal responsibility February 17, 2022 Boris Johnson will announce his strategy to “live with Covid-19” next Monday, bringing an end to all restrictions in England. The provision of free rapid flow tests is also under review in a bid to save as much as £10bn. Johnson has put considerable effort into turning the Covid-19 strategy into a question of “personal [...]
Tech is an alluring bandaid for workplace misconduct but it will leave glaring holes February 17, 2022 Like many other graduates fresh out of university, Ashleigh Barnes was excited to start her first job, joining a design construction company. Her male-dominated workplace, however, soon proved to be a toxic environment, where she became the object of sexual innuendos and offensive comments. “Lots of really misogynistic things were said to me. They made [...]
Explainer-in-brief: Fracking problems on the horizon for net zero February 15, 2022 The latest flashpoint over the cost of green policies has been about fracking – a way to extract natural gas and oil from shale by pumping a water mixture down into the earth. Around 30 Tory MPs and peers, including Lord Frost, are calling for the ban on fracking to be scrapped. They argue that [...]
Explainer-in-brief: Love you, love you not: the new China-UK relationship February 14, 2022 In a bid to snuggle up to China’s economy, Boris Johnson has tasked the department for international trade to hold the first high-ministerial talks with Beijing since 2018. Rishi Sunak has moved to restart the UK-China Economic and Financial Dialogue, also cancelled in 2019. The timing of these decisions is a bit baffling, given that [...]
When in Rome (or Paris), while in your bedroom: the metaverse of the high street February 14, 2022 When Topshop announced they were pulling out of their flagship Oxford street shop last year, the fatalistic chatter about the end of the high street gathered colossal momentum. The store was eventually snapped up by Ikea, for £378m, but another hole was left in its wake, with House of Fraser closing down too. Despite this, [...]
Explainer-in-brief: China stokes the flames over Taiwan February 11, 2022 This week, China has suspended imports of beef from Lithuania. While Beijing hasn’t justified its decision, it is crystal clear that the move comes after tensions over Taiwan. Lithuania diplomatically recognizes Taiwan, while China claims the island is part of its territory. Taiwan’s foreign minister called China’s actions “bullying”. Trade is a tried-and-tested weapon for [...]
Explainer-in-brief: Gloria Gaynor and the other new aides of No10 February 8, 2022 After a slew of aides at No10 quit last week amongst the turmoil of the Sue Gray report, Downing Street has spun the resignations as Boris Johnson “taking charge” of staffing problems. Steve Barclay will take the vacant role of chief of staff. He’s an old ally of Rishi Sunak and looks ready to steady [...]
Inside the content creators’ industry, not everything is as glossy as it seems February 7, 2022 Say “influencer economy” to most people and there remains a temptation to shrug it off as a handful of Youtube stars making a few grand here and there for make-up videos. In truth, the influencer economy has become mainstream – almost 50m people around the world consider themselves “content creators”. That spans from impossibly youthful [...]
Explainer-in brief: A Winter games of politics and controversy February 7, 2022 Last Friday, the Beijing Winter Olympics kicked off with a whirl of lights and colour. But it was also surrounded by a storm of controversy which threatens to overshadow the games. A handful of nations, including the US and the UK, have staged a diplomatic boycott of the event (meaning athletes, but no officials will [...]
