The Friday Fix

Stephen Jones has had a ringside seat on the financial markets for 30 years. As Head of Investment Banking at Panmure Gordon , he’s seen the FTSE rise and fall and weathered the stormiest markets of active stock picking. Will the perils of 2023 prove too complex for businesses to navigate, or will they spur them on to innovation and transformation? Powerscourt’s Jane Glover holds the microphone fo...

Three generations of leaders at J. Murphy & Sons have helped build our energy infrastructure, but today’s construction landscape would barely be recognisable to the John Murphy who founded the firm in 1951. At a time when energy is front and centre of the global agenda, Powerscourt’s James White asks today’s guest  John Murphy : what support is needed to create a secure, decarbonised energy fu...

"I think this bill, however imperfect, will be great progress". Earlier this year, Powerscourt partner Justin Griffiths spoke to Mishcon De Reya managing associate  Harry Eccles-Williams about efforts to make the online world safer. As MPs again consider the reach of online legislation and how social platforms could be held responsible for users’ content, the pair return to examine propo...

In this week’s Friday Fix Podcast, Sam Austrums speaks to Charlotte Caldwell , a leading campaigner and mother of Billy Caldwell, the boy who changed the law on medical cannabis. Charlotte recaps on the milestones she and Billy have achieved in revolutionising access to medical cannabis in the UK.  Charlotte and Billy are working to provide financial respite for families paying expensive medical c...

Please note that listeners may find the topic of this episode distressing. However, we believe this important issue is essential to discuss. This week, we speak with Maggie O’Kane , a former award-winning war correspondent with The Guardian. During her journalism career, she covered the wars in Bosnia and Iraq.  She now oversees the Global Media Campaign to End FGM , a charity that funds frontline...

“Business news is about people as much as it is about numbers”: Chris Williams , Business Editor at The Daily Telegraph, talks to his former colleague Russ Lynch about the stories that make it into those coveted column inches. What are readers really looking for? How is data influencing the editorial agenda? And what’s next for business in 2023? Listen to all episodes on our website . Follow Power...

This week, MPs began debating amendments to the Official Secrets Act, but one potential new clause was conspicuously absent. A public interest defence for responsible whistle-blowers was not selected by the government for consideration in the House of Commons despite strong cross-party support. Powerscourt consultant Harold Amoo , who has been working on this legislation with director Mark Leftly...

Have developing nations had a meaningful seat at the table? Will the midterms affect Biden’s climate agenda? And are the world’s largest emitters taking responsibility?  Speaking from Sharm el-Sheikh, Sustainability team member Jourdan Webb tunes into the mood music at COP27, discussing these questions and more with Georgia Way from Powerscourt 360. Sign up to receive our COP27 wraps here Listen t...

This week’s Powerscourt Friday Fix looks at COP27, the annual UN climate conference which begins next week. This year is all about implementation: how will nations, businesses, scientists and civil society make headway on those environmental commitments made in previous years? What is “loss and damage”, and why is it expected to make headlines?  Our team of sustainability experts, Leighton Barnish...

During the cost-of-living crisis, businesses are facing profound challenges communicating price changes, financial performance, remuneration and sustainability. How can communicators strike the right tone, avoid pitfalls, and strengthen reputations? Powerscourt campaigns director and ex-Telegraph economics editor Russ Lynch spoke to an expert panel about how companies should navigate these difficu...

Powerscourt’s Gilly Lock , Director in the Financials team, and Mark Leftly , Head of Public Affairs, react to the political chaos which saw Liz Truss become the shortest reigning Prime Minister in British history. They discuss what’s next in politics and markets, the likely Conservative leadership contenders, and the outlook for the next General Election. Listen to all episodes on our website . F...

Powerscourt’s head of financials Justin Griffiths is joined by Global Counsel ’s Joe Armitage , UK politics and policy practice lead analyst, to discuss whether the Government is talking an increasingly interventionalist approach to M&A involving sensitive UK industries, including some advice for companies who might find themselves within the scope of the Act. Listen to all episodes on our web...

