Bill Midgley

Rise in holidays at home

ONE of the joys and strengths of the English language is its ability to change, to adapt, to reflect changing society and to harness new words. Read

Listen up – we are not in recession

AS there is a reduced amount of news in what is usually referred to as the silly season, it is perhaps not surprising that there is a concentration on a narrow range of events, and perhaps too much time for thought and debate that is not good for some issues. Read

Health and safety or just pure farce?

THE march of regulation becomes ever more stifling as we see interpretations of legislation, however well meaning in its initial intent, that seem ludicrous in their execution. Read

These oil prices don’t add up

I KNOW that the style of mathematics has changed greatly since whatever I was forced to learn in this context was hammered in to me, but surely some basics remain unchanged. Read

Are you losing out on your petrol claims?

In all of the column acres of opinion and comment on the increasing fuel prices there is one issue that has been given little if any coverage, yet it it affects the majority of those individuals who have to make their vehicles available for the benefit of their employer. Read

Let’s hear it for good service ...

OVER the years I have to accept that I have often been critical of the levels of service and attitude provided by Government departments and their various agencies. Read

Bill Midgley column

The term "old curmudgeon" is one that has been used about me far too often, and I have to say that I do object to the use of the word old. Read

Bill Midgley column

One of the organisations of which I am chairman has, over the past two years, won two awards for being classed as a Top 100 Employer in a nationwide review of 65,000 organisations and businesses. Read

Bill Midgley

It would appear that the graduates from the "Academy of the Patently Obvious" have been at it again. Read

Bill Midgley

One of the phrases that is often thrown out by Government and its subsidiary organisations is that of "joined up Government". Read

Bill Midgley column

The half-yearly results announced recently by Tesco seem to have created something of a furore. Read

Bill Midgley column

Many more columns will undoubtedly be written regarding migrant labour and the impact that it has upon both the UK's economic and social structure. Read

Bill Midgley column

I must have reached an age where those telephone calls from firms of head-hunters no longer happen; not, I have to say, that there were very many of them even in younger days. Read

Bill Midgley column

If I continue to travel to London as often as I do then I shall be accused of having a southern bias rather than that of my northern homeland. But such trips do have some illuminating experiences and perhaps there are some lessons from them that can be learned so far as our own region is concerned. Read

Bill Midgley column

I had often wondered why so many people in London seem to be walking to work in trainers. Read

Bill Midgley

The issue of immigrant labour, be that from illegal immigration from the European Union or asylum seekers, is an extremely emotive one, and far be it for me in these notes to make a comment on the rights or wrongs of the situation. Read

Bill Midgley column

One of the criticisms many junior managers make is that they are subject to "micro- management"; an increasing level of control over minor issues where managers should really be empowered to make their own decisions, and subsequently to be held accountable for such decisions. Read

Bill Midgley column

Perhaps one of the less onerous duties I have as president of British Chambers of Commerce is the opportunity to visit other countries, and particularly to meet government ministers and leaders of their industries. Read

Bill Midgley column

Debates in Europe, either in the Parliament or the Commission, tend to induce an outbreak of apathy, glazed eyes and a process of ignoring how our future lives are being shaped. Read

Bill Midgley column

It was pleasing to read the report in The Journal of Saturday last on the seminar headed up by the Learning and Skills Council on the 14 - 19 Education Agenda. Read

Author Profile

Bill Midgley is a Cumbrian-born businessman, who spent most of the first 30 years of his life in Yorkshire, has long been a high-profile figure in the North East business community. His career in financial services began as a 16-year-old with the Midland Bank in Huddersfield and eventually led to him spending two decades with the Newcastle Building Society where he was chief executive and latterly executive vice chairman, before retiring in 1998. He has continued to expand his business and charity interests both regionally and nationally and is a high-profile media commentator.