DEBATE: Would banning fast-food outlets near schools help tackle childhood obesity? April 25, 2018 Would banning fast-food outlets near schools help tackle childhood obesity? Professor Russell Viner, president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, says YES. As a children’s doctor and expert in obesity, I see the damage daily: children as young as seven with conditions associated with obesity such as type 2 diabetes, asthma and [...]
Principal London and Bloomsbury Hotel revamp to draw in a younger crowd April 20, 2018 We had no brief when we started this project,” says interiors guru Tara Bernerd, showing me around the former grandiose Hotel Russell on Russell Square. It re-opened on Monday but rechristened as the Principal London. Built in 1898 by the English fin-de-siecle architect Charles Fitzroy Doll, its magnificent Renaissance-revival terracotta exterior is Grade II-Listed, along [...]
DEBATE: Is the proposed ban on plastic drinking straws a good idea? April 20, 2018 Is the proposed ban on plastic drinking straws a good idea? Helen McGeough, senior consultant at PCI Wood Mackenzie, says YES. Michael Gove has called plastic waste a global emergency – Brits alone throw away 8.5bn plastic straws a year. There is a need to illustrate symbolism among single-use plastics, where functionality may be regarded [...]
AA says car insurance premiums cheaper than they were a year ago April 19, 2018 Car insurance premiums are cheaper than they were one year ago while premiums for combined home and contents insurance fell in the last quarter. According to a report by break down and insurance company AA, car insurance premiums peaked during the second quarter of 2017 but have fallen steadily since then to an average premium [...]
Outdated recruitment attitudes are blocking the best young digital talent from getting jobs April 19, 2018 The digital skills gap in the UK is well documented, with employers struggling to fill 43 per cent of STEM vacancies, according to the UK Commission for Employment and Skills, and the Federation of Small Businesses reporting that 22 per cent of business owners think a lack of digital skills is holding them back. But [...]
To fix the housing crisis, ministers should listen to businesses in London – scrap the migration cap and build more homes in the green belt April 18, 2018 First-time buyers are going to extreme lengths to save up a deposit, according to an amusing survey published by Santander this morning. “Almost 2m are willing to swap nutritious meals for pot noodles,” the bank says, inadvertently casting doubt over the future of the global avocado market. The research also reveals that 38 per cent [...]
One third of millennials face renting for their whole lives and will never own a home April 17, 2018 Up to a third of young people face renting homes for their entire lives, according to a report out today from the Resolution Foundation. It said a generation of young people, those born between 1980 and 1996, face the prospect of never owning their own home, and said tax reforms are needed to discourage multiple [...]
Our CANZUK friends should be welcome in post-Brexit Britain | City A.M. April 16, 2018 The flags around Parliament Square are up, the hotels, bars, restaurants, and meeting rooms of the City are fully booked, as the heads of 53 Commonwealth governments fly into town. But while we’re rolling out the red carpet for visiting dignitaries, there’s a chillier welcome to their citizens. Britain has never quite found its role [...]
“More important than life or death”: Sir Martin Sorrell’s resignation statement in full April 15, 2018 Prominent adman Sir Martin Sorrell has resigned from his role as chief executive of WPP, the manufacturer he transformed into an advertising and marketing firm with global reach. While his resignation relates to an investigation into allegations of misconduct involving amounts of money which WPP says are not “material” to the firm, the specific reasons [...]
What housing policies are the UK government likely to announce soon? April 13, 2018 It is clear that the Government intends to intervene more and more in the housing market. This attitude stems partly from the Housing White Paper, issued in February last year, but also a reorganised Home England, with Nick Walkley, a self-described ‘disruptor’ at the helm, restructuring the former Homes and Communities Agency to be more [...]