SME housebuilders are key to growth – and the Conservative revival August 1, 2025 Housing was a major cause of the Conservative collapse – particularly with young people. If we want to build the right houses in the right places, SMEs are the answer, says Jack Rankin Like the Chancellor, I’m no economist. She might have a degree in PPE, but you don’t need that to work out that [...]
Heathrow tables third runway bid August 1, 2025 Heathrow’s top brass have tabled their proposal to manage the hub’s long-awaited third runway expansion in a bidding process that will pit it against a rival operator for the first time in the airport’s history. Officials from the airport confirmed had submitted “shovel-ready” plans for a privately financed runway ahead of the Department for Transport’s [...]
Forest’s Hounslow e-bike contract win sparks concerns over cash-first tender model July 31, 2025 Hounslow Council awarded one of its two e-bike contracts to the operator which offered them the highest fees despite scoring demonstrably lower than rivals on other metrics, City AM can reveal. The move, which has attracted fury from rival operators, lays bare the competing interests of cash-strapped local authorities as they weigh which criteria to prioritise [...]
Hotel billionaire launches shock bid to run Heathrow expansion July 31, 2025 The race to manage Heathrow’s multibillion-pound third runway expansion has been thrown wide open after a rival suitor confirmed it will submit a proposal to go up against an expected bid from the airport’s current operators. The Arora Group, a hotel chain with 13 hotels in transport hubs across London and the South East, confirmed [...]
London airports paused flights due to faulty air traffic control July 30, 2025 London airports temporarily paused departures as air traffic control suffered from a “technical issue”, causing mass delays at a busy time for holidays. The UK’s National Air Traffic Services (Nats) said it had solved a problem at its centre in Swanwick, Derbyshire as it was working to resume “normal operations” around London. “We continue to [...]
Uber rivals handed major VAT boost by Supreme Court July 29, 2025 Rival taxi operators to Uber will not have to pay 20 per cent VAT on their profits outside London following a landmark Supreme Court ruling. The court has decided that private-hire operators do not enter into a contract with passengers and therefore are except from the tax. The ruling comes after US giant Uber brought [...]
Here’s how to make sure Great British Railways stays on track July 29, 2025 If Labour must steam ahead with its plan to renationalise the railways, there’s a few things it must do to make it a success, says Emma Revell One of the least surprising and most ideologically consistent aspects of Labour’s first year in office has been the impetus behind Great British Railways. The new body, which [...]
London must prepare for new climate extremes July 29, 2025 Floods, extreme temperatures, wildfires… the new London Plan must not treat planning for freak weather as an optional extra, says Emma Howard Boyd London and New York are officially the world’s most globally connected cities. Not only are both classed as ‘supercities’ but they are also the world’s only combined financial, commercial and cultural superhubs, [...]
Great British Railways risk repeating British Rail mistakes July 28, 2025 Plans for the government’s flagship rail reform body, Great British Railways (GBR), risk reviving the failings of the past if urgent changes aren’t made, a leading think tank has warned. A new report from the Centre for Policy Studies (CPS) cautions that the structure of GBR could stifle innovation, reduce accountability, and discourage competition, particularly [...]
Fans and athletes both lose in sport’s endless entertainment loop July 24, 2025 New tournaments, expanding global championships, tours of dubious sporting merit and very little rest – isn’t it time we gave our athletes a break, asks Ed Warner? If only the world wasn’t spherical, maybe then we wouldn’t have lost the sporting seasons. As it is, summer bleeds from northern hemisphere to southern, which sends winter [...]