Putin will fail in Syria: The West must take a step back October 4, 2015 I feel as if we are in a time warp. To read right-wing commentators over the past few days, you would think the Cold War is back on – only this time we are losing. To hear them talk, we are living in a new age of Russian power. A triumphant Russia is calling the [...]
Why City Giving Day showed us just how much of a triumph the Square Mile really is October 4, 2015 Guildhall yard is pretty nippy at 8am. The wind whistles through the gaps in the buildings and there’s no sun to warm the paving stones. But on Wednesday last week, no-one noticed any of that – we were all too involved in the carnival of community work that was City Giving Day. We had businesses. [...]
The proto-Corbyn years of the 1970s were awful: We must fight what remains of them October 4, 2015 During the late 1990s and early 2000s, think tanks such as the IEA had a difficult time. We were told that the argument for the market economy had been won. A so-called neo-liberal hegemony had been created, and even a Labour government had accepted free markets. Meanwhile, water was being poured into the foundations [...]
List One Poultry? The government must not allow it October 4, 2015 One Poultry, the sand-coloured monolith standing on the junction opposite the Bank of England, has always been a building that has divided opinion. Prince Charles was relatively generous in likening it to a 1930s transistor radio. Others have been far less kind, and it regularly features in lists of London’s ugliest buildings. It’s [...]
With Europe at the top of the Tory party conference agenda, is Cameron’s EU renegotiation doomed to fail? October 4, 2015 Steven Woolfe, economic spokesperson for Ukip, says Yes. Really, is there actually a UK-EU renegotiation going on? You’d never have believed it from the news reports from Europe’s capitals, indicating that they have seen no official, written demands from the Prime Minister about which terms he wants to renegotiate. This in itself is emblematic of [...]
Is the workers’ flag Conservative blue? – The City View October 1, 2015 Earlier this year, the pollster Lord Ashcroft conducted conversations with voters to find out what they associated with particular political parties. The results of one such focus group are remarkably detailed and rather amusing. When asked to consider what kind of house the Conservative party might be, people described a property “with nice thick carpets [...]
EU referendum: Stop the complacency or Britain could sleepwalk out of the European Union October 1, 2015 There must have been something in the water at Number 11 Downing Street in the 1970s and 1980s: two of the most famous post-war chancellors have now said they will vote Out in David Cameron’s forthcoming EU referendum. Denis Healey told the New Statesman some time ago that he would vote to quit Europe [...]
London house prices: Build-to-Rent could transform lives in the capital – it must be free from unhelpful requirements October 1, 2015 The UK does not have enough homes – especially in the capital. This is a concern persistently raised by our members and felt the country over. Indeed, there is a real fear that our thriving cities – and London is the key example – will start to suffer as access to housing, or lack of [...]
Enter the 5p carrier bag: The environment and charity ruse that will make your life harder October 1, 2015 On Monday, it will become law for all large retailers to charge 5p for plastic bags, and give the proceeds to charity. This act has been greeted with heady acclaim. “Hold on to the dream!”, celebrates green columnist Lucy Siegle, imagining a transformation of the world economy and the saving of marine wildlife. Defra talks [...]
As Chinese slowdown fears ease, are prospects brighter for emerging market equities? October 1, 2015 Will Ballard, head of emerging markets and Asia Pacific equities at Aviva Investors, says Yes The recent turmoil in emerging markets is nothing new. Indeed, we have been here before. The journey has often been painful but it has also been rewarding. This is because although emerging markets are volatile, they are driven by long-term [...]