When it comes to Sadiq Khan, we all agree with Donald Trump – right? August 7, 2025 President Trump insulting Sadiq Khan comes as no surprise. That no one rushed to defend him is much more revealing, argues James Ford We should be in the midst of a lively public discourse about Sadiq Khan’s character, intellect and performance. Ordinarily, if the leader of the free world claimed that the mayor of the [...]
Picture exclusive: NBA meets Starmer for encouraging talks at No10 August 1, 2025 NBA chiefs are understood to have been encouraged by a lengthy meeting with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer this week in which they discussed plans to launch a European league. Starmer hosted NBA commissioner Adam Silver and deputy commissioner Mark Tatum at No10 Downing Street on Wednesday during an ongoing tour of Europe by the [...]
NBA to return to London for first time in seven years July 30, 2025 The NBA is to stage a regular-season game in London 2026, ending its seven-year absence from the capital. The Memphis Grizzlies and the Orlando Magic will play a regular-season game at the O2 Arena on 18 January 2026. This is the first time an NBA game will be held in the capital since 2019, while [...]
London must prepare for new climate extremes July 29, 2025 Floods, extreme temperatures, wildfires… the new London Plan must not treat planning for freak weather as an optional extra, says Emma Howard Boyd London and New York are officially the world’s most globally connected cities. Not only are both classed as ‘supercities’ but they are also the world’s only combined financial, commercial and cultural superhubs, [...]
Trump hails relationship with Starmer – but no steel exemptions yet July 28, 2025 In a Scottish golfing holiday that has swiftly given way to a multi-sided international summit, Keir Starmer has held a bilateral meeting with Donald Trump which has spanned from the UK-US trading relationship to immigration policy and international conflicts. Business secretary Jonathan Reynolds had tempered expectations of immediate steel tariff progress ahead of the meeting, [...]
Labour’s plan to gerrymander London’s mayoral election will backfire July 24, 2025 Giving the vote to teenagers may be getting the headlines, but Labour are also planning to rig London’s mayoral elections by restoring supplementary voting. It’s a plan based on dangerous assumptions, warms James Ford Labour is clearly panicking. There is a very real fear that, come 2028, the combination of a deeply unpopular Labour government [...]
Angela Rayner pushes for new tourist tax to fix black hole July 22, 2025 Deputy prime minister Angela Rayner is pushing Chancellor Rachel Reeves to give more power to councils to tax tourists amid worries that local governments are struggling to keep finances in check. Rayner has suggested that councils should be able to tax tourist hotel stays and take advantage of a rise in visitors, rather than taxing [...]
The discrete joy of guerrilla swimming in the Thames July 22, 2025 Guerilla swimmers are defying the authorities to go swimming in the Thames – don’t listen to the gloomsters telling you it’s not safe, says James Bethell Swooshing down the Thames past the pubs and bridges on the powerful tides in the warm summer water is utter bliss. We met at a pub for some chat, [...]
Mayor of London announces £1.4m sports fund for capital July 19, 2025 The Mayor of London, Sir Sadiq Khan, has this morning announced a £1.4m cash injection for community sport across the capital. Khan, currently in Africa on a trade mission, confirmed the fund in South Africa, alongside England Rugby World Cup Winner Jason Leonard OBE’s charity Atlas Foundation. The round of funding forms part of Go! [...]
Sadiq Khan to host first-ever mayoral London-Africa business summit July 17, 2025 Sadiq Khan has unveiled plans to host the first-ever mayoral London-Africa business summit next year in a bid to deepen trading ties with the continent. According to the mayor, the summit will bring together entrepreneurs and investors, state officials, trade groups and stock exchanges from across the continent, with the aim of promoting London as [...]