‘Attention, please’: Rachel Reeves hails rail fare freeze over Liverpool Street tannoy Transport & Infrastructure Commuters arriving into Liverpool Street station have been serenaded by the Chancellor’s voice today. Rachel Reeves has taken over the key City transport artery to share the news of a freeze to rail fares – the first in 30 years. In a message read out over the tannoy periodically throughout Monday, Reeves opens with: “Testing, [...]
HS2 tunnel into Euston must deliver ‘credible plan’ for regeneration Transport & Infrastructure With tunnelling finally underway for the HS2 link between London Euston and Old Oak Common, a business group has called for a “credible plan” for regeneration of the area around the Central London transport artery. Business LDN has said that whilst the beginning of the tunnelling is “a significant milestone and a timely reminder of [...]
Sack Streeting, cabinet ministers urge Starmer Politics Sir Keir Starmer has faced calls from cabinet ministers to follow Kemi Badenoch’s playbook and sack health secretary Wes Streeting for disloyalty. Ministers are becoming increasingly frustrated about Streeting’s forthright public criticisms of the Labour party, with some privately accusing him of putting his leadership ambitions first and “attacking No 10”. One cabinet minister told [...]
Rival Heathrow bidder vows to plough on despite proposal snub November 26, 2025 The hotel billionaire behind a rival bid to develop Heathrow’s third runway has vowed to continue his pursuit to oversee the expansion despite ministers favouring a proposal submitted by the hub’s current owner that involves rerouting the M25. Transport secretary Heidi Alexander confirmed on her decision to proceed with the £49bn vision from Heathrow Airport [...]
Businesses back Heathrow bid to run third runway November 18, 2025 A group of well-known firms has urged ministers to approve the third runway expansion plan tabled by the owner of Heathrow airport, arguing its plan will deliver “the greatest economic benefit to the UK”. In a letter to transport secretary Heidi Alexander, bosses from the likes of Burberry, Caffe Nero and Fortnum and Mason threw [...]
Third runway shortlist revealed as ministers push for fast take-off October 22, 2025 The transport secretary has shortlisted two potential operators to oversee the development of Heathrow’s third runway as part of an overhaul of the planning process that she hopes will speed up the megaproject’s delivery. Heidi Alexander told MPs on Wednesday that bids from incumbent operator Heathrow Airport Limited (HAL) and the ‘Heathrow West’ proposal from [...]
South Western Railway performance nosedives after nationalisation October 2, 2025 Performance at South Western Railway has plummeted in the months since it became the first network to be brought under state ownership, piling fresh scrutiny on the government’s nationalisation drive just days after it announced the lines that will be taken public next. Delays and cancellations both rose sharply over the three months after it [...]
Government approves £2.2bn Gatwick second runway September 22, 2025 Gatwick Airport’s £2.2 billion second runway plan could create thousands of jobs and help “kickstart the economy”, Rachel Reeves said. In the privately-financed project, the West Sussex airport will move its emergency runway 12 metres north, enabling it to be used for departures of narrow-bodied planes such as Airbus A320s and Boeing 737s. This will [...]
Hotel billionaire launches shock bid to run Heathrow expansion July 31, 2025 The race to manage Heathrow’s multibillion-pound third runway expansion has been thrown wide open after a rival suitor confirmed it will submit a proposal to go up against an expected bid from the airport’s current operators. The Arora Group, a hotel chain with 13 hotels in transport hubs across London and the South East, confirmed [...]
Minister says only ‘average incomes’ up to £39k safe from Reeves’ tax hikes July 15, 2025 A government minister has said that Labour will stick to its manifesto commitment not to raise personal taxes, at least for those on “average incomes” – earning up to £39,000. Successive ministers over multiple days of media rounds have been caught in an increasingly tangled mess of definitions of what it means to be “wealthy”, [...]