EU referendum: Wetherspoon boss warns European Union is “doomed” because it lacks democracy April 26, 2016 The European Union is "doomed" because it doesn’t have the level of democracy required to make it a great economic region, the boss of one of the UK's biggest pub chains has warned. Tim Martin, the chairman of JD Wetherspoon and a staunch supporter of the Leave campaign, said that just as the euro could [...]
Chin chin! Fair deal for pub tenants under a new beer tie crackdown October 29, 2015 It's bottoms up for pub tenants, who yesterday came one step closer to fairer regulation on controversial “beer tie” agreements that often result in publicans being overcharged by their landlords. In the first of a two-part consultation, the government will seek views from the industry on a new pubs code with a “market rent only” [...]
UK house prices: The government could tackle the country’s housing deficit – but it has a vested interest in choking supply April 19, 2016 We need more housing to be built in the UK. That’s a quite indisputable statement that everyone I speak to in the property industry, in the public sector, amongst charities and at the dinner table, agrees with. The population of Britain increases by around 500,000 people each year largely due to positive net immigration but because people are [...]
Blockchain just had two major firsts with new social payment app Circle, Barclays and Britain’s financial regulator April 6, 2016 London may be the centre of fintech innovation, but there’s one huge trend we’ve failed to jump on board with yet – social payment apps. Messaging your mate with that fiver you owe for last night’s round at the pub and a big smiley face emoji is pretty common in the US and China, especially [...]
UK Immigration Bill: Illegal workers face jail as part of crackdown on rogue migrants and employers August 24, 2015 The Government is raising the stakes in its crackdown on illegal working today, introducing new penalties for employers who give jobs to undocumented migrants. Immigration minister James Brokenshire will say: “Illegal workers will face the prospect of a prison term and rogue employers could have their businesses closed, have their licences removed, or face prosecution [...]
PM’s ex-adviser pulls no punches on banking jobs May 19, 2015 STEVE HILTON, former adviser to Prime Minister David Cameron, co-founder and boss of Silicon Valley tech start-up Crowdpac, visiting professor at Stamford University, is in London to promote his book, More Human, Designing a World Where People Come First. Among a range of topics – from the throttling of the High Street by supermarkets to the [...]
Budget 2016: George Osborne’s speech in full March 16, 2016 George Osborne has just revealed the Budget for 2016. There was good news for businesses with corporation tax being sliced and business rates being reformed – but bad news for smokers and students who hate maths. Mr Deputy Speaker, Today I report on an economy set to grow faster than any other major advanced economy in [...]
Two more bad arguments for why Britain needs a mandatory living wage July 6, 2015 With £12bn of working age welfare cuts expected in this Budget, Conservative voices are clamouring for the “living wage” to be used as a means of reducing in-work poverty. In the past week, two celebrity former advisers to the Prime Minister, Steve Hilton and Rohan Silva, have argued the government should boost the national minimum [...]
From killer robots and heatwaves to Heathrow and smartphones: Here’s what got us talking this week July 3, 2015 South London got itself a new river. East London prepared for the worst case scenario. And somewhere in Barnsley, Mr Kipling decided to make even more exceedingly good cakes. Here's what got us talking this week 1) London was hotter than the surface of the sun Good gosh, it was hot. The trains went [...]
From the glitterbomb to Bloomberg down: Here’s what got us talking this week April 17, 2015 There was a debate. There was a glitterbomb. And for most of Friday, around the world, there was very little trading being done. Here's what got us talking this week. 1. Bloomberg down Friday morning was either a disaster or a small gift from a benevolent and powerful entity. Bloomberg Professional went down [...]