Rapid Responses October 8, 2012 Public services [Re: Lessons to be learnt from government’s rail franchise fiasco, Thursday] Only the free market provides the incentives necessary to create an efficient operation. It is a public servant’s incentive to create complex organisations that voters can’t always understand and thus the argument will remain better management rather than better incentives. Tobias Wahl There [...]
Mark Rothko painting defaced at the Tate Modern art gallery October 7, 2012 A MULTI-MILLION painting by Modernist artist Mark Rothko was defaced by a visitor to the Tate Modern museum yesterday. The gallery said a man had inscribed a message using black paint in the corner of the 1958 canvass Black on Maroon shortly before 3.30pm before quickly leaving the room. An investigation is currently underway. The [...]
Dear Prime Minister: 45 MPs sign letter criticising BAE/EADS merger October 7, 2012 THE proposed takeover of BAE systems by EADS raises a significant number of issues which have profound consequences for Britain. Not only does Her Majesty’s Government have an obligation to make a political decision on the takeover, as the guardian of the “golden share”, but it also has a duty to safeguard Britain’s national security [...]
India’s long journey towards reform holds lessons for the City’s future October 7, 2012 LOOKING back at Europe from New Delhi – and the City delegation’s business visit to India – it is clear that reform tops the agenda in both places. Whether it is Vickers, Liikanen or Singh, the detailed reasons behind reform may be different. But the desired overall outcome is the same: to create stable jobs [...]
It’s now time for Chelsea and John Terry to say sorry October 7, 2012 FOR the past year, I have often been the only person in a room defending John Terry, the captain of Chelsea Football club and former England captain, against charges of racism. I still believe, as the Football Association (FA) asserted last week, that Terry is not a racist, regardless of the outburst he made against [...]
As the Conservative conference begins, will the party recapture the political initiative? October 7, 2012 YES Alex Singleton It’s easy to underestimate David Cameron and write him off as wishy-washy. But he’s actually one of the most determined men in politics, who will ruthlessly ditch policies that he deems electorally damaging. His reshuffle last month gave a clear indication that he is listening to critics. Some want to write him [...]
Rapid responses October 7, 2012 Dirty subsidies [Re: We just need the political will to reduce destructive energy prices, Friday] Matthew Sinclair’s long rant against climate change policies showed a remarkable ignorance of the economics of energy. As the energy regulator Ofgem has pointed out, the primary driver of electricity price rises over the past eight years has not been [...]
We just need the political will to reduce destructive energy prices October 4, 2012 OUT of all major economies, politicians in the UK have embraced aggressive climate policy in the most starry-eyed and expensive way. No other country has taken on more ambitious targets, done less to protect industry from the consequences or imposed more draconian unilateral regulations. We were the only country to set serious targets in the [...]
Romney’s debate triumph has thrown open the presidential campaign October 4, 2012 IN THE annals of presidential debates, it’s unclear whether Wednesday night’s showdown between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney will go down as a classic. The match-up failed to spawn any memorable Reaganesque one-liners, evocations of Clinton-style empathy or knock-out blows. And yet the winner was largely uncontested. Through sheer consistency, Romney emerged as the clear [...]
How the EU could slash regulations and go for growth October 4, 2012 EUROPEANS are shooting themselves in the foot. In the middle of recession, there have been no attempts to roll back the EU’s massive regulatory burden. Yet regulation is just as much an obstacle to recovery as unsustainable debt. The Eurozone’s structural problems can seem hopeless. But there’s plenty of low-hanging fruit and European leaders could [...]