Insights from Inline PolicyThe dominant media narrative on climate and energy policy under the Coalition Government had become something of a cliche. The Liberal Democrats were ‘the green heart’; the Tories were ‘arch-advocates of oil and gas’; the Lib Dems, led by Secretary of State Ed Davey, were the ‘champions of disruptive utilities companies’, taking on the power of the Big 6; and the Tories were ‘in the pockets of the big energy companies.’
Research released by the UK Electoral Commission in summer 2014 said that up to 7.5 million eligible people had not yet registered. Despite a major “use your vote” drive in recent weeks as the election campaign has swung into action, there will probably still be millions of voters who have effectively disenfranchised themselves from going to the ballot box on 7 May. The Commission has also estimated that, in the 2010 election, only 44% of 18-24 year-olds voted. So it would be fair to conclude that that there will be many young people who won’t vote on 7 May - a shame when, for most of them, it will have been their first opportunity to exercise their democratic prerogative.
With only 17 days until the UK General election, the two main parties remain deadlocked in the polls, which have moved little since the start of the campaign. The Conservatives’ strong lead on the economy and on leadership, has not been accompanied by enough of a detoxification of their party brand to pull ahead. The Labour Party is more trusted on its values and motives, but the public remains wary of its capacity to govern. The static nature of the polls has extended to the insurgent fringe and nationalist parties’, whose respective bubbles are yet to burst. These parties remain likely to have a considerable impact north of the border and in marginal seats across the UK.
Energy and environmental policies have been a regular talking-point during the period in office of this coalition government. Most of the public will have heard of David Cameron’s ambition that his should be the “greenest government ever”, while few speeches from Ed Miliband have grabbed the spotlight in the manner his “price freeze" party conference speech did in September 2013. Subjects which used to live in the world of policy and markets wonks - the link between wholesale and retail prices, the impact of energy efficiency measures, the cost of renewables, Russian gas pipelines, not to mention the controversies generated by fracking - have become almost mainstream topics.
With the UK General Election just six weeks away, the recent Budget was an opportune time for The Chancellor, George Osborne, to set out his stall and give the UK electorate a glimpse of what a Conservative-led Government after the election would prioritise. Among the macroeconomic announcements and promises were policies solely aimed at the growing financial technology (Fintech) sector. Both the Conservative Party and Labour Party now recognise the importance of this budding industry and have been quick to publicise their aspirations for the sector, should they lead the next Government.
The technology sector has rightly become a source of optimism for all UK politicians in recent years. Rapid growth, job creation and sustained investment have become the norm. Recently published statistics from Tech City UK in its Tech Nation report indicate that digital job growth in the UK will outperform all other occupation categories by 2020. In addition, 1.46 million people - 7.5% of the entire UK workforce - are already employed in the digital industries. Importantly, the report found that 74% of digital companies in the UK operate outside of London, with significant clusters of activity in areas such as Greater Manchester, Brighton and Hove, Belfast and South Wales. The supply side is clearly getting stronger with the presence of not just a thriving tech start-up scene, but also a significant number of established and global tech players operating, and investing, across the UK. On the flip side, the demand side is becoming more demanding. Businesses and consumers increasingly expect digital, and not analogue, to be the default. This, of course, is both a great challenge and opportunity for the sector.
With 100 days to go to the most unpredictable UK General Election in a generation, Inline Policy kicks off a series of analysis pieces on the election in the run up to May 7th. We start with ten themes that we believe could help define the outcome of the election:
In our recent analysis piece about the future regulation of remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS), we provided some insight into the main EU institutions and agencies involved in the creation of harmonised rules across Europe. Since then, the 2016 deadline the European Commission had initially set for new regulations to be approved has been removed, and not replaced.
In Lima, at the beginning of this week, after two weeks of the usual tortuous negotiations, the 196 parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) emerged with the Lima Call for Climate Action. This sets out the main priority issues for the parties in relation to the landmark COP 21 in Paris in December 2015 - the deadline for an international agreement on climate change - and attaches a 39-page document (a “non-paper”) containing various options for different elements of a draft negotiating text.
This note analyses Lima’s outcomes and the prospects for an international climate agreement in Paris 12 months away.
