Boris pledges new deal for suburban rail March 22, 2012 BORIS Johnson has promised to secure specific improvements to London’s suburban rail services if he is re-elected, in the form of longer trains and enlarged stations. The Budget includes a pledge to consider further investment in the capital’s rail network, prompting Johnson (pictured) to assert that he is the best-placed candidate to win funds from [...]
Olympic Tube strike talks stall March 22, 2012 Talks to avoid a transport strike during the Olympics stalled yesterday, with union reps slamming London Underground for imposing “even more strings” on workers alongside an £850 bonus. Five days of negotiations broke down yesterday morning when the RMT union objected to what it said were unreasonable and “inherently unsafe” demands that staff work more [...]
A third runway at Heathrow is essential if London is to be a globally competitive city March 22, 2012 IT IS crucial for the UK’s economic recovery that London remains a global centre for trade, able to compete with old rivals such as New York and Tokyo as well as new emerging cities like Beijing, Doha and Sao Paulo. As the rhetoric around diversifying the economy and ending our reliance on financial services ramps [...]
WHAT DOES THE CHANCELLOR’S BUDGET MEAN FOR YOU? March 21, 2012 CATHERINE GANNON, 50,MANAGING DIRECTOR OF LAW FIRM GANNON Catherine lives with her children, aged nine and 11, in a home she owns with a mortgage. She set up her firm nine years ago and worries about red tape and taxes. When travelling to meet clients, she uses the tube. She earns over £100,000, and has [...]
Upgrades for road, rail and IT take shape March 21, 2012 THE COALITION’S multi-billion pound plans for sweeping infrastructure upgrades are starting to take shape, with £2bn of pension involvement revealed yesterday and new plans to upgrade London’s transport and technology networks. George Osborne said British pension funds have pledged the first £2bn towards a new Pension Infrastructure Platform, first trailed in autumn, with more firms [...]
Top tax rate to be cut to 45p March 21, 2012 Chancellor George Osborne announced that the top rate of tax would be cut from 50p to 45p from April next year, in his Budget speech. He said the rate – for those earning over £150,000 a year – is the highest in the G20 and “it is widely acknowledged as harming the British economy.” The [...]
Mayoral race kicks off with jobs and fares March 20, 2012 BORIS Johnson has taken an eight-point lead in the battle to be Mayor of London, according to a YouGov poll issued to mark the start of the official campaign. Johnson’s campaign has pulled ahead of the competition in recent weeks and the latest polling gives him 49 per cent of first preference votes, against 41 [...]
Economy is the defining issue for Londoners March 20, 2012 THE ECONOMY is set to define the election, according to an Ipsos MORI poll that found 59 per cent of Londoners cited the financial outlook as one of their most important concerns. Respondents said the other important factors are tackling crime (49 per cent), improving public transport (38 per cent) and building cheap homes (37 [...]
Petrofac and National Grid plan UK carbon capture plant March 20, 2012 British energy network operator National Grid and London-listed oil and gas services firm Petrofac plan to build a carbon capture and storage (CCS) project in Britain with US partner Summit Power, the companies said. The consortium will apply for funding from the British government, which is due to relaunch a £1bn tender for CCS projects [...]
CITY VIEWS: SHOULD DAVID CAMERON PRIVATISE THE ROADS? March 19, 2012 ANDREW CAULFIELD | CAULFIELD SEARCH “Given that our infrastructure is a bit of a mess I don’t think rail privatisation is the best model to follow on the roads: it certainly hasn’t benefited commuters, just the shareholders of Stagecoach.” ROB WILLIAMS | PARLIAMENT HILL “It wouldn’t affect me as I don’t drive because the prices [...]