London airport expansion: Heathrow plan set for a bumpy landing December 1, 2015 An influential group of MPs has poured cold water on calls for a swift government decision on airport expansion today by questioning the legality of building a third runway at Heathrow Airport. In a new report out this morning, the environmental audit committee told the government not to give the go-ahead to expanding the west [...]
London airport expansion: Government gearing up to make a decision on Heathrow as soon as this week November 29, 2015 A government ruling on airport expansion could come as soon as this week, with ministers gearing up to decide whether or not to reject the Airports Commission’s recommendation for a third runway at Heathrow Airport. The Airports Commission, led by RBS chairman Sir Howard Davies, said in July that it backed building a third runway [...]
Theresa May warned that police cuts could “reduce very significantly” the UK’s ability to respond to a terror attack November 20, 2015 Police cuts that are widely anticipated to be announced in next week's Autumn Statement could "reduce very significantly" the UK's ability to respond to a Paris-style terror attack, home secretary Theresa May has been warned in a document prepared for her. Chancellor George Osborne's axe is set to fall on a number of departments, including [...]
London airport expansion: Sadiq Khan ramps up support for second Gatwick runway over Heathrow November 20, 2015 Labour mayoral candidate Sadiq Khan will today up the ante in the London airports row by coming out stronger than ever in making the case for a second runway at Gatwick. The Tooting MP will meet with senior executives at the Sussex airport to conduct a charm offensive aimed at laying out his pro-Gatwick position. Khan [...]
London mayoral election 2016 candidates Zac Goldsmith and Sadiq Khan warn chancellor George Osborne on police cuts November 19, 2015 Conservative London mayoral candidate Zac Goldsmith said last night that the government is likely to back down on police funding cuts in the wake of the Paris terror attacks. Chancellor George Osborne is widely expected to swing the axe on policing in next week's Autumn Statement but pressure is mounting on him to back track [...]
All who cycle in London deserve action from those who want our votes to become London’s next Mayor November 18, 2015 When I last wrote in these pages emotions were running high. Only days before, City worker Ying Tao had been killed cycling to her office across Bank junction, in a collision with a construction lorry. Tao’s death is the highest profile of the cyclist fatalities so far this year – all but one due to [...]
Tube fare hikes have cost Londoners an extra £2,683 each, a new report shows November 11, 2015 Talk about a top-up: Londoners have each spent an additional £2,683 using the London Underground since 2008, thanks to fare hikes. The team behind Labour's London mayoral candidate Sadiq Khan crunched the numbers, finding commuters going between Zone 1 and Zone 6 have been charged an extra £2,683 for their monthly travel cards since 2008, compared to a [...]
London mayoral election 2016: Labour candidate Sadiq Khan says he would reconsider City Airport November 4, 2015 Labour mayoral candidate Sadiq Khan has suggested that he would reverse Boris Johnson’s decision to block expansion at London City Airport, saying today that as mayor he would “reconsider” plans to enlarge the East London airport. Khan, a former transport minister, said that if elected he would “look again” at the decision “in detail”. “City [...]
How much more does your MP earn than your local average? Blackpool South MP Gordon Marsden is the most unequal, but even Cities and Westminster MP Mark Field earns double the median salary October 28, 2015 Every one of those men and women who walk the corridors of power at Westminster earn between two and five times more than the median salary of their constituents. Earlier this year the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, responsible for monitoring MP's pay and expenses, decided that those with a seat in the Commons should be given [...]
Sadiq Khan shows Jeremy Corbyn how to reach out to business October 27, 2015 On a national level, Labour’s relationship with the business community is under serious strain. The party’s plans for nationalisations, interventions and higher taxes has left many of the country’s employers and wealth creators wondering what ever happened to those on the left who recognised the benefits of a thriving private sector economy. Fortunately, hope is [...]