Explainer: Elon Musk enters – and exits – another BBC row April 12, 2023 What are two things that never grow old? Rows over BBC funding and Elon Musk’s bizarre decisions about Twitter. Now the two have come together, sparking a conversation that reaches from North America to the UK. It all started a couple of days ago when a Twitter badge appeared on the BBC Twitter page describing [...]
Michael Gove faces an uphill battle to turf out the medieval long leaseholds April 11, 2023 We are one of the few countries left in the world with a leasehold system for our homes - where people own their flat, but not the land on which is built. This comes with problems, writes Elena Siniscalco
Analysis: The latest Met investigation is proof systematic failures go a long way back April 7, 2023 “We’ve been too permissive, that’s very very clear” was the admission Met chief Mark Rowley made on Thursday, when speaking about the admission criteria for policemen. It comes after the force published the results of its latest investigation into the conduct of its officers, and found 196 members of staff will have to go through [...]
Italy wages war on progress with nationalist bans on lab-made meat and ChatGPT April 5, 2023 Italy's government is banning lab-grown meat, ChatGPT and basically anything that looks like progress. It's a distraction technique that will be very painful for the country in the future, writes Elena Siniscalco
If 15 minute cities can start a wave of conspiracies, almost anything can April 4, 2023 The hysteria about the 15-minute city in Oxford is proof that conspiracy theories are reaching further and further deep into every corner of our society, writes Elena Siniscalco
Explainer: UK house prices and their swift fall March 31, 2023 House prices in the UK have fallen at their fastest yearly pace since 2009. The price of an average property fell 3.1 per cent from a year ago, according to the Nationwide Building Society. The average house price in March was £257,122. The figures show prices falling also on a monthly basis, for the seventh [...]
Explainer: Why e-scooters are London’s biggest fire threat March 30, 2023 What’s the biggest fire threat in London? You would think it’s kitchen electricals, cigarette butts still burning, or millennials leaving scented candles on. But you’d be wrong: it’s actually e-scooters and e-bikes’ batteries. The London Fire Brigade has warned the risk of these batteries exploding is the most pressing issue they’re facing in the capital. [...]
A quarter of private renters in England don’t ask for repairs for fear of eviction March 30, 2023 A quarter of renters in England don’t ask for repairs in their homes for fear of eviction, a survey has found. The polling, conducted by YouGov for homelessness charity Shelter, found 76 per cent of private renters had experienced disrepair in the past year, and 51 per cent experienced damp or mould. An additional 31 [...]
Controversial Help to Buy policy to boost home ownership to end tomorrow March 30, 2023 A flagship policy to boost home ownership among young people will come to an end tomorrow. The Help to Buy Scheme, launched in 2013, will be wound up, after more than 350,000 people used it to buy their first home, with more than £2.2bn of support last year. But some property experts have warned the [...]
Mouldy, unsafe homes are a product of the breakdown in trust of landlords March 28, 2023 Michael Gove launched a campaign to make it easier for social tenants to complain to the housing ombudsman. But without further funding, the ombudsman risks being overwhelmed, writes Elena Siniscalco
