<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/550aa651dd0895d1658b4648-1200-924/george-osborne-26.jpg" border="0" alt="George Osborne"><a href="http://pictures.reuters.com/">REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth</a>Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, speaks with children who entered a competition to design the new 1-pound coin, at number 11 Downing Street in London March 17, 2015.</img></div></div></div><a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/uk-2015-budget-announcement-breakdown-george-osborne-2015-3">Yesterday's budget</a> told us a few things about what the priorities of a future Conservative government would be: Bringing down the deficit while avoiding being accused of bringing down the public sector with it. One thing it manifestly failed to do, however, was tell us how all this was going to be achieved.The headlines in today's newspapers are calling it the "sunshine budget" after Chancellor George Osborne told the House of Commons that he was fixing Britain's roof as the first rays of sun were shining through. But the government's debt reduction plans still have a gaping hole - it's not at all clear which departments are actually going to take a hit.Despite Osborne's protestations, most people were expecting a budget packed full of gimmicks and giveaways as the election looms large over Westminster. We certainly got a few of them (a 1p cut to beer duty and more help to first-time house buyers with a Help to Buy ISA scheme), but the big surprise was that the Chancellor saved the biggest giveaway for the 2020 General Election.In a move designed to undercut claims that he was cutting back total government spending as a share of GDP to levels not seen since the 1930s, he found £20 billion more to spend on public services in the last year of the next parliament. And this is what it looks like in chart form:<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/550aa651dd0895d1658b4646-713-407/cdn_budgetresponsibility_independent_gov_uk_march2015efo_18-03-webv1_pdf.png" border="0" alt="OBR UK Budget"><a href="http://cdn.budgetresponsibility.independent.gov.uk/March2015EFO_18-03-webv1.pdf">OBR</a></img></div></div></div>This means that instead of reducing total spending to a post-war low over the next five years, the Conservatives only plan to reduce it to levels last seen in 1964, <a href="http://www.bloombergbriefs.com/content/uploads/sites/2/2015/03/UKBudget_JM.pdf">according to Bloomberg's Jamie Murray</a>. But where did this giveaway come from?Well, in part the increased spending reflects lower borrowing costs on government borrowing than was expected in December and lower inflation meaning that the cost of inflation-linked benefits are set to rise at a slower pace. Mostly, however, it reflects the Chancellor bringing forward the pain of cuts into the early years of the next parliament so that he could afford a giveaway at the end.As <a href="http://budgetresponsibility.org.uk/wordpress/docs/Speaking-note-March-2015-Economic-and-fiscal-outlook324.pdf">Robert Chote, head of the government's budget watchdog the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), said</a> yesterday (emphasis added):"The real cut in public services spending planned for the coming year is slightly smaller than the likely average for the current Parliament. But the squeeze then becomes much more severe than anything we have seen to date in 2016-17 and 2017-18."This roller-coaster ride may make good <keyword id="6358883" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Politics">politics</keyword>, but it's awkward economics. In order to justify its plans, the government produces a so-called "spending assumption" for years where it does not produce detailed plans. Changes to these assumptions can have large impacts on the OBR's forecasts but, in the absence of any details about where the cuts or additional spending are likely to be, it is almost impossible to scrutinise the feasibility of the plans.As a consequence, we get vague charts like the one below. The purple bars show the new path of departmental spending over the next parliament, but do not list how each department, like education and health, will be affected:<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/550aa651dd0895d1658b4647-984-495/cdn_budgetresponsibility_independent_gov_uk_march2015efo_18-03-webv1_pdf 2.png" border="0" alt="OBR UK Budget"><a href="http://cdn.budgetresponsibility.independent.gov.uk/March2015EFO_18-03-webv1.pdf">OBR</a></img></div></div></div> "The elephant in the room is that all parties have pencilled in significant cuts in the next parliament that dwarf the measures they are likely to announce, without specifying how they will be achieved. As the Resolution Foundation cleverly put it, there's a candour deficit as well as a fiscal one," writes Bloomberg's Murray.Actually, I would go further. Not knowing where the axe will fall prevents voters from making an informed choice as to which party best reflects their preferences. In other words, it's a democratic deficit enabled by all parties.<a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/heres-the-coalition-governments-real-record-in-office-2015-3">As we noted yesterday</a>, the Chancellor effectively announced a reduced imaginary future budget surplus through front-loading undefined future cuts by an unlikely future government. In other words, we learned next to nothing yesterday about what's actually going to happen after May.This is the real deficit that needs closing, and the costs for those who rely on state services (in particular local government services that have already been painfully squeezed under the Coalition) are potentially huge. <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blizzard-2015-time-lapse-gopro-snow-new-york-2015-1">Watch The Whole Storm Hit Manhattan In Just 1 Minute</a></h3> <div> <div> <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script> <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="IwNDIxczqyal4Mk7tze6Mu8Ik-Z_fSHp" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div> <script> if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; } RunFunctions.push(function() { var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', 'IwNDIxczqyal4Mk7tze6Mu8Ik-Z_fSHp',{ autoplay: 'false' }); }); </script> <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div> </div> <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script> </div>

