MI5 warned Whitehall China uses LinkedIn to spy on MPs Politics MPs have been warned that China-linked agents are using LinkedIn and professional headhunters to target people working in parliament, triggering the most serious espionage alert issued to Westminster this year. Commons speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle and Lords speaker Lord McFall circulated an MI5 warning on Tuesday, informing parliamentarians that Chinese state operatives were “relentless” in [...]
Looking for Growth? Look no further. Politics The fury online is palpable, high-fliers feel undervalued, and ‘Britain is Broken’ has become the ridiculing punchline enjoyed by American crypto traders and digital nomads. Here though, at a mini arena in Greenwich on a Thursday night, Looking for Growth – LFG – is not a lost cause. Some attendees are unsure exactly what they [...]
YouTube launches Westminster forum to champion UK’s creator economy Tech YouTube has unveiled a new cross-party parliamentary group dedicated to championing the UK’s digital creator economy, announced at its annual YouTube Festival in London yesterday. The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for creators, co-chaired by former digital ministers Feryal Clark MP and Lord Ed Vaizey, will act as a formal bridge between policymakers and the country’s [...]
I find Tommy Robinson repulsive, so why did so many march behind him? September 16, 2025 I struggled to identify the most significant elements of Saturday’s ‘Unite the Kingdom’ march in London. Was it the fact that 150,000 (mostly) ordinary people took to the streets in a (mostly) peaceful protest against large-scale immigration? Or was it that they were called to do so by a man who has served multiple prison [...]
London pub scene ‘showing real resilience’ despite soaring costs August 7, 2025 The number of pubs in London has barely budged in the last decade despite heavy pressure on the capital’s hospitality scene. There are 3,523 pubs in the capital, only 10 fewer than in 2023 and just under the 3,530 venues recorded in 2017, according to data from the ONS. “The data shows it’s far from [...]
Selfridges: Westminster council approves in-store members club, but bans music June 25, 2025 Department store Selfridges has won approval for an in-store private members club and dining room from Westminster council. At a planning meeting on Tuesday night, Westminster councillors unanimously approved the proposed changes to the fourth floor of the iconic Oxford Street department store. The proposal, which was approved with the condition that no music – [...]
Clowns vs the council: Inside the regulation spat threatening Covent Garden’s street performers May 12, 2025 As Covent Garden's street performers celebrate 50 years of clowning on the cobbles, Anna Moloney asks why they're worried about their future.
Westminster’s Everythingism problem: Why trying to solve everything all at once has ruined politics April 10, 2025 The belief that every policy can be used to deliver every other policy is rife in Westminster, and it's costing us real progress, writes Joe Hill.
Council pay: Westminster tops ‘town hall rich list’ with 73 staff on over £100k March 31, 2025 Westminster City Council has topped a national ‘town hall rich list’ with 73 staff rewarded with over £100,000 last year. The central London borough council also had the most employees nationwide – at eight – receiving more than £200,000 in total remuneration, in 2023-24, according to the Taxpayers’ Alliance (TPA). While 13 more Westminster staff [...]
Lack of prime Mayfair houses triggers hotel and lettings boom March 17, 2025 Mayfair’s hotel and lettings sector has scooped up luxury clients left adrift by a lack of prime housing in the area, a new survey has found. With new planning restrictions and rising construction costs pushing construction to a ten-year low, wealthy visitors have turned to newly built apartments or hotel suites during their stays, according [...]