Comedian and writer Paul Whitehouse on fishing, mental health and why the BBC needs to take more risks February 7, 2019 Last year, Paul Whitehouse appeared alongside his lifelong friend Bob Mortimer in Gone Fishing, a BBC Two show in which the comedians travelled the riverbanks of the UK in search of rare species of fish. In contrast to an increasingly bleak news cycle, it was relentlessly genial television, uncomplicated, familiar, cheerful and good-natured. Both men [...]
Starling Bank announces partnerships with mortgage broker, investment and pensions firms and insurer in open banking push February 13, 2018 Starling Bank will today unveil four new partners for its in-app marketplace, raising the prospect of customers buying insurance and even gaining a mortgage through the bank's app within weeks. The digital-only bank will launch an integration with Pensionbee in its app from today, with digital investing service Wealthsimple, mortgage broker Habito and Kasko travel [...]
Theresa May is to deliver a much-anticipated speech on Brexit next week January 12, 2017 Prime Minister Theresa May looks set to deliver a landmark speech on Brexit early next week. The speech, which has been anticipated for weeks, is expected to see the Prime Minister add more detail to her plans for quitting the European Union. May will deliver an address on Tuesday. While outlining her vision of a "sharing society" speech [...]
Former Bank of England deputy governor chosen as new BBC chair January 10, 2017 Sir David Clementi, the former deputy governor of the Bank of England, has been named as the government’s preferred candidate for the BBC chairmanship. He is set to head up the new BBC board, which is replacing the BBC Trust under the terms of the government’s new royal charter for the corporation. Clementi will appear [...]
Prime Minister Theresa May blames the sinking pound on media reports of a looming “hard Brexit” January 10, 2017 Theresa May has blamed the fall in sterling on press reports that she is planning a so-called hard Brexit. The pound fell to its lowest level against the dollar since October yesterday, after the Prime Minister heavily implied the UK will not stay in the Single Market after Brexit. Sterling dropped from $1.229 at the [...]
Prime Minister Theresa May pledges to transform support for mental health in the workplace with extensive new review January 9, 2017 Prime Minister Theresa May will today unveil a new partnership to improve mental health support in the workplace in a raft of plans to "transform" assistance across society. Long-time campaigner Lord Dennis Stevenson and Paul Farmer, chief executive of Mind and chair of the NHS Mental Health Taskforce, will lead a review with business and the public [...]
The FTSE reaches another record high as sterling continues to slide after Theresa May’s single market comments January 10, 2017 The FTSE reached yet another record high this morning as sterling continued to fall, as comments by the Prime Minister over the weekend indicating that remaining within the single market will not be a priority during Brexit negotiations continued to take their toll. The FTSE 100 rose to a peak of 7,261.16 at the start of trading, [...]
Shortlist narrows for BBC chairmanship December 14, 2016 The shortlist for the new BBC chairmanship has narrowed to around six, with the government aiming to name the successful candidate early next year. Former Prudential chairman and Bank of England deputy governor Sir David Clementi, who was one of the architects of the new system under which the position has been created, is reported to [...]
Give David Beckham his knighthood and celebrate all the other donors too February 6, 2017 We have a strange relationship with charity in this country. We depend on it enormously – to the tune of £19bn in income from individuals every year. This is a sector of industrial proportions, which the Charity Commission estimates has a total income of over £60bn a year and employs over 800,000 people. Yet we [...]
Blue Monday: Who’s picking up the mental health tab? January 15, 2018 Following a season of parties, over consumption, end of year targets, and the prospect of keeping New Year’s resolutions, it’s no wonder the aftermath of the festive period can be a time of acute mental health issues. It’s also a time of particular difficulty for those with year-round conditions. The UK faces a significant challenge [...]