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 [...]
Second day of rail strikes send Trainline tumbling as FTSE 100 dips June 23, 2022 A second day of railway worker strikes sent shares in ticket booking platform Trainline tumbling as London’s top indexes dipped today. The capital’s premier FTSE 100 index dropped 0.97 per cent to 7,020.45 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the UK economy, fell 1.05 per [...]
Rail strikes spill into tube network, affecting journeys on Overground, Bakerloo and Elizabeth lines June 23, 2022 The chaos and disruption brought by the ongoing rail strike has once again spilled into London’s tube network, affecting journeys on the Overground as well as the Bakerloo and Elizabeth lines. Overground services are running on a reduced schedule as trains between Romford and Upminster, Sydenham and Crystal Palace as well as between Surrey Quays [...]
Rail strikes to halt commutes again as RMT union boss warns of more to come June 23, 2022 Rail strikes are set to hit London and the rest of the country again today, as union members picket outside an unusually quiet Euston Station. While Tube services are running, delays are expected to hang over from yesterday’s bout of industrial action. RMT union general secretary Mick Lynch, who joined picketers for the second of [...]
A summer of discontent is the unions’ fight for power in the modern workforce June 23, 2022 This week, London was awash with bikes and e-scooters as the biggest rail strikes in thirty years kicked off on Tuesday. Other unions were watching closely as they plan for their own industrial action. Some are calling it the summer of discontent, as a waterfall of job losses and long hours stir up a storm [...]
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. [...]
Londoners rely on e-bikes and scooters as strikes bring capital to standstill June 22, 2022 The number of Londoners using cycle and e-scooter hire schemes as well as ride-hailing apps surged on Tuesday after the combination of tube and railway strikes brought the capital to a standstill. According to Transport for London (TfL) figures, bike hires more than doubled yesterday, going from an average of 27,000 to 67,000 in what [...]
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 [...]
Developing old industrial land to unlock over £460bn worth of new housing, research finds June 22, 2022 Developing brownfield sites, industrial land which is now empty, could unlock more than £460bn worth of new housing, according to new research. The government is already looking to develop these spaces, as part of its Levelling Up scheme, which will form part of its pledge to build 300,000 new homes each year to keep up [...]