George Osborne has forgotten about the gaping candour deficit

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/34423838.cms" /> The <keyword id="2219970" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="World-Book-Night">World Book Night</keyword> (now in its fourth year and coincides with the <keyword id="2219971" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="UNESCO-International-Day-of-the-Book">UNESCO International Day of the Book</keyword>) came and went, but did it impact our life in any way? In the UK, 20 titles were selected and thousands of those <keyword id="5050" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="books">books</keyword> were given away for free on the night of <keyword id="6460904" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="April-23">April 23</keyword> to inspire people who “haven’t yet been turned on” to reading. A quick look at the list had us pleasantly surprised. It included the works of <keyword id="210859" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Agatha-Christie">Agatha Christie</keyword>, <keyword id="17397" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Jeffrey-archer">Jeffrey Archer</keyword>, <keyword id="324611" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="John-Grisham">John Grisham</keyword>, <keyword id="241349" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Roald-Dahl">Roald Dahl</keyword>, <keyword id="1367712" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Andy-McNab">Andy McNab</keyword> and others – mostly popular stuff that may actually drive reluctant readers back to the age-old habit of reading. 
 And that brings another startling fact to the forefront. If reading less is a global malady, men could be suffering more from it than their female counterparts. No, we are not getting gender-biased here. The findings came from a survey commissioned by the <keyword id="2219978" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Reading-Agency">Reading Agency</keyword> and conducted by <keyword id="2219982" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="OnePoll">OnePoll</keyword>. According to the report, researchers from OnePoll spoke to 2,000 British men and <keyword id="624" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Women">women</keyword> ahead of the World Book Night and it was found that 75% of the men would watch the big screen version of a story, instead of reading the original book. In fact, 30% of the men said they had not read a book after their school days. 
 But in spite of all the statistics, reading does change one’s life. They say everyone can write at least one classic – their own life story. Surprisingly enough, we have one such book in our April list – the <keyword id="2219985" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Posthumous-collection">posthumous collection</keyword> of <keyword id="642178" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Essays">essays</keyword> and <keyword id="851600" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="short-stories">short stories</keyword> by a young <keyword id="2219988" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Yale-graduate">Yale graduate</keyword> that has gone viral and read by at least 1.4 million people across 98 countries. That gives us great hope that books (in any format) will never become obsolete. Browse through our list of seven wonder works – analytical, inspirational, <keyword id="820033" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="sublime">sublime</keyword>, but essentially a <keyword id="6374782" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="journey">journey</keyword> towards a changing world order, a look into the changing times. 
 
Image: Thinkstock/Getty Images

April Read: Try These
7 Books To Usher In A Summer Of Change

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="11911533" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="boris-johnson" source="Orion">Boris Johnson</keyword>'s premiership has been hit by a string of resignations, over his handling of the Chris Pincher saga.</li><li>Chancellor <keyword id="12981896" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="rishi-sunak" source="Orion">Rishi Sunak</keyword> and Health Secretary <keyword id="14375948" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="sajid-javid" source="Orion">Sajid Javid</keyword> resigned from the Cabinet Tuesday evening.</li></ul>Boris Johnson's premiership has been rocked by a string of damaging resignations ranging from senior Cabinet ministers to junior ministerial aides and trade envoys.Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/boris-johnson-ministers-sajid-javid-rishi-sunak-quit-cabinet-2022-7?r=US&amp;IR=T">quit shortly after 6 p.m. Tuesday</a> as Johnson offered an apology in a pre-recorded interview with the BBC for appointing Chris Pincher as deputy chief whip in February 2022. It had been the "wrong thing to do", <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-politics-62050672">Johnson admitted</a>.Pincher was accused of drunkenly groping two men at a private members' club on Wednesday. He <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tory-mps-call-for-chris-pincher-to-resign-seat-amid-groping-claims-2022-6?r=US&amp;IR=T">resigned but initially was not suspended from the party</a>. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/conservative-party-suspends-chris-pincher-pending-investigation-2022-7?r=US&amp;IR=T">The whip was withdrawn on Friday, following outcry from Tory MP.</a>sThe prime minister's team had initially denied that there had been formal complaints made against Pincher, and claimed that Johnson was unaware of allegations against him when he appointed him deputy chief whip.Following an unprecedented intervention by former top Foreign Office official Simon McDonald, making clear that the prime minister had received an in-person briefing about allegations against Pincher, Johnson's spokesman later claimed that he had forgotten the incident.<blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—Simon McDonald (@SimonMcDonaldUK) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1544206976820854784">July 5, 2022</a></blockquote>In their resignation letters, which came hours after McDonald's explosive letter, Sunak and Javid explicitly criticised Johnson's leadership and failures to uphold standards in the government.Sunak said: "The public rightly expect government to be conducted properly, competently and seriously. I recognise this may be my last ministerial job, but I believe these standards are worth fighting for and that is why I am resigning."Javid said "the public are concluding" that the government is neither popular nor "competent in acting in the national interest". Javid is expected to Their resignations were followed by junior ministers, including Alex Chalk, the solicitor general who had long been on the so-called watch list over partygate.Chalk said he could not "defend the indefensible", and called for "fresh leadership". He added that "public confidence in the ability of Number 10 to uphold the standards of candour expected of a British Government has irretrievably broken down... I regret that I share that judgement".One of Sunak's allies in the Treasury, John Glen, followed the chancellor in departing from government saying it was "impossible for me to square continued service with my conscience".Two education ministers – Will Quince, who has responsibilities for children, and school standards Robin Walker – resigned Wednesday morning, leaving the department with three vacancies.Quince resigned saying he had "accepted and repeated assurances on Monday" during <a href="https://youtu.be/D4-zDUe6TFg">a round of interviews with broadcasters</a> "which have now found to be inaccurate".Walker wrote that the loss of Sunak and Javid "reflects a worrying narrowing of the broad church that I believe any Conservative government should seek to achieve", and that the party had become distracted by "a relentless focus on questions over leadership".Justice minister Victoria Atkins resigned saying she could "no longer pirouette around our fractured values" following the fracturing of "values such as integrity, decency, respect and professionalism" through the triple scandals of Paterson, Partygate, and Pincher. In addition to the ministerial resignations, a number of parliamentary private secretaries (PPSs) have quit their roles on the lowest rung of the ministerial ladder, as well as trade envoys. Included among them were arch loyalists Andrew Murrison and Jonathan Gullis, MPs from the 2001 and 2019 intakes respectively, and party vice chairman Bim Afolami, who quit live on TV. Felicity Buchan, who is defending a majority of just 150 in Kensington, quit as a PPS in the business department. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—The News Desk (@TheNewsDesk) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1544388951435247625">July 5, 2022</a></blockquote>Backbench Conservative MPs continue to desert Johnson, including figures previously thought as Johnson stalwarts representing "Red Wall" constituencies such as Lee Anderson and Tom Hunt calling for him to go. Hunt announced he had submitted a letter of no confidence in Johnson.Johnson began a mini-reshuffle Tuesday evening, promoting education secretary Nadhim Zahawi to chancellor. Zahawi was replaced with universities minister Michelle Donelan.Steve Barclay, Johnson's chief of staff and chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, replaced Javid as health secretary.But the pressure continues on Johnson Wednesday, where he is due before MPs for his weekly clash at PMQs, and then a grilling by select committee chairs at the Liaison Committee.Conservative MPs also begin the process of elections for the executive of the 1922 Committee on Wednesday, paving the way to change the body's rules to permit another vote of confidence in Johnson to unseat him.

