A digger maker and a banking giant have livened up the EU referendum debate this week. And they have marked out for David Cameron some tricky politics as Britain’s future in Europe comes to a head.
Not all eyes are on the prize: Eurovision is often as much about undeclared alliances, voting blocs and political paybacks.
Andres Putting (EBU)/Eurovision
For the first time, Australians can vote for this year’s Eurovision winner. But it’s as much a political battlefield as a song contest – so hopefully the Russians have forgotten the “shirtfront”.
A simpler time. Martin Lev plays Dandy Dan in Bugsy Malone with ammunition at the ready.
alanparker.com/National Films Trustee Corp/David Appleby
Gangs of career criminals in Britain look very different to the stories told by Scorcese or Coppola. They are fluid, multi-cultural and recent research sheds new light on how they use the dirty money.
While pre-election polls got their sums wrong, and seemed to ignore biases in the rush to publish, a far more accurate call was being made in the betting shops of Britain.
Different flight paths, same goals. Heathrow and Gatwick.
NATS Press Office
Once we’ve voted them in, politicians might just have the guts to make a decision on new flights capacity. But it is likely they will still dodge the decision we really need.
No laughing matter. Workers with benefits.
Gordon McKinlay
As HSBC suffers under the scorching spotlight of public scrutiny once more, it is fair to ask why the banking group so often finds itself at the heart of the action.
British factories are cutting corners.
EPA/Dmitry Kalinovsky
Clothes manufacturing in the UK has seen a striking revival since 2007. Not only have new business models come onto the scene, particularly with the growth of online retailers, their actual manufacture…
Forward planning is difficult when you don’t know how long you’ll be around for.
Iakov Filimonov/shutterstock
The UK government has launched its new Pension Wise service. The website is designed to help people understand their new pension freedoms that start from April this year. But it has a gaping hole at its…
Fill your boots. Fruit and veg of the unprocessed variety.
Garry Knight
We are on the brink of an important change in how we are encouraged to think about our diet. Britain’s health authorities are considering whether to allow processed or “composite foods” to carry the official…
Two things stand out about the economic recovery in Britain. One is the sluggish growth in real wages. The other is the sluggish growth in productivity. That the two phenomena have coincided is no accident…
When it was announced last year that Coca-Cola had agreed a two-year sponsorship deal with the owners of the London Eye, the general manager of the company’s UK and Ireland operations said the sponsorship…
Steps on the ladder.
United Nations Development Programme in Europe and CIS
Engineering has been a British success story. But its future is in doubt unless the country can educate, recruit and retain many more female engineers. The sector has survived, even thrived, by importing…
Refuting the charge that he opposes “green crap”, George Osborne has become a recycling champion. His Autumn Statement is built on re-announcements of existing projects (including the £15 billion road…
The chancellor of the exchequer, George Osborne, has delivered the financial package he hopes will convince voters to deliver a Conservative majority in May 2015. Here, our team of academic experts responds…
Hi-Vis and hard hat; Osborne into the breach.
Number 10
Britain’s chancellor of the exchequer will aim to deliver an election-winning financial package on Wednesday. But he will effectively have one arm tied behind his back. It wasn’t meant to turn out this…
A tangled web. Helping infrastructure make connections.
Zachary Scott-Singley
Every time we turn on a tap, switch on a light or drive to the shops we are relying on the infrastructures that make our modern economy work. These infrastructures are being developed to meet new challenges…
All bark no bite? Green shoots of growth hide risks as well as opportunities.
Sharon Mollerus
Not too long ago, cynics were wondering if David Cameron’s fears over the global economy were a ploy to shift blame for any flaws in the UK’s performance as we near the May 2015 general election. However…