Uncategorised

Keeping up with Connect: House of Lords – Content or Not Content?

17 August 2018

In the first of a series of debates on the Connect blog, Isabella Hunter-Fajardo makes the case for the House of Lords.

House of Laws: in defence of the Second Chamber

The wealth of experience in the Second Chamber is an asset to the UK’s legislative process. At Connect, we often track Bills, or even specific amendments and clauses for clients as they progress through Parliament. Seeing the depth and quality of debate during the respective stages of legislation in the Commons and Lords has given me an appreciation of the role the Upper House plays. Read more

The Tories are developing a manifesto: now is the time to shape their thinking

14 August 2018

After a week’s blanket coverage of his recent column in the Daily Telegraph, Boris Johnson has this week shifted his focus from burqas to building and to the government’s biggest domestic challenge: addressing the housing crisis. Perhaps he has taken note of another Conservative MP Chris Skidmore writing, this time in the Sunday Telegraph, that Conservatives must start talking about the bread and butter issues that matter to voters Read more

Testing times for housing: will the new Housing Delivery Test make a difference?

13 August 2018

Increasing the supply of housing has been a stated aim of every government of recent times.  When David Cameron was Prime Minister he set out an ambition to build a million homes by 2020.   Theresa May’s stated target is to deliver 300,000 homes a year in this Parliament.   There has been some divergence in policy between the two Conservative Prime Ministers – a shift away from a home-owning democracy and promoting Help-to-Buy towards a renewed focus on increasing the provision of affordability and a tougher position on the Buy-to-Let market. But the key theme is much the same – to build more homes. Read more

Local elections and what to watch out for

18 April 2018

On May 3rd, 4350 local council seats are up for election in 151 council areas, including all 32 London Boroughs. These elections will determine who runs local council services and will also be seen as a significant test of support for the main political parties and their Leaders.  Read more

Education and human capital

7 March 2018

Connect are currently working with Schole, a UK based company that is doing great things to bring investment to education in East Africa. Our role is to help tell their story, and it is a fascinating one, not least because they are making a difference without a penny of aid from the UK government. Read more

Nationalisation – a lot of water under the bridge before it happens?

2 March 2018

Nationalisation – a lot of water under the bridge before it happens?

A recent report by the Social Market Foundation, the non-partisan centrist think tank,  estimated that the up-front cost of nationalising the water industry would be £90bn. The SMF also estimated that the government would need over £100bn over the next 25 years to meet the long-term investment needed within the sector. Read more

Women and Work APPG announces 2018 theme – How to Recruit Women for the 21st Century

26 February 2018

The Women and Work APPG is delighted to announce its 2018 theme, How to Recruit Women for the 21st Century. Throughout our work in the past two years we have heard repeatedly from different sources about the ways in which employers struggle to attract and recruit women. Read more

The politics of foreign property ownership

15 February 2018

The issue of housing is already showing itself to be key in the run up to local elections this year. Faced with the prospect of Labour gains, the recent government announcement of a new public register of ultimate owners of UK properties is both an attempt to push through legislation ahead of the EU withdrawal, and to show that government is thinking about issues other than Brexit. Read more

You can enjoy the EU (Withdrawal Bill) all the way to the summer…

8 February 2018

The EU (Withdrawal) Bill has come a long way, and there is a long way to go. But the debates that are coming up will shape the politics of Brexit; in some cases, they may shape our future relationship with the EU. Read more

2018 set to be best year ever for the Women and Work APPG #Vote100

6 February 2018

Connect is proud to support #Vote100 today, celebrating 100 years since Parliament passed the Representation of the People Act giving the first women the right to vote. Since 2016 our work with the Women and Work All-Party Parliamentary Group has examined how employers and policy makers can help to deliver gender balance in the workplace. The APPG’s first report, Women Returners, helped to shape Government policy with the introduction of £5 million funding for returnships. The Group’s second report, Making the Industrial Strategy work for women, was published last month. We are pleased to have launched the APPG’s 2018 programme of work, How to Recruit Women for the 21^st Century, which will examine the recruitment process from start to finish and develop recommendations to improve female representation across the employment and labour market.