London local elections 2026: Who will win in the borough of Camden? London Sir Keir Starmer will be looking closely at how results pan out in his own backyard given his constituency in Holborn and St Pancras. Could the Greens or Lib Dems put Labour’s control under threat given the prominence of issues such as Gaza, planning and homelessness? Camden Council is Labour through and through – or [...]
London Local Elections 2026: Who will win in Ealing? London Voters are heading to the polls in the Labour stronghold of Ealing, against a backdrop of controversial developments, an increasingly split electoral map, and a hike in council tax. In the West London borough of Ealing, Labour is defending one of its strongest majorities in London at this latest set of local elections. Back [...]
London house prices sink again as wealthiest areas hit Property House prices in London have fallen for the seventh consecutive month, as the capital’s luxury hot spots saw huge slumps in value. House prices dropped more than 12 per cent in Westminster – which includes in-demand areas like Mayfair and Knightsbridge – and 11 per cent in Kensington and Chelsea. The average house price in [...]
Why old ladies mean your house has tiny windows April 15, 2026 Guidance dictating that windows must be of a size that means ’95 per cent of the elderly female population’ could clean them without stretching is just one example of the millions of rules holding Britain back, says Tom Harwood Once you start to notice how pokey windows are on most new builds, you won’t be [...]
Help to buy scheme had ‘limited impact on social mobility’ April 15, 2026 Previous help-to-buy schemes did little to improve social mobility and mainly benefited high earners, the government has been warned, as it mulls reviving the programme. Help-to-buy, which offered equity loans to first-time buyers, had a “limited impact on social mobility,” the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has said. The government is reportedly considering revising help-to-buy, [...]
Landlords, get ready to be gazundered April 14, 2026 The Renters’ Rights Act is introducing a ban on “overbidding”. Government interventions in pricing rarely end well, and this too will have unintended consequences, says William Reeve We’ve all been there. The agonising dance involved in deciding how much to bid for a property. The “how high should we go?” conversation plays a role every [...]
Middle East expats rush back to London, luxury property rents spike April 10, 2026 An influx of people who have recently moved to the Middle East are now seeking short-term refuge in London, pushing up rents in the capital’s luxury property market – according to a leading estate agency. British, European and North American nationals have rushed to snap up short-term rentals in high-value London properties since the Iran [...]
Mood has shifted on housing market as rates rattle demand April 9, 2026 High mortgage rates are unlikely to deflate immediately even if the Iran ceasefire holds, property experts have warned, as rising rates stifle demand for houses. The number of Brits enquiring to buy a new home fell even further in March, down from negative 29 per cent in February to minus 39 per cent last month, [...]
Construction firms slash jobs after biggest-ever cost inflation rise April 8, 2026 Construction businesses cut jobs at a faster pace in March while the month-to-month inflation rise was the largest on record in a survey that has existed for 29 years. S&P Global said the difference in a reading for cost inflation between February and March was the largest it had ever recorded since data collection began [...]
House prices drop as Iran war shakes property market April 8, 2026 House prices fell in March as the uncertainty caused by the Iran war stifled the property market and spiked fears of interest rate rises. Average house prices fell 0.5 per cent last month, reversing the modest 0.3 per cent February increase, according to Halifax’s house price index. This is the latest signal that the Iran [...]