Department stores, repurposed Written by Javier Maquieira, senior associate Edited by Adam Shaw, associate partner1 December 2021 Good morning, One of the things that struck me when I moved to Scotland was the number of repurposed buildings you can find at every turn. This was especially true of churches, some of which have been turned into casinos, …
Bye bye Barbados Written by Katie Armour, senior associateEdited by Scott Reid, associate partner 30 November 2021 Good morning, As the clock struck four this morning, Barbados became a republic. Prince Charles rather awkwardly looked on as people paraded through the streets of Bridgetown towards the celebrations in National Heroes Square (formerly Trafalgar). For the last 55 …
Scholz in Wunderland Written by Javier Maquieira, senior associate Edited by Adam Shaw, associate partner26 November 2021 Good morning, On Wednesday we got a glimpse of how life in Germany – and Europe – after 16 years of Angela Merkel’s leadership could look over the next four years. After weeks of negotiations, the German Social Democrat chancellor-in-waiting, …
Priti bad timing Written by Katie Armour, senior associateEdited by Scott Reid, associate partner 18 November 2021 Good morning, By any measure, yesterday was not a comfortable day for the prime minister. Questions about contracts at PMQs. A grilling on sleaze in the afternoon debate on Owen Paterson. Questions about his own father who faced …
Brinkmanship at the borders Written by Javier Maquieira, senior associate Edited by David Gaffney, partner15 November 2021 Good morning, There’s something authoritarian leaders in countries bordering the European Union seem to have grasped: encouraging refugees and migrants to cross its borders has a particularly destabilising effect on the bloc. Like Turkey and Morocco before it, Belarus has been …
A right honourable rescue Written by Katie Armour, senior associateEdited by Scott Reid, associate partner 12 November 2021 Good morning, The situation in Afghanistan captured the attention of international audiences for several weeks in August and September. Then, as quickly as it had come to dominate the nightly news, it largely disappeared. But this week there …
Humankind’s choice Written by Javier Maquieira, senior associate Edited by David Gaffney, partner4 November 2021 Good morning, It would be too embarrassing to disclose the number of times I’ve found myself pondering the end of Sophie’s Choice. I won’t give anything away, but the Alan J Pakula film starring Meryl Streep poses a genuine moral dilemma. Although we may …
Don’t wait for the budget Written by Javier Maquieira, senior associate Edited by Scott Reid, associate partner26 October 2021 Good morning, In the autumn of 1947, the then Labour chancellor of the exchequer, Hugh Dalton, resigned after revealing key budget details in an impromptu remark to a political journalist of the now defunct evening paper Star. The leak …
Our best last chance Written by Javier Maquieira, senior associate Edited by David Gaffney, partner19 October 2021 Good morning, With COP26 less than two weeks away, the pressure on the climate summit’s organisation and outcome is growing by the minute. Repeatedly billed as “the world’s best last chance to get climate change under control”, the conference will welcome about 25,000 …
Keep 1.5 alive Written by Katie Armour, senior associateEdited by Scott Reid, associate partner 14 October 2021 Good morning, Allegra Stratton is the famed former ITV journalist who transformed Rishi Sunak into a household name before being hand-picked to lead Whitehouse-style press briefings from a £2.6m renovated room in the heart of Whitehall. The briefings never quite got …