West End ‘extremely concerned about long-term survival’ as new guidance comes into force December 13, 2021 Central London retailers are hopeful eager Christmas shoppers will offset the absence of office workers in the capital this month while warning businesses are running out of cash. New West End Company, which represents 600 brands, restaurants and businesses in the West End, said footfall for the week of 6 December was up three per [...]
Sunak and Starmer offer little new year cheer on ailing UK growth path January 10, 2023 This brand new weekly column, published every Tuesday, will drill down into the stories behind the numbers to reveal what makes the UK – and global – economy tick. But, today, inspired by what resembled soon-to-broken new year’s resolutions by political leaders last week, it will make the case for why a stable government economic [...]
An online sales tax would be a small hassle for Amazon, but a hard blow for our shops June 21, 2022 The Treasury is considering whether to introduce an online sales tax (OST) as a “means to rebalance the taxation of the retail sector between online and in-store retail”. A decision is expected in autumn – probably as part of the Chancellor’s Budget. If the government has any sense, it will run a mile from taking [...]
Representation in politics and media creates opportunities for a generation October 26, 2022 A few weeks ago, many of us were woken up by a curious occurrence: the presenters of BBC Radio 4 Today discussing their fellow presenter – Amol Rajan’s – challenge to the BBC Director General on accent bias among BBC News presenters. Whilst the conversation was all quite meta – with a small “m”- it [...]
Where to eat and drink outdoors in London from 12 April March 12, 2021 With exactly a month to go until bars and restaurants with outdoor seating are allowed to reopen on 12 April, we’re daring to dream of a time when we can meet up with friends and support the hospitality industry. We’ve collected a list of our favourite outdoor spots across London, which we’ll update throughout the [...]
The Thatcherite darling narrative needs to be an election-winning story August 15, 2022 The battle for the leadership of the Conservative Party grinds on. Policy ideas are thrown out like bait from a fisherman, with Rishi Sunak declaring his support for grammar schools and Liz Truss throwing her weight behind allowing more seasonal workers into the UK. In the longer run, though, as the contest rolls towards a [...]
End of Bank of England £800bn bond buying scheme poses headaches for Treasury and taxpayers February 28, 2023 The magic money tree is shedding its leaves. Over a decade of cheap cash propping up the global economy has been toppled by a once in a generation inflation problem. QE was a necessary response to the batch of shocks ricocheting around the global economy since 2008. Now it’s shifted into reverse. But how did [...]
Yet more places to eat and drink: 70 bars and restaurants open now May 13, 2021 It’s just days until we can once more sit in a restaurant and dine like civilized human beings, albeit socially distanced ones. But where to book? To help you make this most difficult of decisions, we’ve collected a bumper list of 70 places to meet up with friends and support the hospitality industry. With spots [...]
Johnson to meet tech bosses in push to make London more attractive for IPOs January 31, 2022 Boris Johnson will today meet with a group of tech bosses to discuss how to make the UK a more attractive destination for Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) post-Brexit. It comes as the government is set to shed or ease a series of EU regulations on financial services later this year in a bid to boost [...]
Analysis: Truss can’t buck the markets October 14, 2022 Around eight minutes is how long prime minister Liz Truss today allocated to explain why she sacked her chancellor for implementing her tax cuts and signed off her second mini budget U-turn. She clarified neither. She answered four questions and committed to her “mission” to boost growth in the UK at a Downing Street press [...]