I was delighted to participate in a videoblog, earlier this week with Hogan Lovells Financial Institutions Partner, Rachel Kent on The Future Regulatory Framework. The issue of the day, how to establish an effective and efficient means of scrutinising our financial regulators. It is self evident that major changes are underway, and required, as to […]
Category archives: The House of Lords
A UK DARPA: Innovate the Future.
At a meeting, somewhere recently, with names not to mention and times unspecified, I was fortunate to hear, first hand, as to the UK opportunity for a DARPA style organisation. DARPA is, of course, the US agency that, for sixty years, has existed to ‘make pivotal investments in breakthrough technologies for national security.’ The idea […]
Future of the National Minimum Wage
Establishing a national minimum wage (NMW), and increasing it over time, “signals to citizens that they are right to expect a baseline of economic security through their labour” and has, rightly, been a popular and successful policy since it was introduced in 1998. The Carnegie Trust UK and Learning and Work Institute have produced a […]
National Security and Investment Bill
Yesterday I took part in the second reading debate on the National Security and Investment Bill. This legislation will comprehensively reform the UK’s foreign investment rules, introducing a hybrid system of mandatory and voluntary notifications on grounds of “national security” similar to that in the United States and Germany. A long time in the arrival […]
Financial Services Bill
I was delighted to take part in the second reading of the Financial Services Bill. In a world of important legislation it is worth noting that this Bill is up there as one of the most significant we will consider, this year, as it progresses through the Lords. John Glen, Economic Secretary to the Treasury, […]
Holocaust Memorial Day
In the summer of 1988, before starting sixth form, I read one of our set texts, ‘Schindler’s Ark’. It was professionally recorded for the RNIB’s talking book library and it impacted me profoundly. Keneally caught all of it. So powerfully, so appallingly, so accurately. Civilisation paused, put aside, gone away, not here. I listened to […]
Tax should not be so taxing
Tax, a temporary aberration has proven itself particularly permanent. Of itself, this is neither good, nor bad but we should surely be using every tool at our disposal to make sure our tax system works for the common good. Last week I was pleased to participate in a debate in the House of Lords considering […]
SolarWinds Cyber Attack
Today in the House of Lords the government was questioned on their response to the SolarWinds Cyber attack, first reported in December 2020. In the light of the attack I asked the government to again commit their full support to the UK cyber industry. The attack was one of the largest and most sophisticated cloud […]
Get Musicians Moving
Visa arrangements for UK musicians in the EU, the show must go on. I love music, it has got me through everything in life, the good, the bad, the lot. When I lost my sight it was a lifeline, music kept me going: Iron Maiden, Madonna, Magnum, more. Before competing at Barcelona, Atlanta and Sydney, […]