Latest news with #ProsperityInstitute
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Trigger warning put on ancient Egyptian slave statues
The National Trust has put a trigger warning on a pair of ancient Egyptian slave statues. The statues, at Cliveden House in Buckinghamshire, depict two children clothed in gold, raising torches and standing on either side of a staircase. A report published by the Prosperity Institute revealed that a trigger warning has been placed next to them. A placard says the Trust is 'working to redisplay and reinterpret these statues' so that the 'appalling histories of slavery and the slave trade' can be recognised. It reads: 'Today, the depiction of black people in European sculpture causes upset and distress to many. We don't want to censor or deny the way colonial histories are woven into the fabric of our places. 'Cliveden, including these statues, is Grade I-listed, meaning it has been identified as nationally significant. So we're working to redisplay and reinterpret these statues in a way that acknowledges the appalling histories of slavery and the slave trade. 'We invite you to consider what they represent about British and global history.' Dr Radomir Tylecote, managing director of the Prosperity Institute, said the report exposes how the National Trust 'uses woke rhetoric while pursuing policies that patently reduce accessibility.' He added: 'Supporters of the Trust have defended its woke initiatives by claiming they make the organisation more accessible and inclusive.' The statues, also known as torcheres, were created in the 19th century by Val D'Osne, a leading French art foundry, after a model by the French visual artist Mathurin Moreau. They were bought by Hugh Grosvenor, the 1st Duke of Westminster, who lived at Cliveden from 1868 to 1893. They incorporate several stylistic motifs reflecting the fashions and cultural interests of the time. The figures are modelled as children, but their pose and function derive from a much older European decorative tradition known as the 'Blackamoor,' which was a European art style that depicted highly-stylised figures, often African males, in subservient or exoticised form. The term is now viewed as racist or culturally insensitive. A trigger warning was also added to the website of Trengwainton Garden, a National Trust property in Cornwall. The website discusses the history of Sir Rose Price, the owner of the property in 1814, whose wealth came from inherited sugar plantations in Jamaica. A box reads: 'Please be aware: The following web page discusses the legacy of colonialism at Trengwainton and historic slavery and includes references to histories that some people may find upsetting.' The Prosperity Institute report argues that in recent years the management of the Trust, which is regulated by the Charity Commission, has been neglecting its principal duty of restoring houses and instead focused on projects that 'do not fall within the charity's core remit'. It also claims the Trust has started to added labels to its properties highlighting links to slavery and colonialism 'without providing sufficient context or balance' in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020. A National Trust spokesperson said: 'Everything we do is guided by our charitable purpose. 'Our new strategy is clear that we want to increase people's access to places of nature, beauty and history and looking after our shared national heritage will always be a crucial part of that.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
3 days ago
- General
- Telegraph
Trigger warning put on ancient Egyptian slave statues
The National Trust has put a trigger warning on a pair of ancient Egyptian slave statues. The statues, at Cliveden House in Buckinghamshire, depict two children clothed in gold, raising torches and standing on either side of a staircase. A report published by the Prosperity Institute revealed that a trigger warning has been placed next to them. A placard says the Trust is 'working to redisplay and reinterpret these statues' so that the 'appalling histories of slavery and the slave trade' can be recognised. It reads: 'Today, the depiction of black people in European sculpture causes upset and distress to many. We don't want to censor or deny the way colonial histories are woven into the fabric of our places. 'Cliveden, including these statues, is Grade I-listed, meaning it has been identified as nationally significant. So we're working to redisplay and reinterpret these statues in a way that acknowledges the appalling histories of slavery and the slave trade. 'We invite you to consider what they represent about British and global history.' Dr Radomir Tylecote, managing director of the Prosperity Institute, said the report exposes how the National Trust 'uses woke rhetoric while pursuing policies that patently reduce accessibility.' He added: 'Supporters of the Trust have defended its woke initiatives by claiming they make the organisation more accessible and inclusive.' The statues, also known as torcheres, were created in the 19th century by Val D'Osne, a leading French art foundry, after a model by the French visual artist Mathurin Moreau. They were bought by Hugh Grosvenor, the 1st Duke of Westminster, who lived at Cliveden from 1868 to 1893. They incorporate several stylistic motifs reflecting the fashions and cultural interests of the time. 'Legacy of colonialism' The figures are modelled as children, but their pose and function derive from a much older European decorative tradition known as the 'Blackamoor,' which was a European art style that depicted highly-stylised figures, often African males, in subservient or exoticised form. The term is now viewed as racist or culturally insensitive. A trigger warning was also added to the website of Trengwainton Garden, a National Trust property in Cornwall. The website discusses the history of Sir Rose Price, the owner of the property in 1814, whose wealth came from inherited sugar plantations in Jamaica. A box reads: 'Please be aware: The following web page discusses the legacy of colonialism at Trengwainton and historic slavery and includes references to histories that some people may find upsetting.' The Prosperity Institute report argues that in recent years the management of the Trust, which is regulated by the Charity Commission, has been neglecting its principal duty of restoring houses and instead focused on projects that 'do not fall within the charity's core remit'. It also claims the Trust has started to added labels to its properties highlighting links to slavery and colonialism 'without providing sufficient context or balance' in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020. A National Trust spokesperson said: 'Everything we do is guided by our charitable purpose. 'Our new strategy is clear that we want to increase people's access to places of nature, beauty and history and looking after our shared national heritage will always be a crucial part of that.'
