Author: Bernard Gowers
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Why am I so troubled by this report about how much the directors of the biggest companies in the UK are being paid? Two disturbing figures: 1. Directors pay in the biggest firms has gone up by 102.2% since 2000 while the average pay of their employees has risen 28.6%. 2. Half of FTSE350 directors…
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British Muslim leaders are meeting with Ruth Kelly to talk about combating ‘extremism’ in sections of their community. This is the Ruth Kelly who attends Opu Dei meetings, although refuses to confirm or deny that she is a member of this highly conservative Catholic group. The same Opus Dei that provided spiritual comfort to Spanish…
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Dragging my gaze for a moment away from the leadership campaign, an ICM poll in today’s Grauniad has the Lib Dems back up to 21%, the same level as before this little episode began, with the Tories on 37% and Labour on 34%. Together with the Dunfermline result, this is a good reminder of how…
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A brief footnote to James’s eloquence on the Dunfermline & West Fife result. 1) Its a good reminder of the self-absorbed uselessness of the Westminster-media bubble: according to the headlines in the last month or two, the Lib Dems should have done badly, and the Tories at least done something. 2) Its difficult to know…
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Reflecting Britain is a certainly Good Thing, but it makes me wonder how the Lib Dems can encourage more people who aren’t… how can I put this… middle class, to get involved. Of course, the advantages of being middle class are not only (or even mainly) financial, but relate to an amorphous system of cultural…