London Assembly votes against mayor’s plan to remove congestion charge exemption for private hires September 6, 2018 The London Assembly has voted down Sadiq Khan's plans to remove the congestion charge exemption from private hire vehicles (PHVs) operating in the capital such as Uber. Sixteen assembly members voted for the motion against the mayor's proposals, while three voted against it and two members abstained. Taxis and PHVs are exempt from paying the congestion charge when [...]
Ford recalls nearly two million cars over faulty seatbelts in the US, Canada and Mexico September 6, 2018 Car giant Ford is recalling around 2 million of its cars after discovering a number of faulty seatbelt pretensioners that are found to be a fire hazard. An investigation by Ford found that the F-150 Regular and SuperCrew cab vehicles in north America have been fitted with the faulty pretensioners, which can generate excessive sparks and [...]
More strikes on the cards as RMT renews mandate for industrial action on South Western Railway September 6, 2018 More strikes lie ahead for users of South Western Railway after workers at the RMT rail union voted to continue action over the role of guards. The RMT union said it had secured an 88 per cent vote to continue with the strikes that have plagued commuters over the past year after the government forced [...]
TfL to lose £20m from delay to ‘game-changer’ Elizabeth Line September 6, 2018 Transport for London (TfL) will miss out on £20m of additional revenue from the delay to the Elizabeth Line, commissioner Mike Brown has admitted. Earlier this month Crossrail Limited, which is building the £15.4bn Elizabeth Line, unexpectedly announced that the project that will connect Abbey Wood in the east to Reading in the west instead of this [...]
RMT rail union to launch 24-hour strike this weekend over guard safety September 6, 2018 Commuters on South Western Railway (SWR) are to endure more strike action after the RMT rail union announced it will be holding further strikes this weekend and next weekend. A reduced service will be operating on most of the SWR network, which runs services out of London Waterloo and Clapham Junction to destinations such as Reading, Bristol and Exeter. Passengers [...]
Half a million UK SMEs fall victim to impersonation fraud September 4, 2018 Up to half a million small and mid-sized businesses (SMEs) are thought to have been preyed on by fraudsters posing as company bosses, data by Lloyds Bank has found. Impersonation fraud is when a fraudster is able to gather information on suppliers and business contacts to pose as a company chief to extract money. According to [...]
HS2 hit by 12-month delay in further blow to controversial £56bn project September 3, 2018 The £56bn HS2 project linking London to the north has been dealt a further blow after the government admitted it would be subject to a 12-month delay in parliament. Phase 2b of the project, which links Birmingham to Leeds and Crewe to Wigan and Manchester, will be delayed because the bill enabling the line to be [...]
No end in sight for Crossrail fiasco as budget overshoot could surpass £1bn September 2, 2018 Crossrail's budget overshoot could surpass £1bn as the flagship project works towards a new 2019 deadline. Last week it was confirmed that the £15.4bn Elizabeth Line, which stretches from Reading and Heathrow in the west to Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east, has been delayed by almost a year over safety issues and will now [...]
Job cuts loom as Ford gears up for major business redesign September 2, 2018 Analysts at Morgan Stanley have predicted that car-maker Ford is preparing to axe around 24,000 jobs as part of major redesign of its European business. The Sunday Times reported that the car giant could axe up to 12 per cent of its global workforce across European outposts in the UK, Spain and Germany. The newspaper [...]
Tory MPs ramp up opposition against Theresa May’s Chequers proposals September 2, 2018 Prime Minister Theresa May is facing mounting opposition from her own MPs as Tory backbenchers ramp up their campaign against her Chequers proposal. Yesterday former Brexit secretary David Davis confirmed he would join rebels and vote against any deal based on May's Chequers plan, under which the the UK would remain closely aligned with the [...]