City Hall: Blow to Sadiq Khan as deputy mayor for policing quits for government job October 7, 2024 City Hall’s deputy mayor for policing and crime has quit her post for a government job in a blow to Sadiq Khan. Sophie Linden is to step down from her £141,386-a-year role to become a senior adviser to justice secretary Shabana Mahmood, the Greater London Authority (GLA) has announced. Linden has been in post since [...]
Congestion charge: Ocado leads push against ‘money making’ levy October 7, 2024 More than 40 UK businesses, including Ocado, the AA, and Openreach, have urged Sadiq Khan to scrap plans to extend the £15 daily congestion charge to electric vans. The businesses argue that this hugely unpopular congestion charge if continued, would severely impact those who have invested in greener fleets. Under Transport for London (TfL)’s current [...]
Last orders for Amy Lame, but London still needs a night czar October 4, 2024 Amy Lame let Londoners down but that doesn’t mean we should abolish the post of night czar altogether. There are three ways we can make sure the next person to hold the post make the capital a 24-hour city, writes James Ford After eight years in post, Amy Lame is calling time on her tenure [...]
HS2: Never a cheaper time than now to dig Euston tunnel, rail minister told October 3, 2024 Whether HS2 finishes at Euston or at Old Oak Common, in London's outer suburbs, has been shrouded in uncertainty throughout this year.
Siemens chief hails ‘vote of confidence’ in new £200m train factory October 3, 2024 Siemens today opened its £200m rail manufacturing facility in Goole, East Yorkshire, where it intends to build trains for the Picadilly Line.
We’d drink to the departure of Amy Lame, but all the pubs are shut October 3, 2024 Good riddance to Amy Lame, Sadiq Khan’s useless ‘night czar’ who did nothing to tackle the regulation strangling London’s pubs, bars and nightclubs, writes Elliot Keck The United States has been responsible for furnishing us with many of the most iconic soundbites for free-market and small state advocates. Milton Friedman’s “nothing is so permanent as [...]
Tory leadership: Jenrick warns of ‘big task’ to restore economic credibility October 1, 2024 Robert Jenrick has warned it will be a “big task” for the next Conservative party leader to restore the party’s “economic credibility” following Liz Truss’s calamitous mini-Budget. The leadership candidate, speaking at a Q&A for party members at the annual conference in Birmingham, told the audience he was “not happy” about the current levels of [...]
Controversial Wimbledon expansion plans get green light September 27, 2024 Wimbledon’s controversial expansion plans have been given the green light by the Greater London Authority. The decision taken by Jules Pipe, London’s deputy mayor for planning, means the All England Club’s proposal to build 39 new courts, including an 8,000-seat show court, on the adjacent former Wimbledon Park Golf Club and nearly triple the size [...]
Sadiq Khan meets NBA chiefs with potential London return on cards September 26, 2024 London mayor Sadiq Khan today met the NBA Deputy Commissioner as hopes of a NBA return to London grew further. The pair spoke on Thursday “to discuss their shared ambition to expand the sport’s reach and influence in the capital, including through live NBA games”. “I want to do big events, whether it’s Wrestlemania, whether [...]
A car-free Oxford Street does sound dreamy, but there’s a problem: buses September 19, 2024 An Oxford Street with no cars is a charming fantasy. But ignore the "red wall of metal" at your peril, writes James Ford