Boris Johnson's premiership rocked by further ministerial resignations, citing Chris Pincher and Owen Paterson sagas

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Downing Street staff were told to "clean up" their phones of messages about lockdown parties, the Independent reported.</li><li>The Information Commissioner's Office told Insider this could be a criminal offence.</li></ul>Downing Street staff who deleted messages about lockdown-breaking parties may have committed criminal offences, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has warned.Staff were "told to clean up their phone just in case," one source told <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/partygate-phones-clean-up-investigation-sue-gray-b1991055.html">the Independent</a>, while another told the paper they were "told to get rid of anything that could look bad."A senior member of staff made the instruction to Downing Street colleagues in early December after initial reports of parties in breach of lockdown restrictions, the Independent reported.The ICO has warned that if such deletions were made, they could be criminal offences.An ICO spokesperson told Insider: "Relevant information that exists in the private correspondence channels of public authorities should be available and included in responses to information requests received."Erasing, destroying or concealing information within scope of a Freedom of Information request, with the intention of preventing its disclosure is a criminal offence under section 77 of the Freedom of Information Act."It is not clear if any Downing Street staff members have deleted messages, or if the Cabinet Office — the government department that includes 10 Downing Street — has received a Freedom of Information request.<h2>Government lawyers may have to open investigation</h2>Other legal requirements could force the Government Legal Department to open an investigation into the alleged instruction to delete messages.Lawyers for Foxglove and The Citizens, two campaigning organisations bringing a judicial review against the government over the deletion of messages on WhatsApp, Signal, and other instant messaging services, wrote to the Government Legal Department following the Independent's report.The lawyers said that if the Independent's story is true, then the Government is acting unlawfully in public law, under a separate section of the Freedom of Information Act regarding the retention of official records.They argue that the Government Legal Department has a duty of candour as part of the ongoing judicial review process, and must find out if the requests for deletion were made and if so, when, and to disclose that information.The opposition Labour party has said the deleted messages could also affect any subsequent investigations by the Metropolitan Police into the lockdown-breaching parties.Emily Thornberry MP, Labour's shadow attorney-general, told Insider: "<keyword id="11911533" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="boris-johnson" source="Orion">Boris Johnson</keyword> told the House of Commons to respect the inquiry into his Downing Street parties, but now it has been revealed that his own staff may have broken the law to hide the truth from that inquiry, and any police investigations that may follow."It is one thing for Boris Johnson to try and defy political reality to cling on as Prime Minister, but it is another for his office to sanction breaking the law in order to help him do so. All evidence must immediately be preserved and handed over to the investigating authorities, so Boris Johnson and his staff can face the full consequences of their actions."A spokesperson for the prime minister denied the Independent's report on Wednesday.He told journalists: "It has been published what we've asked civil servants to do, which is to retain — should there be any — any requisite records. That's been clearly set out to all Number 10 staff."<iframe src="https://cdn.jwplayer.com/players/zWfYRak0-gFnR6QwM.html" width="100%" height="100%" style="position:absolute;" title="VIDEO: Boris Johnson apologizes and admits breaking lockdown by going to a party at his residence"></iframe>

Downing Street reportedly told staff to 'clean up' their phones before a lockdown-party inquiry. That could be a crime, watchdog says.

LONDON - Theresa May has sacked Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson.A Downing Street spokesperson said: "The Prime Minister has this evening asked Gavin Williamson to leave the Government, having lost confidence in his ability to serve in the role of Defence Secretary and as a member of her Cabinet. "The Prime Minister's decision has been informed by his conduct surrounding an investigation into the circumstances of the unauthorised disclosure of information from a meeting of the National Security Council. "The Prime Minister thanks all members of the National Security Council for their full cooperation and candour during the investigation and considers the matter closed."More follows...Our Brexit Insider Facebook group is the best place for up-to-date news and analysis about Britain's departure from the EU, direct from Business Insider's political reporters. Join <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/267178180471848/">here.</a> <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mueller-report-trump-takeaways-from-redacted-version-russia-investigation-2019-4">Here are 7 takeaways from special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation</a></h3> <div> <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/FoNPyinM-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script> </div> </div>

