Explainer-in-brief: A Boris Johnson leadership challenge January 14, 2022 After Boris Johson’s shambolic performance this week, many are asking whether his future in office is doomed. Johnson’s defence line has been “wait for Sue Gray’s investigation”. But the investigation by the senior civil servant is unlikely to be a smoking gun. Instead it will likely be a Whitehall work of perfection, cold and detached. [...]
Michael Gove has finally entered the cladding fray, but the fight isn’t over January 14, 2022 Among the political shambles of this week, something remarkable happened: someone stepped in to say a word or two about how to fix the cladding crisis. This someone was the Secretary of State for Levelling up, Housing and Communities, Michael Gove. His intervention was met with relief that an issue which has languished on the [...]
Better regulations, not more, are the answer to greenwashing controversies January 7, 2022 Last year, we talked a lot about climate action and what the financial industry could do to make a difference. At Cop26, the former governor of the Bank of England Mark Carney unveiled his brainchild for combating climate change: the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero. At the time, Carney boasted $130tn mobilised in pursuit [...]
Side Hustle: how teenagers are starting their own businesses January 5, 2022 What do teens like? Hanging out with friends, doing sports, watching movies, reading books. Or this is what you’d think. But some seventeen year olds are just as business-like as any entrepreneur in the City, when given the opportunity. This story starts with the vision of an inspiring woman. Sam Smith is the CEO of [...]
News review: Andrew Neil, Nigel Farage and the highs and lows of GB News December 30, 2021 As the year draws to a close, we look back at what’s happened along the way. We reflect on events and draw conclusions. It seems quite timely to ask, then, one unforeseen question: what’s happened to GB News? The channel is a little over five months old, and yet it has raised more than a [...]
Say bye to linen and leather, and welcome digital clothing and the metaverse December 29, 2021 The latest feature of the metaverse is here: brace yourself for digital clothing. Cyber outfits are completely sustainable – not least because they don’t have any physical presence in the real world. Digital clothing is at the forefront of innovation, and at the crossroads of the digital and the real world. Surely Mark Zuckerberg already [...]
Commons Snapshot: a story of Tory division in two tweets December 17, 2021 Divisions within the Conservative Party are a gaping hole at the moment. Yesterday, Tory MP and Parliamentary private secretary to Michael Gove Joy Morrissey, shared a tweet just a tad too aggressive. “This is not a public health socialist state” she wrote, trying to silence Chris Whitty, who had been urging people to limit social [...]
Explainer-in-brief: Biden’s Beijing face off – just not with facial recognition December 16, 2021 US President Biden has put eight Chinese companies on an investment blacklist, meaning American investors are not allowed to take stakes in these businesses. Targeted companies include DJI, the biggest drone manufacturer globally, Yitu Technology, an artificial intelligence company, and CloudWalk Technology, working with facial recognition. The Biden administration believes their products are used by [...]
Explainer-in-brief: Behind the tech giants’ headache December 14, 2021 The Online Safety Bill, currently in draft stage, aims to create a framework to regulate harmful content online. The Bill rests on the assumption that if Big Tech companies are not doing enough to protect their users, the government must step in. The Joint Committee working on the draft has chosen Ofcom – the UK [...]
In London communities, trust in the police is low. Tasers won’t help that heal December 13, 2021 He was on a night out in Shoreditch when he was tasered by the police in 2018. Mark was stopped for a breathalyser test – which he took three times – and after it came out inconclusive the police told him they were going to arrest him. According to Mark, 35, seven police officers swarmed [...]