The battles lines ahead of next year’s general election have well and truly been set out by the UK Chancellor, George Osborne, who, in the last Autumn Statement of this Parliament, unveiled a series of policies designed to neuter his political opponents. With key deficit reduction targets continuing to be missed and questions about where the public spending axe will fall, the Chancellor faced a potentially difficult afternoon. Balancing the books clearly remains a formidable task.
This article follows up a recent piece I wrote on the importance of agreeing a 2030 climate and energy framework at last month’s European Council. Following that agreement in Brussels, this article analyses some of the interesting (and surprising) elements of the agreement, and looks ahead to how the agreement will be followed up over the next few months.
This Thursday and Friday, 23 and 24 October, at the European Council in Brussels, EU Heads of Government will take their most significant decision on climate change and energy policy for nearly six years, i.e. since the 2020 framework was passed into legislation. On the agenda this week is a prospective political agreement on the policy framework for climate and energy up to 2030, setting relevant targets to deliver that framework. Energy security is also on the agenda, with the Council reverting to its discussions in June on the European Commission report on how to reduce dependence on Russian gas.
Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS), more commonly referred to as ‘civil drones’ or ‘unmanned aerial vehicles’ (UAVs), can perform tasks that manned systems are sometimes unable to perform. They can be useful for surveillance purposes, border control, agriculture, firefighting, or media and entertainment, amongst other applications. The EU and some of its Member States have in recent years acknowledged the benefits of this new technology. The latter have, in certain cases, introduced new regulations that enable the industry to flourish, whilst minimising potential issues that may arise within their territory.
With the news on Monday that the UK Government has announced an independent sharing economy review, to be led by Love Home Swap CEO Debbie Wosskow, and also the recommendation last week from Labour Digital in its Number One in Digital report that the Government should “conduct a review the rules and regulations surrounding the sharing economy”, it is evident that this issue is becoming increasingly a topic at the forefront of politicians’ thinking. Given these developments, as well as the recent publication of reports from Nesta and PwC, it proved a timely moment for Inline to gather leading thinkers, business representatives and policy makers at both the Labour and Conservative Party conferences to discuss what this all means for the UK.
Following on from our event on Tuesday 23 September at the Labour Party conference, we have assembled another panel of leading thinkers on the sharing economy for an event at the Conservative Party conference on Monday 29 September. We will be discussing a number of issues such as the economic opportunity for the UK, and some of the emerging regulatory themes in the sharing economy.
We are delighted to be hosting fringe events at both the Labour and Conservative Party Conferences this year. We have assembled a panel of leading thinkers on the sharing economy to discuss everything from the economic opportunity for the UK, to some of the emerging regulatory trends. Panellists and event details for the Labour Party fringe event can be found below. The full Conservative Party fringe line-up will be announced early next week.
The American business magazine, Forbes, recently crowned London ‘the world’s most influential city’, paying special attention to the role it plays in leading innovation in technology. The accolade comes on the coattails of Chancellor George Osborne announcing the launch of a major new trade body for the UK FinTech industry, in London’s Canary Wharf.
On 28 July, the British Government announced its first licensing round for six years for companies who wish to prospect for onshore oil and gas. The announcement was top of the news agenda, and there was no mistaking the excitement in UK ministerial (and Conservative) voices as they claimed that the speeding-up of exploration for shale could boost jobs, economic growth and national energy security.
But a deeper analysis suggests that it would be wise to temper this enthusiasm with some realistic appraisal of the obstacles that will have to be addressed before we reach the ‘promised land’.
Now that the dust has settled a little, it’s worth examining Prime Minister David Cameron’s recent reshuffle in more detail, and what it might mean for the coalition’s policies on climate change and energy between now and next May’s General Election.
Price Comparison Websites (PCWs) are popular tools amongst tech-savvy consumers, especially in the consumer goods, energy and financial sectors. The key to their attractiveness is that they allow consumers to quickly search for and compare the best deals in the market. PCWs usually operate on either a flat-fee, or a commission-based model and attract new customers via online and offline advertising. Some of the biggest players have become very profitable, thus attracting new companies to enter the market.