 Theresa May has sacked Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson 

<img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5e0a00a7855cc2478e636862-2400/freetrade pitch deck10.png" alt="Freetrade pitch deck10" />FreetradeFreetrade<ul class="summary-list"><li>UK finance startup Freetrade, a competitor to Robinhood, has acknowledged a high rate of attrition after Business Insider learned that 22 staff departed in 2019.</li><li>The company peaked at 53 staff in 2019.</li><li>The departures were down to a mix of resignations and firings, including its five-strong design team in the second half of 2019.</li><li>Freetrade has raised a total of $20.4 million from venture capital and crowdfunding backers for its fee-free trading app.</li><li>"Building a company is a journey," Freetrade CEO Adam Dodds said in response. "You need to get the best people you can, in the right positions, which changes over time. When you grow as fast as we have in the past year, that change process is greatly accelerated."</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/prime?module=article&amp;area=summary">Click here for more BI Prime stories</a>.</li></ul>Freetrade, a fee-free trading startup to rival Robinhood, has acknowledged a high staff attrition rate after Business Insider learned that 22 staff departed in 2019.Freetrade is headquartered in London and has raised <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/freetrade-british-robinhood-challenger-raised-funding-to-take-on-us-giant-2019-11?IR=T">$20.4 million from venture capital backers</a> such as Draper Esprit and through crowdfunding. It says it has 70,000 users for its trading app.The company acknowledged the departures to Business Insider and said the turnover was a "higher rate of attrition than we strive for." The company said it had a maximum of 53 staff in 2019.CEO Adam Dodds added that some of the departing employees had been at the startup for less than a month."Building a company is a journey. You need to get the best people you can, in the right positions, which changes over time. When you grow as fast as we have in the past year, that change process is greatly accelerated," Dodds said in a statement."The hard truth is that if we didn't have any staff turnover we'd be dead as a company," he added. "Equally, this is a higher rate of attrition than we strive for and we will continue to make improving our people processes a top priority as we continue to grow."Six former employees speaking to Business Insider said the firm's rapid growth and blunt style of management had contributed to staff turnover.The company lost its five-strong design team in the second half of 2019. Its head of design, James Storer, resigned in July. Two additional employees resigned from the team in the following months before the remaining two were fired, according to an internal email seen by Business Insider.The email, sent to the remaining Freetrade staff, states that the design department had been in a state of "flux" and that the exiting team members were not "culturally aligned." The company confirmed the design team departures.Another high-profile exit was Andre Mohamed, one of the company's cofounders.According to filings with the UK's Companies House, Mohamed left the company in October 2018. His departure was first reported by<a href="https://techcrunch.com/2019/01/10/revolut-hire-freetrade-co-founder-and-former-cto-as-head-of-wealth-trading-product/"> TechCrunch</a>, though the reasons were unclear. Mohamed did not return a request for comment.<h2>Former employees say working at Freetrade wasn't easy</h2>Former employees said, amid the layoffs, that working at a fast-growing startup wasn't always easy.According to messages seen by Business Insider, chief marketing officer Viktor Nebehaj referred to "significant burn rate." Ex-employees perceived this to be a reference to high staff turnover, and told Business Insider this contributed to a sense of unease.<img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5e1f23e3f44231166846fb94-2400/viktor freetrade.jpg" alt="Viktor Freetrade.JPG" />Freetrade SlackFreetrade's CMO Viktor references the company's high turnover rate and indicates that missing tweets could be an issue for employees.Nebehaj did not directly address the messages, but said in a statement: "I was one of the earliest employees at Google Europe and saw what it takes to build a high-performing tech company."One of the most important things for me is candour, especially in the workplace. It is a core value at Freetrade, and it means both being truthful as well as caring personally. It's Marmite for some people."The former staff said Freetrade did not have an office manager or HR professional to manage employee grievances or concerns. Personnel difficulties, the people added, were compounded by the company's adoption of "radical candour", a style of extremely honest feedback promoted by former Google executive Kim Scott."It's part of the 'culture' at Freetrade to value direct feedback," one former employee told Business Insider. "But what that translated to was that if you disagreed with something you would be shot down."The company is currently advertising for a head of people role on its <a href="https://boards.greenhouse.io/freetrade/jobs/4571021002">website</a>. Freetrade confirmed it was actively looking for a head of people, alongside other dedicated HR staff. Issues around layoffs and growth culture are not unique to Freetrade. Europe's burgeoning fintech scene has led to an influx of capital into the sector, with finance startups raising $25 billion since 2015, <a href="https://2019.stateofeuropeantech.com/chapter/investments/article/investment-industry/">per Atomico data</a>. "There's always the risk that too much capital could lead to more aggressive growth and therefore less stringent oversight or governance, in all companies, not just fintechs," said Eileen Burbidge, partner at Passion Capital and a special envoy for fintech in the UK government. "Culture is already bedded in and funding can expose or magnify both positive and negative traits." <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/airplane-food-tastes-different-explained-2020-1">Why food tastes different on planes</a></h3> <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/rq2oqFhR-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;"></iframe>

Robinhood challenger Freetrade, which has raised millions for its fee-free trading app, acknowledged a high attrition rate after 22 staff departed in 2019

<keyword id="6362158" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="chess">Chess</keyword> legend <keyword id="9125" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Viswanathan-Anand">Viswanathan Anand</keyword> has authored an inspirational book where he looks back on his experience to share lessons on how to navigate life. In "Mind Master: Winning Lessons from a Champion's Life" (as told to journalist Susan Ninan), Anand revisits his greatest games and worst losses, his unique experiences of playing against the best minds, and the methods he employs to prepare for wins, cope with disappointments and, simply, stay in the game. The book, published by Hachette <keyword id="3658" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="India">India</keyword>, is releasing on December 11. Currently playing in the Isle of Man International Chess Tournament, India's first grandmaster and five-time world champion said this book has been an interesting journey. "I have memories of the major events in my career and life, but when you put them down on paper, you suddenly have to organise your thoughts and are forced to think through them in detail. It allowed me to rediscover many interesting stories and incidents," he said. "Above all, it made me realise that during my greatest accomplishments failure was never far away, and in the lowest moments there were always things that lifted me up. Rather than just making this about my story, I've tried to distil in this book some of the lessons I learnt, the strategies that helped me perform better and tackle life as it happened," he added. Poulomi Chatterjee, Editor-in-Chief and Publisher of Hachette India, said Anand has a unique voice and this book is truly a brilliant and motivating read. "His achievements and career have been hugely inspirational for so many people, and now not only do we have a first-hand view of his experiences - much that even chess enthusiasts and his followers would find they did not know about - but also a masterclass in navigating life from the mind master himself," she said. From the time he learnt to move pieces on a chess board as a six-year-old, Vishy - as Anand is fondly called - has racked up innumerable accolades. The first World Chess Champion from Asia, he emerged on to the global stage when chess was largely a Soviet preserve, climbed the ranks to become world number one and won tournaments across all formats of the game. In "Mind Master", Anand looks back at a lifetime of games played, opponents tackled and circumstances overcome and draws from its depths significant tools that will help every reader to navigate life's challenges, the publishers said. There are many nuggets that Anand touches upon with characteristic wit, easy wisdom and disarming candour in the book. ZMN RB RB

