Log in or register
Share on LinkedInShare on LinkedIn

ARTICLE · 13 DECEMBER 2012

The Political Lessons Starbucks Missed

Bircham Dyson Bell LLP
Explore more from Bircham Dyson Bell LLP

BDB Public Affairs Consult Dr. Stuart Thomson was a guest blogger for CIPR this week.

United KingdomStrategy
Stuart Thomson
Stuart Thomson

BDB Public Affairs Consult Dr. Stuart Thomson was a guest blogger for  CIPR this week. Read his post below.

From the moment the story emerged that Starbucks had paid corporation tax in the UK just once in the last 15 years, the company has been on the back foot and under serious political pressure. Some of this pressure appears to have been self-inflicted. As an organisation, it seems to have forgotten some basic political lessons.

  • Empathise – statements and appearances by the company have failed to show much in the way of sympathy towards the public and the wider economic environment. Suggestions that they pay other forms of tax and meet other legal requirements are not seen as a commitment to contributing to society.

We operate a free-to-view policy, asking only that you register in order to read all of our content. Please login or register to view the rest of this article.

Register for freeORLog in

Related Articles

Legal Intelligence Newsletters: sign up for the latest legal and regulatory news on your chosen topics

Read more about

See more popular content from

Article

Preparing For The EU Cyber Resilience Act: Key Reporting Obligations From 11 September 2026

The EU's Cyber Resilience Act introduces mandatory cybersecurity reporting obligations for manufacturers of digital products starting September 2026, requiring notification of actively exploited vulnerabilities and severe incidents within strict timeframes. Companies must establish procedures to identify and report security events to national Computer Security Incident Response Teams, with potential fines reaching €15 million or 2.5% of global turnover for non-compliance.
United KingdomStrategy
Goodwin Procter LLP
Goodwin Procter LLP
Article

European Commission Proposes European Innovation Act

The European Commission has unveiled a European Innovation Act designed to strengthen the EU's innovation ecosystem by addressing two critical challenges: limited access to finance for IP-rich businesses and fragmented regulatory frameworks across Member States. The proposal introduces measures including a common IP valuation framework, streamlined R&D procurement procedures, and harmonized regulatory sandboxes to help startups and scaleups commercialize their innovations more effectively.
European UnionStrategy
Lewis Silkin
Lewis Silkin
Article

The SRA’s AI Warning Notice: A Regulatory Wake-up Call, Not A Reason To Step Back

The Solicitors Regulation Authority has issued a warning notice on AI misuse in legal practice, clarifying what responsible adoption looks like. While recognizing AI's benefits for document review, drafting, and research, the regulator emphasizes that solicitors remain accountable for their work regardless of the tools used, requiring proper governance, human oversight, and professional judgment to manage risks like hallucinated citations and confidentiality breaches.
United KingdomStrategy
Gateley Legal
Gateley Legal