George Osborne rules himself out of race to succeed David Cameron June 28, 2016 George Osborne will not be the next prime minister of the United Kingdom, he has confirmed this morning. The chancellor, long seen as the natural successor to David Cameron, has decided not to run in the upcoming leadership election to take over from the prime minister, who announced his resignation hours after the UK voted [...]
Leave campaigners unveil manifesto for post-Brexit reforms June 15, 2016 With less than 10 days to go before the referendum, Leave campaigners have unveiled a raft of reforms designed to be implemented if the UK votes to exit Europe. While senior leave campaigners including former London mayor Boris Johnson and justice secretary Michael Gove have insisted they want Prime Minister David Cameron to remain in [...]
Odds not on George: Iain Duncan Smith’s resignation has made Osborne vulnerable as William Hill slashes Tory leader odds March 19, 2016 Bookmaker William Hill has doubled its odds on George Osborne becoming the next leader of the Conservative Party from 2/1 to 4/1 second favourite. William Hill also shortened Boris Johnson's odds from 3/1 to 15/8, becoming the clear favourite, as "a series of mistakes" started to impact on Osborne's "future prospects". "So sure-footed for so long, Mr Osborne was [...]
Politics, like business, needs long-term ideas June 6, 2016 As Prime Minister of Luxembourg, Jean-Claude Junker remarked: “We all know what to do, we just don't know how to get re-elected after we've done it.” Today, Junker no longer has to worry about relying on an electorate for his position, having acquired the role of top dog at the European Commission. However, his past observation remains [...]
Gove slams investment banks over EU relationship June 5, 2016 Michael Gove has fired shots at investment banks and big business in the midst of EU referendum campaigning, saying the EU is rigged in their favour. One of the most high profile campaigners for leaving the EU alongside Boris Johnson, Gove said that big banks such as Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley calling the shots in [...]
First May, now this lot: HR professional body wants executive pay to be linked to culture July 13, 2016 Shortly after incoming Prime Minister Theresa May expressed her views on curbing reward at the top, the body for HR professionals is today calling for executive pay to be linked to culture. In a new report on company culture, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) has called for remuneration committees to be better empowered and [...]
EU referendum: David Cameron and Boris Johnson are no longer BFFs because of Brexit May 2, 2016 There's nothing like Brexit to break up friends. While Britain is debating the EU referendum around the dinner table and at the pub (or, perhaps not), Britain's top leaders have been divided by the matter after taking opposing sides. London mayor Boris Johnson's high profile backing of the Leave campaign has caused a rift with the [...]
Home secretary Theresa May will be installed as the UK’s new Prime Minister on Wednesday July 11, 2016 Theresa May will become Prime Minister by tomorrow evening after being confirmed as the new leader of the Conservative Party yesterday. May, who will become the country's second ever female Prime Minister, was named as David Cameron's successor after leadership rival Andrea Leadsom withdrew from the contest yesterday morning. May declared herself “honoured and humbled” [...]
Concerns raised by free market advocates in Westminster after new Prime Minister Theresa May unveils a department of industrial strategy July 14, 2016 Prime Minister Theresa May set out her stall yesterday by merging two Whitehall departments into a giant new office that promises to deliver an “industrial strategy” for Britain. The Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy will replace the departments of Business, Innovation and Skills (known as BIS) and Energy and Climate Change (known as DECC). The [...]
How Stalin’s right-hand man could help the UK in EU exit negotiations July 5, 2016 The topic of behavioural economics is very fashionable. But many economists remain rather sniffy about it, arguing that it often does not really add to what the discipline already knows. But one of its most distinctive and strongest results from a policy perspective is its emphasis on what is called the “architecture of choice”. Economists love [...]