Viswanathan Anand revisits his best games and losses in a new book Mind Master

Everyone at court was waiting in bated breath for <keyword id="38062" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ram-Jethmalani">Ram Jethmalani</keyword> to speak, as he appeared as the counsel of one of the country’s most controversial cases between RIL and RNRL at Bombay High Court in 2009. Jethmalani was ominously quiet as he heard his opponent and famous advocate Harish Salve speak for hours at a stretch. When the court was adjourned, Jethmalani stood up and requested the bench to stall for a few minutes as he had something to say. Every reported had a pen tight on the notepad and ears peeled, but Jethmalani said, “Once in a village there was a man who spoke so much that everyone was too tired of listening to him.” Salve was amused, and the bench cracked up. Today, one of India’s most famous voices fell silent as he passed away at the age of 96 following a prolonged illness. His funeral will be held in Delhi on Sunday. A clan of warriors It was not just his candour that Jethmalani was known for, but also his courage. He was one of the few who represented clients who went against the government. Probably, it was something he inherited from his ancestors. They had fought for his homeland Sindh alongside British general Charles Napier, who eventually won the war but also admitted ‘to a noble form of rascality’. Jethmalani became those industrious few refugees who thrived in a new India. He was all of 17 when he earned his law degree, thanks to the many ‘triple promotions’ he received at school. Famous clients and infamous cases In the first few years Jethmalani earned the dubious reputation of being a ‘smuggler’s advocate’ after he represented mafia leader Haji Mastan in a case. He was only the first of the many underdogs that Jethmalani both successfully and unsuccessfully, represented. He picked cases that no one else would and select clients that no one would dare to — including stock market scamster Harshad Mehta, the man who killed former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, V Sriharan, and Afzal Guru who was convicted for an attack on the parliament. But, Jethmalani wasn’t always on the right side of things in the governments and public opinion. He defended religious guru Asaram Bapu in a rape case against a minor. He was also the lawyer of Manu Sharma who was accused of shooting Jesssica Lal — a case which turned into a public outrage. Yet, Jethmalani was unfazed through it all — even when public criticized him and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) expelled him in 2013. By the time he retired in 2017, he probably had as many detractors as fans and clients combined in an illustrious career. And he did not go out quietly. Jethmalani who<a href="https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/ram-jethmalani-arvind-kejriwal-arun-jaitley-defamation-case-1026286-2017-07-26"> represented Delhi chief</a> minister Arvind Kejriwal a ₹2 crore bill, chose to fight his own arch nemesis Arun Jaitley right before his departure from law.

Maverick untamed Ram Jethmalani passes away at 96

A UK court on Friday directed Reliance Group chairman Anil Ambani to pay USD 100 million towards a conditional order granted to three Chinese banks pursuing the recovery of over USD 680 million owed to them as part of a loan agreement. In what is in effect a deposit to be paid into court pending a full trial in the case, Judge David Waksman has set a six-week timeline for such a payment to be made as he concluded that he did not accept Ambani's defence that his net worth was nearly zero or that his family would not step in to assist him when "push came to shove". "In my overall conclusion, Mr Ambani has not satisfied me that he can't make any payment at all," said Judge Waksman, as he expressed particular criticism of a "lack of candour" and "transparency" on the part of Ambani's defence in reference to his financial means. The Reliance Group indicated that it plans to appeal against the ruling, which will involve a process of seeking permission to appeal. "Mr Ambani is reviewing the order of the UK Court and will take legal advice as to further remedies in appeal," a spokesperson for Anil Ambani said. "The order pertains to an alleged personal liability of Mr Ambani and will have no bearing on the operations of the Reliance Infrastructure Limited, Reliance Power Limited and Reliance Capital Limited," the spokesperson said. The banks - Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd Mumbai Branch, on behalf of itself, China Development Bank and Exim Bank of China - welcomed the order and said they remain confident of their claim succeeding at trial. "This is a straightforward debt claim to recover outstanding loans made to RCom (Reliance Communications) in good faith and secured by a binding personal guarantee given by Mr Ambani, which he has refused to honour," a statement on behalf of the banks said. "We remain very confident in our claim. We hope that Mr Ambani will comply with the court's order and look forward to the swift resolution of the case at trial," the statement said. Another senior Reliance Group official added that based on the legal advice, the RCom chief intends to seek further remedies in appeal and is "confident" that he will have the opportunity to establish that the Chinese claim is "without any merit". Earlier, during a half-day hearing, the court was told that Reliance Group chairman Anil Ambani was a wealthy businessman and now he is not as a result of a "disastrous turn of events" in the telecom market in India. The Chinese banks had sought summary judgment against Ambani over an alleged breach of a personal guarantee on a debt refinancing loan of around USD 925 million in February 2012. Ambani, 60, denies providing authority for any such guarantee, resulting in the High Court action in the UK - the jurisdiction agreed to as part of the terms of the loan agreement. At the hearing at the Commercial Division of the High Court of England and Wales in London to set the terms for the "conditional order" granted to three Chinese banks last year against the Reliance Communications (RCom) boss, his legal team sought to establish that his net worth was zero once his liabilities were taken into account. "The value of Mr Ambani's investments has collapsed since 2012. The Indian telecom sector in particular has been dramatically hit by the Indian government's change of policy in relation to the grant of spectrum," notes his defence. "Whereas Mr Ambani's investments were worth more than USD 7 billion in 2012, they are now worth USD 89 million, and his net worth is zero once his liabilities are taken into account... Quite simply, he was a wealthy businessman, now he is not," said his barrister Robert Howe. The banks' counsel called Ambani's claims into question and repeatedly referred to his "lavish lifestyle". "So, Mr Ambani's assertion is that he is massively personally insolvent, is bankrupt. Has he filed for bankruptcy in India," questioned Justice David Waksman during the course of the half-day hearing. Ambani's legal team, including leading Indian lawyer Harish Salve, responded in the negative, followed by a brief reference in court to India's Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) only recently coming into play. "The evidence overall is that Mr Ambani could not come close to paying a sum of USD 700 million into court," said Howe. The banks, represented in court by barrister Bankim Thanki, sought to establish that Ambani had been "at best economical with the truth" in his evidence statements to the court in relation to his financial means. They also pointed to a series of instances where Ambani family members had stepped in to bail him out, even as Ambani's defence sought to establish that their client had no access to the assets and shares under the name of his mother Kokila, wife Tina Ambani and sons Anmol and Anshul in the form of loans. "Are we seriously to believe that his own mother, wife, and sons can't help him in his hour of need for the purpose of complying with a conditional order," said Thanki, who claimed Ambani's evidence was akin to the proverbial "glossy lipstick on the pig" in terms of some "blatant" lies despite the burden of proof lying with him in the case. "ADA's (Anil Dhirajlal Ambani) brother Mukesh is widely regarded as the wealthiest man in Asia and is ranked by Forbes as the 13th richest person in the world and by Bloomberg as the 14th richest person in the world. He has an estimated net worth of USD 55 to 57 billion," notes the banks in court.

