Letters: Stepping into Rishi’s shoes October 29, 2021 [Re: Hey, big spenders, October 28] If I were Chancellor for the day, there would certainly be a long to-do list. While I appreciate it’s a balancing act – starting to seriously address the long term deficit would be a priority. Making a dent in the £304bn black hole (net borrowing at the end of [...]
Editorial: Turning discrimination into diversity isn’t just social justice October 29, 2021 Yesterday, we published the (long overdue) news that the Waterloo and City line is set to return to a full weekday service by the end of next month. It’s not before time, and it’s a wonderful marker of the Square Mile’s nascent recovery from the pandemic. All around the capital are signs of life returning [...]
More shame than a name: Will the real Mark Zuckerberg please stand up? October 29, 2021 What’s in a name? asks a star-crossed lover. The answer, she discovers, is everything. The tragedy of Romeo and Juliet is the realisation that neither can escape the fate dictated by their two names: Montague and Capulet. In Silicon Valley, one firm has alighted on a similar problem. Facebook’s leadership has realised, at last, that [...]
A new dawn of cryptocurrency is forcing us to re-evaluate our faith in our institutions of state October 29, 2021 Talking about a revolution, as Tracy Chapman reminded us, isn’t new. For many years, many have. But we only ever know we’ve lived through when we look back. Today, the writing is on the walls for a moment of fundamental change. Over the last week we’ve seen Bitcoin and Ethereum hit historic highs while take [...]
Small islands will be washed away unless they harness a greener off-shore finance October 29, 2021 Climate change is already being felt across the world with extreme weather events causing food insecurity, conflict and forced migration in places as diverse as the Middle East, Latin America and the Arctic. As world leaders gather in Glasgow for Cop26 next week, there are some for whom the outcome could literally be a question [...]
Letters: Beware Facebook’s delight October 28, 2021 [Re: Facebook delivers good Q3 but expects Q4 to be below estimates, October 26] One fascinating stat from this week’s Facebook earnings was the 22 per cent jump in the average price paid per ad on the platform. This will undoubtedly delight the social giant’s shareholders but should worry the thousands of brand advertisers reliant [...]
Sunak might be teetotal – but he needs to sober up from his super-spending October 28, 2021 The definition of addiction is the serious, chronic dependence on a substance or activity. After watching the Chancellor spend almost an hour trumpeting eye-watering increases in public spending, we now have every reason to believe that this government is hooked on splashing taxpayers’ money. The next immediate hit – securing a headline about another couple [...]
Before we give London’s transport to the rest of the UK, we should fix it here first October 28, 2021 The only standout mention of the capital in yesterday’s budget was a promise to bring “London-style transport settlements” to regions across the country. On the face of it, this is an entirely sensible aspiration. Many other cities would love to have London’s mix of cheap, frequent buses with flat fares, a fast reliable and wide-ranging [...]
Britain will launch Cop26 in Glasgow while taxpayers are still funding fossil fuels October 28, 2021 On Monday, the parliamentary committee for International Development demanded the government stop investing in the fossil fuel sector, including through its private-sector arm, the CDC Group. CDC is investing hundreds of millions of precious aid money in fossil fuel companies that compound the climate crisis. Propping up the fossil fuel industry will inevitably mean more [...]
The verdict: A budget packed to the rafters with promises and light on the means to pay for them October 28, 2021 Kitty Ussher, Institute of Directors The crucial test for this Budget was whether it gave business the confidence to invest. The Chancellor’s cuts for business rates and R&D tax credit are welcome. But, when paired with hefty hikes in other taxation on the horizon, that may not be enough to convince business leaders to press [...]