The rise of slottification: Why can’t I have any fun in London without booking? July 22, 2025 When a boy cannot even go to a pond without booking it on a desktop app, something has gone wrong in London, writes Matt Waksman.
Costly departures: Why an exit tax looks more likely than a wealth tax July 22, 2025 Tax experts have been queuing up to warn that a blanket tax on wealth is both unlikely and unfeasible. But as ministers insist the government will avoid tax hikes targeting average earners, could it turn to an exit tax to plug the gap? As reams of impressed tourists shuffled their way through the opulent surroundings [...]
Ministers urged to reinstate tax-free shopping to deliver Brexit boost July 22, 2025 Ministers have been urged to reinstate tax-free purchases for international visitors to make the UK a ‘global shopping capital’ and help the country benefit from its position outside the EU. “With Britain no longer in the EU, we have the opportunity to become the best place in the world for shopping,” Derrick Hardman, chair of [...]
Labour’s war on business is a gift to Nigel Farage July 22, 2025 Labour’s paralysis is driving business away from Britain and paving a path to power for Nigel Farage and Reform, says Alexander Temerko The government of Keir Starmer has internalised a culture of hesitation so completely that inaction is no longer perceived as a flaw, but as a mode of governance. Over the past year, a [...]
The discrete joy of guerrilla swimming in the Thames July 22, 2025 Guerilla swimmers are defying the authorities to go swimming in the Thames – don’t listen to the gloomsters telling you it’s not safe, says James Bethell Swooshing down the Thames past the pubs and bridges on the powerful tides in the warm summer water is utter bliss. We met at a pub for some chat, [...]
Rugby League Ashes a North Star for the game in England July 21, 2025 Sports are forever trying to innovate, develop and find the next mast on which to pin their colours to. But not international rugby league. While the English domestic Super League have brought in IMG to promote and relegate teams based on a list of external criteria that some clubs already want tweaked, the international game [...]
Meet the Populous teams with designs on City AM Triathlon Team Challenge July 21, 2025 They’re the brains behind the backdrops to some of sport’s greatest moments and now the staff of leading stadium architects Populous are plotting their own athletic glory in the City AM Triathlon Team Challenge at the London T100. Two teams from the world-renowned practice behind Wembley, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and the Emirates – one from [...]
Top bosses briefed by Foreign Office on global risks July 21, 2025 Top business executives are set to receive briefings from the Foreign Office on global risks including conflicts and trade tensions as part of a wider strategy to help UK firms expand overseas. Representatives of the Premier League, Lloyds Bank and PwC are among those attending a first-of-its-kind event at Lancaster House where leading diplomats are [...]
Wise co-founders clash over New York listing plans July 21, 2025 A plan to move Wise’s primary listing from London to New York has been thrown into doubt after one of the firm’s co-founders urged shareholders to vote against the move. Taavet Hinrikus, who served as chief executive of the London fintech from its founding in 2011 until 2017, warned he was “deeply troubled” over the [...]
Wimbledon’s £200m expansion green-lit by High Court July 21, 2025 A legal challenge to stop a £200m plan to almost triple the size of Wimbledon tennis club has been dismissed by a High Court judge