Editor’s notes: Whatever your view of him, Farage should sit in the House of Lords November 18, 2016 There are many ways to get a peerage these days. You could conduct a white-wash inquiry into the Labour party’s problem with emboldened anti-semites; you could bounce from quango to quango until a seat on the red benches is the next logical step; you could donate to a political party; or you could have the [...]
The CBI has been accused of “hypocrisy” over staff diversity by a centre-right think tank November 18, 2016 A blazing row has broken out over diversity in business after think tank Policy Exchange branded the CBI “hypocritical” for its failure to employ a single non-white director. The think tank, which was credited with many of the central themes behind David Cameron's premiership, blasted the business group as part of a new report into [...]
Chancellor Philip Hammond has been urged to show caution in an Autumn Statement infrastructure splurge November 18, 2016 Chancellor Philip Hammond has been urged to use caution in backing public infrastructure spending in next week's Autumn Statement. Speculation is rife that Hammond will use his first fiscal event to announce new road and rail projects. However, think tank Centre for Policy Studies warned that 90 per cent of large infrastructure projects are over budget, [...]
When Obama met Merkel November 18, 2016 Outgoing US President Barack Obama is currently on a trip to Berlin to say farewell to German Chancellor Angela Merkel. According to Reuters, Obama described Merkel as his "closest international partner" shortly before jetting off to Germany. Obama has also used the trip as an opportunity to remind President-elect Donald Trump that he might want to cool it [...]
We all have lessons to learn from Trump’s shock victory November 17, 2016 Nobody was talking about Wisconsin. There were murmurs about Michigan. There were questions about voter turnout in rural areas of Pennsylvania compared to the cities. Keep in mind, these debates weren’t reflected in the polls; pollsters were almost unanimously calling the election for Hillary Clinton the morning of 8 November. All talk of upsets was [...]
Let’s leverage Britain’s heritage as a great trading nation to lead the world in free trade again November 17, 2016 Britain has a trading legacy that few countries can rival, for hundreds of years sitting at the heart of global maritime trade, with our ports serving as a marketplace for the world. To many, this is just a legacy, alongside other traditional British hallmarks such as bowler hats and red phone boxes. But the truth [...]
As experts forecast a £100bn budget black hole, should the chancellor prioritise deficit reduction in his Autumn Statement? November 17, 2016 Sam Bowman, executive director at the Adam Smith Institute, says Yes. Whatever we borrow today we’ll eventually have to pay for tomorrow. So government borrowing just defers taxation – there really is no free lunch. It’s worse than that, though. Government borrowing crowds out private borrowing, so the more the state borrows for itself, the [...]
London’s Brexit wish-list must include rules allowing entry for migrants without jobs, according to Assembly Members November 17, 2016 New immigration rules must not prevent people without job offers entering the country, according to London Assembly Members, who have drawn up a post-Brexit wish list for the capital and the Square Mile. While Theresa May has suggested new restrictions will be a key part of any divorce terms negotiated with the EU, chancellor Philip [...]
Why the Autumn Statement won’t help the City solve the enigma of Philip Hammond November 17, 2016 We know he is not one for Osborne-style soundbites, and if his October speech at Tory conference is anything to go by, he should keep the Ed Balls gags to himself! He is, admittedly going on very little so far, a man with an “eye for the detail” and a “safe pair of hands” that [...]
Trump that: JP Morgan boss Jamie Dimon has snubbed Donald Trump November 17, 2016 JP Morgan chief executive Jamie Dimon has reportedly turned down the offer of a top job by Donald Trump. Fortune magazine reported Dimon said a polite "no thank you" after he was offered the role of US treasury secretary. Reports first surfaced shortly after Trump's election that Dimon was tipped for the top job at the [...]