By The Capitalist

Copyright cityam

This week’s rumours, whispers and City gossip in The Capitalist… Which Tory will be next to turn turquoise, Trump’s in town and City AM welcomes some newcomers

TURNING TURQUOISE: WHICH TORY IS NEXT?Tory WhatsApp groups have been feverishly speculating on who among their number may be next to make the turquoise transition to Reform. And given there’s still two weeks to go until Conservative Party Conference, it seems a fair bet that Nigel Farage has some other big beasts up his sleeve whose defection he’s timing for maximum embarrassment. The Capitalist does not offer gambling tips, but William Hill’s favourite, at 2/1, is currently Victoria Atkins, former health secretary and currently in the shadow cabinet.

Also on the rumoured list to jump ship include shadow secretary of state for science, innovation and technology Julia Lopez, as well as shadow minister Robert Jenrick and shadow secretary of state for transport Richard Holden. Priti Patel’s name has also been thrown in the ring by the online betting firm. But back to Atkins, and given that she’s the daughter of a Conservative MP and a Conservative councillor, her departure would surely leave her party, as well as her family, feeling incredibly blue.

PLAYING FTSE WITH AI ROBOTSJust how well are FTSE 100 boards coping with the integration of AI into their jobs? The boss of one relayed to the Capitalist a C-suite meeting at which execs were alarmed by the sudden appearance of a mystery bot on the Zoom call. Panicked, they wondered if the systems had been hacked. They soon discovered it was the AI agent of one of the team, who had joined the call automatically on his behalf, unbeknownst to him. Sighs of relief were heard all round.

DONALD COMES UP TRUMPS WITH ROYAL GIFTSTrump will depart Blighty with some pretty incredible swag, following his short two-day trip. The President was given a leather volume celebrating the 250th anniversary of the US declaration of independence, and in return, presented King Charles with a replica of President Eisenhower’s sword. Hopefully that’ll make amends for Trump’s awkward mishap this week. Shortly before his arrival in the UK, he mistakenly called the King ‘Prince Charles’.

A HEROIC EFFORTSpeaking of H/Advisors, top boss Neil Bennett is this weekend embarking on an epic 39 mile run in 24 hours in support of the dementia charity Anna Chaplaincy. Bennett – a keen runner and former City AM columnist – will allow himself an overnight stop in Bakewell before picking up the pace in time for lunch in the village of Eyam. To support this effort you can search for his Anna Chaplaincy JustGiving page.

A FRESH LEAF FOR THE CITYSky’s loss is the City’s gain as the Square Mile cheers a couple of key signings. Martin Kimber was the producer of Sky’s Business Live show but he’s soon to pop up in a new role as Head of Video and Audio right here at City AM. His former boss, Ian King, is also launching a new City venture and will be hosting a new podcast with comms firm H/Advisors, focusing on long-form business interviews. The show, Behind the Narrative, is co-presented by H/Advisors partner Katherine Spence who is also, as luck would have it, a former Sky News correspondent.

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