Recover that Olympic spirit to give London back its mojo October 21, 2019 “Inspire a generation.” That was the slogan for the London 2012 Olympic Games, and a memory of a moment when the capital and the country felt confident about the future. Cast your mind back and recall the triumphs of elite athletes, the city at ease with itself, and the country bursting with the pride of [...]
DEBATE: Could the BBC survive becoming a subscription service? October 21, 2019 Could the BBC survive becoming a subscription service? Nicholas Mazzei, a corporate social responsibility adviser, says YES. The BBC is a well-loved and historic British institution, but it needs to move with the times. Ending its guaranteed income and making it compete for its customers through a subscription model would drive it to become more [...]
Hey, big spender: Institute for Fiscal Studies boss Paul Johnson on the end of economic orthodoxy October 21, 2019 In the eight years Paul Johnson has been director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), he has seen three prime ministers, two general elections and – so far – one Brexit referendum. Read more: Government almost matching Labour’s spending pledges, says IFS If that wasn’t enough, Britain’s political leaders have recently torn up their [...]
Emmanuel Macron says he will veto Brexit delay October 18, 2019 Emmanuel Macron has vowed to veto a Brexit delay if MPs fail to pass Boris Johnson’s proposed deal in a crunch vote tomorrow. The French President today told MPs to back the deal, saying it was the result of “real leaders with real strategic thoughts”. Read more: Interest rates could rise after Brexit deal, BoE [...]
Kinks aside, the porn block was a puritanical attack on sexual expression October 18, 2019 Farewell to the porn laws, one of the worst thought-through pieces of legislation ever to have been at risk of becoming law. First cooked up in 2015 by David Cameron’s team, the “porn blocker” plan which would supposedly have prevented children from stumbling across adult content on the internet has faced repeated delays, and on [...]
Debate: Does Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal have a high chance of passing in the House of Commons? October 18, 2019 Does Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal have a high chance of passing in the House of Commons? Yes – Benedict Spence is a freelance writer If MPs have one thing in mind as “Super Saturday” rapidly approaches, it should be this: the public is watching them closely. Boris Johnson has miraculously returned from Europe with a [...]
If you want to change the conversation about mental health, lead by example October 18, 2019 There is no universal formula for being a leader, but every good leader should be a role model. This couldn’t be truer in the conversation about mental health. The facts don’t lie: one in four people suffer from poor mental health each year. Looking to the world of business, if you’re leading a team of [...]
Eco-protest movement has driven everyone quite mad October 17, 2019 The exasperation was clear in the commuter’s voice as he shouted “it’s an electric train, you idiot!” at the person who had glued themselves to a DLR service heading into the City from east London. Elsewhere, morning travellers took matters into their own hands and hauled protesters down from the top of Tube trains. We’ve all [...]
Facebook co-founder launches anti-monopoly trust October 17, 2019 One of Facebook’s co-founders has launched a $10m (£7.8m) anti-monopoly trust in an attempt to place extra scrutiny on big tech firms. Chris Hughes will launch the fund to support academic and policy research into market power. Read more: Facebook suffers a drop in brand value as consumer trust slides It will be a part [...]
Virgin Atlantic in fresh broadside against British Airways owner over Heathrow slots October 17, 2019 A war of words between two of Britain’s two biggest airlines over take-off and landing slots at Heathrow escalated further this morning, as Virgin Atlantic’s boss launched a fresh salvo against the dominance of British Airways owner International Airlines Group (IAG) at the airport. Shai Weiss, Virgin Atlantic’s outspoken chief executive, revealed he had set [...]