This week’s political events have been somewhat tumultuous. Hearing from Larry Elliott (Economics Editor of The Guardian), Mehreen Khan (Economics Editor of The Times) and Rebecca Park (Senior Practice Director at Global Counsel) on the subject from the Powerscourt Webinar ‘All Trussed Up’.  The expert panel answer the questions we are all asking:  Is Liz Truss’s government a lame duck?  Will we s...

“The business community has clearly moved to the Labour Party, reminiscent really of the way the business embraced New Labour in 1997”: After another turbulent political week, Powerscourt public affairs director Simon Petar is joined by our founder and CEO Rory Godson . They share their take on this year’s Labour conference amidst the new Truss government’s economic woes. Powerscourt's Comms...

Powerscourt partner Victoria Palmer-Moore speaks to Alex Cole , founder of the Ithaca Center for Corporate Affairs Leadership, about her experience managing communications during Kraft's 2010 takeover of iconic British brand Cadbury. Follow Powerscourt on Twitter and LinkedIn . Listen to all episodes on our website .

With the final two Conservative party leadership candidates selected, Russ Lynch and Mark Leftly cast their critical eyes over their standing within the selectorate, and look at how the Conservative party got to where it is today. This is the last episode in this series of The Powerscourt Friday Fix. Until we return after the summer, follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn .

“The business community is probably about as divided as the Tory Party is at the moment”: Jim Armitage , business editor of The Sunday Times, sits down for breakfast with Russ Lynch to tell him what he is hearing  from the business community about the conservative leadership contest. 

“What is extraordinary is the gall of Boris to try to hang on when so many of his Cabinet and his backbenchers wanted him to go”: Gina Miller , leader of the True & Fair Party, shares her thoughts on the collapse of Boris Johnson’s government and what the Conservative’s next steps might be. Interviewed this week by Mark Leftly , head of politics at Powerscourt. Follow Powerscourt on Twitter an...

“I received a press release about the stress of being the target of multiple emails – and then there was a follow up email saying ‘Did you receive my email about the stress of receiving so many emails?’” Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday business editor Ruth Sunderland speaks to Russ Lynch about combining newsrooms, the shifting gender balance in business journalism, and her most burning frustrations...

"I believe there is a huge demand for business and finance news and analysis being done in a different way": Graham Ruddick , former deputy business editor at The Times, lifts the lid on his switch to newsletter subscription platform Substack and what drives him to challenge the status quo of contemporary journalism. This episode is hosted by Russ Lynch , a director in Powerscourt’s camp...

"Everybody is affected, every single employer is thinking about how they use the office": Charlie Green , co-founder & co-CEO of The Office Group (TOG) speaks to Justin Griffiths about how the pandemic has reshaped how and where we work. The office is far from dead - it is alive and kicking, just not as we used to know it! Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn .

"There are half a million customers playing in the black market. They're spending over £3 billion where there is no protection, no interaction, no intervention in any shape or form": Grainne Hurst , director of corporate affairs at international sports betting and gaming company Entain, shares her hopes and concerns ahead of the governments' long-awaited Gambling Act review. In...

“Fraud accounts for 42% of all crime against individuals. It's the most commonly experienced crime in England and Wales”: Baroness Nicky Morgan speaks to Powerscourt’s head of politics Mark Leftly about her work chairing the House of Lords Select Committee on Digital Fraud. Follow Powerscourt on Twitter and LinkedIn

“There's a kind of logical dissonance to dismissing the fact that the protocol is in itself a consequence of Brexit”: Powerscourt alumnus Matthew O’Toole , Social Democratic and Labour Party MLA for Belfast South, discusses the current challenges of the Northern Ireland Protocol with Powerscourt CEO Rory Godson . Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn

“Hopefully the stigma is starting to relax”: James Short , CEO of Celadon Pharmaceuticals , speaks about changing public perceptions of medical cannabis in the UK. Interview by Sarah MacLeod , head of healthcare at Powerscourt. Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn .