Letters: Listen to them, not us November 2, 2021 [Re: Cop26, yesterday] Cop26 is considered “the world’s best last chance to get climate change under control.” In Glasgow yesterday, Boris Johnson said we were at “one minute to midnight” to save ourselves. He was one of dozens of world leaders taking the stage at the climate change conference. As an insurer we’ve already seen [...]
A fallen tree on a railway scuppered Cop26 travel plans – and that was the high point November 2, 2021 Cop26, billed as our last chance to save humanity, went very well. Within hours of wandering into the summit, borrowing a phrase from Greta Thunberg, comparing himself to James Bond, and reminding cows, once again, that they really shouldn’t burp, Boris Johnson saved the world, repaired tense relations with Europe, put the French and the [...]
London is failing to make itself more accessible for those with disabilities November 2, 2021 Children with special education needs and disabilities were given a slice of Rishi Sunak’s spending spree last week, with £2.6bn set to be spent on things like more accessible classrooms. The current disability pay gap is 19.6 per cent. So focusing our energies where the cracks begin to emerge is a no brainer. But for [...]
Truss’ China truth-telling has done us all a favour November 2, 2021 One of the simpler but more important truths about dealing with authoritarian regimes is that they respect only strength and resent truth-telling. By those measures, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss is outpacing her peers with a refreshing show of rhetorical honesty and hard-nosed realism, especially on the greatest threat the free world faces: Communist China. Here [...]
The age of Brexit Blairism: Rishi Sunak bet his budget on New Labour’s success November 2, 2021 Last week, while many in Westminster were gripped to the BBC’s ode to New Labour, the Blair & Brown documentary, Boris Johnson seemed to take it literally. His boosterism has finally defeated Treasury orthodoxy. As such, this is a very different Conservative Government to the ones in the last decade. It is one that will [...]
Questions for Barclays board remain even after CEO departure November 1, 2021 The board is disappointed at this outcome,” said Barclays statement to markets yesterday morning. As understatements go, it’s up there with Spike Milligan’s “I told you I was ill” epitaph. That Jes Staley has left the firm is not, necessarily, a surprise. It has been rumoured that he was ready to give up the gig [...]
Finance can’t just stop funding emissions – it’s time to put a real price on carbon November 1, 2021 Expectations are high for Cop26. Many have described the coming years as “a decisive decade”, and the summit in Glasgow is possibly one of our final chances to strike an agreement to tackle climate change and its devastating effects. The science is clear. Only action will save us. But nothing will be possible without urgently [...]
Capitalism is doing the heavy-lifting on greening our climate October 31, 2021 As on-the-nose metaphors go, the entirety of Britain’s climate class being unable to get to Glasgow on time because of a tree falling onto the train tracks is right up there. Let us hope it is not an omen for the rest of the Cop-26 conference. Our expectations are, to be frank, low. It is [...]
Close trade ties with India will give us leverage to claim climate wins October 29, 2021 International trade and climate change are two of the most vexing global policy conundrums. The UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has warned that we are at a final catalyst: human activity is damaging every region across the world, at an unprecedented rate. World leaders must accelerate comprehensive action working to minimise damage to the [...]
Opinion-in-brief: Social care loses out to its greedy older sibling October 29, 2021 The investment into technology and digitisation announced in this week’s Budget is a big step in the right direction. However, this level of modernisation needs to extend into social care – particularly when it comes to reducing hospitalisations and freeing up much-needed beds in hospitals. Through technology, policy and investment, the NHS and social care [...]