The UK has earned Japan’s respect – let’s use it to build our economy April 20, 2026 Japan holds a deep respect for the UK and is eager to strengthen our relationship further, writes Chris Hayward fresh back from Osaka.
City of London urges action on Swiss border as EES holds up business travellers April 17, 2026 City of London officials are pressing Switzerland to allow UK travellers to use automated passport gates to end the long airport queues that have become a regular gripe for business travellers. The new EU Entry/Exit System (EES), which covers the Schengen area, rolled out last week, and it has resulted in lengthy queues at airports [...]
UK rejoins Erasmus: British students to study across Europe from 2027 April 16, 2026 Six years after Brexit, British students will soon be able to study and work across Europe again, as the UK formally re-joins the Erasmus programme. The legal text, signed in Brussels on Wednesday, is intended to bring the UK back into the programme in 2027 after the UK pulled out of in December 2020 as [...]
‘Soul destroying’: Why London’s luxury property market has taken the biggest hit in a decade April 16, 2026 It’s been almost three years since Emma first put her Kensington home on the market. With an initial asking price of just over £4m, she turned down a number of early low-ball offers before accepting one only slightly below what she’d wanted. But after months of dithering, the buyer pulled out at the last minute. [...]
New EU entry system hits Brits — But what are your rights? April 14, 2026 Days into the European Union’s new Entry/Exit System (EES), British passengers are facing severe delays, resulting in missed flights, but with the Summer season around the corner, warnings that trying to pass the border may become more costly. The new EES obliges non-European Union nationals, including Britons, who enter the Schengen free travel zone to [...]
Wall Street bankers’ bonuses leapfrog City in ‘less impressive’ year April 14, 2026 Wall Street bankers have leapfrogged ahead of the City as the industry’s swelling bonus pot proved “far less impressive” than prior expectations. In the US, the average bonus scored was $154,344 (£114,00) in 2025, marking a 5.85 per cent uplift from the year prior. This also topped the industry average growth of 4.4 per cent. [...]
Rejoining the single market by stealth is a danger to democracy April 14, 2026 Keir Starmer once accused conservatives of “silencing parliament” by using Henry VIII powers. Now he’s doing the exact same thing, says Alys Denby Denby pottery and Gentleman’s Relish: two icons have gone to the wall in recent weeks. One I’m taking personally. The loss of these brands leaves our commercial landscape a little blander and [...]
Keir Starmer: Bypass law for EU single market in UK’s ‘best interest’ April 13, 2026 Sir Keir Starmer has said Labour’s effort to allow the UK government to adopt new EU single market rules without parliamentary approval was in the “UK’s best interest”. Fresh legislation to be presented after May is set to allow the government to adopt EU single market rules without amendments from MPs. Parliamentarians would be able [...]
Mahmood agenda bites: Migrant worker applications nearly halve in a year April 9, 2026 The number of applications for skilled worker visas has nearly halved in a year after home secretary Shabana Mahmood raised the barriers to entry for migrants. Official data released by the Home Office showed that there were 34,700 skilled worker visa applications in the year to March. This was a 44 per cent decrease from [...]
Keir Starmer believes undoing Brexit will solve Britain’s problems – he’s wrong April 6, 2026 The only way Starmer can get everything he wants from a relationship “reset” with Brussels is by rejoining the EU, says Eliot Wilson This Wednesday is the anniversary of Britain and France signing the Entente cordiale in 1904. It was actually three separate agreements, ostensibly dealing with colonial boundaries and fishing rights, but in practice [...]