Mayor of London to move ahead with plans to pedestrianise Oxford Street October 6, 2025 The mayor of London has confirmed he is ploughing ahead with “bold proposals” to pedestrianise Oxford Street after claiming a one-day traffic ban significantly boosted the local economy. Footfall in the West End area was 45 per cent higher on the day when traffic was prohibited from accessing a half-mile stretch of road from Orchard [...]
Home Secretary denies ministerial interference amid dropped Chinese spy case October 5, 2025 Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, said she was “very disappointed” about the collapse of a major Chinese spying case but denied there was any ministerial interference. The case against Christoper Cash, a former parliamentary researcher, and Christopher Berry, was due to start at Woolwich crown count on Monday, but was dropped on 15 September, a move [...]
Kemi Badenoch: My approach will “pay off eventually” October 5, 2025 Conservative leader, Kemi Badenoch, has insisted her approach to changing the struggling party will “pay off eventually” as she battles dwindling voter support. In an interview with BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg, Badenoch stressed that she would not “rush out” new policies and instead take the time needed to “get it right”. She acknowledged that the Conservative [...]
Jaguar Land Rover to bailout suppliers after state ‘rescue’ stalls October 5, 2025 Jaguar Land Rover is finalising a deal to lend its suppliers millions of pounds as the tax-payer backed rescue of the carmaker hit a wall. Bosses are putting the final touches to a sweeping lifeline that would see up to £500m be injected into its supply chain, which is at a standstill. The privately funded [...]
Former Home Secretary backs Phillipson for Labour deputy leader October 5, 2025 Former home secretary, Alan Johnson, has endorsed education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, to become Labour’s next deputy leader, after warning that Powell could be divisive. Johnson suggested Phillipson’s rival, Lucy Powell, may not have entered the race had she not been sacked from the cabinet in last month’s major reshuffle, before warning she could “destabilise the [...]
Tories pledge creation of US-style deportations force October 5, 2025 The Tories will pledge to create a new “Removals Force” tasked with deporting 150,000 people a year as part of plans to end irregular migration into the UK. Tory plans announced on Sunday would see the Removals Force given £1.6 billion and “sweeping new powers” including the use of facial recognition without warning to spot [...]
Business chiefs would be ambassadors if Tories re-elected October 4, 2025 Business chiefs would be made ambassadors to represent the UK’s interests abroad if the Tories were re-elected into government. Leaders from the private sector would be part of a “cultural revolution towards commerce” under a Conservative government, according to shadow business secretary Andrew Griffith and shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel. In an article for the [...]
Rachel Reeves mulls hiring ‘outsider’ for banking watchdog role October 4, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves is looking to hire a City heavyweight to succeed Sam Woods as the chief executive of the main banking watchdog once his term ends in the middle of next year, it has been reported. Sam Woods’ term as chief executive of the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), the watchdog which is part of [...]
Starmer calls for ‘agreement without delay’ on peace plan in Gaza October 4, 2025 Sir Keir Starmer has labelled Hamas’ partial acceptance of a peace plan put forward by US President Donald Trump as a “significant step forwards” and called for an “agreement without delay”. Hamas said it has accepted elements of the plan to end the nearly two-year war, including being willing to release the hostages and hand [...]
OBR hands Rachel Reeves first damning pre-Budget report on UK economy October 3, 2025 The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has handed Chancellor Rachel Reeves its first evaluation of the state of the UK economy and crippled public finances, setting policy discussions about likely £30bn tax rises and possible savings in motion. The OBR’s Budget Responsibility Committee, which consists of the economists Richard Hughes, David Miles and Tom Josephs, [...]