Building an Opportunity Society is critical to Britain’s competitiveness July 9, 2015 While bolstering Britain’s economic growth and giving working people financial security is rightly this government’s most pressing priority, building the Opportunity Society must be its distinct legacy. A society where everyone can fulfil their potential, no matter what their starting point in life, is what a new generation of Conservatives is determined to help deliver, [...]
How can George Osborne revive UK productivity? Reform regulation and the public sector July 9, 2015 In Wednesday’s Budget, George Osborne announced that he would publish a Productivity Plan today. After growing by about 2 per cent a year for many decades, the UK’s productivity growth appears to have come to a juddering halt since the financial crisis. So what should be in the plan – in addition to the measures [...]
China is, isn’t and may not be the world’s number one July 9, 2015 Until the late nineteenth century, China was the world’s largest economy. It lost that status roughly 150 years after the industrial revolution began in the West. After the Chinese economic revolution of recent decades, it is taken as axiomatic that the crown and mantle of the world’s largest economy will return to Beijing – as [...]
As it presents reform plans, is Greece’s position in the Eurozone untenable without debt relief? July 9, 2015 Konstantinos Venetis is an economist at Lombard Street Research, says Yes Greece’s position has been untenable without debt relief for a number of years, but for a time that debt relief was forthcoming. Debt restructuring has already reduced the value of Greek debt in net present value (NPV) terms. This process could go further, with [...]
Mansion blocks are real British antiques that can command impressive prices July 9, 2015 Most people think of estate agent hyperbole as a modern affliction. After all, what’s a contemporary house viewing if it isn’t peppered with “generous” reception rooms stocked with “state-of-the-art” smart systems in “vibrant” neighbourhoods? In fact, we may have the Victorians to blame for this, starting with the “mansion flat”. The term was coined in [...]
Lighting designer Paul Nulty on how to make the most of a garden terrace July 9, 2015 DECIDE WHAT MOOD YOU’RE GOING FOR While daylight offers balanced illumination and “makes sense”, night time illumination evokes a series of subconscious responses from intimacy to fear. The first question you should be asking is, “how do I want myself/my guests to feel?” Illumination of all corner spaces creates a sense of opening up and [...]
Chelsea’s house of Cold War secrets at 19 Upper Cheyne Row: Former spy’s home includes a bar that was funded by MI5 July 9, 2015 This semi-detached family house in a quiet corner of Chelsea seems inconspicuous enough, if a little dated on the inside. But it’s actually the scene of an impressive feat of British espionage that may have averted World War III. Nineteen Upper Cheyne Row has starred in numerous Cold War TV dramas over the years, [...]
Focus on St James’s: The home of the English gentleman July 9, 2015 In many ways, St James’s resembles the City. Sure, there aren’t any skyscrapers and it’s not half as old, but it’s SW1’s commercial hub and barely anyone lives there. As proud purveyors of men’s garments since the Victorian age, it boasts such prestigious names along Jermyn Street as Turnbull & Asser, Alfred Dunhill, while St [...]
Private view: On the market in St James’s this week July 9, 2015 BEAU HOUSE, SW1Y Prices start at £2m A collection of seven apartments ranging from one to three bedrooms fashionably located above Daks in Jermyn Street. Developers Dukelease and Oliver Burns say the design takes inspiration from Beau Brummell, a Regency style icon, whose statue still resides on the same street. Due for completion in 2016. [...]
Calling first-time buyers to Telegraph Works, Greenwich: The historic transatlantic cable factory being turned into new homes July 9, 2015 A CGI of the building. Apartments from £300,000 A little-known factory that sits near the Greenwich Docks once played an instrumental role in US-UK relations. Now developers are hoping it’ll establish a new relationship between this neglected former industrial site and first-time buyers in London. Around £120m has been invested to build 272 [...]
