In her Mansion House speech in November, Rachel Reeves declared: "The UK has been regulating for risk, but not regulating for growth."
At the time, given it was an address to the City, her remark was primarily taken as focusing on the present financial watchdogs. Which indeed is what Reeves herself implied by dwelling on the aftermath of the 2008 banking crash. "It was right that successive governments made regulatory changes after the global financial crisis to ensure that regulation kept pace with the global economy of the time but it is important that we learn the lessons of the past. These changes have resulted in a system which sought to eliminate risk-taking. That has gone too far and, in places, it has had unintended consequences that we must now address."
The Chancellor did say, though: "We need economic reform to unlock the full growth potential of the British economy. Our approach to regulation is a critical part of that. As the Prime Minister has already set out, the key test for regulation is whether it will make our economy more dynamic and more competitive. So we will review the strategic guidance that we give to the [Competition and Markets Authority] and to other major regulators to underline the importance of growth."
After that there was scarcely much mention, as instead, Reeves and her colleagues appeared to become ground down in resisting domestic and international economic blows. Then last week, representatives of the British Chambers of Commerce assembled for a meeting with Lord Livermore, Financial Secretary to the Treasury. They were taken aback to be joined by Livermore’s boss. Reeves wanted to hear first-hand their woes and wishes. She’d done something similar with the Confederation of British Industry.
It was an easing of the regulatory burden they desired. They wanted a new approach, one that was less pernickety and obstructive, and would drive business and with that, growth.
This week, Reeves will "haul in" leading watchdog heads to tell them: "You’ve got to get serious about growth." Those facing her will be the Competition and Markets Authority, Ofcom, Ofgem, the Environment Agency and the Financial Conduct Authority. Next week, it will be the turn of other agencies. They will be instructed: "I want your ideas about how you’re going to stop regulating for risk and go for growth instead."
To the cynical eye, it’s reminiscent of when Rishi Sunak took charge and sent a memo round all the Whitehall departments asking for their suggestions as to how to grow the economy. He added a qualification, that they were not allowed to use anything from Liz Truss, his predecessor as prime minister. Britain, it seems, is increasingly reliant upon officials coming up with proposals rather than those who actually lead the country.
Still, Reeves has set her course. It is evident, too, in PM Keir Starmer’s announcement concerning the adoption of AI. Out will go caution and in its place will be a decision to back the new technology wholesale, including the fast-tracking of planning permissions for AI businesses.
The scale of the problem is evident, however, in a paper from the think tank Policy Exchange. The Rise of the Regulators, published six weeks ago, contains a foreword from Lord Sedwill, a former cabinet secretary. It argues that the UK’s regulatory framework is being driven by what he calls a "risk aversion ratchet", which incentivises an ever-growing burden of rules and requirements.
"The ratchet is the product of a political culture which is increasingly safetyist, a bureaucracy in which it is remarkably easy to generate new regulations and a complete lack of incentives to remove redundant or pernicious regulations from the rulebook. And it makes lessening the regulatory burden extremely hard for any government."
This is the issue. Saying one thing and putting it into practice is not always so easy, not where a long-established machine with a set way of working is concerned.
Cutting red tape
President-elect Donald Trump may find the same as he attempts to dismantle bureaucracy in the US (there is no doubt that the arrival of the free-speaking, buccaneering next president has galvanised thinking in the US and across the world).
For every rule, no matter how petty, there will be someone defending it. Policy Exchange found that Whitehall regulators have almost doubled the number of staff they employ over the past decade. Head-counts at seven of the top watchdogs have increased by 84 per cent from 2013-14. The Financial Reporting Council boosted its roll by 256 per cent between 2013-14 and 2023-24. Over the same period, the Financial Conduct Authority saw a rise of 117 per cent and Ofcom’s tally went up by 88 per cent. The Competition and Markets Authority, Food Standards Agency, Natural England and the Care Quality Commission experienced similar rises.
Policy Exchange says complying with red tape costs the UK economy £70 billion ($85.33 billion) a year, or between 3 per cent and 4 per cent of GDP. It calls for the slashing of regulations by 25 per cent. This would be accompanied by a comprehensive regulations register – the mind boggles as to its size – together with a one-in, two-out condition for the introduction of new rules.
Yes, yes and yes. But it’s hard to avoid the sense of deja vu. In 1992, Michael Heseltine as Trade Secretary was tasked with "hacking back the jungle of red tape". Which begs the question, if it was a jungle back then, what is it now?
Heseltine promised a "bonfire" of regulations. That identical word was used by David Cameron. In 2015, Cameron replaced the then one-in, two-out rule – see, it existed a decade ago – with a one-in, three-out measure, which meant for every pound of new regulatory burden introduced, government departments had to reduce burden elsewhere by at least three times that amount.
Liz Truss also seized on the same description, saying "a red tape bonfire will encourage business investment and boost growth". Not to be outdone, Starmer has said the same.
Tragedy hangs over rules
There is another word that gives lie to their bravado and highlights the practical difficulty, certainly in Britain, also involving a fire, albeit one that was terrible: Grenfell. The victims of that disaster died because insufficient building regulations were in place and the ones that were there were not properly enforced.
Possibly, that applies as well to the current wildfires in Los Angeles. The city’s mayoral authority might have diverted cash earmarked for the fire department but that is because it could, there was nothing in law that said it couldn’t. That’s speculation at this stage, admittedly, but it illustrates what Trump may discover and where this debate could head in the coming months and years.
