Spending review: Rachel Reeves in standoff over police budgets June 9, 2025 Just 48 hours out from the government’s spending review on Wednesday, Rachel Reeves faces a tax and spend tug-of-war between senior Cabinet ministers and the realities of the public finances. Yvette Cooper looks to be the major remaining holdout, with substantial cuts to Home Office funding expected at the spending review and no funding deal [...]
The Debate: Should the UK decriminalise cannabis? June 4, 2025 Sadiq Khan says yes, but is the UK really ready for looser rules around cannabis? We get two experts to argue for and against.
Sadiq Khan pitches London as AI hub despite sector concerns June 2, 2025 Sadiq Khan today championed the capital as an open, “values-led” tech hub, telling international investors that London “will always remain open to talent” and is “resolutely pro-growth”, even as sector voices warn of structural barriers limiting UK competitiveness. Speaking at the inuagural SXSW London’s opening, the Mayor of London framed the capital as a “creative [...]
Transport vigilante Jenrick takes on TfL fare dodgers May 29, 2025 Tory MP Rob Jenrick is amping up his public presence amid growing expectations he could displace an unpopular Kemi Badenoch as leader of the Conservatives. Jenrick has launched a transport vigilante campaign where he questions TfL fare dodgers on the London underground. London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s office did not respond to Jenrick’s diatribe. Ex-Reform MP [...]
Can banning ‘bare beating’ force people to wear headphones on the tube? May 29, 2025 ‘Headphone dodgers’ who listen to music on the tube with the sound up are easy to hate but ‘bare beating’ is a problem that is harder to solve than you think, argues James Ford Public transport is often seen as an inherently good thing. Done well, transport policy can be a silver bullet that solves [...]
Sadiq Khan backs calls to decriminalise cannabis possession May 28, 2025 A report commissioned by Sadiq Khan has called for decriminalising the possession of cannabis in small quantities, in a major policy pivot for City Hall. The London Drugs Commission, which was set up by the Mayor of London two years ago, argues that while the production and supply of cannabis should continue to “be policed [...]
Grade II listed Crystal Palace sports venue set for major overhaul May 22, 2025 The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has unveiled new images of plans for the overhaul of the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre. The redevelopment of the Grade II listed multi-sport venue – which hosted the first Women’s FA Cup final and Usain Bolt as well as events such as Grand Prix motorracing – is set [...]
Exclusive: E1 Series set for London debut in showcase on Thames May 22, 2025 Electric powerboat series E1, which features teams owned by stars including Will Smith, LeBron James and Rafael Nadal, will make its London debut this summer. An exhibition of E1’s high-speed RaceBird boats is set to take place on the Thames near Westminster on 2 July as the series looks to build its presence in the [...]
Sadiq Khan’s green belt U-turn is an admission of failure on housing May 15, 2025 Sadiq Khan is spinning his plan to build on London’s green belt as a “radical change of approach”, but it’s nothing of the sort. It will have a very limited impact on housing starts during this mayoral term and may only add to the political heat around house building, says James Ford Margaret Thatcher famously [...]
Green belt homes ‘needed’ to solve housing crisis, Sadiq Khan says May 15, 2025 London is suffering a chronic housing shortage. Lacklustre rates of housebuilding have helped push up the cost of a home to well beyond the reach of ordinary Londoners. The price of an average terrace house in Camden has roughly tripled compared to twenty years ago to more than £1.5m today, Land Registry data shows, while [...]