Don’t ‘clobber’ Londoners with ULEZ, Rachel Reeves says July 27, 2023 Now is not the right time to “clobber” Londoners with the ULEZ charge, Labour shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves has said. The shadow chancellor has weighed in on the ultra low emission zone (ULEZ) expansion row engulfing City Hall and Labour politics in the wake of the Uxbridge by-election defeat. She told the Sun she was [...]
Business groups cheer plans to speed up planning process for big infrastructure projects July 25, 2023 Top business groups have welcomed government plans to speed up the planning process for key infrastructure projects as a “major signal” on green growth. Ministers want to overhaul the system and create a new fast-track route for major schemes, such as offshore wind farms, transport connections, waste facilities and nuclear power stations. Prime minister Rishi [...]
Met Police has spent £7.7m policing Just Stop Oil protests since April July 25, 2023 The Metropolitan Police have spent £7.7m policing 13 weeks of Just Stop Oil protests, the force has said. Protestors mounted 515 protests since April and the cost of handling the disruption amounted to the equivalent of 23,500 officer shifts. Actions included slow marches in busy London roads and disrupting major sporting events, and more than [...]
Bring Commonwealth Games to London, says capital business body July 23, 2023 London is the “ideal city” to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games, a top business lobby body has said. The £3.5bn, 12-day event was meant to be held in the Australian state of Victoria but premier Daniel Andrews confirmed the region had pulled out after costs tripled. Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has said London “stands [...]
Brewdog boss: Rail strikes have cost firm £3.5m and are ‘killing UK businesses’ July 23, 2023 The boss of Brewdog has warned that rail strikes are “killing UK businesses” as he offered up the pub chain’s Waterloo venue as a location for “beer and sandwiches” negotiations. James Watt took to LinkedIn to warn that Brewdog has lost £3.5m to date due to industrial action, as he accused the government of not [...]
Some civil servants work from home 60 per cent of the week, new data shows July 20, 2023 Civil servants working on supporting the UK’s businesses were at their desks for just 40 per cent of the second week in July, government figures have revealed. Staff at the former Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) department came into the office for two fifths of the time during the week beginning Monday 10 July, [...]
What does Susan Hall’s selection mean for London? July 19, 2023 The Conservatives have selected former London Assembly group leader Susan Hall to run against Labour’s Sadiq Khan in the mayoral elections next year. For anyone who’s not been following the process, it has been somewhat of a rollercoaster. Murmurings started some months ago with reports CCHQ were on the hunt for a quasi-celeb, someone with [...]
Met Police has ‘so much further to go’ in tackling racism and misogyny July 19, 2023 The Met Police still have “so much further to go” in rooting out racism and misogyny in the force, the mother of two murdered sisters has said. Mina Smallman said a lack of acceptance and transparency persists in the Met, and that instances of both good and bad policing should be highlighted more often. Smallman’s [...]
‘He doesn’t like women’: Tory hopeful Susan Hall gets personal in bid to unseat Sadiq Khan July 17, 2023 With three by-elections approaching, the race between the now-two Tory hopefuls vying to take on Sadiq Khan in the 2024 mayoral election has taken something of a backseat. But following the exit of former No10 advisor Daniel Korski, the odds have shortened for both those standing. Former Conservative group leader in the London Assembly Susan [...]
Dodgy cops ‘weaponising’ complaints, Met Police chief warns July 5, 2023 Dodgy Metropolitan Police officers who are breaching standards are “weaponising” complaints against bosses trying to stamp out misconduct, commissioner Sir Mark Rowley has warned. The Met chief issued the shock warning at the City Hall police and crime committee as he updated the London Assembly on measures to clean up the force. Sir Mark said: [...]