Now the Tories give run around on immigration January 11, 2017 Making a mess of immigration policy isn't an endeavour restricted to the Labour party. As much as we enjoyed their festival of confusion yesterday regarding the free movement of workers, the Tories have now given us a clear reminder that politicians of all stripes are capable of getting tangled up in this sensitive area of policy. [...]
Economists need to start playing catch-up – here’s why January 9, 2017 Last week was something of a cathartic one for the economics profession, as the Bank of England’s chief economist, Andy Haldane, conceded that those who engage in forecasting need to adapt to regain the trust of politicians and the public. Since last summer’s referendum, experts from the OECD, IMF, Bank of England and the Treasury [...]
Editor’s notes: The great Civil Service myth, and why it’s time to shake things up… January 6, 2017 Though probably not on your daily reading list, Dominic Cummings (former adviser to Michael Gove and a top dog in the official Leave campaign) writes a fascinating blog. In between posts on artificial intelligence, super-computing and advanced physics, you’ll find reflections on his time working at the Department for Education as Gove’s senior adviser. If you [...]
Editor’s 2016 review: It’s been a year of momentous political change, but there’s every reason to look to the future December 22, 2016 Attempting to reflect such an extraordinary year with just a handful of our own front pages was always going to be difficult, but I thought we’d give it a go. The front page of City A.M. is (to borrow a phrase from our marketing department) the front door of our brand. The choice of splash, [...]
Union leaders are their own worst enemy December 19, 2016 As the country prepares to power down for Christmas, a number of trades unions are flexing their muscles and powering up their strike activity. As PWC’s Tom Kerr Williams notes, for unionised labour “a good time to react is at Christmas when most employers will be under pressure to keep customers happy”. One can't deny the [...]
Editor’s notes: Forget about Murdoch, media dominance is now an online battle December 16, 2016 For a while this week it felt as if we’d slipped back five years, as Ed Miliband and Vince Cable dusted down their criticisms of Rupert Murdoch. 21st Century Fox’s bid for Sky saw the former Labour leader take to Twitter like a student protester. “Do we want Rupert Murdoch controlling even more of [the] [...]
Osborne looks to carve out a post-Treasury role December 14, 2016 Days after losing his job as chancellor, George Osborne spoke to a City audience in the Guildhall. He was delivering the annual Thatcher Lecture and set out the areas that he felt defined his legacy: economic recovery, the Northern Powerhouse and the pursuit of social reform. He also took the opportunity to reassert a belief [...]
The City has a loud voice in the Brexit debate December 12, 2016 How are we to discern the government's evolving Brexit strategy? Should we sit patiently and wait for strategic leaks? Should we scrutinise every handwritten memo photographed on its way into Downing St? Should we listen to the barrage of voices off, demanding action or concession in certain areas? Perhaps we should simply wait for the [...]
Editor’s notes: Calm down, the banks are not about to run for the European hills December 9, 2016 The government has agreed to set out its Brexit plans to parliament. While this will fall short of outlining a full negotiation strategy, it has been welcomed by politicians and business groups as a necessary step towards providing some clarity. However, there appears to still be confusion in some quarters over the fate of the City, [...]
One more step along the road to Brexit December 7, 2016 The Great Brexit dance continues. Yesterday, the Labour party rediscovered its opposition role and bounced the government into accepting demands that it set out its Brexit plans to parliament. Fearing that dozens of Remain-backing Tory MPs would support the Labour motion, No 10 agreed to go along with it. The shadow Brexit secretary Keir Starmer [...]