New European
19-03-2025
- Politics
- New European
Two million immigrants can be deported in just three days, claims Telegraph writer
'We can't carry on like this,' runs a headline across an online comment piece on the Daily Telegraph today. 'It's time for mass deportations.' So begins an inflammatory piece as part of the site's week-long 'series of essays on immigration, one of the great issues of our times', this one by someone called Guy Dampier, billed as a 'senior researcher on nationhood at the Prosperity Institute'. If that body sounds unfamiliar, it's because it's the new name for the Legatum Institute, the right wing think-tank whose Brexit greatest hits included advocating for airships to patrol the Irish border. Conceding that 'the concept of mass deportations still seems controversial' – which it is, to the point that even Reform leader Nigel Farage is queasy about the idea – Dampier advocates the UK should follow Donald Trump's lead in the US 'by leaving any international law agreements and repealing any laws which prevent the speedy deportation of those with no right to be here'. The writer then goes on to claim that two million people could be forcibly removed in just three days – a timescale he has calculated by using the incredibly complex and detailed formula of…er, looking at the runway capacity of the UK's busiest airport. 'Heathrow has 1,400 flights every day, so in principle, two million illegals could be deported in just three days,' says Dampier. In terms of heavy lifting, it is fair to say that the words 'in principle' are doing work here which would put the late, great Geoff Capes to shame. In order to perform the operation Dampier is advocating, not only would there need to be enough secure accommodation capacity within a relatively short distance of Heathrow for two million people over the space of several days at the very least – which there isn't – as well as the capacity for transport and the likely closure, for safety reasons, of major Greater London arterial roads for a number of days prior to and during this masterplan, there are one or two other things Dampier may not have considered. These include the likely legal ramifications of a government commandeering an entire airport's operations for several days as well as taking control of every flight coming in and out – and, as only around 230 of those 1,400 flights every day are British, that would involve successfully negotiating with several dozen nations to use their flagcarriers to carry out what would be an internationally highly controversial operation. Oh, and then there's the economic impact of in effect cutting much of the world off from London for the best part of a week at least. And even all that – most of which would be subject to legal appeals which would take years, if not potentially much, much longer – would be contingent on any government successfully locating, rounding-up and incarcerating two million so-called 'illegals', something which may just be hampered by the UK prison population currently standing at 87,556, just exceeding the operational capacity of 88,818. And finally, while there is no evidence whatsoever that there are two million immigrants living illegally in the UK – and the Telegraph recently had to correct a nonsensical headline that 'up to one in 13 Londoners could be illegal migrants' – the source of Dampier's parting shot that 'when polled, 84 per cent of the British public supported so-called mass deportations' is just as bad. The source was a GB News story citing a poll by little-known pollsters Find Out Now 'commissioned by Adam Wren, a young campaigner with a large following on X' – and even then, the 84% supported only 'the deportation of migrants who commit violent crimes', not 'mass deportations' more widely, as Dampier claims. In other news, the Daily Telegraph still hasn't found a new buyer.
Yahoo
08-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump tax cuts threaten to cost UK £18bn as companies flee to America
Donald Trump's tax plans could blow an £18 billion hole in the British economy, new analysis shows. Mr Trump campaigned on a platform of slashing US corporation tax rates and has already disavowed the OECD's minimum tax deal, which aimed to reduce tax competition between countries. New economic modelling reveals that the president's corporate tax plans could adversely affect Britain, where the levy on business remains at a relatively high 25 per cent. If Mr Trump cuts US corporation tax to 14 per cent, one point below the OECD minimum rate, American investment in the UK could quickly dry up. During the US election, Mr Trump pledged to cut the corporate tax rate to at least 15 per cent, 6 percentage points below the 21 per cent rate set by former president Joe Biden. In its analysis, the Prosperity Institute said: 'If the United States government cuts US corporate tax to 14 per cent – one point below the OECD's minimum threshold of 15 per cent – this would give the United States an 11 per cent tax differential over the UK, whose corporate tax rate is currently 25 per cent. 'We predict a reduction of up to £18.2 billion in foreign direct investment from the USA to the British economy between now and 2030-31.' The think tank also warned that Trump's tax reforms could cancel out many of the revenue raising plans set out by Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor. It said: 'Furthermore, this would negatively impact the UK's GDP by 0.1 per cent (£3.4 billion) over the same period, based on OBR forecasts of UK GDP growth, equivalent to the anticipated gains from recent business rates reform (£1.2 billion) and increased capital gains tax (£2.2 billion).' Emmanuel Igwe and Jordan McKittrick, economists at the Prosperity Institute, said: 'Without embracing competition, the UK will find itself potentially losing business to its largest trading partner, as more American money is reshored. This is a risk that the UK can scarcely afford to take, considering the state of public finances and the economy.' 'The ability to set tax rates is fundamental to any nation's sovereignty. While corporation tax is just one item in a nation's toolbox, alongside regulatory reform, energy policy, labour laws and others, it is of fundamental importance.' An HM Treasury spokesman said: 'The UK has been recently recognised as the second most attractive investment destination in the world, beating Germany, China and India, and is forecast by both the IMF and OECD to be the fastest growing major economy in Europe in the coming years. 'Our competitive tax system is just one way we are going further and faster to kick-start that economic growth, with corporation tax capped at 25 per cent – the lowest in the G7 – for the entire Parliament and permanent full expensing backing businesses to create wealth and opportunity across Britain.' In recent weeks, the Chancellor has tried to convince global businesses that they should invest in Britain. Ms Reeves visited the World Economic Forum in Davos last month and told conference delegates: 'The time to invest in Britain is now.'
