Leader
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NewsPM stumbles in Zahawi zone
If any of us wondered what kind of leadership the UK might get from prime minister Rishi Sunak, we now have a clear indicator courtesy of the tax troubles of Conservative party chair Nadhim Zahawi. The leadership we are getting is not what we need.
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Insight
What lies ahead for housing?
This week has served up plenty of food for thought on housebuilding, and a dog’s breakfast of industry reactions that run from bleak pessimism to blithe optimism.
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Insight
Back to the office?
On 19 January last year, the government withdrew its Covid guidance suggesting people in England should work from home. The pace and scale of the resulting return to work naturally became a topic of great interest and no little anxiety throughout the subsequent 12 months.
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Insight
Tales of the unexpected
Five housing ministers, four chancellors of the exchequer, three prime ministers, two different monarchs and a partridge in a pear tree. Season’s greetings at the end of a very difficult year.
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Insight
Small details, big gains
A couple of weeks ago I visited Brent Cross Town, a 180-acre, £7bn new neighbourhood for north-west London being co-developed by Related Argent and Barnet Council. Plans are advanced but work is still at an early stage.
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Insight
You win some, you lose some
This week started with relief that the nation hadn’t gone entirely crazy and voted rogue MP and former health secretary Matt Hancock winner of ITV show I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! Instead, Lioness Jill Scott picked up the crown.
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Insight
EV revolution lights the way
Electric vehicles (EVs) have come a long way in the space of a few short years. Once ridiculed for their short ranges and odd looks, electric cars, scooters and vans are now a familiar sight on our roads as EV technology has improved and owners and business have bought into ...
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News
Postmodern planning reform
This week we hear from Hashi Mohamed, who is one of those remarkable people who runs the risk of making almost everyone else feel like a lazy failure. He is not only an accomplished barrister, broadcaster and author but also a former refugee, underscoring the extent to which he has ...
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Online
Unhelpful history lessons
As is widely recognised, history repeats itself. Unhelpfully, it does so in a jumbled kaleidoscope of random repetition that makes it hard to apply the lessons learned.
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Insight
Don’t bury your head in the sand
The Bank of England last week warned that the UK was facing its longest recession in 100 years as it raised interest rates to 3%. Coming off the back of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine war, the UK political merry-go-round, supply chain costs rapidly increasing and the cost-of-living crisis, this ...
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Insight
Office of the future? On your bike
Last month I toured the almost complete JJ Mack Building in Farringdon, guided by Gerald Kaye, chief executive of its developer, Helical.
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News
The regeneration game
This week saw the dramatic return of a face we thought we’d seen the last of. Alas I am not talking about the nostalgic return of David Tennant to the role of Doctor Who, after a gap of more than 12 years.
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News
Burning questions on rates
The response from shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves, after new chancellor Jeremy Hunt gave his “economic update” to the Commons on Monday, perfectly captured the calamity created by September’s mini-Budget.
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News
The dicey business of pricing
Arriving at a fair value for an asset is a tricky business at the best of times, doubly so in a period of high inflation, rising interest rates and exchange-rate volatility. Agreeing a transaction or indeed estimating what’s required to turn a profit has become markedly more challenging than at ...
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Insight
Best to gather data before gambling
In 2018 I heard a keynote speech by Ian Robertson, former board member of automotive giant BMW Group. He made a point that has stayed with me ever since.
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Insight
What a week it has been
During the economic crisis of 1964, prime minister Harold Wilson memorably remarked that a week is a long time in politics. In the economic crisis of 2022, we could perhaps update the saying – a weekend is plenty long enough to machine-gun yourself in the foot.
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Insight
The winter’s tale
As I write, the government’s emergency “fiscal event” to get the nation through the winter has not yet been formally announced, but the details have been leaking out via the newspapers as readily as heat seeps out of an EPC ‘G’-rated property.
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Insight
An example to us all
A frequent observation of the past week has been that the Queen’s death came as a shock. Despite her advanced age and obvious frailty when appointing Liz Truss as PM, none of us expected a gentle handshake in Balmoral to be her last official act.
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Insight
Clark versus Clarke
It will take a while for the dust to settle, now that we have a new prime minister in Liz Truss, a new chancellor in Kwasi Kwarteng and a new levelling-up and housing secretary in Simon Clarke.
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Insight
Thumb-twiddling time
While Rome burned, Emperor Nero fiddled, or so the legend goes. We are seeing the modern equivalent from our government, it seems.
