Who will save our education system? Leave it to the entrepreneurs December 2, 2019 One of the most notable policies to come from the bouquet of manifestos put forward for the upcoming general election is Labour’s pledge to abolish tuition fees. They identify £57,000 as the figure for the average debt the poorest graduates are being left with. That’s a hefty debt figure for anyone to be carrying around, [...]
You say it best when you say nothing at all November 19, 2019 It’s very rare to see a full-dress, one-on-one interview with a senior member of the Royal Family. Part of the deal of Bagehot’s not letting daylight in on magic is that the royals are seen rather than heard, totemic mannequins to be deployed for ceremonial events which require that little bit of uniquely British stardust. [...]
Parity denied: Why ‘Girl Boss’ ad is the last thing women need to succeed November 13, 2019 Moving around London’s transport network I recently clocked a poster ad for a freelancing company. The caption read: “You do the girl boss thing. We’ll do the SEO thing.” The orange of the first sentence matched the hair of the lackadaisical-looking woman in the photo. Call me a snowflake, but I was offended. Maybe this [...]
A mountain out of a McFlurry? November 5, 2019 The discussion surrounding the departure of McDonald’s former CEO, Steve Easterbrook, has revealed a nuanced landscape. In such a space, sweeping conclusions aren’t always illustrative. The fact remains, we don’t yet know any details of Easterbrook’s relationship with a colleague beyond that is was consensual. Was it a one-off fling? Are they in love? We [...]
It’s the end of the world as we know it… do we feel fine? October 10, 2019 No-one who lives in London would be able to miss at least some news content about the Extinction Rebellion demonstrations in the capital this week. Seemingly the protestors have been everywhere: on Monday, they blocked Westminster Bridge and barricaded one end of Whitehall with a hearse, and on Tuesday they glued themselves to the Department [...]
The privacy trial of the century October 3, 2019 It’s finally happening: a showdown between the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and the British press. I wasn’t quite sure what the flashpoint would be, but it’s been a long time coming. Like them or not, from the pre-wedding family problems to criticism of Meghan for, well, everything, there have been skirmishes, some of them [...]
By standing up to its critics, the RNLI turned the tide September 17, 2019 We Brits are a pretty generous lot, always happy to help out for a good cause. We’ve become used to the cycle of long-format telethons now, from Children in Need to Comic Relief, with people of all walks of life digging deep into their often sparsely filled pockets to see someone sit in a bath [...]
Keep the customer satisfied September 9, 2019 Everyone is looking for the secret to success in business. Perhaps they always have been; Dale Carnegie was writing self-help books for what we’d now call entrepreneurs in the 1930s. There’s an inevitable tension between the idea that there are universal lessons or tips, and that each business venture is unique and entirely of its [...]
The prince and the pervert: a cautionary PR tale August 19, 2019 The fall of Jeffrey Epstein has everything: money, sex, power, celebrity, glamour and danger, with a profoundly depressing tawdriness as its core. He rose from humble Brooklyn origins to untold wealth on Wall Street, and was famed for his jet-setting lifestyle as well as friendships with the Clintons and President Trump, though the 45th President [...]
By trolling Anthony Scaramucci, Trump has crossed a line August 12, 2019 When I woke up on Sunday, like a lot of entrepreneurs and people who work in the media, I reached for my smartphone to check Twitter (Mrs B was still asleep; I am an early riser). One story that caught my eye straight away was President Trump – where would Twitter be without him, or [...]
