A levelling up agenda cannot afford to overlook the UK’s beating financial heart March 16, 2020 With the strong and unpredictable economic headwinds of 2020, last week’s Budget came at a critical juncture. All eyes were on the new chancellor, in particular on what the Budget might propose to alleviate some of the short-term Covid-19 shocks to the economy. Efforts to support households and businesses, particularly SMEs, through the Covid-19 outbreak [...]
UK immigration no longer ‘top of mind’ issue, says new report March 16, 2020 Immigration is no longer a “top of the mind” issue for Britons, according to new research. A report from think tank British Future found immigration ranked as the ninth most important issues for voters, with 41 per cent saying they rated the issue as “very important”. The pro-immigration think tank said this was in contrast [...]
London mayoral election delayed for one year over coronavirus March 13, 2020 The London mayoral election and all local and mayoral elections in England have been postponed for a year because of the coronavirus outbreak. The Electoral Commission yesterday called for local and mayoral UK elections to be delayed until the autumn to “mitigate” the spread of coronavirus. The London election was due to take place on [...]
Extinction Rebellion cancels London protest over coronavirus March 13, 2020 Climate activist group Extinction Rebellion has cancelled its next London protest due to the coronavirus pandemic. The group, also known as XR, had scheduled a mass protest in London on 23 May to call for action on tackling the climate crisis. The planned date of the protest, which coincides with the start of the UK [...]
UK coronavirus case total hits 798 in biggest daily jump so far March 13, 2020 The number of confirmed UK coronavirus cases has risen by 208 to bring the total to 798. The overnight rise represents the biggest single day increase in UK coronavirus cases so far. The Department of Health said a total of 32,771 people have now been tested for Covid-19. Of those, 31,973 were found not to [...]
Coronavirus: Jubilee Line Tube driver tests positive March 13, 2020 A Tube driver on London Underground’s Jubilee Line has tested positive for coronavirus, Transport for London (TfL) confirmed today. It is the first case of coronavirus to be reported among London Underground workers. Transport for London (TfL) said the affected Tube driver is now self-isolating. A TfL spokesperson said: “A train driver on the Jubilee [...]
St Patrick’s Day: London celebrations canned due to coronavirus March 13, 2020 London’s St Patrick’s Day parade has been cancelled after performers dropped out due to mounting fears over the outbreak of coronavirus. Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said this morning that key performers were no longer able to take part in the annual Irish celebration. Khan said he was “incredibly disappointed” that the parade – which [...]
Tube passenger numbers fall during UK coronavirus outbreak March 12, 2020 The amount of passengers on the Tube has declined in the past four weeks during the coronavirus outbreak. The number of London Underground journeys has dropped by 1.6 per cent in the past four weeks compared to a year ago, while trips in the past 12 weeks are down 1 per cent compared to a [...]
How many coronavirus cases does your London borough have? March 12, 2020 Kensington and Chelsea has topped a list of worst affected London boroughs by coronavirus in statistics put out by Public Health England. As of today, there are 19 confirmed cases of the virus in the borough, followed by Westminster with 12 confirmed cases. They are followed by Camden and Southwark on 11 apiece, and Barnet [...]
London mayoral election should be postponed, says Electoral Commission March 12, 2020 The 7 May mayor of London election should be postponed due to the spread of coronavirus, according to the Electoral Commission. The electoral watchdog wrote to the government today to say all May polls should be postponed “to mitigate the impact on voters, campaigners and electoral administrators”. This is in direct opposition to mayor of [...]