The UK will get a US free trade deal post-Brexit – but Donald Trump will drive a hard bargain Back in 1783, when Britain signed a trade deal with the fledgling United States as part of the Treaty of Paris which concluded the revolutionary war, the world-class British delegation was infinitely more experienced and better prepared than their novice American counterparts. Sadly, this is not the case today. Fast forward 234 years and Britain’s [...]
All firms should fear the coming consumer protection crackdown There are normally a few government reviews that businesses seem to be obsessed with. Recently, this was the government’s industrial strategy; now, it is the Taylor Review into employment practices in the modern economy. But one set to increasingly occupy the minds of businesses this year is the review being conducted on consumer protection – [...]
The civil service is ripe for disruption – and Brexit could well be the catalyst We are approaching a serious crisis in the relationship between ministers, advisers and civil servants. While governments have often grumbled about the quality of the civil service, there are signs political discontent is growing. Why? The stakes are higher. The challenges posed by Brexit dwarf anything we have seen before. And so the relationship between [...]
Post-Brexit Britain will be a paradise for lobbyists – and it’s not necessarily a bad thing February 10, 2017 Picture the scene: a small conglomerate of agricultural businesses demand a meeting with their local legislator. They tell her their businesses will go bust if she does not vote against a forthcoming trade agreement and they indicate no further donations to her party will be made if she does not speak out more against the deal. [...]
Mark Carney’s fintech critique should be a wake-up call for a sector used to plaudits January 27, 2017 The fintech sector is so used to being publicly lauded that this week’s comments by the governor of the Bank of England will have come as a shock. Despite claiming London as the fintech centre of Europe and exulting its potential, Mark Carney made clear fintech’s rise could disrupt the established financial sector – raising [...]
Theresa May must be even bolder to make Global Britain a free-trading success January 17, 2017 “Fear not, we are of the nature of the lion.” – Queen Elizabeth I There was just enough in Theresa May’s speech today to reassure those who campaigned to leave the EU. Crucially, she made clear that we are definitely leaving the Single Market and taking control of our borders. She suggested only a great [...]
Why a Singapore-style London would be run by Jeremy Corbyn January 13, 2017 Occasionally, highly educated Londoners half-jokingly, half-wistfully suggest the city should declare independence from the rest of the country. They really mean independence from provincial England, whose values and political priorities they abhor. They aspire to live in a city friendly to business and the successful – an open-minded city, open to the world. Would they [...]
Prepare to refight referendum battles: How Brexit will dominate 2017 politics January 3, 2017 Brexit will completely dominate 2017. The big short-term question is whether the government’s initial negotiating position will be enough to keep Leave campaigners onside, or whether they will feel a pro-EU Prime Minister and chancellor have betrayed them. This depends on the nature of the proposed deal on free movement. Anything other than a major [...]
As Trump packs his cabinet with leading executives, are business people any good at politics? December 15, 2016 Sam Bowman, executive director of the Adam Smith Institute, says Yes. Well, it’d be hard to do worse than the politicians. And Trump’s appointments make some sense. Exxon’s Rex Tillerson, in particular, is experienced at negotiating with the leaders of tinpot kleptocracies – a useful skill in a secretary of state. Mitt Romney’s business success [...]
Businesses can no longer opt out of the conservative-liberal left culture wars December 9, 2016 Culture wars are raging in Britain and America and businesses are stuck uncomfortably in the middle. Executives have just witnessed many of their customers vote to leave the EU and reject large-scale immigration. They have witnessed a victory for Donald Trump. But they are also hearing a loud liberal backlash against both – amid concern [...]
