DEBATE: Should Hammond keep the Tory promise and increase the higher-rate tax threshold to £50,000? October 29, 2018 Should Philip Hammond keep the Tory promise and increase the higher-rate tax threshold to £50,000? Ben Ramanauskas, researcher at the Taxpayers’ Alliance, says YES. People earning £45,000 (the current threshold) can no longer be considered wealthy, particularly considering the high cost of living in our major cities. There is a housing crisis in the UK, [...]
Restaurant profits plummet by 80 per cent as overfed chains struggle to fill tables October 29, 2018 Britain’s top restaurants have seen their profits devastated in the past year after several dealt with branch closures and the casual dining sector struggled to attract customers. Pre-tax profits at the UK’s top 100 restaurants fell by 80 percent to £37m, down from £194m twelve months ago, according to data compiled by accountancy network UHY [...]
The Wild Duck at the Almeida: Ibsen’s classic play has been carved up for this deconstructivist test of endurance October 26, 2018 Until 1 December There have been a spate of productions recently that take a classic play, lift up the hood, and have a real rummage around with the nuts and bolts. There was othellomacbeth at the Lyric, which spliced together the titular plays, casting the female victims of the former as the witches in the [...]
National Rail’s new 26-30 railcard will go on sale nationwide before the end of the year October 26, 2018 Rail companies have come together to produce a railcard for 26 to 30-year-olds, which will be officially rolled out by the end of the year after a successful trial period. More than 4m people in the UK fall into that age group, which will now be eligible to purchase a 26-30 railcard. Just like the 16-25 railcard, [...]
Editor’s Notes: Brexit can’t mean an end to good governance, respite for Grenfell survivors, and from pulling pints to pitching policy October 26, 2018 There are complaints that Brexit is taking up so much time in Westminster that parliament doesn’t have the energy or the space to focus on anything else. In reality, legislators are as busy as ever but they may well be too distracted to offer effective legislative scrutiny. Last night, no fewer than nine human rights [...]
Ollie Phillips: Pressure mounting on Eddie Jones ahead of autumn internationals as RFU publicly pursue his successor October 25, 2018 The Rugby Football Union are already preparing for life after Eddie Jones, it emerged this week. That in itself isn’t controversial. One day he will have to step aside – it just depends whether that will be at the end of his contract in 2021 or following the 2019 World Cup. Jones is well aware [...]
Making meaningful connections through cancer October 25, 2018 Each year in the UK, 359,960 cancer diagnoses are made. That’s 359,960 people of all ages and backgrounds told they have cancer. The impact of a cancer diagnosis affects not only the person themselves, it affects all areas of their lives, including their families, children and relationships. It’s vital that raising awareness of cancer and [...]
We owe it to our City to take a stand against homelessness October 24, 2018 For the past six months, my daily entry to work has involved passing a young man who is rapidly decaying beside my office. I have seen his decline from reasonable togetherness to life in his own ordure. This, bear in mind, was through the warm summer months. As winter is coming and the weather starts [...]
With one person escaping extreme poverty every second, young people must be shown the arguments in favour of capitalism October 23, 2018 The World Bank released some seemingly depressing news last week: nearly half the global population live on less than $5.50 a day. That means that, for all the economic growth we have enjoyed in recent decades, 3.4bn people continue to struggle to meet basic needs. Also last week, you may have caught an old Teen [...]
The Inheritance at the Noel Coward Theatre: A virtuoso piece of theatre that ranks among the modern greats October 23, 2018 Until 19 Jan The Inheritance, set in New York’s gay community a generation on from the Aids epidemic, draws natural, inevitable comparisons to Angels in America. And while Matthew Lopez’s two-part, seven-hour epic is certainly worthy of being mentioned in the same breath as that superlative play, to think of it as merely a kind-of [...]