News - Page 114

It was news that very few will have wanted to hear, but the nation was left dismayed this week as prime minister Boris Johnson announced new national restrictions covering the whole of England in an attempt to curb rising Covid-19 cases.

Wednesday’s Prime Minister’s Questions in the House of Commons saw Boris Johnson and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer cross swords once more over the coronavirus test and trace system, while chancellor Rishi Sunak is understood to be considering his options to replace the furlough scheme when it ends on October 31. Meanwhile, CNC Property Fund Management managing director, Robert Locker, encourages leaders and employees to question the status quo and move away from blind adherence to established systems to help augment real knowledge.

All the major newspapers are leading with reports of Boris Johnson’s historic speech to the nation last night. Meanwhile, Dunstaffnage Marina have leant their support to the #RespectTheDestination campaign.

One of the central issues that is causing a lack of sleep for business leaders ahead of Brexit’s full enactment at the end of the year is the effect that it will have on imports and exports to and from Europe if a free trade deal cannot be agreed with the EU. Michael Dixon, operations director of cleaning and maintenance services provider, Clean Green Services, is one executive who shares these concerns, specifically around the import of raw materials which, if affected, will have cost implications for his firm.

In his first speech to the Labour Party Conference as its leader, Sir Keir Starmer has promised to win back the trust of voters and urged the party to “get serious about winning”. Meanwhile, Anoma Jayawickrema, director of Sandhurst-based florist, Lady Flora, appeared on the Leaders Council podcast to champion her leadership model, which she likened to that of a parent rather than a boss.

Prime minister Boris Johnson has today outlined new measures to curb the spread of Covid-19 and prevent a devastating second wave of deaths over the winter. Meanwhile, Tracy Pike MBE, the CEO of Welsh children’s charity Connecting Youth, Children & Adults [CYCA], has spoken about how her organisation has had to adapt its entire provision of services to continue to operate through the crisis so far, changes which should leave CYCA in good stead as the situation unfolds.

Atruchecks has announced that it now has partner clinics in London [five minutes from Heathrow Clinic], Bristol, Glasgow and Manchester to aid the collection of PCR swab samples for testing prior to passengers boarding a flight.

In this morning’s leadership roundup, The London Dermatology Centre has teamed up with Cosmopolitan UK to provide advice on how to replicate the post-holiday abroad complexion despite staying at home this summer, while the CEO and founder of IceMos Technology talks about the importance of continuous learning throughout one’s career. Elsewhere, and most relevant in these current times, the incumbent director of WRG Steel Partition discusses the qualities that leaders must display when navigating a crisis.

Monday’s headlines have been dominated by looming new Covid-19 lockdown restrictions, as the chief medical officer and chief scientific adviser appeared at a televised briefing from Downing Street to warn the nation that it had reached a critical juncture in fighting the pandemic, with cases and deaths likely to rise further without further measures being put in place.

Duncan Kelso, the co-owner and managing director of Kings Hill Golf Club in West Malling, has described the fall out from the 2008 financial crash as ‘one of our biggest challenges to date’ but early signs suggest that golf clubs will not be hit nearly as hard by the current economic crisis.

The Telegraph is reporting that chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty and chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance have paved the way for a second lockdown, warning that the UK is at a “critical point” in the Covid-19 pandemic and could see 50,000 cases per day by mid-October if further measures are not put in place.

In our weekly roundup of leadership quotations, we hear from Joe Biden, Marcus Rashford, Boris Johnson and Mark Nind.

Berkshire-based Sport4Kids have been up and running again for over two months, delivering lessons to thousands of kids and helping to restore their confidence after a period of isolation.

This morning's leadership roundup sees Sionic managing partner Xavier Pujos address the challenges of transitioning to remote working, while Hardy Signs turned over a new project within a two-day window and the Ski Club of Great Britain announced four new discount partnerships for its members.