Tag: stephen hazell smith

Messaging

A Transcendental Manifesto on Lexical Vectors

CITY GRUMP I CARE. PASSIONATELY. ABOUT THIS ARTICLE. With an almost theological fervour, I do. It is, indisputably, a paradigm-shifting game-changer. Therefore, permit me to curate this epistle for your edification. However, our inaugural manoeuvre must be to unpack, deconstruct, and interrogate the very lexicon that promises to incentivise proactive leverage and maximise cross-platform impactfulity for our 2026 journey. We are compelled to lean in, to synergise with the zeitgeist. This constitutes my formal reach-out. Let us be transparent: not a single iota … Continue reading A Transcendental Manifesto on Lexical Vectors

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Business, Technology

Hark the Herald, the Goths Rush in

CITY GRUMP An old City colleague led me to a letter in the Financial Times last week. It is an eye-opening wake-up call to our politicians, civil servants and anyone else who professes to be interested in spurring on what the letter writer calls the “UK tech ecosystem”. It concerns the takeover bid for a £1.2bn UK listed investment company you probably have never heard … Continue reading Hark the Herald, the Goths Rush in

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Industry

We Are Paying Way Too Much For Our Cuppa

CITY GRUMP The last time I was in Sri Lanka was in 1981, just before the long, long civil war broke out. I tried again in 2001 but the Tamil Tigers succeeded in blowing up six Sri Lankan Airways planes at Colombo airport, so that was that holiday out the window.  Mission Control and I finally succeeded in getting there last month. It is a … Continue reading We Are Paying Way Too Much For Our Cuppa

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Politics

Two Cheeks of a Soggy Bottom

CITY GRUMP “We did it !” declares a gleeful Starmer. You did indeed. You helped achieve the second lowest turnout at a General Election since 1885. You and the Conservative Party, at 60% of those who bothered to vote, were the lowest combined percentage vote since 1923. This can only mean one thing. The British have inspected the political physiques of these old Parties and … Continue reading Two Cheeks of a Soggy Bottom

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countryside, Transport

Gatwick Inspired by the Ministry of Truth?

THE CITY GRUMP Emblazoned across the front of Orwell’s Ministry of Truth is the slogan “Ignorance is Strength”. I was reminded of this the other day, when through the letterbox landed a leaflet from the Gatwick High Command headed “One step closer to a brighter future-for everyone”. And what does this brighter future hold for all of us?  A second runway, by their own calculations, … Continue reading Gatwick Inspired by the Ministry of Truth?

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Politics

Kate Bingham Reveals Whitehall as a Wasteland Run by Droids & Jobsworths

THE CITY GRUMP The incredibly successful driving force behind the vaccine rollout, Kate Bingham, in an interview with the Telegraph this week, has given us a frightening reveal into the horror that is Whitehall. I suppose I should be pleased, having written the City Grump, “Whitehall: The self-preserving, incompetent master of us all” but I actually feel quite sick as it means there is little hope … Continue reading Kate Bingham Reveals Whitehall as a Wasteland Run by Droids & Jobsworths

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Government

Whitehall: The Self-Preserving, Incompetent Master of Us All

THE CITY GRUMP The list goes on. Whether it’s the chaotic NHS, the inflation and interest rate situation, the Afghanistan fiasco or 10 Downing Street partying the pandemic nights away, the guiding force behind these and countless other horrors for at least the last 70 years is Whitehall. You may wish to blame our elected politicians for all and sundry but, for the most part, … Continue reading Whitehall: The Self-Preserving, Incompetent Master of Us All

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economy, Politics

Your MP is a Delinquent

THE CITY GRUMP The dictionary defines a delinquent as someone who “is failing in or neglectful of a duty or obligation”. The conduct of your MP in 2021 almost certainly fits that bill. Why? Because on just about every  single important domestic issue, be it Covid, the NHS, energy, inflation or education your MP has done the square root of nothing in holding the Government to … Continue reading Your MP is a Delinquent

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Government

Nudging Our Lives Away

THE CITY GRUMP This week a public-spirited “leaker” shone a light on the secretive world of the Whitehall Nudge Units when we learnt that the Behavioural Insights Unit (the official term for Nudge) want shoppers to be hit with a meat tax in order to help the environment. Also the nudgers are advocating the increase of the “relative availability” of plant-based food. Indeed children could … Continue reading Nudging Our Lives Away

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