A British judge won't believe Anil Ambani is 'broke'⁠— or that his family won't bail him out

It doesn't matter which party you vote for in next year's General Election - in every case, you will be voting for a fantasy budget.
At least that is the conclusion of Bloomberg's senior <keyword id="6354868" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="UK">UK</keyword> economist Jamie Murray in <a href="http://www.bloombergbriefs.com/content/uploads/sites/2/2014/12/JMAutumnStatement.pdf">his most recent note in advance of the government's Autumn Statement</a>. And here's the chart that proves it:
<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table click-to-enlarge"><div><div class="image"><a title_source="Bloomberg" title_caption="Government spending as % of GDP." class="zoomin" href="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/547de1efdd0895e90c8b45b2-960/autumn-statement2_png.png"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/547de1efdd0895e90c8b45b2-1065-650/autumn-statement2_png.png" border="0" alt="Autumn Statement" /></a><a href="http://www.bloombergbriefs.com/content/uploads/sites/2/2014/12/JMAutumnStatement.pdf">Bloomberg</a>Government spending as % of GDP.</div></div></div>
As Murray says:
Assuming that ring-fenced departments continue to be protected after the election (no party is campaigning on spending cuts in education and health spending) means that spending on services such as justice, policing, diplomacy, defence and transport could fall by almost 60 percent in the decade to 2018/19 - it's for the reader to judge whether that's credible. 
Well if it is for the reader to judge, colour this reader incredulous. The very idea of 60% cuts to policing, defence and the judiciary is so ludicrous as to be laughable. Except that it's not a laughing matter. These are the policies on which the public are being asked to vote. And they're being misled.
Murray continues (emphasis added):
Overall, there is a lot of work to be done to restore balance to the public finances. The only thing known for certain is that the current plans will change. Whichever party/parties take office in May, an emergency budget can be expected which will see these plans rewritten.
So once they have scared people with the imminent need to cut the deficit to ward off the dangerous bond vigilantes that could bankrupt the country to win the odd marginal seat the victor/victors will almost immediately do a 180 and announce that, in fact, they never intended to deliver on these promises. All in the name of fiscal responsibility!
At an event last week Matthew Whittaker, chief economist at the non-partisan think-tank Resolution Foundation, said that vetting the proposed spending plans of major political parties in the UK was becoming impossible due to the increasing gap between what they were offering the public and what it would mean in practice. As he put it:
"The gap between the scale of consolidation implicit in their plans and what the electorate has been told to date is just too large. The electorate shouldn't be subjected to another largely empty fiscal debate like it was at the last election. Currently we are facing a candour deficit as well as a fiscal one."
Unfortunately the current debate looks every bit as bad as the 2010 election. In fact, on many measures, it looks a great deal worse.

This Chart Shows Why The UK Will Vote On A Fantasy Budget In 2015

<div class="image-container float_right click-to-enlarge"><div class="image"><a title_source="InRealLife" title_caption="" class="zoomin" href="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/5231c94ceab8ea385c96670e-960/inrealife-teenagers-girls-tattoo-teens.png"><img src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/5231c94ceab8ea385c96670e-630-472/inrealife-teenagers-girls-tattoo-teens.png?maxX=480" border="0" alt="inrealife teenagers girls tattoo teens" width="480" /></a><a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/IRLDocumentary/videos">InRealLife</a></div></div>Beeban Kidron, the director best known for the BBC TV version of the Jeanette Winterson novel "Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit," has made a grim <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71pXYIwYpaU">documentary about how teenagers actually use the internet</a>. It's not pretty, according to the trailer for "InRealLife." The film focuses on half a dozen <keyword id="15214" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="teenagers">teenagers</keyword> who talk with alarming bluntness about the role their mobile phones and the <keyword id="6378238" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="web">web</keyword> plays in their lives. They are, in varying degrees, addicted to social-mobile media, porn, and to the devices themselves. Here's how bad it gets, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/sep/08/beeban-kidron-inreallife-interview-teenagers">according to The Guardian</a>:
In one, a girl who does not reveal her identity, talks with heartbreaking candour about how she would do anything for her BlackBerry; when a gang of boys takes it from her she recounts how she allowed herself to be sexually assaulted in order to have it back.
In other section of the movie, a 15-year-old boy, Ryan, describes unblinkingly how he is addicted to online porn, even though he is bored of it, because he has seen so much of it. "I've ruined the sense of love," he says in the film. A third teen, who is gay, describes his long-distance romance with another 15-year-old, someone he seems to know intimately - but has never met. The film also tells the story of a boy who lost his place at Oxford University because he was addicted to video games. Kidron seems to have focused on kids who are extreme cases - most teenagers who go to Oxford do not flunk because of video games or porn, obviously. But she does so in order to bring into sharp relief exactly what the web has done to children. They find the unreal, virtual world of the web more interesting than real life contact with other humans. And they seem incurious about why that virtual world exists in the first place: A voiceover from an "expert" in the movie states, "It's a world in which your history is archived by a private company on servers that belong to them for commercial purposes, that belong to them." Here's the trailer (below). You can see a collection of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/IRLDocumentary/videos">cuts from the film here</a>.
<iframe width="560" height="356" frameborder="0" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/71pXYIwYpaU"></iframe>

