A group of Britain’s top bosses condemned the government’s economic policies yesterday, saying they were “failing” to meet the “huge economic challenge” and calling for a “new direction.”
The letter signed by 11 company chiefs adds to the pressure on British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who is bidding to unify his ruling Labour Party and fight back from dismal opinion polls amid challenges to his leadership.
“While we welcome the chancellor’s belated recognition that the UK faces a huge economic challenge, we are concerned that the government’s economic policy is failing to meet this challenge,” the letter to the Financial Times said.
“The lesson of recent years is clear. Economies must carefully manage public spending and reduce unnecessary budget deficits,” it said.
“They should have simple taxes and competitive tax rates and reduce the burden of regulation. Finally they must improve educational performance,” it said.
“Only then will they be well placed to weather economic difficulties and lay the foundations for long term growth,” the paper said.
The letter, signed by business figures including JCB chairman Anthony Bamford, Next chief executive Simon Wolfson and Carpetright chairman Lord Harris, came amid concerns about Britain’s levels of national debt.
“It is time for a new direction which ensures that in future Britain is better prepared for economic downturns and better placed to compete in a global economy,” the letter said.
The other signatories were: Severn Trent chairman John Egan; Whitbread chairman Anthony Habgood; John Craven, chairman of mining firm Lonmin; Louise Patten, chairman of commercial property company Brixton; George Robinson, founder of City firm Sloane Robinson; Anthony Fuller, president of brewer Fuller, Smith and Turner; Lord Leach, director of conglomerate Matheson & Co; and Mike Clare, president of bed retailer Dreams.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique