New winter Covid restrictions would make it official policy to pray for a better day November 17, 2021 A trip to the Scottish Highlands is always refreshing. Despite the shortening days, the hills were in perfect late autumn condition. It clears your mind and helps you reflect on what’s not working. This time around, it was more interesting than usual: it illuminated the stark contradictions and hypocrisy of the current Covid regulations, administered [...]
Theresa May fluffs her feathers on the backbenches November 17, 2021 Theresa May, who has been considerably more interesting as a backbench MP than as the actual Prime Minister, was packed full of flak for Boris Johnson yesterday. The ex-PM defied the three-line whip dished out by Johnson over a motion to give disgraced former MP Owen Paterson a a break and rewrite rules on Westminster [...]
Cumbria coal mine fight goes to the heart of Boris Johnson’s levelling up woes November 17, 2021 Boris Johnson is not in favour of coal, or so he insisted on Monday when asked about the plans to build a new mine in Cumbria. The PM shifted the blame: ultimately it will be on the local planning authorities to decide, he said. Except that it won’t be. The decision has been taken out [...]
Post-Brexit payments space is ‘breeding ground for financial crime as Wild West culture’ looms, warns rising City star November 16, 2021 After the UK left the European Union, a range of payment providers reported so-called IBAN discrimination as a number of companies across Europe began to refuse Euro account bank details if they contained the country code ‘GB’. As a result of Brexit, sending a payment to Eurozone countries resulted in additional charges. Whilst the fee is [...]
The spectrum of terror attacks November 16, 2021 Yesterday, the UK terror threat was raised to “severe” in the wake of the attack in Liverpool. Over the last decade, the bulk of attacks have been so-called “lone wolf” attacks. In contrast, the explosion outside Liverpool Women’s Hospital harks back to a more traditional view of terror. Anthony Richards, a terror expert at CoJit, [...]
A global tax cartel with a minimum corporation rate will undermine Britain November 16, 2021 FOR the last fortnight, Glasgow has soaked up the attention of the world as we contemplate our future. But only days before, G20 leaders rubber stamped a deal that will determine much of our destiny: a global minimum tax. Rishi Sunak, who claimed to be squeamish about tax rises in his Budget, called these “seismic [...]
Peloton was a lockdown sprinter, now it has to run a marathon to fight the competition November 16, 2021 Peloton was known for revolutionising the fitness sector during Covid. Its stationary bike, launched in 2014, was the beginning of its journey. The company’s evolution has been fuelled by millions of pounds in funding and technology to create the brand we know now: the flagship bike, which works in tandem with a monthly video class [...]
Future of travel special: Pent-up wanderlust, streaming and, of course, a lot of tech November 16, 2021 After three strict lockdowns, the old adage ‘trip of a lifetime’ has never been more appropriate. Nearly two years into the pandemic, constant reminders of how precious life is have inevitably left their mark, bringing an increased awareness of what really matters, which is quite a motivation for many people to stop putting off that [...]
The high streets of the UK need to be able to woo global shoppers to stay competitive November 16, 2021 Alongside true love and compound interest, habit is one of the most powerful forces. The familiar click of the Christmas lights brought people back to London’s streets last week, with 2.5 per cent more people treading down the high street. But with the pandemic came new habits and the fairy lights will be switched off [...]
Tall Tulip syndrome November 15, 2021 [Re: Tulip tower to wilt after Gove veto, Nov 12] On the face of it, the now rejected “Tulip” tower ticked a lot of planning boxes. In particular, it was within the “City Cluster”, the area designated by Canada as suitable for skyscraper developments and at 305 metres tall, it would certainly [...]