Substance must overtake style if Jaguar’s to stay in the race November 25, 2024 Jaguar, whose corporate rebranding exercise sparked a wave of mockery and confusion last week, has met the backlash with a plea for people to “reserve judgment.” This optimistic request suggests that, despite the achingly progressive sentiment behind the carmaker’s new attitude, it doesn’t really understand the internet. Asking social media users to reserve judgement is [...]
Starmer’s war on farmers will end in tears November 20, 2024 Farmers are busy people, often completely immersed in a lifestyle and a sector that demands their total attention and dedication. They kept going throughout the pandemic. They’ve been untroubled by the great working-from-home debate. They’ve put up with policy changes, regulatory reform, subsidy reform, Brexit checks, weather events, supply chain disruption, Whitehall bureaucracy, rising costs [...]
Meet the City AM Dragon Awards Winners 2024 November 19, 2024 You would be forgiven for thinking that the most important Mansion House event was the Chancellor’s annual speech to City leaders but, with apologies to Rachel Reeves, she’s just been upstaged. Last night 200 leaders and founders from a staggering array of businesses, charities and organisations gathered at this iconic Square Mile venue for the [...]
Starmer risks resurrecting Cameron’s failed China script November 19, 2024 The Prime Minister has been mingling with world leaders in Brazil, and while his government continues to face an array of domestic challenges (from tractor protests to debates on assisted dying) he has managed to pick up a hefty endorsement from one of the world’s most powerful people. “The new UK government is working to [...]
Labour’s assault on the private sector will come back to haunt them November 18, 2024 The weekend’s papers groaned under the weight of business leaders’ concerns and complaints about the Labour’s government’s recent Budget and wider policy agenda. “They don’t understand business” ran an FT article, drawing on a host of quotes from alarmed chief executives. “Honeymoon’s over for business chiefs…” was the warning in a similar Sunday Times article. [...]
Bosses believe WFH will come to an end – wishful thinking? November 13, 2024 Given the City of London is a major destination for commuters (especially those working in professional services) the new rhythm of hybrid working is perhaps more visible in the Square Mile than elsewhere. Generally speaking, Mondays seem a little thin while Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays feel busier than ever. Fridays remain somewhat subdued. On the [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
It turns out Kamala never stood a chance November 6, 2024 In the end, the race for the White House was not determined by the Democrats’ celebrity endorsements, a backlash by the Puerto Rican community, Kamala’s Gen Z army, her party’s superior ground game, her running mate’s folksy charm, Donald Trump’s vulgarity or his criminal record. These may be the issues that have dominated US network [...]