London’s live music scene perseveres as closures stalled for the first time in nearly a decade January 23, 2017 London's smaller music venues persevered in 2016 as the number of grassroots venues remained stable for the first year since 2007, new figures show. Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, who has worked to build the industry, called the news a “major step towards rebuilding London’s live music scene”. A new progress report shows London has lost 35 per cent of its [...]
Sadiq Khan issues “very high” air pollution alert in London January 23, 2017 London mayor Sadiq Khan has issued a "very high" air pollution alert – the first since he took office in May. It's also the highest level of alert possible under Khan's new warning system, and is one step above the "high" alert the mayor issued last week. Earlier this month, the London Air Quality Network [...]
“The clock is ticking”: More strikes will hit the London Underground unless union dispute is resolved this week January 23, 2017 More Tube strikes loom, unless a resolution is reached between unions and London Underground by the end of this week. Manuel Cortes, general secretary of the Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA), said: "The clock is ticking and we need an agreement by the end of this week or sadly, further strikes will follow." A 24-hour [...]
100,000 Londoners join protests around the world marching for equality – and against Donald Trump January 21, 2017 Over 100,000 people marched through London today in support of women’s rights, joining groups around the world in protests spurred by the inauguration of Donald Trump as US President against discriminatory policy. Protesters marched from the US embassy in Mayfair to Trafalgar Square to show support for a wide variety of causes, including equality and access to reproductive healthcare. [...]
Full steam ahead: Tunnelling for the £1.2bn Northern Line extension starts in March January 20, 2017 The first extension to the Tube network since the Jubilee line in the late '90s kicks off in March, as tunnelling gets underway to branch out the Northern line. Sadiq Khan has announced that tunnelling will get underway to create the £1.2bn extension of the line between Kennington and Battersea. Two 650-tonne boring machines (each the length [...]
Freezing Londoners’ travelcards would have cost City Hall £132m a year January 19, 2017 Expanding London Mayor Sadiq Khan's controversial fares freeze to include Londoners' travelcards would cost City Hall a total of £132m a year. Khan campaigned on the basis of freezing the capital's travel costs for four years, but it later emerged that this would affect only a limited selection of travel costs. Only single and pay-as-you-go fares are including [...]
London mayor Sadiq Khan issues London-wide air quality alert due to pollution “crisis” January 19, 2017 The mayor has issued air quality alerts across the capital, with moderate pollution expected until the weekend across 17 boroughs. Some boroughs in particular are expected to have the worst of it today: Westminster, City of London, Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, Kingston and Hounslow and Wandsworth. There is also a chance of moderate nitrogen dioxide [...]
Ditch the congestion charge for road pricing, London Assembly Transport Committee tells Sadiq Khan January 19, 2017 The current congestion charge is "no longer fit for purpose" and road pricing should be rolled out instead, says the London Assembly Transport Committee. In London Stalling, a report released today, the committee urges the mayor to change the current system and bring in a way of charging people for road usage that is targeted at [...]
“Privileged” Single Market access is critical for London, says Khan January 18, 2017 London mayor Sadiq Khan will brand "privileged" Single Market access as "critical" for the capital in his response to Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit speech. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Khan will say getting a good deal on trading into the Single Market should be May's top priority in her negotiations with [...]
Sadiq Khan blames Tube strike troubles on “toxic hangover” left from Boris Johnson’s industrial relations January 18, 2017 Sadiq Khan came out swinging for his first Mayor's Question Time of the year, blaming strike troubles on "a toxic hangover" from Boris Johnson's mayoralty. The mayor has come under fire from London Assembly Conservative members for breaking his "zero days of strikes" made on his campaign trail. "What happened last week was the result [...]