I felt a lot of sympathy this week seeing younger generations, led by Greta Thunberg, who decried what they saw as a gross display of elitist posturing and grandstanding by global leaders ostensibly attempting to ‘solve’ the climate crisis at COP26. I was there earlier this week, rubbing shoulders with the world’s elite as they…
If levelling up is to be successful, we must reverse the ‘brain drain’ of talent from our towns and cities. Increasing productivity and creating the conditions for higher wages and improved living standards will only happen if we can entice private enterprise to invest not just in the Golden Triangle of London, Oxford and Cambridge…
During my time as Chief of Staff in the Danish Government, I was often met with slight surprise from visiting advisors and officials when I told them that energy efficiency is a key enabler of the green transition. Denmark is often hailed as a green frontrunner famous for our vast and growing renewables infrastructure. Why…
Industrial animal agriculture is inflaming a range of global challenges, including climate change, animal cruelty, human rights violations, and threats to public health. The transition to a more sustainable way of feeding ourselves is urgently needed, yet the response of policy makers is lacks coherence and prevents the change required. Without the “joined-up government” politicians…
On Friday, the Assisted Dying Bill comes before the House of Lords for its Second Reading. It seeks to repeal the long-established crime of assisted suicide in certain medical and personal circumstances where the patient requests this, there is agreement of two doctors, and confirmation by the High Court through its Family Division. This is…
The summer of 2021 saw wildfires rage from Canada to Greece. It saw catastrophic flooding hit Germany, freak weather events arrive in the UK, and the mercury touch 500C in Sicily. It also saw the International Panel on Climate Change put out a warning that we are hurtling towards 1.5C of warming, and that much climatic disruption is already baked…
Politics is a contact sport, as the old saying goes. It requires resilience and an ability to thrive under pressure. In that respect, it’s a lot like elite sports, albeit with a fraction of the reward and adulation. Inevitably such a profession brings with it mental health risks – exacerbated in the UK by an…
The power of prayer is being neutered in the UK. Since the pandemic, studies have found an apparent and vital openness to spirituality in our country. A study commissioned in May 2020 – just two months after the UK’s first lockdown – found that a quarter of adults in the UK had watched or listened…
London is back open for business. As our hospitality, tourism, and retail sectors across the UK seek to make up for the last 18 months of economic uncertainty, local footfall and consumer confidence continues to climb. Despite this however, the UK is facing a tightening of our labour market. Problems with aspects of our immigration…
The government’s flagship pandemic legislation, the Coronavirus Act 2020, is up for review in October, and the government has already announced that it plans to continue to use the emergency powers it contains for the foreseeable future. This will be the third “six-month review” of the Act by the House of Commons since it was…
