The Square Mile and Me: M Restaurants founder Martin Williams on backpack etiquette and mandatory two hour lunches
Rigour in GCSEs is essential but we also need students fit for business August 22, 2012 WHILE youngsters celebrating exam successes today should be applauded for their hard work, many will be in for a rude awakening when they go into the world of work. Unfortunately, they will find that the traditional link between academic results and achievement in the workplace no longer holds as true as it once did. Our [...]
Cameron must back Gove for the sake of Britain’s children June 21, 2012 FOR the first time in living memory, Britain has a government that is on the brink of delivering huge improvements to the state education system. Michael Gove, the secretary of state, has a masterplan: he wants to axe GCSEs, replace them with much tougher O-Levels, introduce an alternative vocational qualification and sweep away the national [...]
Hunt and Blair to face a grilling from Leveson inquiry this week May 27, 2012 GOVERNMENT ministers will appear before Lord Justice Leveson this week, as his inquiry into media ethics probes the coalition’s relationship with the Murdoch stable. Jeremy Hunt, whose close ties with high-level staff at News Corp have landed him in hot water, is set to answer questions about his behaviour and that of his employees on [...]
RAPID RESPONSES May 10, 2012 Fair regulation [Re: Is the Queen’s speech likely to reassure business?, yesterday] The Speech is a clear sign to business that the government supports fair and strong regulation. Many employers want to reduce the burden of unnecessary employment tribunal litigation and the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill is a step in that direction. However not [...]
Cameron’s cabinet reshuffle is taking shape September 4, 2012 YESTERDAY’S reshuffle left the great offices of state untouched but the changes David Cameron made to his cabinet provide an insight into the Prime Minister’s plans for the second half of this government. He has turned to trusted allies, with aides saying the focus is on ensuring government policies pass into legislation within the timeframe of [...]
Gove’s exam reforms will confront wasted potential in British schools June 21, 2012 OUR EXAM system should be up there with the best in the world. It should push bright kids and be renowned for its academic rigour. At the moment, GCSEs simply don’t do that. Every year, GCSE results day is accompanied by accusations of “dumbing down” and respect for them is diminishing among employers and universities, [...]
Surging labour costs are keeping UK unemployment high May 29, 2012 THERE is a straightforward reason why unemployment remains so high in Britain. Unit labour costs are rising – hiring someone to produce a set amount of output is becoming more expensive. And higher prices mean reduced demand – in the jobs market as in everything else. This may come as a bit of a surprise: [...]
Surging labour costs are keeping UK unemployment high May 29, 2012 THERE is a straightforward reason why unemployment remains so high in Britain. Unit labour costs are rising – hiring someone to produce a set amount of output is becoming more expensive. And higher prices mean reduced demand – in the jobs market as in everything else. This may come as a bit of a surprise: [...]
Coalition behaving as if we were in normal economic times May 10, 2012 IT was impossible not to be reminded of Roman history yesterday, as Britain’s politicians argued over the Queen’s speech, fiddling while the economy burnt. Cameron, like a modern version of the ill-fated Roman emperor Nero himself, was busy discussing his plan to set up another five or so quangos, including one to police supermarkets, and [...]
Coalition behaving as if we were in normal economic times May 9, 2012 IT was impossible not to be reminded of Roman history yesterday, as Britain’s politicians argued over the Queen’s speech, fiddling while the economy burnt. Cameron, like a modern version of the ill-fated Roman emperor Nero himself, was busy discussing his plan to set up another five or so quangos, including one to police supermarkets, and [...]