Rishi Sunak needs to tell a story if he wants to keep a hold on the economy March 23, 2022 In an interview with the Sunday Times earlier this month, Gordon Brown gave a quote that was both reflective of his past failings and the challenge that lies ahead for Rishi Sunak. “I’m afraid we didn’t win the argument. You learn as you get older, or at least more experienced, that the facts are not [...]
Explainer-in-brief: Russia pushes China into a tight corner with weapons request March 15, 2022 Chinese President Xi Jinping has been dragged into the harsh spotlight after reports suggested Russia had asked Beijing for weapons to support their offensive in Ukraine. President Xi has played a game of keeping China at arm’s length from the conflict in a bid to maintain his relationship with Vladimir Putin without antagonising Western countries. [...]
Explainer-in-brief: Europe proves a hostile market for Big Tech March 14, 2022 European and UK regulators have teamed up for the second time in less than a year to crack down on tech giants skirting anticompetitive practices. On Friday, the Competition and Markets Authority in the UK and the EU Commission launched a probe into an online advertising deal between Google and Meta to allegedly shut out [...]
Explainer-in-brief: OPEC+ isn’t coming to the rescue March 11, 2022 As the US and the UK took the dramatic step of turning away from Russian oil, the Biden administration has been putting significant pressure on the group of Gulf oil suppliers to ramp up production. The OPEC+ group, which includes Russia, resisted the calls to pump more crude to help bring down oil prices, which [...]
Explainer-in-brief: Poland’s fighter jets pose problems for Nato March 10, 2022 Yesterday, the US made a decision which shocked many as President Biden refused to act as a go-between and send Polish fighter jets to Ukraine. For those clamouring for more support in Ukraine, it seemed nonsensical. But it is part of a broader line Western countries are trying to balance as they support Ukraine’s efforts [...]
International Women’s Day and feminism every day March 8, 2022 In her book published last year, Amia Srinivasan wrote: “Feminist theory is grounded in what women think when they are by themselves, what they say to each other on the picket line and on the assembly line and on the street corner and in the bedroom, what they have tried to say to their husbands [...]
Big Oil’s exit from Russia is finally a true confluence between profit and purpose March 3, 2022 In November last year, any company with enough money to stamp their name on the top of a letterhead was clamouring to prove they weren’t just in it to make money; they were good people too. The Cop26 climate change summit offered an opportunity for businesses of all stripes to issue press releases and host [...]
Opinion-in-brief: Stay at home at the slightest inconvenience March 1, 2022 Today there will be the first full tube strike since 2017, as 10,000 RMT workers walk off and all London Underground lines stop running. Instead of directing people to find other ways to get to work, Transport for London told people to stay at home. Part of the problem facing the transport network is a [...]
Boris Johnson’s sanctions tread on almost no one’s toes February 24, 2022 IF you’re going to talk the talk, you better be able to walk the walk; it is a helplessly overused cliché, but as Boris Johnson tries to assert a firm hand of Global Britain with economic sanctions against Russia, it is the simplest words that ring true. Over the last few weeks, the prime minister [...]
Behind the story: Sajid vs Rishi and the cost of test and trace February 22, 2022 In May 2020, NHS test and trace was set up with a budget of £22bn. A year later, they had been given an extra £15bn, totalling £37bn over two years. This astronomical scale of money ploughed into the contact tracing regime has been blasted from all sides of politics, especially after it largely failed to [...]
