UK drivers spend an average of 32 hours in traffic – costing Londoners £1,911 each last year February 20, 2017 The UK been has ranked the 3rd most congested in Europe – drivers spend an average of 32 hours a year in traffic jams during peak times, according to a report by traffic information company Inrix. Over 1,000 cities worldwide were included in the study, and London was named the seventh worst for congestion and [...]
RMT and Aslef to ballot Night Tube drivers for strike action February 20, 2017 The RMT and Aslef unions said this morning they will ballot Night Tube drivers for industrial action over a "block on career progression". Both unions are protesting what they see as obstruction of drivers' career progression. Aslef has set a deadline of 10am on Thursday 16 March for the return of ballot papers. According to the [...]
An old Irish lady found one of the last £50k Jane Austen fivers and donated it to charity February 20, 2017 There's still a £5 engraved with a tiny portrait of Jane Austen floating around – after the last one was discovered and donated to charity. Back in December artist Graham Short declared he had engraved four of the Bank of England's new fivers with a tiny, 5mm, picture of the author, plus a quote from her [...]
Hooray: Higher than average temperatures are coming to London this week February 20, 2017 February’s weather has been a bit all over the place to say the least – from heavy snow in northern parts of the country to Spring-like weather in London earlier on this week, which coincided with the Snow Moon. Londoners will be happy to know that today is the warmest day of the year so [...]
Why HS2 could be a train wreck for Euston station February 20, 2017 Today MPs will debate the HS2 bill in parliament for what is almost certainly the final time. Yet after hundreds of hours of debate and deliberation over more than five years by both MPs and peers, the plan for High Speed Rail 2 into London remains fundamentally flawed. Irrespective of the merits of the entire [...]
Celebrate the businesses that go the extra mile to support their local communities February 20, 2017 The most important part of my role as lord mayor of the City of London is to represent the UK’s financial and professional services industry. Since my election last September I have been regularly meeting employees, employers, entrepreneurs and opinion-formers from across the UK – and one thing is increasingly clear: as a nation we [...]
We won’t build a Global Britain with the highest taxes on air travel in the world February 20, 2017 The Prime Minister – in her Lancaster House speech last month – set out her vision for Brexit and her goal of “a truly global Britain”. She has been clear that she seeks to lead “a country that reaches beyond the borders of Europe” and “a country that goes into the world to build relationships”. [...]
What you need to know about travelling during this week’s Tube strikes: Travel advice for Central and Waterloo & City Line commuters February 19, 2017 Fresh strikes on London Underground are due to disrupt travellers this week with the Central and Waterloo & City lines expected to have little to no service. Here's what you need to know about- the industrial action so you can plan ahead. What time and day are the strikes taking place? From late on Tuesday [...]
German minister hits out at London Stock Exchange bosses over mega-merger February 19, 2017 Politicians from the German state of Hesse say LSE bosses are insisting on London as the legal base for the merged LSE-Deutsche Boerse exchange due to concerns about the post-Brexit future. The proposed £21bn mega-merger is pending approval by the European Commission, and Hesse, the German state which includes the city of Frankfurt, home to [...]
London’s T-charge, which will affect up to 10,000 high pollution vehicles, will be introduced in October February 17, 2017 Take a deep breath – or don't… yet. There's going to be a new emissions charge in the City starting 23 October. London mayor Sadiq Khan today confirmed his plans for a £10 emissions surcharge, or T-charge, on older polluting vehicles in the city centre. Khan announced the news on the 14th anniversary of London's congestion charge, [...]