Fuming: Foreign Office names and shames embassies for unpaid congestion charges February 25, 2020 Transport for London (TfL) is owed more than £116m of unpaid congestion charges by diplomatic officials, with the US embassy leading the way. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office released the figures today, showing that the US embassy had accumulated a total of 102,225 unpaid congestion charges, which adds up to £12.44m in lost revenue for [...]
The TfL junk food ad ban was clearly a recipe for failure February 25, 2020 Today marks a year since Transport for London (TfL) introduced a ban on junk food advertising anywhere on its network. But what impact has it had? And what are the lessons for London’s policymakers? One year on, there is little evidence that the ban has achieved much beyond generating a few headlines. In fact, it [...]
Sadiq Khan budget: Uncertainty over Met’s special operations funding February 24, 2020 Sadiq Khan will spend an extra £227.6m on the Metropolitan Police in 2020-21, however its specialist operations branch may face future funding uncertainty. Khan’s £18.5bn 2020-21 budget was approved by the London Assembly today. He plans to increase day-to-day spending for the The Mayor’s Office for Policing And Crime (MOPAC) to £3.89bn, which includes funding [...]
Sadiq Khan’s budget lays out path for East Bank development February 24, 2020 City Hall yesterday confirmed its plans to spend £437.5m over the next five years to fund a new culture and education hub across the Stratford waterfront. The £1.1bn East Bank development will be the home of a new Sadler’s Wells theatre, BBC music studios, a new Victoria and Albert Museum museum and campuses for University [...]
Culture complements commerce, so let’s celebrate the City’s thriving artistic scene February 24, 2020 As lord mayor of the City of London, my role is primarily business-focused. But I am also passionate about arts and culture, and with so much of it on our doorstep, Londoners are truly fortunate. In fact, championing culture is a key part of my mayoral theme. And to underline its importance, I am looking [...]
Exclusive: Tory mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey calls for £104m ’emergency crime budget’ February 24, 2020 Tory mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey will attach an amendment to the mayor’s budget in an attempt to inject an extra £104m to the Metropolitan Police’s coffers. The London Assembly will vote on Sadiq Khan’s £17bn 2020-21 mayoral budget at City Hall today. The 25 assembly members can successfully add amendments to the budget, or over [...]
Camden takes tech crown as it leads UK for new business creation February 24, 2020 Camden has topped the UK rankings for new business creations as London’s booming tech scene continues to drive growth in the capital. A total of 2,110 net new businesses were created in Camden in 2018, according to figures published today by private equity investment firm Growthdeck. This was closely followed by Westminster with 2,100, while [...]
Mayoral candidate Siobhan Benita wants to ‘Love London Better’ February 22, 2020 For a brief moment in 2019, the Liberal Democrats looked a serious chance of upending Britain’s two-party political hegemony. After years in the political wilderness, the party rode a wave of Brexit uncertainty and parliamentary division to top Westminster YouGov polling in late May, eliciting cries of jubilation from long suffering Lib Dem supporters. It’s [...]
HMRC sets up secret unit to probe inheritance tax avoidance February 22, 2020 HM Revenue & Customs has implemented a secret unit to investigate the use of family investment companies (FIC) by the very wealthy to avoid paying inheritance tax. It puts family offices with a combined total of more than $1tn in assets within its sights. The tax authority set up the team in April last year [...]
Coronavirus: Tokyo hits back at ‘inappropriate’ suggestions London could host 2020 Olympics February 21, 2020 Tokyo governor Yurilo Koike has labelled claims London would be ready to host the 2020 Olympics if necessary as “inappropriate”. While a number of sporting events having been cancelled due to the coronavirus outbreak, Japan has been determined to get this year’s Olympic Games on. Earlier this week, the Conservative Party’s London mayoral candidate Shaun [...]