Flybe or not to Flybe? This bailout flies in the face of market economics January 17, 2020 The philosophy of the market is based on the idea that the key to a prosperous economy is competition. Fair and vibrant competition, the argument goes, spurs businesses to improve quality and reduce prices, benefiting consumers and fuelling economic growth. Companies that struggle should be allowed to fail, making room for more agile or innovative [...]
This Veganuary, I’m trusting people to eat what they want January 10, 2020 Welcome to January, the month of new year’s resolutions. Dietary transformation has always been central to the post-Christmas madness — eating “better” is probably the most cliched resolution there is. But whereas this used to be framed primarily in terms of weight loss, with fads like intermittent fasting and protein shakes taking centre stage, in [...]
Here’s to another 10 years of City success December 20, 2019 It has been a decade of great upheaval for the City. January 2010 saw the UK economy just starting to come out of recession, with unemployment at its highest in 15 years, and a raft of regulations and inquiries into the financial services sector imminent, not to mention an election that would mark the start [...]
This iteration of Labour has no chance of ever winning an election again December 16, 2019 “‘Winning’ is the small bit that matters to political elites who want to keep power themselves.” These words, tweeted in July 2016 by Corbynista activist Jon Lansman, summarise with chilling clarity the state in which Labour now finds itself. Still reeling from its worst election result since 1935, the buoyancy of the Labour campaign has [...]
So you’ve won over Workington Man — what next? December 11, 2019 What do you do if you’re a Conservative leader whose flagship policy has split your party down the middle, with the result that you lost your working majority live on air as a coterie of former allies quit in protest? Answer: cast your net further afield. This is the Tories’ “Workington Man” strategy — the [...]
Safe as houses? Our electoral map is fuelling voter apathy November 29, 2019 With less than two weeks to go until the country heads to the polls, I have personally encountered precisely one attempt to garner my vote, in the form of a leaflet from my local Green candidate. While somewhat ironic given the party’s mission to protect the environment, this was immensely welcome. The other parties, it [...]
The hubristic Lib Dems flew too close to the electoral sun November 22, 2019 Of all the Greek myths, the most famous is probably the story of Icarus, the boy who flew too close to the sun. Gifted with ingeniously crafted wings, he was warned that flying too high would risk melting the wax that held them together. Reckless and overconfident, Icarus found his wings disintegrating mid-air, and met [...]
Laugh about the Lib Dems’ skills wallet all you like, but we’re all going to want one November 15, 2019 It is hard to think of a more unsexy name for a policy than the “skills wallet”. Juxtaposing two profoundly unexciting terms (as policy areas go, there’s nothing fun about skills, and “wallet” is the kind of word that starts to sound wrong if you say it in your head too many times), the Liberal [...]
Spare a thought this winter for our poor under-valued MPs November 8, 2019 Why would anyone want to be an MP? If the number of prominent parliamentarians who have announced that they are standing down in this election — now more than 70, including some shock names like Philip Hammond, Amber Rudd, and Tom Watson — is any indication, that question is getting more complicated to answer. MPs, [...]
Enfranchise the teenager? Votes at 16 is not as mad as you think November 1, 2019 “Votes at 16!” opposition MPs demanded in the debate on whether Britain should have an election. They were denied the chance to vote on this by the deputy speaker, so 16–17 year olds will not be voting on 12 December – a relief, given the gargantuan hurdle of registering 1.4m new voters. But the question [...]
