My Time At Shell Was A Most

When My Job Was Attempting To Predict Future Economic Developments For The Shell Oil Company, I Was Frequently Reminded Of An Arabic Saying: 'those Who Claim To Foresee The Future Are Lying, Even If By Chance They Are Later Proved Right.'

For Wide Swaths Of Training And Education There Are Valuable Spillovers Which Mean That The Private Sector Needs Support From The Government. That Is Why I Have Been So Determined To Protect And Grow Apprenticeships And Put Higher Education On A Sustainable Footing.

Well, As I Said, You Know The Issue Of Greek Debt, They've Grasped The Principle Of Debt Reduction. I Think Most People Would Argue That Probably More Needs To Be Done On That Front, And They've Just Begun To Take The First Steps To Accepting That There's Going To Have To Be Much Closer Economic Integration In Europe.

Our Workforce Is Very Co-operative, Very Flexible, Easy To Work With And One Of The Big Selling Points. The Idea That Britain Is Still Back In The Labour Market Of The '70s Is Utterly Bizarre.

The Real Problem At The Moment Is That The Banks - Because Of Their Existing Culture, Which Is Frankly Anti-business, Obsession With Short-term Trading Profits, Not Focusing On The Long Term - Are Throttling The Recovery Of British Industry.