Government

In the middle of last week, I wrote to Alok Sharma, the secretary of state for business and industry, to draw attention to the safety risks currently resulting from government policy around COVID-19 and construction. While many believe the government has banned all but essential construction work, that is only…

Schemes include blighted former Carillion builds, a proton-beam therapy unit and a hospital set for an early opening in response to the COVID-19 outbreak

Earlier this week we published an article offering tips on good leadership. As we all grapple with the unfamiliar challenges thrown up by the coronavirus crisis, I hope the ideas presented might help you avoid some of the deeper pitfalls. Much of the advice focuses on the issue of uncertainty…

Construction has never been the most demonstrative of industries. But the strength of feelings within it, amplified by the current crisis, came pouring out in response to the Construction News coronavirus survey, the results of which can be found here for the statistics, and here for the personal testimonies. For…

Fear, anger and resentment are the three sentiments that leap out from the personal messages left by those that responded to the Construction News coronavirus survey. Of the 1,043 respondents, most left multiple comments conveying shock and anxiety at the situation they find themselves in, barely checked fury as well…

What plagues construction? Willmott Dixon boss Rick Willmott sits down with editor Lem Bingley to discuss Brexit, a global pandemic, reverse VAT and why government is still misunderstanding the sector

For someone who has built a political career on distilling highly complex matters into three-word election-winning slogans – Take Back Control, Get Brexit Done – how on earth has the prime minister contrived to turn what should be a very simple and clear message into a confused and convoluted mess?…

The country has entered territory where normal rules no longer apply in most aspects of life, but in one key area it remains very much business as usual. I’m not referring to construction, but to the professional tendency of politicians to prevaricate. We are governed by a generation of politicos…

At Budget-time, it’s the accepted job of any chancellor to present as rosy a picture of the government’s spending plans as possible. It’s the job of everyone else – outside of the presiding party – to become the butcher intent on trimming it: working out what’s true, what’s feasible and…

Live updates and all the industry reaction as the chancellor delivers the 2020 Budget