Yes, you read that right: Croydon is named a London borough of culture February 11, 2020 The annual London Borough of Culture award is coming to the birthplace of grime superstar Stormzy in 2023. Croydon was named by mayor of London Sadiq Khan as the London Borough of Culture for 2023 today, while Lewisham got the nod for 2021. The South London boroughs will each receive £1.35m to organise year-long programmes [...]
Rory Stewart wants to sleep on your sofa February 11, 2020 Londoners are being given the chance to snuggle up to an unusual house guest this winter, mayoral candidate Rory Stewart. Independent candidate Stewart sent out the surprising invitation to Londoners today, asking to sleep over at people’s houses as a part of his election campaign. The initiative, called Come Kip with Me, will see the [...]
Sadiq Khan will spend £350,000 to fight the Tulip tower February 10, 2020 City Hall will spend up to £350,000 to defend its decision to reject the planning application for the Tulip tower as Sadiq Khan gets ready to fight an appeal against its developers. The 1,000-foot skyscraper was set to be built by architecture firm Foster + Partners opposite the Gherkin, after its design was approved by [...]
TfL takes control of Woolwich Ferry after ‘unacceptable’ delays February 10, 2020 The Woolwich Ferry will be brought back under Transport for London (TfL) control after being plagued by severe delays under the current contractor. Mayor of London Sadiq Khan announced today that the service would be brought back into City Hall ownership at the end of the year, after deciding not to renew the contract of [...]
Hola, Ola: Meet the latest app to fight for Uber’s London crown February 10, 2020 Transport for London’s (TfL) decision not to renew Uber’s operating licence late last year split commuters down the middle, but the controversial ride-hailing app’s rivals have seized the opportunity to stake their claim to the capital. Uber’s effective ban came over concerns it had not done enough to protect Londoners after TfL identified a “pattern [...]
Sadiq Khan urged to end ‘culture of cronyism’ February 6, 2020 Sadiq Khan has been accused of presiding over a ‘culture of cronyism’ in City Hall after his night czar was paid an extra £1,000 for taking part in a drag act to mark the 2019 borough of culture celebration. The mayor gives £1.3m to the winner of London’s borough of culture which in 2019 was [...]
Alastair Stewart should take comfort in the reaction of his friends and fans February 6, 2020 Last week this column made way for my interview with Sadiq Khan, so I didn’t have the chance to write about the outrageous treatment of broadcaster Alastair Stewart. In the week since, the veteran journalist has maintained a dignified silence, but the chorus of support from friends, colleagues and strangers has grown ever louder. To recap, [...]
Rory Stewart: We need less politics and more action to tackle terrorism February 5, 2020 Speaking to a man in Streatham who’d cradled a bleeding victim after Sunday’s terrorist attack reminded me of many places far away. I remembered the attack on my compound in southern Iraq, the screams and wreckage of bombs in Baghdad and Kabul, my friend Haider who was killed by terrorists, because he worked for me [...]
London is a third more productive than the rest of the UK February 5, 2020 Britain’s regional productivity gap has been laid bare by new statistics that showed London was 32 per cent more productive than the UK average in 2018. The figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) also showed that the south east further pulled away from the north east and Yorkshire in 2018 – the most [...]
Man shot dead by armed police in Streatham, South London February 2, 2020 A man has been shot dead by armed officers in Streatham in South London, following an incident that police described as terror-related. The Metropolitan Police said a number of people had been stabbed in Streatham, and later confirmed that the man who had been shot at around 2pm was dead. The Met said there that [...]