The EU Tobacco Products Directive looks set to seriously damage the development of the e-cigarette industry. That is likely to diminish the prospects of helping people quit smoking and lead far healthier lives. Researchers from University College London (UCL) have said that: For every million smokers who switched to an e-cigarette we […]
Read MoreAs the Legatum Institute’s Prosperity Index repeatedly shows, entrepreneurship and opportunity are the primary keys to overall prosperity. It is because life in society is a creative dynamic process of discovering how best to serve the needs of other people and to adjust to them. If we are to become the […]
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Because I am today a member of a small Baptist church, I feel I can get away with posting this great video which is a little unkind about us. There may be some people at my church who don’t drink but I’m not aware of anyone having a theological objection […]
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For City AM, Prof Philip Booth writes, Thatcher changed the City forever but Big Bang isn’t the whole story: Let’s be absolutely clear: in general, the 1980s was not a period of financial deregulation. Insider trading was made illegal in 1980. The life insurance industry, which had been almost free […]
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Dave Fishwick is a remarkable man. A self-made entrepreneur, he knows good business builds up society. So when he realised the banks were failing both savers and productive businesses, he set up Burnley Savings and Loans as a step towards a “tiny, tiny bank”. Dave personally guarantees customers’ savings out […]
Read MoreYesterday, I attended the latest meeting of the All Party Group on Interest Rate Swap Mis-selling, which affects a number of local businesses. Both the products and the process of clearing up after them are causing a great deal of distress and difficulty. As well as giving direct support to […]
Read MoreOn 4 Dec, I explained how a regulatory farce between the EU and the HSE was wasting millions of taxpayers’ money while costing business millions in lost sales. I have now had an update. Thankfully, the Secretary of State has understood the position. Iain Duncan Smith has given instructions which should […]
Read MoreYesterday, I heard from a local businessman about the kafkaesque nightmare that has been inflicted upon his industry by the EU – made far, far worse by our own bureaucracy. The firm manufactures water-disinfection systems used in hospitals and other health facilities. The EU has just imposed another round of over-regulation […]
Read MoreTomorrow in Parliament, I’m hosting a meeting with Dave Fishwick and MPs to discuss his struggle to start a local, responsible bank in touch with its savers and borrowers. The Channel 4 documentary is here and this Russia Today video gives an overview: The FSA have declined to attend but […]
Read MoreAs a way of supporting The Red Tape Challenge, the Government has created a new campaign called Focus on Enforcement. It will focus on working to ensure that we do not gold plate EU law and that we avoid British business being disadvantaged in relation to EU competitors. The Government want […]
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