Does Philip Hammond deserve a peerage? February 7, 2020 Does Philip Hammond deserve a peerage? Ben Kelly, a commentator for Reaction, says YES. Philip Hammond became a mighty irritant to Tory Brexiteers during his time as chancellor, so it is unsurprising that many of them are irked by Boris Johnson nominating him for a peerage. It’s true that he passionately opposed Brexit and was [...]
Concrete changes can allow Britain’s digital firms to fly January 28, 2021 Britain’s technology entrepreneurs seem the last people who need any attention from Government right now. Valuations are soaring. IPOs are being lined up. Even as the pandemic constrains our daily lives, businesses that will deliver the jobs, growth and tax revenues of the future are thriving. But in the great global race to create and [...]
Entrepreneurs are an asset to grow. The government must give them time to thrive September 14, 2020 “Energy is eternal delight.” Heed the words of William Blake, because entrepreneurial energy is the dynamo that has powered the UK economy and transformed the business scene in recent times. The worry has to be that this is not a year that suggests this energy is eternal, and the mistake is to assume the resilience [...]
Norman Lamont: Britons not prepared for the economic hardship ‘around the corner’ May 6, 2020 Former chancellor Lord Norman Lamont has warned the government’s furlough scheme has made people complacent and unaware of the coming economic hardship. Lamont, chancellor under Conservative Prime Minister John Major, said the scheme had lulled “people into a false sense of security” and that many do not realise “their jobs have disappeared or are about [...]
Sajid Javid: Slash taxes and ramp up spending to fuel UK recovery June 23, 2020 Britain should reduce the National Insurance tax and pour money into infrastructure and the poorest regions of the country to boost the UK’s economic recovery from the coronavirus crisis, according to former chancellor Sajid Javid. Javid, who left the Treasury as part of Boris Johnson’s February cabinet reshuffle, warned against a return to the austerity [...]
City of London Corporation asks Square Mile to donate to coronavirus fund March 22, 2020 The City of London Corporation has urged Square Mile firms to donate money to help organisations dealing with the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. The London Communities Response Fund was set up by the Corporation and the Greater London Authority to provide money for “organisations facing immediate financial pressures and uncertainty because of the coronavirus”. [...]
Insurers voice disappointment as UK changes personal injury discount rate July 15, 2019 The insurance sector blasted the government today as it revealed plans to change the discount rate used to determine insurance payments for serious injuries in accidents from minus 0.75 per cent to minus 0.25 per cent. Read more: More price hikes to come as car insurance premiums climb The Ministry of Justice revealed the change [...]
Silk: City lawyers among 108 new Queen’s Counsels appointed today January 10, 2019 The number of new Queen’s Counsel appointed has dipped to a three-year low with 108 lawyers appointed this year, down from 119 last year. Lawyers are required to go through a rigorous application process to become a QC, known as taking silk, with the successful candidates appointed by the Queen on the advice of Lord [...]
Sunderland ’til I die: Labour’s Jonathan Reynolds on reviving the Red Wall May 20, 2021 The highlight of Jonathan Reynolds’ Westminster office is a 1960 election poster of John F Kennedy that hangs above his desk. JFK sits over Reynolds’ shoulder as we speak as a kind of liberal guardian angel to the shadow work and pensions secretary. “Not a perfect President, but he brought hope and optimism,” Reynolds says. [...]
Coronavirus loans: George Osborne calls for future government ‘debt forgiveness’ programme June 3, 2020 The government should implement a future “debt forgiveness” programme for companies borrowing through its coroanvirus loan schemes, according to former chancellor George Osborne. Osborne said small and micro businesses “who are engines of growth” should have their debts written off in several years’ time if they are still carrying debt burdens from the government’s emergency [...]