Channel 4 privatisation risks pulling the plug on UK production June 23, 2021 When Thatcher’s government set up Channel 4 back in 1982 as the boisterous youth-focused challenger to the BBC behemoth, it was a radical shake-up of Britain’s fusty broadcasting landscape. Now, almost four decades later, that same landscape is unrecognisable, its skyline dominated by the giants of the internet and streaming age. It’s in this context [...]
Weigh-ins for kids will be a gift for school bullies and will fail to tackle obesity June 23, 2021 The return of school weigh-ins will from September reminds us of a problem we as a nation know we have: British children are amongst the most obese in Western Europe. Months of lockdowns and homeschooling have only made things worse. Forcing children to be fat shamed in front of their peers is the last thing [...]
London will be diminished if the Government’s Fortress Britain approach lasts much longer June 23, 2021 The sights and sounds of London’s gradual return to normality are tonic for the soul. There are the obvious signs: the march of City workers across London Bridge in the morning, queues at Pret at lunchtime, a packed Greek Street in the evening. And there are the less obvious, like spotting tourists plotting their journey [...]
Rishi Sunak vs Boris Johnson: to spend or not to spend? June 23, 2021 Rishi Sunak has directed his energy into recasting the Treasury back to its traditional role – the guardian of the public finances. The Chancellor notched up a substantial victory after education recovery tsar, Kevan Collins, resigned earlier this month, after his demand for £15 billion for catch-up programmes in schools was beaten down to a [...]
Business Travel Association and Easyjet: Boris Johnson must deliver a plan to safely reopen travel now or decimate the industry June 23, 2021 Today, all corners of the travel industry are coming together for an unprecedented day of action. We have all campaigned in our different ways to get the voice of this once great industry heard. We have sat around (virtual) tables with numerous Government ministers and advisors. Written detailed submissions to endless Taskforces. Offered our expertise [...]
Protecting the green belt is not about the environment, it’s blinkered self-interest June 22, 2021 The UK needs approximately 345,000 new homes per year if we are to tackle our housing crisis. It is also estimated that by developing just 5.2 per cent of the existing Green Belt, we could build 1.4 million homes. Everybody knows the UK is in the throes of a housing crisis, yet we refuse to [...]
Treasury minister: Pushing a new global corporation tax will be crucial at G20 June 22, 2021 The recent G7 agreement on tax was a vital breakthrough in the fair and effective taxation of multinationals. It is one we should all be proud of, because the UK has consistently led on this issue. But you would not think so, to read some of the commentary. Labour politicians in particular have been desperate [...]
Old guard of the Square Mile must change their attitude towards loss-making, high-growth tech companies June 21, 2021 Towards the tail end of 2020, investors were gleefully rubbing their hands looking ahead to a year like no other for London’s public markets. Rumours of multi-billion pound tech floats from the likes of Deliveroo, Darktrace and Wise began to swirl around the City. By late March this year, the hotly anticipated Deliveroo IPO led [...]
In whose backyard, then? Lib Dem nimbyism in local areas comes at the expense of the country June 21, 2021 Last week the government suffered an unexpected setback in the loss of the Chesham and Amersham by-election to the Liberal Democrats. The received wisdom is that this is not a fatal wound, nor the beginning of a trend away from the Conservatives in their Home Counties heartlands, but rather a reversion to the old pattern [...]