We wish it to happen, we really do. But we live in a lawyered-up age in which one misjudged step can result in a heavy price. Hopefully, Reeves and Starmer will get somewhere, there will be tangible cuts and, with them, savings and the much sought-after growth. The ratchet will be loosened. Do not hold your breath. Remember Heseltine. When was it again? 1992.
The five pillars of Islam
if you go
The flights
Etihad, Emirates and Singapore Airlines fly direct from the UAE to Singapore from Dh2,265 return including taxes. The flight takes about 7 hours.
The hotel
Rooms at the M Social Singapore cost from SG $179 (Dh488) per night including taxes.
The tour
Makan Makan Walking group tours costs from SG $90 (Dh245) per person for about three hours. Tailor-made tours can be arranged. For details go to www.woknstroll.com.sg
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
MATCH INFO
RB Leipzig 2 (Klostermann 24', Schick 68')
Hertha Berlin 2 (Grujic 9', Piatek 82' pen)
Man of the match Matheus Cunha (Hertha Berlin
More from Neighbourhood Watch
Zayed Sustainability Prize
The five pillars of Islam
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
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The Settlers
Director: Louis Theroux
Starring: Daniella Weiss, Ari Abramowitz
Rating: 5/5
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
The years Ramadan fell in May
Dates for the diary
To mark Bodytree’s 10th anniversary, the coming season will be filled with celebratory activities:
- September 21 Anyone interested in becoming a certified yoga instructor can sign up for a 250-hour course in Yoga Teacher Training with Jacquelene Sadek. It begins on September 21 and will take place over the course of six weekends.
- October 18 to 21 International yoga instructor, Yogi Nora, will be visiting Bodytree and offering classes.
- October 26 to November 4 International pilates instructor Courtney Miller will be on hand at the studio, offering classes.
- November 9 Bodytree is hosting a party to celebrate turning 10, and everyone is invited. Expect a day full of free classes on the grounds of the studio.
- December 11 Yogeswari, an advanced certified Jivamukti teacher, will be visiting the studio.
- February 2, 2018 Bodytree will host its 4th annual yoga market.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
More coverage from the Future Forum
Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Three-day coronation
Royal purification
The entire coronation ceremony extends over three days from May 4-6, but Saturday is the one to watch. At the time of 10:09am the royal purification ceremony begins. Wearing a white robe, the king will enter a pavilion at the Grand Palace, where he will be doused in sacred water from five rivers and four ponds in Thailand. In the distant past water was collected from specific rivers in India, reflecting the influential blend of Hindu and Buddhist cosmology on the coronation. Hindu Brahmins and the country's most senior Buddhist monks will be present. Coronation practices can be traced back thousands of years to ancient India.
The crown
Not long after royal purification rites, the king proceeds to the Baisal Daksin Throne Hall where he receives sacred water from eight directions. Symbolically that means he has received legitimacy from all directions of the kingdom. He ascends the Bhadrapitha Throne, where in regal robes he sits under a Nine-Tiered Umbrella of State. Brahmins will hand the monarch the royal regalia, including a wooden sceptre inlaid with gold, a precious stone-encrusted sword believed to have been found in a lake in northern Cambodia, slippers, and a whisk made from yak's hair.
The Great Crown of Victory is the centrepiece. Tiered, gold and weighing 7.3 kilograms, it has a diamond from India at the top. Vajiralongkorn will personally place the crown on his own head and then issues his first royal command.
The audience
On Saturday afternoon, the newly-crowned king is set to grant a "grand audience" to members of the royal family, the privy council, the cabinet and senior officials. Two hours later the king will visit the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, the most sacred space in Thailand, which on normal days is thronged with tourists. He then symbolically moves into the Royal Residence.
The procession
The main element of Sunday's ceremonies, streets across Bangkok's historic heart have been blocked off in preparation for this moment. The king will sit on a royal palanquin carried by soldiers dressed in colourful traditional garb. A 21-gun salute will start the procession. Some 200,000 people are expected to line the seven-kilometre route around the city.
Meet the people
On the last day of the ceremony Rama X will appear on the balcony of Suddhaisavarya Prasad Hall in the Grand Palace at 4:30pm "to receive the good wishes of the people". An hour later, diplomats will be given an audience at the Grand Palace. This is the only time during the ceremony that representatives of foreign governments will greet the king.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Expert input
If you had all the money in the world, what’s the one sneaker you would buy or create?
“There are a few shoes that have ‘grail’ status for me. But the one I have always wanted is the Nike x Patta x Parra Air Max 1 - Cherrywood. To get a pair in my size brand new is would cost me between Dh8,000 and Dh 10,000.” Jack Brett
“If I had all the money, I would approach Nike and ask them to do my own Air Force 1, that’s one of my dreams.” Yaseen Benchouche
“There’s nothing out there yet that I’d pay an insane amount for, but I’d love to create my own shoe with Tinker Hatfield and Jordan.” Joshua Cox
“I think I’d buy a defunct footwear brand; I’d like the challenge of reinterpreting a brand’s history and changing options.” Kris Balerite
“I’d stir up a creative collaboration with designers Martin Margiela of the mixed patchwork sneakers, and Yohji Yamamoto.” Hussain Moloobhoy
“If I had all the money in the world, I’d live somewhere where I’d never have to wear shoes again.” Raj Malhotra
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
