South Western becomes first rail service renationalised under Labour May 25, 2025 The government’s renationalisation of rail services has started as trains operated by South Western Railway (SWR) were taken into public control. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander, who travelled on the first renationalised departure from London Waterloo, said it was “a new dawn for our railways”. SWR was previously owned by Firstgroup and MTR Corporation, but is [...]
Premier League prize money: Millions on line this weekend May 25, 2025 Today all 20 Premier League sides will take to the pitch for the final time this season, and though we know who has won the title – and who is going down – there’s still a lot on the line. There’s the battle for the Champions League, handed out to the top five teams, where [...]
As Labour chases Reform, they’re bleeding votes on the left May 25, 2025 Just two weeks after Reform UK’s local election triumph, the government announced a major crackdown on immigration. But while Labour scrambles to neutralise the threat from the right, it risks losing another, just as substantial, cohort to its left, argues Fonie Mitsopoulou. The electorate doesn’t love Labour at the moment. Recent polls indicate that of [...]
New rules could see housebuilders who leave sites unfinished stripped of land May 24, 2025 Housebuilders who leave vital development sites unfinished for years could face losing their land to local councils under new Government rules. For the first time, developers will have to commit to delivery time frames before they get planning permission. They will also have to submit annual reports showing their progress to councils to keep them [...]
X down as thousands report issues with social media platform May 24, 2025 The social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, experienced an outage on Saturday as users reported issues with the site. According to service monitoring site Downdetector, thousands of users in the UK experienced problems accessing the app and website. The site, which tracks user experiences and outages across different websites, showed that the issue [...]
NHS to open more ‘mental health A&Es’ to relieve pressure on hospitals May 24, 2025 The NHS will open more mental health crisis centres across England in a bid to keep those patients out of “crowded A&Es”, the head of NHS England has said. The new service, staffed by specialist doctors and nurses, will be open to patients who present symptoms of a mental health crisis, such as suicidal thoughts [...]
EU trade chief calls for ‘mutual respect’ after Trump tariff threats May 24, 2025 The EU’s trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic said the bloc will secure a trade deal with the US in “good faith” guided by “mutual respect, not threats”. US President Donald Trump has threatened to slap 50 per cent tariffs on all EU goods sent to the United States. After a call with US trade representative Jamieson [...]
Women’s Champions League: Arsenal could cash in on prize money May 24, 2025 On Saturday evening in Lisbon, Arsenal Women will be hoping to win their second Champions League title. Between the Gunners and the trophy stand three-time winners Barcelona, who thrashed WSL champions Chelsea 8-2 in the semi-finals. The Champions League has been lucrative for Arsenal Women, and winning the final could boost their finances even further. [...]
Rolls-Royce: How high could FTSE 100 giant’s shares go? May 24, 2025 Rolls-Royce, the British icon which has become a darling of the FTSE 100 post-pandemic, is showing no signs of disappointing investors as its market capitalisation passed the £70bn mark for the first time in its history. The milestone means that long-term investors are also guaranteed a huge return if they ever decided to sell, but [...]
Panel sessions and punk music: SXSW comes to London May 24, 2025 In the first week of June, the world’s largest tech, business and arts festival, SXSW, will make its European debut in Shoreditch. Ali Lyon asks its its chief executive, Max Alexander, why London, and why now? Of the many aspirations Max Alexander has for next month’s inaugural South by Southwest London, there is one which [...]