Onward Bulletin 15.06.2021
The latest research, events and news straight to your inbox every Tuesday.
Hello and welcome to Onward’s weekly summary of research, events and opinion. We hope you enjoy it. If you do, tell your friends or donate to support our work.
Onward activity
IN THE NEWS:
Onward Director, Will Tanner, argued the case for a global minimum rate of corporation tax for Reaction.
Our event last week discussing how football should be reformed with Gary Neville has featured in the Mirror, Independent, Herald and on BBC Sport.
Our Social Fabric research was featured in an article for The House.
EVENTS:
Today at 4.30pm we are excited to host an event to discuss the relationship between business and society after the pandemic. We’re joined by a stellar panel, including John Penrose MP and Andrew Griffith MP. Register here.
This Friday 18th June at 11.am we host another event to discuss how civic service can give young people a future post-pandemic. We’re delighted to welcome a panel including Rt Hon Lord David Blunkett and Danny Kruger MP, among others. Register here.
The second event in our Clean Comeback series will be on Monday 21st June on Future Farming and how we can harness the power of agriculture to tackle climate change with Victoria Prentis MP. Register here.
Yesterday evening the Prime Minister announced that we will have to wait a little longer to see the back of the current set of restrictions. Given the rising rate of transmission, this was the best of a bad bunch of decisions the Government could have made. But it has the unfortunate effect of prolonging the hardship of many businesses desperate to get back to normal trading after eighteen months of hell.
We have now had over a year when the lines between business and society, and public and private interest, have been blurred. At the peak, taxpayer funds propped up 30% of the UK workforce, allowing businesses to stay afloat and pay cheques to keep flowing in. In turn, hundreds of British businesses stepped up to the plate, engineering ventilators, delivering food packages to the vulnerable and most importantly, developing effective vaccines. These efforts were done in pursuit of public interests, often at the expense of profit maximisation.
But we know that not everyone has acted in good faith. Fraudulent use of the furlough scheme has been widely reported, so much so that HMRC hopes to recover approximately £1 billion over the next two years in fraudulent or mistaken use of the job retention scheme. Even this will be a drop in the ocean. The National Audit Office estimates between £15 and £26 billion owed to the Exchequer will be lost as a result of fraudulent behaviour and a failure to repay Bounce Back loans. Many businesses have faced criticism for paying bonuses and high salaries during the most profound economic shock in living memory.
There are also several policy developments that promise to reshape the relationship between businesses and society. The current BEIS consultation on corporate governance and audit is well timed to capture people’s changing attitudes to the role of the state and that of enterprise. To quote the consultation, auditing and proper corporate behaviour should “be an ally of good business behaviour and a spur to directors to meet their legal obligations to shareholders, creditors and other stakeholders, which ultimately serves the public interest.”
This suggests that even as lockdowns end and life returns to normal, the longer term effects of the last eighteen months may be felt in stock markets and public debates for years to come. It may well be that the pandemic foreshadows a new relationship between businesses and the societies they operate within.
This afternoon we are hosting a panel discussion in partnership with EY on the social contract between business and society. You can register to join the event here.
Policy Bites
Cycling Minister Chris Heaton-Harris has announced that local authorities in England will be granted new powers to support cyclists and create greener transport networks. Link.
G7 leaders have agreed to establish the Build Back Better World plan to rival China’s Belt and Road Initiative. Link. (Watch Onward’s recent event discussing a Western alternative to China’s Belt and Road here.)
Quick Links
Long-covid Britain. Josh Glancy explores the causes, symptoms and existence of long-covid in the UK. Link.
Dissecting centrism. James Kanagasooriam argues that voters’ perceptions of politicians are driven chiefly by “political cakeism”, as opposed to ideological coherence. Link.
Rethinking education. Louise Hayward argues the case for reforming the education system post-pandemic. Link.
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