Soho killjoys are the worst kind of Londoners June 4, 2026 The Soho Society has declared a Nimby campaign against all new licensing applications. If they don’t want to live in the party centre of London they should leave, says James Ford What is the collective noun for a bunch of party poopers? A kennel of killjoys? A complaint of curmudgeons, perhaps? Well, if left to [...]
A good deal on the London Stadium was never an option May 28, 2026 In securing a future for the London Stadium, the choice was never a great deal versus a bad deal, but between any deal or no deal at all.
SpaceX helps Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust take off May 27, 2026 Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust revealed the extent of the success of its early backing for Elon Musk’s SpaceX on Wednesday. The buy-and-hold investor’s stake in the rocket maker now amounts to about a fifth of the £16bn fund, as revealed in its results for the year to the end of March. Overall, SMT’s net asset value [...]
Trainline boss pay hits the buffers after missing bonuses May 22, 2026 Trainline boss Jody Ford has seen his pay packet go off the rails in what will likely be his last year in the job, almost halving to £2.5m. Chief executive Jody Ford’s total pay packet fell by 44 per cent from £4.5m in the firm’s 2026 financial year, after he and executive director Peter Wood [...]
Estée Lauder and Charlotte Tilbury owner walk away from merger talks May 22, 2026 Cosmetics giant Estée Lauder has abandoned talks with the Spanish owner of Charlotte Tilbury over a merger which would have created a $40bn fashion powerhouse. Talks between the US cosmetics giant and Spanish beauty giant Puig ended on Thursday despite hopes that the merger could have helped both brands to compete with rival L’Oreal. Estée [...]
You don’t have to be a chav to lead the Labour Party, but it helps! May 21, 2026 Rather than a grand battle of big ideas or a serious debate about why this government has blundered so much, Labour’s looming leadership contest looks set to be a depressing competition to see who had the grimmest childhood, laments James Ford Did your dad have a blue-collar job? Did you live in social housing? Did [...]
Why do lefties struggle to pay their taxes? May 14, 2026 Zack Polanski is just the latest in a long line of leftwingers to find himself embroiled in a financial scandal, explains James Ford Zack Polanski has been a naughty boy. No, I’m not referring to his recent dressing down by the Commissioner of the Met. Or even to the latest allegations that he has been [...]
Volkswagen Golf R: RIP to the ultimate hot hatch? May 13, 2026 A decade ago, when its Mk7 predecessor roamed the roads, the Volkswagen Golf R faced a plethora of hot hatchback rivals. These included the Ford Focus ST and RS, Honda Civic Type R, Peugeot 308 GTI, Hyundai i30 N and Renaultsport Megane. All have since been quietly euthanised and not replaced. The venerable Audi RS3 [...]
Chery Tiggo 4 review: Could this Chinese SUV be Britain’s next best-seller? May 12, 2026 Have you lost your Chery? Buy a new Tiggo 4 and that’s a distinct possibility; this new hybrid crossover blends anonymously into the background. It’s also near-identical to Chery’s existing Tiggo 7, Tiggo 8 and Tiggo 9 SUVs, albeit on a smaller scale. Still, not everyone wants to stand out or make a statement – [...]
What to look out for in London’s local elections April 30, 2026 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 [...]