Making housing more affordable is crucial if we’re to improve social mobility in London The City of London Corporation announced last week that it will sponsor the Social Mobility Employers’ Index, a new initiative from the Social Mobility Foundation and Social Mobility Commission which ranks Britain’s top businesses on how open they are to accessing talent from all backgrounds. We are backing the Index with £70,000 of funding as [...]
The City should welcome apprenticeships to build a higher-skilled economy for all The City of London Corporation recently announced its pledge to hire 100 new apprentices. This figure, combined with 17 current positions, will give 117 career-starters a role in the organisation. This echoes Sadiq Khan’s recent calls for more powers to build skills among London’s workforce – and to help keep the capital globally competitive in [...]
Brexit and beginners: Why the City must step up and support the next generation The City of London Corporation hosted its annual London Government Dinner last week. Central to the event was the topic of Brexit, in which the London mayor Sadiq Khan was vocal on how devolution would play a critical role in supporting Britain’s capital after Brexit. The lord mayor’s speech covered a different but equally important issue; [...]
City firms are preparing for the worst from Brexit – but hoping for the best December 19, 2016 Well, what a year 2016 has proven to be. The UK is preparing to leave the European Union; the US – one of the world’s largest importers – is preparing to welcome a protectionist President; while impending elections in France and Germany could potentially deliver political earthquakes. It will certainly go down in the history [...]
Driving down worryingly high youth unemployment is the City’s business December 5, 2016 I attended the London Councils London Government Summit last week alongside leaders from every London borough. It was an opportunity for us to discuss key London issues, including the increasingly urgent problem of high youth unemployment. Youth unemployment rates are still worryingly high, with the capital having a particularly poor record – the second highest [...]
Both the US and Britain have a strong interest in developing even closer ties November 21, 2016 "For we must consider that we shall be as a City upon a hill. The eyes of all people are upon us” – these were the words spoken by John Winthrop as he, along with other puritans, travelled to colonial America in 1630. Some 400 years later, his words seem just as poignant now as I’m [...]
Britain needs a transitional deal to avoid a cliff-edge of Brexit uncertainty November 7, 2016 Just under two weeks ago, Theresa May announced the go-ahead for a third runway at Heathrow, following years of analysis and debate. The decision was a complex one and certainly one of the PM’s toughest since taking up office in July. This, though, is dwarfed by another issue which had dominated the news agenda even [...]
Getting the wrong Brexit deal on financial services will hurt more than just London October 10, 2016 Research released last week said the Brexit impact on financial services will “vary dramatically with how much access to the EU is retained”. This excellent report, produced by consultants Oliver Wyman and commissioned by TheCityUK, with input from senior industry practitioners and the major trade associations, comes at a good time. What they have done is [...]
Five points the City needs government to heed during Brexit negotiations September 26, 2016 To a huddle of European journalists, Jens Weidmann, president of the Bundesbank, claimed that Frankfurt could be attractive and would welcome newcomers. This is of course just the latest marketing attempt by our competing continental financial centres wanting take some of the City’s business. But how does the City respond? We are of course used to [...]
London will remain a world-leading city because of its world-beating talent September 12, 2016 When people think of London, our city’s iconic buildings, red buses, black taxis, and vibrant cultural scene often come to mind. But the capital offers so much more than that, with PwC finding in a recent report that London, for the second year in a row, is the world’s number one place for companies to do [...]