UK’s AI vision faces infrastructure reality check July 25, 2025 The UK government has set ambitions to become a global leader in AI research, safety and commercialisation. Over £2.5bn has been committed to compute infrastructure, with new supercomputers being built in Edinburgh and Bristol, and “AI Growth Zones” being launched across regions including Greater Manchester and the West Midlands. But a growing chorus of voices [...]
Could a tourist tax ever work in London? July 24, 2025 Maybe it’s because I’m a Londoner, but I reckon there are few better tourist destinations. Our city is bursting with history and culture, boasts dozens of plush green spaces and has more Michelin Stars than New York. Should people pay to get in? Ours is one of the top cities on earth to visit, but [...]
Ministers urged to reinstate tax-free shopping to deliver Brexit boost July 22, 2025 Ministers have been urged to reinstate tax-free purchases for international visitors to make the UK a ‘global shopping capital’ and help the country benefit from its position outside the EU. “With Britain no longer in the EU, we have the opportunity to become the best place in the world for shopping,” Derrick Hardman, chair of [...]
Hiring Rishi Sunak is an ingenious move from Goldman Sachs July 21, 2025 Rishi Sunak’s Westminster to Wall St move is not a case of “jobs for the boys”, it’s a calculated, strategic hire by a firm that understands the real value of political experience in a volatile, interconnected world, says Tim Focas When former UK prime minister Rishi Sunak steps into his new role as senior adviser [...]
Labour minister: UK-EU trade deal could take another year to kick in July 17, 2025 The UK’s trade deal with the European Union, set to ease food standards and align energy markets could still take another year to come into effect, a Labour minister has warned. In a landmark post-Brexit deal, the UK and EU agreed a deal on food standards to slash red tape for British exporters while giving [...]
Rishi Sunak will donate Goldman Sachs salary to charity July 8, 2025 Former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has rejoined Goldman Sachs as a senior adviser, adding to post-government roles he holds while still sitting as an MP, though his salary from the investment banking giant will be donated to a maths charity. Sunak worked at Goldman Sachs as a summer intern in 2000 and as an analyst [...]
Labour go on about Liz Truss but are repeating all Rishi Sunak’s mistakes July 8, 2025 Too many in Labour congratulate themselves for rescuing the country from Liz Truss, forgetting that Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt did most of the work. No wonder backbenchers are angry about a policy platform that’s barely distinct form their Tory predecessors, says Will Cooling There’s no shortage of things that have gone wrong with the [...]
John Caudwell: Bezos gives billionaires a bad name July 8, 2025 If you ever want to feel like you don’t quite do enough with your time, speak to John Caudwell. We are approaching the culmination of a wide-ranging interview, and the billionaire founder of Phones 4u – and a man hoping to build London’s most expensive housing development ever – runs through his terrifyingly busy schedule [...]
To find out who’s to blame for economic uncertainty, reeves should look in the mirror July 2, 2025 Household spending is down £50bn since last year. It’s hardly surprising there’s so much uncertainty in the economy given the relentless negativity of the Chancellor herself, says Paul Ormerod Households in Britain are still saving large chunks of their incomes. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) confirmed this week that the percentage of income saved [...]
Hackathons help UK defence tech take flight June 27, 2025 Sandhurst isn’t the first place one might liken to Silicon Valley. Yet, the Royal Military Academy – long a symbol of tradition in British defence – is becoming a new hub for defence technology innovation. At a recent 24 hour defence tech hackathon, the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst hosted coders, engineers and military veterans alike, [...]