The end of the furlough scheme must be the beginning of a renewed focus on London’s recovery July 1, 2021 The furlough scheme has been a lifeline for London workers. At its peak, as many as one million Londoners were furloughed – from builders to bakers, coders to café owners (and many of my team at Centre for London). We all know someone who has depended on and can be grateful for the government’s support to see [...]
Editorial: Quarantine exemptions for CEOs must be part of wider travel plans to fulfil the Global Britain promise June 30, 2021 In December 2019, Boris Johnson vowed to fight for a Global Britain as the nation prepared to leave the European Union. He promised to ensure the United Kingdom would remain a hub for international business and would be even more attractive on the world stage once it was unshackled from the bureaucracy of Brexit. Over [...]
Matt Hancock was stung by his own Covid sex bans but we should be wary of a world watching our every move June 30, 2021 Matt Hancock’s resignation over the weekend shows it just takes embarrassing photos to bring down a “hopeless” minister in Britain today. The real public interest story of Gina Coladangelo’s appointment last year was broken by The Times with barely a murmur. The people behind the cameras weren’t looking for corruption, they were looking for “kompromat.” And [...]
A truly Global Britain must slash bureaucracy to draw in international investment June 30, 2021 Not that long ago there was an assumption that globalisation was inevitable – writers from Fukayama to Friedman were anticipating the victory of liberal capitalism and a “flat world” in which capital, people and trade flowed freely, driven by the power of big business to knock down national barriers to their pan-national corporate interests. That [...]
Sajid Javid’s sensible instincts to stop lockdowns must stay firm against the pessimists of Sage June 29, 2021 So farewell then, Matt Hancock, as Private Eye’s fictitious poet in residence, EJ Thribb, would have put it. The former Health Secretary seemed to relish relaying the doom laden projections of the epidemiologists’ worst case scenarios throughout the pandemic. There will be many within the Conservative back-benches who will welcome him into their ranks only [...]
DEBATE: Should the UK have off-shore processing for refugees? June 29, 2021 Priti Patel is planning on introducing controversial plans to process refugees abroad in an attempt to stop the surge of migrants making the dangerous crossing over the channel. This year, more than 5,600 migrants have made the journey. Ms Patel is reported to be considering destinations as far-flung as Rwanda for off-shore processing. Is it [...]
Naysayers of Britain’s future trade relationship in Asia-Pacific are determined to live in the past June 29, 2021 Hot on the heels of the UK-Australia free trade agreement, the UK has launched negotiations to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). Critics, quick to deride the move by pointing out it won’t make up the shortfall from Brexit, completely miss the point. The UK must look forward to the future, [...]
Boris Johnson’s Global Britain agenda is being undermined by funding cuts for the British Council June 28, 2021 Last week the British Council’s CEO, Kate Ewart-Biggs, announced that it had been informed by the government that its budget was to be reduced over the next two years in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. Its commercial income has fallen, and its grant-in-aid from the government is being cut. The overall reduction in funding [...]
London must become a world leader on climate change action June 28, 2021 It’s London Climate Action week and a chance to celebrate the work being done to tackle climate change in our capital city. It’s an opportunity to highlight and bring to the forefront the challenges we are facing and need to address to make a real difference. Climate change is a major global issue affecting everyone [...]
Directors, beware: Corporate governance overhauls could end with personal liability June 28, 2021 Corporate governance in the UK is about to undergo its biggest transformation in a generation. Next month, the Government consultation into the powers held by the new Audit Regulation and Governance Authority (ARGA), closes. Some of the proposals are seismic, driven by corporate scandals, and could mean directors of public companies, large AIM-listed and large [...]