All hail the regulator going for growth November 12, 2024 At last month’s Investment Summit in the City, Keir Starmer set out an admirably clear view of how he wants this country’s regulatory bodies to work, telling delegates: “we will make sure that every regulator in this country, especially our economic and competition regulators, takes growth as seriously as this room does.” There’s been no [...]
Demand for flexible jobs soars as workers seek remote roles November 12, 2024 Searches for jobs with flexible working surged by 132 per cent between July and September this year, according to new figures. Based on 22,000 job searches analysed by flexible work specialist Flexa, the data also shows that 60 per cent more flexible job adverts were posted in the same period compared to the previous quarter. [...]
What the City of London wants from Reeves’s Mansion House speech November 12, 2024 Treasury officials have been hitting the phones to City firms over the past two weeks as Rachel Reeves prepares to deliver the government’s annual Mansion House speech to the financial services sector. The backdrop is a fractious one for the Chancellor. While the Labour party built cordial ties with the Square Mile in the run [...]
You know what won’t improve state efficiency? More watchdogs November 12, 2024 Donald Trump and Keir Starmer agree on one thing at least: their governments need reforming and to be much more efficient. Sadly for those on this side of the Atlantic, our value-for-money policies inspire little confidence. The UK already needed radical attention but Labour’s first Budget has raised the stakes even higher. As the Office [...]
Labour will be thinking global, but their fortunes depend on the local November 12, 2024 Labour strategists will be focused on what Trump’s victory means for Britain and the world, but the government will soon face big challenges at the local level, says James Nation Following on from the US election result, takes abound on what Trump 2.0 means for the world and for the UK. On the economy, there [...]
How the accounting watchdog is looking to unleash the City November 11, 2024 As Richard Moriarty gripped the sides of a podium and spoke freely from a sheet of bullet points at the London Stock Exchange in September, a warmth was stirring among certain City executives in the room. The tie-less career regulator, boss of the audit watchdog, the Financial Reporting Council, laid out his plans to shake [...]
Ministers either don’t understand private sector, or don’t care November 11, 2024 No politician could actually get away with telling businesses to “suck it up” when they warn about the impact of tax rises, though Labour’s Darren Jones came dangerously close yesterday, airily telling the BBC that bigger businesses can handle higher costs. While it’s true that they’ll find a way to pay these new taxes and [...]
The real reason Britain doesn’t build November 11, 2024 Planning isn’t the only reason we have a housing shortage, too many developments just aren’t economically viable, says Melanie Leech The government is undoubtedly right to focus its efforts on reforming the planning system. Ask the anyone in the property industry and they will say that the system is complex, burdensome, under-resourced, and prone to [...]
Time to take the handbrake off the City and unleash growth November 11, 2024 The Lord Mayor’s Show is a reminder that despite only being 1.12 square miles in size, there’s no limit to the City’s ambition and what it can achieve when it comes together, says Alastair King As the scaffolding comes down outside Mansion House and the majestic State Coach returns to the safety of the London [...]
COP29: What world leaders can learn from indigenous communities November 11, 2024 As global leaders gather for COP29, they must remember that climate change is a symptom of our broken relationship with nature, and indigenous people can help repair that Today, despite grand statements from multinational corporations and warm words from politicians, we continue to damage the natural world at a rate it cannot possibly sustain. Our [...]