Editorial: Is anybody willing to take responsibility for Strike Island? June 23, 2022 Welcome to Strike Island, then. British Airways’ ground handlers – or at least, a chunk of them – are now joining an ever-growing list of unionised workers who have picked walkouts over work amid a heightening cost of everything crisis. Whether it’s wise for union leaders to take their staff out on strike at the [...]
Khan lashes Shapps for refusing to meet over TfL funding as latest deal runs out June 23, 2022 Sadiq Khan has hit out at transport secretary Grant Shapps for refusing to meet with him over Transport for London (TfL) funding, despite the body’s latest deal running out tomorrow. The mayor of London told a group of journalists today that Shapps had not answered formal requests for a meeting that was made two weeks [...]
London business groups: TfL funding deal ‘vital’ to capital’s economy as Khan warns on ‘managed decline’ June 22, 2022 LONDON business groups, think-tanks and property firms have warned the capital’s transport network needs a long-term funding settlement from central government or risk ‘decades’ of damage. Transport for London’s (TfL) latest emergency bailout with the Department for Transport runs out Friday – risking what the network’s chiefs have described as “managed decline” of the service. [...]
TfL to impose fines for driving on cycling lanes June 22, 2022 Londoners will need to brace themselves as Transport for London (TfL) has announced it will begin fining motorists for driving in cycle lanes. From 27 June the public body will have powers over lanes and tracks across its wider road network, in the same way it legislates over bus lanes and yellow box junctions. Introduced [...]
Welcome aboard, this is a driverless train: unions begin their own demise June 22, 2022 As the summer sun makes the UK feel like a Mediterranean resort, we are also about to see the perils of the labour problems that Southern Europe was so often bedeviled by. Trains have ground to a halt, the London Underground has stopped, and buses are stuck in their depots. Millions of pounds will be [...]
Government ‘inciting’ strikes by not agreeing to TfL funding, says Sadiq Khan June 17, 2022 London mayor Sadiq Khan has accused the government of “inciting” next week’s strikes by failing to reach an agreement over Transport for London’s (TfL) long-term funding. 10,000 members of the RMT and Unite unions working for London Underground are set to strike on Tuesday, on the same day 40,000 railway workers will walk out in [...]
Railway industry calls on Shapps and Khan to agree on long-term TfL funding June 17, 2022 The railway industry has called on transport secretary Grant Shapps and London mayor Sadiq Khan to put politics aside and agree on a long-term funding for Transport for London (TfL) just as the latest round of government bailout expires next Friday. Trade body the Railway Industry Association (RIA) has written an open letter arguing that [...]
DfT accuses TfL of failing to provide recommendation for pension reform June 15, 2022 The Department for Transport (DfT) has accused Transport for London (TfL) of failing to provide a recommendation for its pension reform just as the latest round of government funding is set to expire next Friday. DfT permanent secretary Bernadette Kelly told TfL commissioner Andy Byford last week the government had launched a formal dispute period [...]
London today: Mayor Sadiq Khan to roll out measures to take on ‘scourge’ of violence against women and girls June 15, 2022 The Mayor of London will unveil a new £18-million-funding package on Wednesday aimed at combatting the “scourge” of violence against women and girls in the city. During a visit to Waltham Forest in north-east London, Sadiq Khan will announce the Violence Against Women & Girls (VAWG) Strategy which uses public health and education to implement [...]
Letters: The Met’s trust challenge June 14, 2022 [Re: Crime in our capital city will stay high unless confidence in the Met is restored, June 10] As the cost-of-living crisis continues to bite, we’re seeing fresh waves of concern about a potential spike in crime figures . The Met currently has more police officers than ever before, yet it appears there is still [...]