We are living longer – perhaps we should all be working longer too June 19, 2018 By the year 2030, it is estimated that there will be just 2.3 working age adults in the EU for every person over 65. The demographics of the developed world are changing, and policy is struggling to keep up. British people are living longer – and this is surely to be celebrated. But as life [...]
Abortion and customs deals collide over the Irish border June 8, 2018 It all started with wood pellets. The Renewable Heat Initiative (RHI) launched in Northern Ireland in 2012, providing subsidies for switching to low-carbon energy sources, such as biomass generators that burned wood chips. Unfortunately, the subsidies were worth more than the fuel cost, and no cap was set. This led to a bizarre situation where [...]
Venezuela is a socialist horror show – time for the British left to admit it February 23, 2018 What do you do if you are a tyrannical leader who has run your country’s economy into the ground, devalued its currency to the point where you can barely afford the paper that banknotes are printed on, and face fierce public and political opposition? If you are President Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela, the answer is [...]
No more excuses for Theresa May’s lack of discipline and decision February 8, 2018 What to do with a rebel MP who has made it her mission to campaign against the government’s stated policy and is dominating the airwaves with her disobedience? I am referring to Anna Soubry, and her gripes last weekend about how the “35 hard ideological Brexiteers who are not Tories” should be kicked out of [...]
Sexists in the City? Fewer than there were, but we can do better January 26, 2018 The Presidents Club will not be holding any more fundraising dinners, but the consequences of the last one will be felt for some time. The undercover expose by FT reporter Madison Marriage has been the talk of the Square Mile, with details emerging of women employed as “hostesses” at the event, only to be pressured [...]
Trump’s migration slur displays disturbing economic ineptitude January 19, 2018 Immigrants from “shithole countries” are not welcome in the US. That was reportedly President Donald Trump’s verdict at a meeting last week on migration policy. The subsequent outrage has centred around the obscene, and downright racist, language allegedly used to describe Haiti, El Salvador, and certain African nations (which the President has since denied). Read [...]
Corbyn doesn’t want to replicate the City’s success – he wants to destroy it December 14, 2017 London is unique as a global centre. These words are spoken so often, both within the City and outside of it, that they have become a cliche. But no other world-leading nation has its political capital, its financial centre, and its cultural heart all in the same city. The sectors feed and support one another, [...]
Philip Hammond has failed to improve the Tory party’s chances of electoral survival November 24, 2017 This was an elastoplast Budget. Its purpose was to cover the deepening gash in the Conservative party, give Philip Hammond’s reputation time to heal, and keep out germs hurled by the opposition benches. In this regard, it mostly worked. Read more: The Budget was a valiant attempt at an impossible balancing act The £3bn worth [...]
Let’s ‘take back control’ of immigration – and increase it November 3, 2017 Does “taking back control” of our borders mean reducing immigration? That’s a question that hasn’t been asked much over the last 16 months, even as Leavers and Remainers have locked horns over a host of other Brexit-related issues. In fact, when it comes to migration there seems to be a disconnect between what the two [...]
It’s all fun and games, until Labour crashes the economy September 27, 2017 Labour is “war-gaming” crashing the economy. That’s not the exaggerated spin of the hysterical mainstream media – it’s the words of shadow chancellor John McDonnell himself. McDonnell told Momentum activists at a Labour conference fringe event on Monday night that “people want to know we’re ready” for the chaos that could hit if the party [...]