Gloomy outlook: Royal Parks charity bans ‘Optimism Picnic’ in Hyde Park September 4, 2026 The Royal Parks charity has insisted an ‘Optimism Picnic’ planned by the co-founder of the economic campaign group Looking For Growth cannot go ahead in Hyde Park. Now, the outlook for this picnic looks more pessimistic, on what is already set to be an overcast afternoon following a morning of intermittent heavy rain. The slapdown [...]
Prem Rugby needs a draft, but not one for the very best players September 4, 2026 Top flight domestic rugby is back this weekend in the form of the Prem Rugby Cup – the former Anglo-Welsh, British and Irish, and inter-Prem/Champ competition that is now just a little bit of a nothing league. But that’s for another day. Because the return of rugby in England feels underhyped. We’ve had an entire [...]
Greater fool theory helps to explain Premier League’s record £3.5bn transfer window September 3, 2026 The transfer window has left Ed Warner’s head in a spin and even the most devoted football nut must have struggled to keep up, he writes. The football transfer window closed on Tuesday night, with over £3bn splashed out by Premier League clubs for the second summer running. In the end, Everton didn’t sell their [...]
The Debate: Is university now a waste of money? September 3, 2026 As graduates struggle to find jobs, let alone those that are well paid, is university still worth the cost? We hear the case for and against.
Andrew Griffith: My FTSE 100 experience means I know how to balance the books September 3, 2026 Andrew Griffith’s fierce interest in politics long preceded his involvement in it. Aged 26, he appeared in the audience of a 1997 Question Time show, in which host David Dimbleby gave him the opportunity to speak to would-be PM Tony Blair. He didn’t hold back. “You may be the glossy smart marketing, but you haven’t [...]
Retailers urge Healey to unwind national insurance hike to boost jobs September 3, 2026 Retailers have called on Chancellor John Healey to unwind some of the national insurance reforms made by his predecessor in a bid to tackle the youth joblessness crisis. The British Retail Consortium (BRC), which represents retailers including Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Marks & Spencer, has written to the Chancellor, urging him to unwind “soaring employment costs”. [...]
Khan demands Burnham block Heathrow expansion over net zero September 3, 2026 London mayor Sir Sadiq Khan has demanded Andy Burnham to block the Heathrow airport runway expansion on the grounds of net zero. Khan, who has long opposed the construction of a second Heathrow runway, linked the expansion to the effects on climate change including “extreme heatwaves, drought and wildfires”. “The truth is the whole case [...]
Burnham refuses to rule out more borrowing and blames Tories for debt crisis September 2, 2026 Andy Burnham has refused to rule out borrowing more and raising taxes to fund his government’s spending plans, as he blamed the UK’s vulnerability to a global bond rout on the Conservatives. Speaking at his first Prime Minister’s Questions, Burnham said spiralling debt costs in the UK, which have hit near two-decade highs in recent [...]
The common sense deficit hitting the City’s professional services firms September 2, 2026 The rise of AI has put serious pressure on professional services firms to figure out hiring and training strategies as an industry built to sell knowledge faces a knowledge gap as a new era enters the workforce with skills very different from the cohort ahead of them, writes Maria Ward-Brennan. Much of the conversation about [...]
London doesn’t compete with other UK cities, it competes with global capitals September 2, 2026 London’s rivals are the world’s capital cities. Whether you live in London or Leeds, Leicester or Liverpool, the success of our capital matters for jobs and funding for public services in every single part of the country, says Karim Fatehi A truly competitive capital city which secures international investment, attracts the best talent and drives [...]