Council tax spike to pay for Reeves spending plans June 12, 2025 Council tax will rise at the fastest pace in over two decades, fresh analysis has suggested, after a government document said it expected bills to rise to pay for local services. The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has pointed to government documents published shortly after the Spending Review ended suggesting Brits will have to pay [...]
TfL gets £2bn – but no timetable for Bakerloo Line and DLR extension June 11, 2025 Transport for London (TfL) has welcomed a £2bn four-year funding settlement from the government as part of the long-awaited Spending Review. London’s transport operator had been pushing for a multi-year capital funding agreement similar to those at Network Rail and National Highways for years. The government said it is the largest settlement in over a [...]
Spending Review: Khan slams lack of Met and infrastructure cash June 11, 2025 Sir Sadiq Khan has launched a scathing assessment of the Chancellor’s long-awaited Spending Review, warning it will strangle his ability to deliver new affordable homes and create jobs, and mean fewer police officers on the capital’s streets. In a statement released soon after Rachel Reeves concluded her speech, London’s newly-knighted mayor said he was “concerned” [...]
Spending Review: Reeves leaves London short-changed June 11, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ inaugural Spending Review fell short for London, the capital’s business advocacy group has said. Reeves’ announcements on infrastructure, transport and skills were received warmly but BusinessLDN has said the Chancellor had failed to fully deliver, leaving the capital “short-changed”. The Spending Review included a four-year settlement for Transport for London with the [...]
Reeves’ Spending Review: Spend now, tax later? June 11, 2025 Cash will be splashed across transport, energy, and healthcare under plans laid out by Chancellor Rachel Reeves in her Spending Review. Reeves described the plans, which will see an extra £190bn in government spending, as “a credible plan for the renewal of Britain.” But Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride warned the spending splurge would spark tax [...]
London SXSW in review: Where was the vibe? June 10, 2025 A lot to love, but a lot to improve. Was the first year of London SXSW a success? Paul Armstrong gives his verdict.
London ‘left out’ of Reeves’ spending review June 9, 2025 London will find itself low on the chancellor’s agenda in the upcoming spending review, reports suggest. London Mayor Sadiq Khan has been lobbying for extending the DLR to Thamesmead, and the Bakerloo line to Lewisham. However, getting the requisite funding to grow the transport system is looking unlikely. Bringing the Bakerloo line further south is anticipated [...]
Spending review: Rachel Reeves in standoff over police budgets June 9, 2025 Just 48 hours out from the government’s spending review on Wednesday, Rachel Reeves faces a tax and spend tug-of-war between senior Cabinet ministers and the realities of the public finances. Yvette Cooper looks to be the major remaining holdout, with substantial cuts to Home Office funding expected at the spending review and no funding deal [...]
Wise’s London listing snub shows the need for urgent City reform June 6, 2025 The loss of the primary listing of the fin tech Wise from London is another body blow to those seeking to reboot its fortunes as the international market where the best ideas find the best capital, writes shadow business secretary Andrew Griffith. Coming on the eve of London Tech Week it’s a real downer and [...]
ABBA star shares ‘strange and emotional’ feeling when watching ABBA Voyage June 4, 2025 ABBA legend Björn Ulvaeus has shared how he finds the experience of watching the ABBA Voyage live show he helped create. Speaking at the SXSW London event in Shoreditch, Ulvaeus described watching a hologram of his younger self performing as “almost a spiritual feeling, there’s something strange in the room which is amazing.” “It’s kind [...]