Chris Blackhurst

Chris Blackhurst

Contributor


Investors have used the war in Ukraine to justify buying shares in weapons manufacturers that were once taboo. Getty Images
Defence stocks lined up to offer lifeline to ESG as investors fade away

Investment category based on ethical concerns has been buffeted by retreats like that of BP from net-zero goals

October 15, 2024
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer with Chancellor Rachel Reeves. Dinner at St Paul's Cathedral is on the menu at the investment summit. PA/AP
Looming tax rises threatens UK's £30bn investment summit

Labour clobbering companies with higher taxes will not be a good look for Keir Starmer at the UK's mini-Davos

October 09, 2024
With Britain committed to net zero emissions by 2050, Port Talbot stood out as a blot on the horizon. Reuters
UK in crosshairs of net zero targets with an electric dilemma to solve

Move towards net zero could start to be viewed as a cost rather than a positive step forward

October 01, 2024
The towering Samson and Goliath cranes at Harland & Wolff shipyard, a hallmark of the Belfast skyline. AFP
British government in a quandary over the sinking ship of Harland & Wolff

Keir Starmer's team must decide if they are to step in with a loan to keep the Belfast shipyard afloat

September 24, 2024
Boris Johnson has gone into business with a uranium energy executive and a woman he appointed to the House of Lords. AFP
Boris Johnson caught between chasing money and politics

Britain's party political conference season is well under way but ex-prime minister is far from the fray

September 20, 2024
The Spectator now has a more tech-savvy readership. Bloomberg
The Spectator fulfils its promise, sold as one-of-a-kind trophy asset

A digital future means the capacity exists for all manner of spin-offs under the magazine's historic banner

September 10, 2024
Britain's business community is braced for what is coming. Bloomberg
Keir Starmer's tax rises and drumroll makes relocation a temptation for executives

Trust won before Labour's general election victory has all but perished

September 03, 2024
Waheed Alli's links to the UK's youth subculture endeared him to Labour's inner circle for decades. Getty Images
Who is Waheed Alli, the Labour donor in Starmer cronyism row?

TV executive and life peer held no formal job in government but was given unrestricted access

August 27, 2024
Prime Minister Keir Starmer is under pressure from unions to accept pay demands for public sector workers. PA
Starmer's fragile honeymoon threatened as Labour bows to unions

Britain faces 1970s-style tumult if it fails to rein in unruly public sector unions

August 20, 2024
Asda is no longer the company of firsts that won customers and profits. Getty Images
Blunt call for change at the top exposes struggles at stumbling giant Asda

Chairman Stuart Rose has been publicly critical of performance and suggested co-owner Mohsin Issa step aside from its daily running

August 14, 2024
Britain's authorities have been accused of being slow to address growing far-right protests across the UK's towns and cities. Getty
Keir Starmer must bring far-right agitators to heel over race riots

Authorities have been slow to react to the riots but must now galvanise to defeat mindless hatred

August 07, 2024
Spectators watch from a fan zone set up at the Hotel de Ville, as Simone Biles, of the US, performs on the vault during a women's artistic gymnastics qualification round at the 2024 Summer Olympics. AP
Captivating Olympic Games a success for masterful branding

Global event unites the world every four years in a way that other occasions simply cannot match

July 31, 2024
Market traders are closely watching the US presidential election. Bloomberg
Markets ripple for Trump vs Harris race as Joe Biden leaves the stage

As Joe Biden leaves the stage, prepare for a much closer, very likely nastier, fight – one that tilts in one direction then another

July 24, 2024
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer meets with French President Emmanuel Macron in July at a Nato gathering. AFP
Labour’s Europe reset prioritises security over business

There’s been too much bad blood, mostly emanating from the UK side, for full-scale rapprochement

July 16, 2024
Labour must remember the NHS is one of the electorate's priorities. PA
Is seeking health and wealth enough to reinvent the UK economy?

Unless Reeves and Streeting make good progress on the NHS and grow the economy, the political tide could turn

July 10, 2024