All Sunak and Starmer want for Christmas…
Since all Portlanders have fallen into the ‘nice’ camp this year, we have started putting in our requests to Santa. Whilst some of us are eyeing up another bottle of the overpriced perfume we would rather not buy ourselves, or just hoping it isn’t socks again, we imagine that many of those in Whitehall are busy putting […]
Big bang 2.0 or more of a whimper?
Liz Truss got a lot wrong but she was right that action is needed to boost the growth rate. UK productivity has risen very slowly over the past 15 years and it dictates how fast an economy can grow without fuelling inflation. Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman famously said: “Productivity isn’t everything, but, in the […]
What does the Supreme Court’s verdict mean for the future of the Scottish independence debate?
Ever since dawn broke on Alex Salmond’s famous victory in 2011, when the SNP not only defied expectations to win the Scottish parliamentary elections but emerged with an overall majority, the political agenda in Scotland has been dominated by the issue of Scottish independence. Nearly a decade after the conclusion of the historic 2014 referendum, […]
Autumn Statement 2022 – what does this mean for us?
Jeremy Hunt’s Autumn Statement – a full-blown Budget by another name — had multiple objectives. The tax rises and public spending cuts which will take £55 billion pounds out of the economy over the next few years means the first goal – to banish financial market and investor doubts about the government’s fiscal credibility – […]
What’s in store for the real estate industry with Michael Gove back in government?
After a short period as Liz Truss’ chief Conservative critic, the Tory Party’s reformer-in-chief is back at the housing and planning department, 100 days after he was fired by Boris Johnson. Craig Worman from Portland’s Built Environment team looks at what’s in store for the real estate industry. What should the industry expect? The country […]
Partner Anita Boateng gives her thoughts on Rishi Sunak’s new Cabinet
The ghost of Margaret Thatcher looms large over the Conservative party. Former Prime Minister Liz Truss faced endless comparisons to the three-time election-winning Iron Lady during the summer leadership contest, from her pussy bow blouses to her penchant for sitting on tanks. But it was Rishi Sunak who claimed the mantle of Thatcherite, speaking with […]
Go green, go nuclear – or go home: Why the energy strategy makes sense
Last week’s energy strategy may or may not lead to a huge change in how the energy we consume is produced. But there is no doubt that it played into growing concern among the public about this issue – and a desire for the Government to take action. There are long term and short term […]
Quid games – Bailey rolls the dice, but a rotten hand awaits Sunak over the horizon
Whilst much of the conversation over the past week in Westminster has focused on allegations of sleaze and corruption, another story, with potentially larger ramifications for the UK economy, has continued to develop. When Andrew Bailey, the Bank of England’s Governor, surprised analysts and editors alike last week in holding interest rates at 0.1%, the […]
COP26: The ambition to win the ‘Race to Zero’ is there, but crucial barriers to EV uptake remain
World leaders and delegates are gathering in Glasgow today as part of COP26’s ‘Race to Zero Transport Day,’ which aims to build support for decarbonising road, aviation and maritime transport as soon as possible, with the message that we are fast approaching a tipping point. The task facing them is daunting, to say the least. […]
With time running out on climate change, we need a 21st Century equivalent of ‘Dig For Victory’
Could a return to rationing save the planet? Joanna Lumley made an impassioned case for it on BBC Breakfast last week, calling the climate crisis ‘a different kind of wartime’ and proposing a system of tradeable vouchers to help Brits curb their consumption. The argument is compelling; not because ‘carbon coupons’ are necessarily the solution […]