Booming Manchester outshines ‘stagnant’ London November 4, 2025 Greater Manchester’s booming economy is outstripping the rest of the country and throwing into sharp relief the “stagnant” state London has found itself in since the 2008 financial crisis, according to a new report. As Chancellor Rachel Reeves sets out the productivity challenges facing the UK ahead of the Budget, new analysis from Oxford Economics [...]
Amazon rolls out UK’s biggest electric truck fleet amid government push November 4, 2025 Amazon has begun rolling out the first of its largest-ever UK electric heavy-goods vehicles (eHGVs), with 160 trucks set to join its British fleet over the coming months. The first of the new 40-tonne Mercedes-Benz eActros 600s is set to hit the road this week, delivering parcels between Amazon’s logistics hubs nationwide. The fleet is [...]
Britain can lead the electric air taxi revolution November 4, 2025 Flying taxis are set to revolutionize travel, making zero-emission, quiet, low-cost short-haul journeys a reality, and Britain can lead the way, says Dómhnal Slattery Britain once defined the future of flight, leading most of the major advances in aviation. The Spitfire, the Mosquito, the Comet and Concorde were not just machines, but symbols of ingenuity [...]
Labour to spend £10m on tackling EV charging blackspots November 3, 2025 The government has unveiled a £10m fund to help expand England’s electric vehicle (EV) charging network, targeting grid-constrained sites on motorways and major A-roads where power access has slowed progress. The funding will support projects that allow chargers to run off-grid or with minimal grid connection, using renewable energy and battery storage to deliver ultra-rapid [...]
The Line of Beauty at the Almeida review: Horny and exceedingly fabulous October 30, 2025 The Line of Beauty at the Almeida review and star rating: ★★★★ Alan Hollinghurst’s The Line of Beauty is considered alongside The Normal Heart and Angels in America to be one of the seminal queer texts confronting the AIDS pandemic. It won the Man Booker Prize in 2004 but is more interested in queer hedonism [...]
New 1,200-home neighbourhood unveiled in Elizabeth Line-linked Southall October 30, 2025 A new 1,200-home neighbourhood has been unveiled in Southall as the city continues to expand out along the Elizabeth line. Quarter Yards will deliver 1,273 new homes and over 105,000 sq ft of commercial space. Marcus Blake, managing director at one of the developers, St George, said he has seen “strong demand” for housing in [...]
World-leading office demand and a severe supply crunch meet in London October 30, 2025 New research shows that London is the most attractive European city for commercial office investment, but its future is under threat from a lack of construction. Central London has the lowest vacancy rate among international peers – two thirds lower than Manhattan’s – demonstrating continued global appeal, according to the London Property Alliance. Prime rents [...]
Looking for Growth? Look no further. October 27, 2025 The fury online is palpable, high-fliers feel undervalued, and ‘Britain is Broken’ has become the ridiculing punchline enjoyed by American crypto traders and digital nomads. Here though, at a mini arena in Greenwich on a Thursday night, Looking for Growth – LFG – is not a lost cause. Some attendees are unsure exactly what they [...]
These are the City’s four key recommendations for the Budget October 27, 2025 Financial services should remain VAT-free. The bank levy and surcharge should be phased out over time. And stamp duty on UK shares should be abolished, says Chris Hayward A month from now, the Chancellor faces a selection of stark choices. The easiest among them should be whether to supercharge the UK’s financial services sector – [...]
Asylum seeker released in error seen in London area, police say October 25, 2025 An asylum seeker accidentally released from prison was last seen in the London area, police said, as officers urged anyone who spots him to call 999 immediately. Ethiopian national Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, 38, who had been living at the Bell Hotel in Epping, was jailed for 12 months in September for the sexual assault of [...]