Why won’t Labour have lunch with the City? We’d welcome an honest debate July 29, 2014 WHEN Labour left power in 1979, many of the party’s grandees and politicians accepted invitations to have lunch with me and a coterie of City bankers. Harold Wilson, James Callaghan, Peter Shore and Eric Heffer numbered among those who agreed to some gentle hospitality, providing an opportunity for all parties to exchange views and ideas [...]
Is making bankers take an oath the best way to restore trust in the financial system? July 29, 2014 Phillip Blond, director of ResPublica, says Yes. Rules-based approaches have dominated the regulatory response to the banking crisis. But more law does not produce better behaviour, and more regulation produces more complexity that’ll be gamed by people determined to get round any limits on their conduct. The real cause of bad behaviour is a culture [...]
Why the coming UK shale boom is good news for jobs and the environment July 28, 2014 SHALE gas production would be good news for meeting Britain’s energy needs, for jobs and for the environment, and yesterday’s launch of the 14th licensing round for onshore oil and gas was good news for shale development. First, gas supplies. The British Geological Survey has estimated that the North of England and Southern Scotland have [...]
Hollande’s solution to France’s economic tragedy is more failed corporatism July 28, 2014 THE UK is becoming a low-skilled, low pay economy, and ordinary workers aren’t sharing in the proceeds of growth.” How often do we hear this? Those who articulate these views, particularly on the left, argue that we need more state intervention in the economy: more “social investments” paid for by higher taxes, “worker representation”, industrial [...]
The NHS does face a crisis – but it will take more than a cash injection to solve it July 28, 2014 THE NHS arouses strong emotions, and the front page headlines across national newspapers yesterday, calling out a crisis in the health service, were just the latest example. But behind the talk of the NHS being in a “critical condition”, there are real causes for concern. Over a third of hospitals are now in deficit, waiting [...]
As Halifax reports buyer confidence slipping, is the housing market finally cooling down? July 28, 2014 Howard Archer, chief European and UK economist at IHS Global Insight, says Yes. It’s not guaranteed that current signs that the housing market is cooling will prove lasting, but house price growth has likely peaked. The new regulations under the Mortgage Market Review have clearly had at least a temporary effect in taking some steam [...]
Longitude Prize: Why open innovation can help us take on antibiotic resistance July 27, 2014 The battle against the bugs has become something of a crusade. A month ago, the public chose the search for an answer to antibiotic resistance as the topic for the 2014 Longitude Prize, a £10m challenge to help solve one of the greatest issues of our time. Recently, David Cameron committed the UK to leading [...]
There is market failure at the heart of the City: The lack of superfast broadband July 27, 2014 Information technology has revolutionised the way that business is done in the City over recent decades. Cross border transactions are now completed with a click of a button. New models of finance such as crowdfunding are increasingly popular. Smartphones and cloud computing are making remote working a reality. These developments are reshaping the way that [...]
Don’t be gloomy – but there are still risks to the strong UK recovery July 27, 2014 Friday’s GDP data took us past a very symbolic landmark. The level of output in the UK is now slightly above its pre-recession peak. However, we should bear in mind that the UK population has risen by more than 4 per cent since early 2008. Average income per person is therefore still some way below [...]
Forget fancy schemes – government borrowing is holding back UK exporters July 24, 2014 There is no shortage of concern about the UK’s large balance of payments deficit. Many in the government are trying to solve it by cajoling British companies to export more with lots of new fancy schemes and initiatives. Speaking before the opening of the Commonwealth Games this week, for example, David Cameron said this should [...]