Best of 2022: How George the Poet is changing the national conversation December 26, 2022 It seems almost unbelievable that Harry and Megan’s wedding – global audience: 1.9 billion – was opened by… a podcaster. But George Mpanga, better known as George the Poet, is no ordinary podcaster; he’s a musician and a thinker, pushing the boundaries of the medium so far he’s created a genre all of his own. [...]
Best of 2022: Michael Doughty on quitting football to found ethical brand Hylo Athletics December 26, 2022 In this interview first published in October 2022, former Premier League footballer Michael Doughty explains why he walked away from the game to set up sustainable sportswear brand Hylo Athletics. The longer that Michael Doughty’s playing career went on, the harder he found it to ignore the effects of climate change. “I saw way more [...]
Insulating our leaky homes now would be a sensible investment for this Conservative government to make December 26, 2022 As Rishi Sunak stood in Downing Street after becoming prime minister, he made a major promise. “The government I lead will not leave the next generation, your children and grandchildren, with a debt to settle that we were too weak to pay ourselves”, he said. That’s why the recent announcement from the Chancellor to make [...]
Rishi Sunak hires Spectator journo James Forsyth as key political aide December 24, 2022 Rishi Sunak has hired James Forsyth, the Spectator’s political editor and a Times columnist, as his new political secretary. The news was broken by The Times and the Spectator. Forsyth will bolster Sunak’s key Downing Street team as the Prime Minister seeks to overcome a double-digit deficit in most election polls. He is a long-standing [...]
Cancel culture: Will 2022’s cancelled celebrities make 2023 comebacks? December 24, 2022 If we’ve learned anything about cancel culture in the last few years, it’s that being cancelled doesn’t necessary mean, well, being cancelled. Harvey Weinstein had been cancelled. But then there he was, sipping on a drink in a public bar, without a care in the world. J.K. Rowling had been cancelled too. But then there [...]
Rishi Sunak to Keir Starmer: Five bold predictions for British politics in 2023 December 24, 2022 If a week is a long time in politics, as Harold Wilson once said, then what on earth was 2022? Rishi Sunak started the year as Chancellor, spent a strange summer on the backbenches, and returned to Downing Street with the top job by Christmas. In an exhausting and traumatic 12 months the UK witnessed [...]
Made.com board proposes formal liquidation of collapsed furniture firm December 22, 2022 Shareholders of Made.com have been encouraged to back a board proposal to formally wind down the furniture firm through a member’s voluntary liquidation. In an update to the London Stock Exchange, the collapsed homeware firm said this would allow liquidators to realise its remaining assets pending completion of its administration. It would also allow the [...]
Hopes of Christmas spending splurge nudges UK business confidence higher December 21, 2022 UK businesses are hoping the Christmas spending splurge will give them a welcome boost before a long recession sets in, a new survey out today shows. According to Lloyds Bank’s business barometer index, every UK region notched a positive business confidence reading for the first time since July. Eight out of the 11 areas recorded [...]
London businesses lament dismal start to 2023 after another rail strike set for January December 20, 2022 Hospitality leaders have reiterated calls for rail firms and unions to hash out an eleventh-hour resolution to swerve January strikes, after train drivers announced another walk-out. Train drivers at 15 companies in the union Aslef have agreed to strike on 5 January, as part of a long-standing pay dispute. The walkout will take place on [...]
Liz Truss, Bill Hwang and Elon Musk: The 2022 awards you don’t want to win December 18, 2022 We started the year with Boris Johnson in Downing Street and optimism for a Covid-19 rebound. It didn’t quite turn out that way – and here’s our pick of the best of the best (or worst of the worst) of 2022… THE MUM OF THE YEAR AWARD This year hasn’t been smooth sailing for e-commerce retail [...]