By: James Ford

James Ford is a former adviser to Mayor of London Boris Johnson, specialising in transport, environment and technology policy. He subsequently advised several blue-chip companies in the capital including London City Airport, the Ministry of Sound and the London Chamber of Commerce & Industry. He has appeared on LBC and writes regularly for Conservative Home.

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What to look out for in London’s local elections

Opinion

With more parties and more candidates than ever before, next week’s local elections across London are the most unpredictable for a generation, argues James Ford On 7 May, Londoners go to the polls to elect the councillors that will run the capital’s 32 borough councils. More than 1,800 council seats are up for election, alongside [...]
Lord Khan of Tooting? Sounds like a great idea to me!

Opinion

It is time that our failing Mayor moved on to challenges new, argues James Ford Our illustrious Prime Minister is rumoured to be considering raising the Mayor of London to the House of Lords, possibly as soon as next month. There may even be a seat around the Cabinet Table in the offing too. I, [...]
Make foreign tourists pay to keep museums free for Londoners

Opinion

Free museum entry isn’t the feel-good policy you think it is. Time to charge foreigners and keep our precious collections free for Londoners, says James Ford Is the idea of charging foreign tourists for access to major museums and art galleries really that radical a proposal? Judging by the reaction from some corners of the [...]

A Requiem for the Boris Bus

March 19, 2026

Sadiq Khan’s decision to scrap the iconic ‘New Bus for London’ is about politics not practicalities, writes James Ford London’s fleet of red buses are iconic. Like black taxis, Beefeaters and red post boxes they are a globally recognised visual shorthand for the capital. And, for better or worse, Mayors of London come to be [...]
How sectarian is London’s politics?

March 5, 2026

If the by-election in Gorton and Denton is a seismic event, then the aftershocks will be felt by Londoners in borough elections across the capital in May, writes James Ford By-elections are often exceptional, aberrant outliers from normal politics. The full attention of party campaign strategists and the national press are ruthlessly trained on a [...]
London cable car proves Britain can still get infrastructure right – sometimes

March 3, 2026

A proposed floating park in the Royal Docks finally proves the value – and vision – of the London Cable Car, argues James Ford Here is a question you probably rarely ask yourself: what is your favourite bit of transport infrastructure in the capital? Is it the Regent Street Monorail? Maybe you prefer travelling between [...]
£40bn to restore Parliament? Maybe Guy Fawkes had the right idea…

February 25, 2026

The reported £40bn cost of refurbishing the Palace of Westminster is not a serious proposal – it’s a distraction designed to outrage, writes James Ford We are all familiar with the Goldilocks principle of restaurant wine lists. Every wine list is part marketing ploy, part social gauntlet and pure psychological trickery. It is designed to [...]
Women-only Tube carriages are a terrible, unworkable idea

February 5, 2026

Sex offences on public transport in London are soaring, but the solution is better policing and security across the network not voluntary gender segregation, argues James Ford Harold Macmillan, in a speech in 1961, said that the Liberals (as they were still then called) “offer a mixture of sound and original ideas…unfortunately none of the [...]
Northern Powerhouse Rail has more to do with votes than growth

January 22, 2026

With Northern Powerhouse Rail now given the green light, the North-South divide now benefits the North over London, writes James Ford I have long thought that the North-South divide was far more cultural than economic. One end of the country prefers gravy on their chips and chooses to eat them watching Coronation Street whilst the [...]
Could Reform’s Laila Cunningham take London?

January 15, 2026

Reform UK seem to be serious about winning in London…is it time for London to start taking Reform UK seriously? Asks James Ford We are barely half way through January, and already Reform UK are having a good year. In a single, blistering week they unveiled Laila Cunningham as their candidate to challenge Sadiq Khan, [...]

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This is how to choose between Pinot Grigio and Pinot Gris

By: James Ford

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