Grueling New Film Unveils Truth About How Teenagers Use The Internet For Sex

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/55097c62dd0895124c8b4637-1200-924/tax-avoidance-uk.jpg" border="0" alt="Tax avoidance UK">GettyCampaigners dressed as the three chancellors, George Osborne, Ed Balls and Danny Alexander, wearing Oxfams famous big heads take part in a crystal dome cash grab stunt, on March 17, 2015 in London, England. </img></div></div></div>As the May 7 General Election approaches, mainstream political parties are going to place an emphasis on "aggressive tax avoidance," including publicising how much money they plan to raise through stricter policies. But it's a fiction: They simply have no idea how much money a clampdown on tax avoidance might raise.It's just a handy line in the budget, which can grow or shrink depending on the size of the hole that party needs to fill to "balance the books" on time.First, let's take a look a what the parties are proposing.The most modest proposal comes from the Conservative party, which claims that a future Conservative government would be able to raise "at least £5 billion a year from continuing to tackle tax evasion, and aggressive tax avoidance and tax planning" over the next two years. That is meant to plug the gap between the planned £30 billion of fiscal consolidation with £12 billion coming from welfare cuts and £13 billion taken from unprotected departmental budgets (everything other than pensions, health, international aid and education).Not to be outdone, the Liberal Democrats have gone one better (well, actually two billion better) and are promising an extra £7 billion a year from tackling tax avoidance so that the party can "balance the books" by 2017-18. It plans to do this by going after "wealthy individuals and companies who actively seek to avoid paying their fair share" in ways that are yet to be determined.And Labour are no better. Ed Miliband included a commitment in his party's manifesto to reduce tax avoidance and evasion by £7.5 billion a year during the next parliament if Labour wins a majority.Oh, and the Green party's plans - they have to be seen to be believed:<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/552e8527dd0895de7a8b45b6-902-198/https___www_greenparty_org_uk_assets_files_manifesto_green_party_2015_general_election_manifesto_pdf.png" border="0" alt="Green party tax avoidance"><a href="https://www.greenparty.org.uk/assets/files/manifesto/Green_Party_2015_General_Election_Manifesto.pdf">Green party</a></img></div></div></div> Though some are clearly more egregious examples of over-promising than others, they all fall foul of the candour we should expect from those who aspire to public office. Why? Well, <a href="https://audioboom.com/boos/3076105-paul-johnson-less-than-10-pay-inheritance-tax-at-all-at-the-moment#t=3m15s">here's Paul Johnson, director of the independent research group the Institute for Fiscal Studies</a> (from 2:25mins):<div data-boourl="http://audioboom.com/boos/3076105-paul-johnson-less-than-10-pay-inheritance-tax-at-all-at-the-moment/embed/v3?eid=AQAAAEt6LlUJ8C4A" data-boowidth="100%" data-maxheight="150" data-iframestyle="background-color:transparent; display:block; min-width:300px; max-width:700px;">"I think both the main parties are making up numbers here in terms of what they can get from tax avoidance and evasion...I think two things are worth saying: It's almost impossible to know up-front actually what you can achieve by cracking down on avoidance and evasion and indeed it's almost impossible to know ex post [after the fact] how much you've got."Secondly, whilst clearly you want to do as much as you can to stop evasion and some of the avoidance schemes that we've seen you can do so much that you put off real economic activity. So you have to be careful about how you do this."</div>Even if you could estimate how much you might raise in the year following the implementation of anti-tax avoidance measures, it is still a mistake to assume that the gains just continue.One of the main reasons for this was <a href="http://cdn.budgetresponsibility.org.uk/27814-BriefingPaperNo_6.pdf">highlighted in a report by the government's own budget watchdog</a>, the Office for Budget Responsibility. Assuming that tax revenue gains you make from clampdowns on tax avoidance and evasion will continue ignores the problem of attrition.When the OBR looks at the likely budget impact of anti-avoidance measures it has to assume an attrition rate, that it a decline in revenue that results from firms or individuals discovering new avoidance routes. Unfortunately the relatively flat year on year revenue gains assumed by the parties suggest that they are simply ignoring this problem.And that throws their already shaky estimates right out the window. As the OBR rather politely puts it: "Assuming no attrition would result in unrealistically optimistic policy costings."So the next time you hear a politician tell you that their plans are "fully funded" do remind them that, with regard to tax avoidance clampdowns, they may as well be promising to pay in magic fairy dust. <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/amazing-facts-about-vladimir-putin-russia-president-2015-3">11 amazing facts about Vladimir Putin </a></h3> <div> <div> <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script> <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="k4NTY1dDqFCsBpfiPjzGEUMzJURbWO-R" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div> <script> if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; } RunFunctions.push(function() { var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', 'k4NTY1dDqFCsBpfiPjzGEUMzJURbWO-R',{ autoplay: 'false' }); }); </script> <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div> </div> <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script> </div>

