Labour set for a juggling act as they as they eye up the keys to Downing Street

By Charles Fletcher, Founder and Managing Director of Navigate Politics

With a General Election a year or so away (give or take), the mortgage crisis, back-to-back strikes and rising immigration are all creating a serious headache for the Government.

However, whether they’re simply being too risk-averse, fear alienating voters or are biding their time, Labour give the impression that many pages of their internal policy strategy still read ‘intentionally blank’.

As the long campaign cranks into full gear, we’ve taken a look at the areas Labour will be hoping to capitalise on and build their own narrative as we approach the election…

Hey.  We’re the future again.

In his final prime minister’s questions, David Cameron famously observed that he had been the future once.  Then he was out.  Well, PM Sunak’s first cabinet shows that past performance is not necessarily an indication of future results. 

His cabinet is characterised by recalls from the Cameron, May, Johnson and even Truss eras.  A cabinet of all the talents, internal constituencies or conflicting factions…

Company cultures are running on fumes: should we return to the office?

By Guy Corbet, Fourteen Forty

We’ve learned an awful lot about working from home.  It has given many people the freedom to combine work with more family time.  It has been the miracle that has kept the economy spluttering on through the lockdowns.   

Many now don’t want to go back to the old normal drudgery of commuting to the office. 

In the cold light of day, and in the long run, will that position really be possible to maintain?  And are we seeing that company cultures are already running on fumes? 

Five 2021 predictions to ignore (or at least take with a pinch of salt)

By Gareth Streeter, Fourteen Forty

Writers of “2021 predictions” lists have indulged the temptation to be both dramatic and definitive.  And they all follow one clear narrative.  Covid will depart.  It will leave behind it a world that is forever changed.

But does the available evidence bear this out?  Or have some of our would-be futurologists over-egged the pudding? 

What business wants to see from the new business secretary

By James Boyd-Wallis, Fourteen Forty

New business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng MP is on paper one of the most pro-free enterprise ministers to run the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) in years.

Weak Links #10: getting back to business

How should business prepare for 2021?

The vaccine is enabling politicians, business and the public to contemplate a return to normal.  But, as the Chancellor says, “the economic emergency is just beginning”.

So, how can businesses and brands adapt to and benefit from the changes in consumer behaviour? What should they do to prepare their people and their workplaces for the return?  How can we tackle late payments for good?

We hope you enjoy this edition of Weak Links and we wish you all a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year.