Government

Looking back, 2019 racked up a grim tally of business failures, with roughly one contractor going bust every fortnight. Sadly, there is not much reason to suppose that 2020 will prove any kinder to overstretched firms struggling with sticky cashflow. The economic backdrop certainly seems unlikely to help. While December’s…

Dominic Cummings, the prime minister’s senior adviser, amplified his reputation for beyond-the-box thinking last week with a rambling blog post that doubled as a recruitment advertisement. According to his article, Cummings aims to make himself “largely redundant” within a year by bringing in various strains of fresh blood to No…

It has been quite a year for construction. CN editor Lem Bingley has a look back at some of the highlights – and, inevitably, low points

January Our first issue of the year investigated a spike in site fires, with incidences of arson having climbed sharply according to Home Office figures…

“Many of us has dreamed of a day when the Conservative Party genuinely speaks for every part of the country. "We have won from Workington to Woking, we have won in Bishop Auckland, in Darlington, in seats that Conservatives have not won for 100 years or more. Wrexham. Tony Blair’s…

Whoever wins today’s election – or manages to cobble together some sort of rag-tag coalition – there is one thing the construction industry can look forward to: more public sector spending. The two major parties have each made big pledges to ramp up capital investment in the country’s hospitals, schools,…

As the looming general election draws ever closer, thoughts turn to what might happen after the votes have been counted. Whatever the makeup of the new parliament, the needs of the construction sector will remain the same. And as we are nearing the festive period – a season for making…

Ahead of next week’s ballot, Caroline Wadham trawls through the parties’ manifestos and highlights the policies that could make a difference to the construction industry

Conservatives Commitment to large schemes, such as Northern Powerhouse Rail and the Midlands Rail Hub, as part of a £100bn “infrastructure revolution”. A £28.8bn investment…

Set up by the government in 2013 to drive improvements in the industry, the Construction Leadership Council has since been serially snubbed by ministers. CN asks whether the CLC has a future

As industry figures gathered in early November for this year’s sixth and final meeting of the Construction Leadership Council (CLC),…

The National Federation of Builders has called for the establishment of a new Ministry of Carbon, to take charge of the national commitment to make the UK a net-zero emitter by 2050. It seems a very reasonable request, given the dramatic scale of change required to cut out carbon emissions…

The age of austerity is over, both main political parties agree. Labour has been promising to end it for years and the Conservatives now also declare that they will deliver huge investment in public services. Northern rail, police and hospitals are among the areas in which money can now be…