Insights

General Policy icon

Deflating float offers harsh lessons for all

General Policy

Tom King
|

The disappointing first-day performance of Deliveroo, the food delivery service hailed by UK chancellor Rishi Sunak as ‘a true British tech success story’, will be treated for years to come as a salutary lesson – even if judging an IPO on its first day might be premature.

Read more
General Policy icon

Permanent change in the concrete jungle

General Policy

Tom King
|

New York City occupies a space like no other in the modern Western mind. Its liminal status, halfway between imagination and reality, has been entrenched through decades of cultural saturation. Coming to the city for the first time, you feel you have already been there; its sights and sounds are already familiar, a composite of scenes from half-remembered TV shows and…

Read more
General Politics

Pass the remote control

General Politics

Tom King
|

Governments’ support measures for businesses hit by covid-19 have focused on maintaining liquidity through provision of emergency credit. In the UK, government-backed loan schemes have been the main protection over the past few months – but it should be equity, not debt, that revitalises the economy and pump-primes the recovery.

Read more
General Policy icon

Seven lockdowns

General Policy

Benjamin Wegg-Prosser
|

Along with many of our clients, family and friends, GC staff have found themselves under varying levels of quarantine this week, in some cases far from home. Here some of the team consider the covid-19 politics and policies playing out around them.

Read more
General Policy icon

Is technology changing what a company is?

General Policy

Stephen Adams
|

The company has long been the cornerstone of advanced capitalism, providing an imperfect but acceptable equilibrium between workers, executives and governments. In this podcast, Senior Director, Stephen Adams, and Practice Lead, Tom King, discuss how new technologies are knocking firms off balance, as elite workers seek different forms of compensation beyond the material.

Read more
General Politics

Anatomy of a gamble

General Politics

Tom King
|

The news that the gambling company William Hill is to close 700 of its UK shops, threatening 4,500 jobs, will be no surprise to those following the saga of fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs). The bookmaker has the largest estate of betting shops in Britain, with some 300 more than their nearest rival, Ladbrokes.

Read more
General Politics

The other leadership race that really matters

General Politics

Tom King
|

There is only one cast-iron certainty in British politics. That is that whoever replaces Theresa May in Downing Street this summer will be faced with the same set of problems. Of course, the identity of the prime minister matters. But it is not likely to change the questions facing MPs of all parties come the autumn.

Read more
General Policy icon

Policy beyond Brexit: important or irrelevant?

General Policy

Tom King
|

With a list of candidates longer than your leg, the Conservative leadership contest is now in full swing. Unsurprisingly, many of the candidates’ public statements – and the questions they’re being asked by the media – relate to the looming question of Brexit. You might think in this context that talking about the details of government, like taxation and public spending,…

Read more
General Politics

The speaker, government and parliament: do two wrongs make a right?

General Politics

Tom King
|

Sovereignty is a tricky word. It’s misused or abused almost as often as it’s used – and it’s been used far more since the UK’s EU referendum date was set almost three years ago. Despite its nebulous character, it gets at the heart of something every human cares about: Who governs me? Who represents me? Who is in control?

Read more
General Policy icon

Might the UK's investor visa end in tiers?

General Policy

Tom King
|

The immigration debate in the UK has traditionally focused on the lower end of the labour market. The movement of large numbers of workers from across Europe and from further afield to take up roles in the UK economy captures attention from the media and the public. But the announcement that the Home Office is suspending the less familiar Tier 1 (Investor) immigration…

Read more