The British Overseas Territories can help make Brexit a success November 16, 2016 The UK is a family. It includes Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, but the Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories, like the British Virgin Islands (BVI), are part of the wider family too. Like with all families, there is a shared history and a strong partnership – and I’m pleased to say that, following constructive discussions [...]
The government must get serious about simplifying Britain’s complex tax laws November 16, 2016 With British business awash with Brexit uncertainty, it has never been more important for the government to simplify our complicated tax system. The UK tax code is now more than 20,000 pages long. It’s made up of over 1,000 tax reliefs and exemptions. At around 10m words, it is 12 times the length of the [...]
Elites would be foolish to dismiss Brexit and Trump as the triumph of crude populism November 16, 2016 For the second time this year, a Western electorate rejected the overwhelming advice of the elites, the politicians, the entertainers, the intellectuals, the financiers. Instead, the American people chose brutal, chaotic, isolationist, misogynist, prejudiced change. This is consistent with evidence that our Insight Team has consistently uncovered about the mood of the global public. To take Britain [...]
The government’s decision to cancel a retail offering of Lloyds shares is an outrage November 16, 2016 Lloyds Banking Group will bring up mixed emotions for the British public. On the one hand, it still represents a symbol of the financial crisis, and the subsequent pain and aftershocks that brought for Britain. On the other, it is a household name, present on our high streets and safely nestled on the FTSE 100. [...]
Protecting the crowd: Platforms must lead the due diligence charge November 16, 2016 The issue of due diligence could become a talking point again once the FCA completes its scheduled review of the crowdfunding rules it introduced in 2014. While we’ve not seen evidence that further regulation of investment-based crowdfunding will be recommended, as the industry matures, it’s time for crowdfunding platforms to step up and work together [...]
An open letter to the chancellor: What the accountancy profession want from the Autumn Statement November 16, 2016 Dear chancellor, I am writing to outline ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants)’s priorities for the Autumn Statement and Spending Review. ACCA has recently concluded a wide-ranging consultation with our members operating at senior levels across all parts of the public sector. Our consultation focused on the priorities of public sector decision-makers ahead of [...]
Tesco Bank’s perception goes into the red after security breach November 16, 2016 Last week, news broke of a security breach which compromised the accounts of Tesco Bank customers. It was reported that £2.5m had been stolen from 9,000 customer accounts, with the worst affected losing up to £1,500. In the immediate aftermath, the company suspended online and contactless transactions. YouGov brand tracking data shows us how the [...]
Trump does not mean the end of liberalism November 16, 2016 We are told the fifth stage of grief (following denial, anger, bargaining, and depression) is acceptance, and for some people in the US and beyond who this time last week found themselves aggrieved by the outcome of the presidential election, the journey to this final step has been swift. “Trumpism could be a solution to the [...]
As a businessman, Donald Trump knows that success requires compromise: Brexiteers should take note November 15, 2016 With the election of Donald Trump to the White House, we have now experienced political earthquakes on both sides of the Atlantic. Mr Trump’s triumph and the UK’s Brexit vote, both fuelled by public anger, confirm we have moved into a new and much more uncertain political era. Millions of words have already been written [...]
Dump opinion polls for social media to understand people’s real preferences November 15, 2016 So the pollsters and pundits got it wrong again. After the General Election last year and then Brexit, it is perhaps not surprising. What is surprising is just how wrong they were. The real problem is the enormous confidence with which they pronounced that Hillary Clinton would win. The Princeton Election Consortium was probably top of [...]