MPs have debated plans for a new Royal Yacht today, exploring how to fund a replacement vessel October 11, 2016 MPs debated options for the funding of a new Royal yacht yesterday – with one suggestion to divert cash from the UK's aid budget. In a Westminster debate led by Lancashire MP Jake Berry, MPs called for the government to re-establish the use of a royal yacht for trade talks. Former defence minister Sir Gerald Howarth [...]
Asia minister announces “technopreneur” tie-up between Britain and Indonesia October 11, 2016 The Foreign Office has announced a new trade partnership with Indonesia to create a generation of “technopreneurs”, providing a signal of how post-Brexit Britain intends to look beyond the EU in developing economic ties. Britain's Asia Minister Alok Sharma MP, will unveil the plans during his trip this week to Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand. The project will fund training for young scientists [...]
Business rates that hit London need reform October 11, 2016 Business rates are a blunt instrument, one which is set to deliver a heavy blow to London’s retailers, offices and hotels. Rates are due to rise from next April after a revaluation of rateable values for England’s 1.85m commercial properties by the Valuation Office Agency. It is the first such revaluation since 2010. Analysis by [...]
Ire over immigration: Careless policy debates risk damaging Britain October 10, 2016 Sometimes great damage can be caused by a government policy idea that doesn't end up seeing the light of day. Think back to 2013, when the Tory-LibDem coalition announced plans to introduce a visa bond. The idea would have seen arrivals from countries such as India or Nigeria paying a £3,000 bond as part of the [...]
Don’t kid yourself Hillary will be a good President October 7, 2016 For all the attention lavished on Donald Trump’s many flaws, there’s a deafening silence in the UK media about Hillary Clinton’s own defects as a US presidential candidate. They are not unconnected. Given the Republican’s illiberalism, nobody seems to want to say anything that might undermine the only person standing between him and the most [...]
City Moves for 7 October 2016 | Who’s switching jobs October 7, 2016 McCann Worldgroup McCann Worldgroup has appointed Samantha Giles as EVP, global business leader on the agency’s global Nestle business. She joins from Ogilvy & Mather where she has been worldwide managing partner. Giles, who will remain based in London, will succeed Julian Ingram who has headed the Nestle business for the past two years, extending [...]
Gone to pot: Police want Camden Town to become a “bong-free” zone October 6, 2016 Camden Town may look a little different the next time you visit as police have pledged to make the area a "no bong" zone and crackdown on paraphernalia associated with drug use. To draw an end to comparisons with pot hotspot Amsterdam, officers have warned shops based on Camden High Street and around the Lock [...]
Look to Twitter for why Britain’s economy proved Project Fear wrong October 5, 2016 The economic data on post-Brexit Britain is beginning to emerge. We discovered last month that employment in May to July grew by 174,000 compared to the previous three months. Last week, the Office for National Statistics published its estimate for the output of the service sector of the economy in July. This showed a 0.4 per [...]
Southern Rail sets out eight-point plan in open letter to RMT as it attempts to avert more strikes October 3, 2016 Southern Rail's owner has made a final attempt to break the deadlock in its long-running industrial dispute with the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union. A series of five walkouts between 48 and 72-hours are planned in the coming weeks with the first starting on 11 October. And Govia has upped its efforts by setting out an eight-point plan that [...]
Cronut craze: I queued for two hours for a £4 pastry and this is what I learned September 30, 2016 In 2013, Dominique Ansel’s New York bakery started selling a croissant-doughnut hybrid, which he called the Cronut. Nine days later, he’d registered the pastry’s name and crowds of people were queueing around the block to try the odd new delicacy. Now the super-baker has brought his brand, and his Cronuts, to London. The store opened [...]