Don't believe any of the parties' claims on tax avoidance

<img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/540a22346bb3f71b2a8575c8-1200-924/john-kerry-barack-obama-note-2.jpg?maxX=741&amp;maxY=556" border="0" alt="John Kerry Barack Obama note" width="741" height="556">He calls himself a "pretty good" poker player. Barack Obama's poker-buddies, including Illinois politicians who played with him weekly when he was a state senator, tend to agree.</img>
Quizzed by profile-writers, they have described a cautious, canny card player. Mr Obama would bluff only if he had halfway-decent cards, they recalled. When opponents bet high, Mr Obama would not engage unless he held a strong hand of his own.
As president, he is said to favour a more demure card game, spades. That may be just as well. At a bumpy moment in history, Mr Obama is strikingly, even confoundingly, reluctant to bluff.
When needs must, Mr Obama can summon the language of superpower resolve. Speaking on September 3rd in Estonia-an ex-Soviet republic reborn as an eager member of NATO and the European Union-the president struck a stalwart tone.
<img class="float_right" src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/540a2273eab8eaff278575c6-1200-924/nato-members-obama-rasmussen-2.jpg" border="0" alt="nato members obama rasmussen">"You lost your independence once before. With NATO, you will never lose it again," he told young Estonians in Tallinn, their capital.</img>
Mr Obama backs plans to rotate American forces continuously through the Baltic republics. But such promises are rooted in treaty obligations.
Alas for Ukraine, as Mr Obama frequently points out, it is not a member of NATO. So America has played an ambiguous role there, criticising Russian aggression and leading a push for sanctions against Mr Putin's inner circle.
"Borders cannot be redrawn at the barrel of a gun," Mr Obama told Estonians. But he also made clear America would not use military power to enforce that principle in Ukraine.
Other presidents have often embraced strategic ambiguities, using them to unsettle and deter adversaries. Mr Obama takes a different view, using speeches and press briefings to shut options down.
There will be no military solution to the Ukrainian crisis, he has volunteered several times. Instead America will use diplomatic and financial levers to help Ukraine, and to prod Russia to see that its "brazen" actions are self-defeating in the long run.
Nor is this Mr Obama's sole area of anti-bluffing. Republicans jumped on his remark on August 28th that "we don't have a strategy yet" for dealing with the fanatics of the Islamic State (IS): proof, they charge, that a feckless president has no idea how to stop the world spiralling into chaos.
In Tallinn Mr Obama-a touch peevishly-insisted he had been narrowly talking about a military strategy in Syria that might need congressional approval.
Actually, that understates Mr Obama's foreign-policy candour. American military power can put a temporary lid on such menaces as IS, but that does nothing to force Iraqis or other regional players to take responsibility for their security, he has said many times.
<img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/540a22e269bedd866a8575c2-1200-600/shiite-tribal-fighters-isis-iraq-6.jpg" border="0" alt="Shiite tribal fighters isis iraq">In Mr Obama's not-very-swaggering words, America's proper role is to promote a more inclusive Iraqi government, to "cobble together" a regional coalition to degrade and curb IS, and, in the long term, to "stabilise Syria in some fashion".</img>
Mr Obama has also taken to downplaying domestic expectations. September 1st, Labour Day, saw the president in Milwaukee addressing a friendly crowd of trade unionists.
As he often does nowadays, two months from mid-term elections which could see Republicans take full control of Congress, Mr Obama assured the crowd that America's economy was recovering, even if watching the TV news was one long "downer" of grim headlines.
But the passage that struck Lexington, watching alongside burly folk in union T-shirts, some in Stars-and-Stripes hard hats, touched on the frustration of seeing much of his agenda blocked by Congress.
Mr Obama did not pretend that this would change soon. Before the 2012 elections Democrats swore that Republicans' "fever" would break if Mr Obama were re-elected.
Now, the president merely urged his allies in the unions to wear Republicans down, putting their faith in persistence and organisation. Sometimes campaigners have to take half a loaf, or even a quarter, he added. Progress can be slow.
Given that the president is canny as well as cautious, what explains his willingness to show his cards like this? Listen to Mr Obama, and the idea seems to be that dashing false hopes can be usefully bracing. The president often makes America sound like a parent who needs to intervene less if other countries are to grow up and take responsibility for problems only they can fix.
Lots of Americans agree. Straw-polled near Milwaukee's lakefront, locals talked with passion about Americans deployed to war zones since 2001, returning home with physical and mental scars.
Supporters praised the president for shunning tangled, sectarian conflicts in Iraq and Syria, while sceptics called him too cautious. Nobody wanted American troops on the ground.
<h3 class="xhead"><img class="float_left" src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/4ea5a902eab8ea0730000017-400-300/yeswecan.jpg" border="0" alt="Yes We Can Obama">No, we can't</img></h3>
In domestic politics, too, Mr Obama's downbeat tone has its own logic. He approaches November's elections with dismal approval ratings, but must do what he can to boost Democratic turnout.
Few would listen if he promised the whole nation hope, change and unity, as he once did. Instead, he addresses Democrats, urging them to channel their frustration into getting organised.
Yet Mr Obama's tactics carry risks. Many Americans are used to the clout that comes with being a global cop, even if they are tired of the role. The president is describing political reality. But "We don't like that reality," says Roger Quindel, a Vietnam veteran watching the Milwaukee speech.
Confronted with images of American journalists being murdered by Islamic radicals, many Americans agree. Almost a third say their country does too little to solve world problems, finds a new Pew poll, up from 17% in November, with the biggest swing among Republicans.
Mr Obama is right that America cannot fix the world alone. His message of tough love is supposed to make coalition-building easier (and to his credit, holding back American support has just helped to push a bad prime minister out in Iraq). The problems start when the world hears not canniness but indifference.
Compared with that, even bluster is better.
Click <a href="https://subscriptions.economist.com/nwcd">here</a> to subscribe to The Economist
<img class="nc_pixel" src="https://pixel.newscred.com/px.gif?key=YXJ0aWNsZT01MTg0NjQzZTE1MWI3ZTUzYmY3NzI1NzhlZjcxZTg2YiZub25jZT0zZDM5YmJiYy04NTRhLTRlNTctOTAxNi05MTQ2ZDQ4ZDM1Y2UmcHVibGlzaGVyPTczMGViODZhYjU5ZjBkNDE5MjZhYzY1YjAxZjgzZTJm" border="0" alt="" width="1" height="1" />

You Searched For "Candour" and got 14 results

George Osborne has forgotten about the gaping candour deficit

Tomas Hirst

April Read: Try These 7 Books To Usher In A Summer Of Change

Sanghamitra Mandal

Boris Johnson's premiership rocked by further ministerial resignations, citing Chris Pincher and Owen Paterson sagas

Henry Dyer,Catherine Neilan

Downing Street reportedly told staff to 'clean up' their phones before a lockdown-party inquiry. That could be a crime, watchdog says.

Henry Dyer

Theresa May has sacked Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson

Adam Payne,Adam Payne

Robinhood challenger Freetrade, which has raised millions for its fee-free trading app, acknowledged a high attrition rate after 22 staff departed in 2019

Callum Burroughs,Callum Burroughs

Viswanathan Anand revisits his best games and losses in a new book Mind Master

PTI

Maverick untamed Ram Jethmalani passes away at 96

Katya Naidu

A British judge won't believe Anil Ambani is 'broke'⁠— or that his family won't bail him out

PTI

This Chart Shows Why The UK Will Vote On A Fantasy Budget In 2015

Tomas Hirst,Tomas Hirst

Grueling New Film Unveils Truth About How Teenagers Use The Internet For Sex

Jim Edwards

Don't believe any of the parties' claims on tax avoidance

Tomas Hirst

Obama Shows His Cards Too Often In Foreign Policy

Business Insider

These are all of the worst policies currently being pitched in the General Election

Tomas Hirst