Alys Denby

Alys Denby is the opinion & features editor at City AM.

Articles

Ideas

The CapX Podcast: Meet ‘the 109ers’

Right now All the Government’s efforts are focussed on coronavirus, but what about the fundamental mandate it was elected on? As the vaccine roll-out continues apace, backbench MPs could be forgiven for raising their eyes to the horizon and starting to think about their prospects for re-election in 2024. By far the biggest Conservative cohort […]

Politics

Liz Truss has made the intellectual case for Conservative feminism, now the Government must get things done

Liz Truss has parked a big – and definitely not pink – tank on Labour’s lawn. In a barnstorming speech at the Centre for Policy Studies yesterday, the Equalities Minister said she would “reject the approach taken by the left, captured as they are by identity politics, loud lobby groups and the idea of ‘lived […]

Politics

CapX’s Covid Christmas

With Government and medical advice changing by the minute, we asked CapX writers what they’re actually planning to do this Christmas and what’s influenced their decisions. Christopher Snowdon I’ll be travelling from one Tier 2 area with a low infection rate to another Tier 2 area with a low infection rate, and if those swineherds […]

Culture

CapX books of the year

To mark the end of 2020 we asked CapX’s writers and editors which books – new or old, fiction or non-fiction – they enjoyed reading this year. Robert Colvile My most CapX-friendly recommendation is definitely Matt Ridley’s How Innovation Works, which I reviewed for the Times – a series of wonderful vignettes of technological advancement […]

Ideas

The CapX Podcast: Extreme Economies with Richard Davies

Not many economists have trekked through lawless jungles, visited shops and restaurants in the world’s most entrepreneurial refugee camp or hung out with inmates in a Louisiana mega-jail. For his book, Extreme Economies, Richard Davies went to some of the most desperate places on the planet, but found incredible stories of human resilience. People with […]

Ideas

Free Exchange: lockdown vs Liberty with Jonathan Sumption

Few have opposed the Government’s handling of the pandemic with as much eloquence and authority as Lord Sumption.  The former supreme court judge, medieval historian and Reith lecturer doesn’t just dispute the scientific evidence, he questions the legal and constitutional justification for these restrictions on our liberty. Listen to Lord Sumption speaking to CapX Deputy […]

Culture

There’s nothing wrong with naked statues

Naked, nubile, covered in silver and standing on top of what one writer described as “a spume-like column which is undeniably a bit jizz-ish,” the mother of feminism, Mary Wollstonecraft, has at last been honoured with a statue. The monument’s unveiling was met with a torrent criticism, with many pointing out that you never see […]

Politics

Money-grubbing: why MPs should still get ‘subsidised’ food

“Let them eat tripe,” commented one Twitter wag on enthusiastically signing a petition to stop MPs benefitting from ‘subsidised’ food. Almost a million people have joined in, pointing to the apparent hypocrisy of MPs dining out on the public purse while denying free school meals to poor children. Petitions like this are a sad reflection […]

Economics

Stop lecturing women about ‘sustainable’ fashion

Boohoo turned over nearly £1 billion in the last six months. The British online fashion retailer has defied the economic doom and gloom, and this week announced it has increased revenue by a staggering 45%. But if you listened to media commentators, campaigners, MPs and even fashion insiders you’d think that was a bad thing. […]

Economics

Missing the target – Gary Lineker’s pay cut won’t help women

Gary Lineker has taken a £400,000 pay cut. His BBC £1.75m salary will fall by 23% over the next five years, bringing his earnings close to that of his highest paid female colleague, Zoe Ball. It’s a nice gesture towards equalising pay between men and women, all part of what the Director General Tim Davie […]