Insights

Last week Italy overwhelmingly approved proposals to reduce the size of its parliament with a 70%-30% referendum vote. Six major regions also elected local governments, which yield real power in Italy. These delivered a tie between the centre-left coalition and the right-of-centre bloc, each securing three regions. The elections and the referendum offered almost the…

The pressure on governments to cut costs and increase efficiency in core governance functions is set to increase. In the UK, the covid-19 pandemic has brought a huge expansion of public spending, while at the same time posing challenges to how public services are delivered.

We hear from four of our climate and energy experts on key issues that will impact the success or failure of COP26: China's climate action policies; a shift from mitigation to resilience and adaptation in sustainability efforts; the Paris Agreement's controversial global carbon market; and how different US climate policy may look depending on the eleciton results.

The death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on 18 September has renewed the debate over filling seats on the High Court in an election year. By extension, it has sparked a similarly contentious discussion over the Senate filibuster, a legislative tactic that can be deployed by the minority party to prevent the majority party from passing legislation. If…

The last six months have seen several large companies from a range of sectors announce net-zero targets for GHG emissions. Visa, Volvo, Apple and others have all lead the way, and even banks like Credit Suisse have been changing their lending practices based on a borrower’s emissions. Royal Dutch Shell, Eni, Repsol and Total are seeking to reduce their emissions by one…

The European Roundtable for Industry (ERT) have partnered with Global Counsel to produce a report on the state of 5G network rollouts across the continent. The review compares nationwide efforts with those of other countries around the world, and shows a lag in the European projects compared to their US and Asian counterparts.

When Boris Johnson relaunched his domestic agenda and signalled the end of England’s national lockdown In June, he placed planning reform at the centre of his plans to level-up the country and build a “new deal for Britain”. His pledge to launch the most radical reforms of England’s planning system since the second world war was followed by a consultation on a new zonal…

The planned takeover of semiconductor design firm Arm has been the talk of the town in recent days. The proposed deal between Arm’s owner Softbank and US company Nvidia puts a $40 bn price tag on the leading UK-based tech company and would be the largest ever M&A transaction in the history of the semiconductor industry. But despite the fanfare, the transaction looks…

Politicians are often rightfully accused of speaking in generalities, or of not being consistent in the plans they put forth. But in at least one narrow aspect of financial services policy, US Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden is neither. On three separate occasions in recent months, Biden’s campaign has pledged to establish a government-financed and -operated…

The pandemic and its economic fallout may have put Xi Jinping and the Communist Party of China (CPC) under enormous pressure, but it has also allowed Xi to tighten his grip on power and widen the party’s role in the Chinese economy. He has done this by launching two campaigns: one that focuses on rooting out corruption in law enforcement, and one that seeks to strengthen…

Controversies over ‘chlorinated chicken’ and ‘hormone-injected beef’ in the US/UK trade deal talks are at the centre of a heated debate on UK food standards. The debate is putting the spotlight on a fundamental issue facing the UK after Brexit: the country is taking back control of its regulatory framework - but to do what? And while the…

The once-vigorous debate around the bond-ratings agencies has faded along with memories of the Global Financial Crisis of 2007-08. In the crisis’ aftermath, many critics focused on the role the giant credit rating agencies (CRAs) Standard & Poor’s (a unit of S&P Global, ticker SPGI) and Moody’s (ticker MCO) played in failing to anticipate the rapid deterioration…

Simon Case, who was appointed permanent secretary of 10 Downing Street this May, has been confirmed as the next cabinet secretary. At 41, he is the youngest person in the position since Lord Hankey, for whom the role was created in 1916, during the middle of the Great War. Like Hankey, Case will sit next to the prime minister at meetings of the Cabinet and assume ultimate…

Although round four of US-UK trade negotiations are slated for September, negotiators have yet to indicate any major signs of progress. Despite earlier signalling that a trade agreement could be concluded by the end of the year, politicians from both sides have publicly recognised that this is not a feasible timeframe. So, what does this mean for UK negotiators who could…

Many businesses are feeling their way towards a new balance between remote and office-based working. That partly involves responding to the preferences of customers and staff. It also involves responding to what competitors are doing. The forces of innovation and competition will likely mean the perimeter of the virtual office expands outwards over time. This will have…

Phil Hogan’s stepping-down yesterday from his role at the helm of EU trade policy is sending shock waves through political and policy communities in Europe and globally. Many will argue, in hindsight, this was inevitable in light of his lack of contrition for breaches to Irish covid lockdown guidelines and quarantine rules in the so-called GolfGate. The affair highlights,…

The nationwide protests and industrial strikes that followed the controversial presidential elections in Belarus continue. The outcome of this unprecedented expression of public dissatisfaction with President Alexander Lukashenko and his grip on the country is, however, not yet clear. Lukashenko may still cling on to power – at least for the time-being - relying on his…

Togo’s president has done it this year. Burundi’s resisted the temptation. Guinea’s just decided to do it, while Côte d’Ivoire’s president said he wouldn’t, but recently changed his mind - the issue at hand is “third termism” or a president’s attempt to stay in power beyond the originally envisioned number of terms. These constitutional coups tend to lead to significant…