Letters to the Editor – 01/04 – European debate, Globalisation fears, Best of Twitter March 31, 2014 European debate [Re: Why both sides of the debate must up their game on Europe, Friday] Of course politicians are throwing around dodgy statistics. Why? Because both sides of the EU debate lack any comprehensive vision for what Britain’s global position will look like in the future. The Outers want either an expanded Commonwealth, a [...]
Why the housing crisis is clobbering London businesses February 24, 2014 THE HOUSING crisis is the biggest challenge facing London. For the first time ever, it is now Londoners’ top concern. For low and middle income Londoners, home ownership is increasingly out of reach, rents consume an ever increasing percentage of their income, and homelessness is rising. But the crisis is also seriously damaging the competitiveness [...]
Stock drops on Serco warning over earnings January 30, 2014 TROUBLED outsourcing firm Serco yesterday warned that profits would fall in 2014, overshadowing the good news that its ban on winning new government work had been lifted. The FTSE 100-quoted company was barred from winning fresh government contracts due to allegations of fraud, but yesterday the Cabinet Office said that the firm “had developed a [...]
Labour to push for votes at 16 January 23, 2014 THE LABOUR party will lower the voting age to 16 if they form a government after the next election. Speaking today, shadow justice secretary Sadiq Khan will market the measure as part of Labour’s political reform package to “reconnect with the public”. “Giving 16 and 17 year olds the vote will energise young people, and [...]
Capita wins tag contracts from G4S and Serco December 12, 2013 OUTSOURCING firm Capita has been chosen to take over the prisoner tagging contracts currently held by G4S and Serco, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said yesterday. G4S and Serco are under investigation by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) in relation to the contracts, on allegations that they charged for tagging criminals who were either dead, [...]
Barclays to end its sponsorship of Boris Bikes December 10, 2013 BARCLAYS will not renew its sponsorship of the London bicycle hire scheme when it ends in 2015, it confirmed last night. The bank signed a deal worth £50m to sponsor the bikes, named colloquially after London mayor Boris Johnson, in 2010. But in a joint statement with Transport for London, Barclays said it will not [...]
Letters to the editor – 25/09 – Vanity project, Open for business, Best of Twitter September 24, 2013 Vanity project [Re: Labour’ prepared to drop support for HS2, yesterday] We already have an alternative to HS2. It is called the East Coast Main Line. With careful investment to improve pinch points at junctions and bridges, its capacity and speed could be significantly improved at a fraction of the cost of building a new line. [...]
Khan hints at mayoral run 2016 September 20, 2013 Labour go-getter Sadiq Khan has hinted that he may run for London Mayor 2016. In interviews today with the Evening Standard and the Guardian, the shadow justice secretary and lord chancellor confessed to being interested, should the potential for the position arise. He said: “If I was at the edge of the box and the [...]
Tories lose crunch vote on reforms January 29, 2013 THE CONSERVATIVES will find it almost impossible to win the 2015 general election, polling companies warned last night, after their Liberal Democrat coalition partners scuppered plans to reform constituency boundaries and reduce the number of MPs in parliament. Lib Dems joined Labour and the smaller parties to vote in favour of delaying the boundary reform [...]
Sadiq Khan to lead Labour in London January 16, 2013 SADIQ Khan has been appointed Labour’s shadow minister for London, leaving him well placed to seek the party’s nomination for the 2016 mayoral election. The Tooting MP replaces Tessa Jowell, who stepped down following the Olympics.