Banning vape shops won’t fix scuzzy high streets Opinion Andy Burnham’s plans to revamp high streets by cutting down on vape shops aren’t ambitious enough, says Joseph Dinnage Andy Burnham is taking his hand to cleaning up Britain’s high streets. Commenting on the degradation of our urban centres, Burnham said that many areas have been “hollowed out”, and that the high streets we grew [...]
Serco chief hits back at New Statesman’s outsourcing jibes Politics Serco’s boss has hit back at media criticism in the New Statesman and other outlets as the under-scrutiny firm boosted its sales and eyed more contract wins. The London-listed firm, which is one of Britain’s largest outsourcing companies running everything from bin collections to asylum accommodation, said it remained committed to bidding for contracts in [...]
Astrazeneca and Jaguar Land Rover given power to endorse talented migrants for visas Politics A select group of private companies including Astrazeneca and Jaguar Land Rover will be able to endorse migrants to enter the UK on a skilled talent visa for the first time. The list of over 100 companies, which also includes GSK, Arm and a range of large companies and research start-ups, will now be able [...]
OBR misery makes tax rises inevitable July 24, 2026 The OBR’s dire fiscal risks report portrays a world in which the only possible solution to Britain’s economic state is tax rises, says Emmanuel Igwe In ancient Greece, devotees trekked to Delphi to be told in ambiguous prose by the Pythia that chaos was nigh and only sacrifice to Apollo could hold off punishment. These [...]
Burnham scraps digital ID scheme July 19, 2026 Andy Burnham will scrap Labour’s digital ID scheme when he becomes Prime Minister, as part of a “reset of priorities” over the cost of living crisis. The incoming Prime Minister said on Saturday that he would ditch the programme, set out only months ago by Sir Keir Starmer, and spend the money saved on “improving [...]
‘Chaos’ – Aviation industry slams EU border checks as millions face summer holiday misery July 1, 2026 New EU rules have left Brits facing summer holiday chaos on an unprecedented scale, with five hour waits at passport control and thousands missing flights altogether. Now, a cluster of aviation industry groups has called on the trading bloc’s most senior official to suspend its new biometric border system, EES, whose botched rollout threatens to [...]
Mahmood unveils refugee sponsorship route as asylum bill faces Labour test June 27, 2026 Home secretary Shabana Mahmood has unveiled plans for businesses and universities to sponsor refugees to come to Britain, as she seeks to shore up support for a wider asylum overhaul expected to face resistance from parts of Labour. The Home Office said it would introduce new “capped safe and legal” routes from later this year, [...]
Serco hits back after Zia Yusuf accuses FTSE 250 firm of being ‘hostile to Reform’ June 15, 2026 One of the UK government’s biggest private sector contractors has denied being hostile to Reform UK after the party’s home affairs spokesperson Zia Yusuf after accused it taking “political positions” against his immigration policy. Citing a report in the Telegraph that suggested FTSE 250 firm Serco would refuse to support Reform’s deportation plans if it [...]
World Cup: Third of fan visas from non-European countries are being rejected June 11, 2026 A third of World Cup fan visas from non-European countries are being rejected with Iran and Senegal hit the hardest, research has found. The United States, which is hosting 78 of the World Cup’s 104 matches, has refused 74 per cent of visas from Senegalese applicants and 61 per cent of Iranian submissions. These are [...]
Brent Hoberman: We need a ‘British dream’ – and more talented immigrants May 7, 2026 The UK needs to welcome many more business founders from abroad to rejuvenate the economy, one of Britain’s best-known entrepreneurs has said, as he issued a rallying cry to renew faith in the future of the country. In a wide-ranging speech at the City AM Awards ceremony at the Guildhall last night, Brent Hoberman, who [...]