The Festival of Words: From Gyles Brandreth to Anthony Scaramucci – all you need to know about the Fleet Street Quarter festival
Tories brace for heavy losses as Badenoch outpolls rivals April 4, 2026 Five years ago, the Conservatives were polling at around 40 per cent, buoyed by the vaccine rollout and post-Brexit momentum, and went on to gain 235 seats in the 2021 local elections. But ahead of May’s vote, that position seems to have shifted. Political scientist Stephen Fisher has suggested the party could lose as many [...]
Kemi Badenoch to call for oil drilling to be maximised March 28, 2026 Kemi Badenoch is to launch a campaign calling for Britain to maximise the use of its oil and gas reserves. The Conservatives will put a “get Britain drilling” campaign at the heart of their proposals for bringing down the spike in energy prices caused by the war in the Middle East. Iran’s blockade of the [...]
Starmer says he doesn’t hold power to approve North Sea projects March 25, 2026 Sir Keir Starmer has said he doesn’t hold legal powers to approve fresh exploration of North Sea oil and gas fields, with the decision falling in the hands of net zero secretary Ed Miliband. Starmer said current legislation determined that a quasi-judicial decision relating to cases for more gas extraction at Shell’s Jackdaw site and [...]
Rocco Forte: Inheritance tax grab has endangered my family firm March 25, 2026 With luxury outposts across Europe, and plans to expand to the Gulf, Rocco Forte Hotels has become one of Britain’s most successful hospitality exports. But after being hit by a wave of damaging policies – including a potentially existential inheritance tax crackdown – he tells Ali Lyon, he is more disillusioned with Britain now, than [...]
The UK is being “dragged into” Iran war says Badenoch March 21, 2026 Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has said the UK is being “dragged into” the Iran war “whether we like it or not” after the nation fired missiles at joint UK-US base. Badenoch argued Starmer can longer “sit on the fence” after the attempted strikes on Saturday morning, before criticising him for not backing the US to [...]
Badenoch says ‘strong woman’ should replace Starmer March 18, 2026 Kemi Badenoch called for a “strong woman” to replace Sir Keir Starmer as Prime Minister after repeated refusals to answer whether he spoke to Lord Peter Mandelson before appointing him as ambassador to the US. Badenoch attacked Starmer for deflecting questions about Mandelson, even as the Prime Minister’s spokesman confirmed last week that it was [...]
City AM Awards 2026: Meet the Finalists March 18, 2026 And the nominees are…. Personality of the Year Greg Jackson CBE The entrepreneur and CEO of Octopus Energy has become one of the UK’s most prominent business leaders, known for his straight talking and punchy views across a range of topics including UK entrepreneurship, the business environment, capital markets and, of course, energy. In August [...]
‘Cover up’: Starmer blames vetting amid process questions on Mandelson March 12, 2026 Sir Keir Starmer’s spokesman has blamed the vetting process inherited from previous governments for Lord Peter Mandelson’s appointment despite accusations that the Prime Minister did not follow ministerial procedures and oversaw a “cover up”. Starmer’s spokesman said the government was looking to reform the due diligence process and national security vetting procedure for major appointments. [...]
Why is Britain-hating Bank of England taking Churchill off our banknotes? March 12, 2026 The Bank of England is replacing British icons like Winston Churchill and Jane Austen with pictures of animals on our money. This is not a neutral act, says James Price The field of numismatics shows us that, in the ancient world, one of the ultimate symbols of a regime’s legitimacy was the minting of coins. [...]
Fuel duty rise ‘under review’ as Iran war response sparks tensions March 11, 2026 Sir Keir Starmer has said a rise in fuel scheduled for September is “under review” hours after Rachel Reeves hinted an energy support package could be drawn up. Starmer said fuel duty would remain frozen until September and the policy would be kept “under review in light of what’s happening in Iran” when he was [...]