School smartphone ban is legislative overreach at its most unnecessary October 21, 2024 Schools already have the power to ban smartphones, adding pointless new laws to the statute book is bad for business and bad for democracy, says Eliot Wilson Parliament should never make law lightly. To legislate is to bring the coercive power of the state to bear in regulating conduct and behaviour as well as maintaining [...]
A Budget for tax simplification would make Britain a better place for business October 21, 2024 There’s more to competitiveness than headline rates, Rachel Reeves should use the Autumn Budget to make taxes simpler and rules easier to comply with, says Colin Graham Chancellor Rachel Reeves has been clear that the current state of government finances will only improve with economic growth. For this to work, there will need to be [...]
The rise of the celebrity scammers October 21, 2024 What’s the fastest route from a jail cell to celebrity? For Anna Sorokin, it’s the quick-step. Upon her release in 2021, after serving just two years of an originally four-to-12-year sentence for posing as an heiress to extort $275,000 from her victims, how did Sorokin (better known by her con artist alias ‘Anna Delvey’) celebrate? [...]
Art is being stolen from public spaces. The worst part? Hardly anyone notices October 18, 2024 The theft of art from public spaces may feel like a painfully middle class problem to despair on, but it affects us all, writes Andy Blackmore.
Now is the time for the City to look again at investing in Africa October 18, 2024 For at least the last decade, Africa has been widely proclaimed as a sleeping giant; a continent of huge economic potential. We heard numerous voices at the United Nations General Assembly in New York a few weeks back echo the sentiment. Yet the message does not appear to be attractive to those global investors who [...]
The Debate: Should London’s suburbs be spikier? October 17, 2024 A housing crisis and London’s relatively flat skyline have prompted calls for building taller (or ‘spikier’) in the suburbs. Growth bros on Twitter are desperate for London to “densify”, i.e. cram more buildings into a smaller space by building taller structures or extending current buildings upwards. Yet London’s outer regions are typically flat with parks, [...]
The Capitalist: Guildhall’s gossip police on patrol as M&S boss skips Investment Summit October 17, 2024 Dispatches from Labour's Investment Summit, M&S's CEO's big night out and hijinks at Cheltenham: catch up on City gossip in The Capitalist.
An unexpected side effect of non-dom rule changes? Divorce October 17, 2024 Much has been said on the financial implications of non-doms leaving the country due to punitive taxes, but less attentions has been paid to the personal and family consequences of such moves, says Cara Nutall Prime Minister Keir Starmer has stated that “painful” decisions are unavoidable to repair the UK’s economic damage and has asked [...]
Is Gen Z really a risk to businesses? October 17, 2024 A lazy, entitled and narcissistic generation, more interested in TikTok than hard work. The stereotypes about Gen Z have, apparently, become so pervasive that managing a young workforce is now considered the biggest business threat by CEOs. Just 38 per cent of executives are “very confident” in tackling demands for better pay and benefits from [...]
Here’s how Reeves could use the Budget to incentivise investment October 17, 2024 As well as balancing the books, Rachel Reeves should use the Budget to help businesses recapture their joie de vivre, says Claire Blackburn The new government’s first Autumn Budget on 30 October is arguably the most anticipated fiscal event in recent memory. Balancing the books will be a top priority and the £22bn hole in [...]