Covid-19 note on gender: How do we prepare for A new normal which includes women equally? September 15, 2020 Helena Thernstrom works as Head of Legal for RBS’s Asset and Invoice Finance businesses where she also heads up the Bank’s gender network in London. She is a passionate and visible advocate of diversity and inclusion, including social mobility and pro-bono initiatives, and was shortlisted for the 2019 WIBF ‘Champion for Women’ award. She is [...]
JD Sports scraps dividend as Covid-19 footfall slump hits profit September 8, 2020 JD Sports today said it would scrap its interim dividend after the sportswear brand reported a sharp fall in profit and warned of the continued impact of lower footfall. The figures JD Sports posted revenue of £2.5bn in the 26 weeks to 1 August, down 6.5 per cent on the same period last year. Pre-tax [...]
UK 2021 Immigration System: details revealed September 4, 2020 The Brexit immigration issue was already a complex one, implementing the biggest changes in the UK in almost five decades with new immigration rules to navigate, and impacting business travellers. In addition, now that 90% of the world’s population is living in countries with travel restrictions in place, the ability to travel is no longer [...]
Covid-19 does not prove the case for Scottish independence — if anything it does the opposite September 4, 2020 Scotland has had a “good” pandemic. Nicola Sturgeon has excelled. The incompetence of the government south of the border proves once and for all that an independent Scotland would flourish. Or so the Scottish Nationalists will tell you. And it seems to be working. While Boris Johnson was hospitalised and convalescing after his own brush [...]
The national productivity recovery depends on getting people back to the office September 2, 2020 Office workers continue to display reluctance to return to their workplaces, despite encouragement from the government for them to head back. The immediate consequences for the service jobs in cities which depend on people commuting into the office are apparent, hence the government drive. But is office work a good thing for the workers themselves? [...]
The travel industry will not survive without a radical U-turn August 27, 2020 The UK has a rich history as a global transport hub. While we all value our holidays as individuals, the value of travel to the UK economy cannot be overlooked. In 2019, the 40.9m overseas visitors who came to the UK spent £28.4bn. While many of us don’t consider the UK economy to be as [...]
By ignoring the Civil War in Libya, the EU risks its stability August 24, 2020 The art of statecraft consists in large part of separating risks which cannot be tolerated from those which have to be lived with. This key political realist imperative is all but lost on the European Union. While EU leaders are focused on Belarus, which will remain close to regional power Russia whatever the outcome of [...]
We are facing a mental health crisis among our young people — one we cannot afford to ignore August 21, 2020 The cost of Covid-19 keeps climbing. So far, the government is forecast to borrow £400bn in this financial year alone. Whether we like it or not, that money will have to be paid back — but the longer social distancing measures remain in place, workers stay furloughed, and consumers save rather than spend, the greater [...]
UK firms cut more than 106,000 jobs amid coronavirus pandemic August 19, 2020 The coronavirus pandemic has battered the UK economy since it arrived in early 2020 – and no sector has remained unscathed, with more than 100,000 job cuts planned during the pandemic. The government’s furlough scheme has allowed millions of people to keep getting a paycheck, but fears are growing that when this is phased out [...]
We clapped for carers – how about a hand for our unsung charity volunteers? August 17, 2020 It’s often said that a crisis brings out the best in people, and that has proven to be true during the coronavirus pandemic. In particular, the way in which charities and voluntary organisations responded to the unprecedented crisis which changed all our lives back in March has been magnificent to see. Many have found themselves [...]