Budget: ‘Tax on holidays’ slammed by Butlin’s boss November 26, 2025 The chief executive of Butlin’s has slammed Rachel Reeves for introducing a ‘tax on holidays’ in her Budget today. Jon Hendry Pickup has argued that “hospitality businesses like Butlin’s remain caught in the crossfire of the Chancellor’s tax and spend ideology”. The chief executive was reacting to the ‘tourism tax’ which has been welcomed by [...]
Sadiq Khan is no Zohran Mamdani November 13, 2025 Mamdani is a young, rising star with no record to defend. By 2028, Sadiq Khan will have been Mayor of London for 12 years and spent a decade in Parliament before that. With his record at City Hall, Khan will need to offer more than the vague promise of ‘hope’, says James Ford Last week [...]
Is Sadiq trying to gaslight Londoners about crime? October 16, 2025 The Mayor is desperate to convince Londoners that crime is falling, despite all the evidence to the contrary, writes James Ford London does not have a crime problem; it has a misinformation problem. That is the assertion of the capital’s Mayor, Sadiq Khan. Clearly wounded by President Trump’s recent claim that “crime in London is [...]
Oxford Street pedestrianisation boosts sales, survey finds October 6, 2025 The pedestrianisation of Oxford Street led to higher sales at the majority of stores on the busy high street, a new survey has found, with business chiefs praising efforts to make traffic-free days more frequent. Oxford Street was closed to traffic for eight hours on Sunday 21st September in a pilot test for further plans [...]
Oxford Street one-day traffic ban is start of ‘fight to rescue street’, mayor says September 21, 2025 The mayor of London has said a one-day trial banning traffic from part of Oxford Street marks “the day the fight back began to rescue this street”. Sir Sadiq Khan visited the street, where vehicles were prohibited from accessing a half-mile stretch of the road from Oxford Circus to Orchard Street between noon and 8pm [...]
Tube strikes: RMT threatens Elizabeth Line disruption next September 9, 2025 As Tube strikes stretch into a third day of disruption, the RMT trade union has now threatened to hit the Elizabeth Line with industrial action. From Sunday evening, tube drivers went on strike over the working hours of union members, who enjoy a salary of around £65,000, as RMT’s new boss Eddie Dempsey is demanding [...]
No 10 backs ‘fed up’ Londoners in tube strikes row – as pressure grows on Khan September 8, 2025 No 10 has backed “fed up” Londoners hit by tube strikes on Monday as Mayor Sadiq Khan was urged to find a solution with the trade union RMT to end industrial action. People across the capital have been hit by strikes stopping services on the London Underground, with disruption to last until Friday. The prime [...]
Tube strikes: RMT given 24 hours to avoid travel carnage September 5, 2025 Transport for London has warned the RMT union that it has just 24 hours to stop a major tube strike next week, which is set to shut down every Underground line and the DLR. The union has rejected a pay deal and made a series of demands around working hours and perks, making a settlement [...]
Tube strikes would be outrageous – where is the Mayor? September 3, 2025 Bob Crow, the late leader of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union, once said “It’s an old media myth that the RMT union resorts to industrial action lightly.” These days, we’d call such a claim “trolling.” Indeed, as the historian Dr Jim Moher points out, Crow “cherished” a signed shirt from Millwall player Dennis Wise [...]
London tube staff to strike in September in ‘extremely concerning’ move August 21, 2025 London tube staff are set to strike over pay in early September in what industry chiefs have labelled a “damaging scenario” for sluggish growth across the capital. The rail union RMT said on Thursday that rolling strike action would begin on Friday 5 September while Docklands Light Railway staff will strike from 8 September over [...]