The mayor must speak up for ambitious Londoners and for businesses — not call for further restrictions October 13, 2020 Sadiq Khan is arguably under more scrutiny — and subject to some of the harshest criticism — than any politician in the country. Much of it is unfair. London remains a city with an illusion of a mayor, rather than one with the power to make decisions for the good of the city and its [...]
Brits spent an extra £1.9bn in stockpiling spree before coronavirus lockdown March 31, 2020 Brits made over 79 million extra trips to supermarkets in the four weeks leading up to the coronavirus lockdown, as people rushed to stock up on groceries ahead of restrictions being introduced, according to industry data. The stockpiling drove a 20.5 per cent jump in supermarket sales up to 21 March, with customers spending an [...]
Restaurant bosses call for VAT cut as dining out sector braces for difficult return to business June 16, 2020 Restaurant industry bosses have today urged Boris Johnson to take drastic action, including slashing VAT on the food they serve, to help the struggling sector survive the effects of coronavirus. In a letter signed by the bosses of 90 major chains, Deliveroo founder Will Shu said that the government should also extend its job retention [...]
Life after lockdown: What are the new UK social distancing rules? May 11, 2020 After seven weeks of social distancing, the UK government is beginning to ease its coronavirus lockdown measures. Boris Johnson announced a conditional plan in an address on Sunday night for a partial easing of the UK lockdown. The measures, which have now been outlined in a 60-page document, form the first phase of the government’s [...]
Staycation nation: Johnson urges public to take a UK holiday June 23, 2020 Prime Minister Boris Johnson today gave the green light for hotels, B&Bs and campsites in the UK to reopen from 4 July, and urged the public to revitalise the hospitality industry by taking a “staycation” within the UK. In a major easing of social distancing rules, the PM today provided a lifeline for the hospitality [...]
Boris Johnson’s calorie labelling plan is well-intentioned but economically inept July 27, 2020 Let me start with a concession to the Prime Minister: not all the policies in his anti-obesity drive are outright objectionable. Banning food advertising and telling shopkeepers where they can and can’t stock their products are obvious and unacceptable intrusions, whatever their intended goal. But as a liberal economist, I am prepared to consider some [...]
Could London be put into a second coronavirus lockdown? August 11, 2020 As London residents make use of the summer sunshine, the question of whether there will be a second coronavirus lockdown is never far out of mind for locals. The number of English towns and cities that have been plunged into local lockdown has grown steadily over the past two months, while the capital has begun [...]
Boris Johnson needs to deliver his own Mario Draghi moment March 16, 2020 At the start of a crisis, especially one as alien and as fast-moving as the Covid-19 pandemic, governments can count on a certain amount of public support. Quite a high amount, in fact, as has been born out by recent polling revealing high levels of approval for the government’s handling of things so far. But [...]
Coronavirus: UK death toll rises to 55 after Johnson implements new measures March 16, 2020 The total number of people to die of coronavirus in the UK has now risen to 55, health secretary Matt Hancock announced this afternoon. That means the death toll has risen by 21 in the past 24 hours, the largest rise yet recorded in a single day. Earlier today the Department of Health said that [...]
Coronavirus: More than half of Brits expect a recession March 30, 2020 More than half of Britons now expect the economy to tumble into recession within a year due to the coronavirus outbreak, a poll has shown, with pessimism about household finances rising at the fastest rate on record. Pollsters Yougov said 52 per cent of people in the UK think the economy will be in recession [...]