10 things to look forward to in London in 2017 January 6, 2017 Forget 2016; here's what you need to look forward to in London in 2017 1. Nordic Matters Festival, Southbank Centre The Southbank Centre is planning to explore all things Nordic through 2017, with some scandi-tastic special events. Think Moomins, Lego, hygge, saunas and gastronomic treats like cinnamon buns, pickling and curing — alongside the most [...]
Five days in to 2017, London exceeded its air pollution limit January 6, 2017 Finding the city smoggier than usual today? It's no wonder. Five days into the year, London has already broken air pollution limits set for the whole of 2017. Brixton Road is to blame. The road exceeded the hourly limit of 200 micrograms of nitrogen dioxide per cubic metre of air for the 19th time last night. Under EU pollution [...]
Editor’s notes: The great Civil Service myth, and why it’s time to shake things up… January 6, 2017 Though probably not on your daily reading list, Dominic Cummings (former adviser to Michael Gove and a top dog in the official Leave campaign) writes a fascinating blog. In between posts on artificial intelligence, super-computing and advanced physics, you’ll find reflections on his time working at the Department for Education as Gove’s senior adviser. If you [...]
Sadiq Khan launches a fresh plea for more control over London’s trains January 5, 2017 London mayor Sadiq Khan has launched a fresh appeal for control over the capital’s suburban trains. Khan has published a list of promises to Londoners if rail devolution goes ahead. In December, transport secretary Chris Grayling ruled out City Hall control of services, branding any handover “deckchair shifting”. However, Khan has reiterated his demands for [...]
Snooping City: Do you live in London’s most spied-on neighbourhood? January 5, 2017 Londoners have been subject to more than 10,000 days of covert surveillance by councils since 2011, new figures have revealed. Some 27 London borough councils have launched almost 500 surveillance operations over the last five years, but which local authorities did the most spying? A raft of Freedom Of Information requests can reveal surveillance operations [...]
Three contractors just won £500m from TfL to sort out London’s roads January 5, 2017 London drivers, brace yourselves for more roadworks: Transport for London has said it has signed a £500m deal with three of the UK's largest contractors to deliver "complex, large-scale civil engineering schemes" on the capital's roads. Costain, Morgan Sindall and Skanska will spend four years working on projects to improve journey reliability, encourage cycling and [...]
Make 2017 a year of celebration – not the suffocation of London’s Night Time Economy January 5, 2017 We live in interesting times. This term, actually a Chinese curse, reflects all the hope, possibility and opportunity of a period – as well as the worst that we can imagine from it. What has been “interesting” recently is the overwhelming cultural and political view that the British public is a nasty species that requires [...]
An actual earthquake actually happened in the UK yesterday January 4, 2017 The British Geological Survey has confirmed that an actual earthquake took place in the UK yesterday. Well, off the UK, anyway. According to the organisation, an earthquake with magnitude 3.8 struck in the Southern North Sea just before 7pm last night. The epicentre of the quake was 93 miles east of the town, at a [...]
Sadiq Khan’s fares “freeze” fails commuters – and will still hit Tube investment hard January 4, 2017 New Year's resolutions are like the mayor of London’s election promises – often made with good intentions but almost always broken a few months down the line. As we ring in 2017, commuters here in the capital will be seeing the cost of their travelcards go up by 1.9 per cent – the result of [...]
Retailers will need to brave fierce headwinds in 2017 January 2, 2017 The high street's cold snap over Christmas and the New Year is not just seasonal. Several chills running through the sector could finally be felt with their full force in 2017. Rising inflation, falling wage growth, escalating costs and sterling's depreciation are all expected to weigh on retailers in the coming months. If inflation takes [...]