Freedom of the city of London: more than just sheep on London Bridge December 9, 2025 If you mention the Freedom of the City of London, most people picture sheep crossing London Bridge – and yes, that quirky tradition still happens. But the Freedom is far more than a photo opportunity; it’s a living link to the City’s heritage and civic pride. Historical roots and medieval rights Dating back to the [...]
London Museum: inside the £400m cultural development at West Smithfield December 9, 2025 The London Museum is set to open at West Smithfield in 2026. It is one of Europe’s largest cultural developments and is backed by more than £400m in funding from the City of London Corporation and the Mayor of London, of which the City Corporation is contributing £222m. I recently toured the museum and met [...]
Inside London’s occult bookshops December 9, 2025 As I stood outside Watkins Books, the oldest occult bookshop in London, an old man approached me. “Number 23 is the one you want,” he said, pointing down the street. I looked confused. “Murder! A woman stabbed in the basement!” The man, who quickly walked on, was referring to the 1961 murder of Elsie Batten, [...]
The politics behind the 2026 Fifa World Cup draw and schedule December 9, 2025 By the time the Village People walked out on stage to close the 2026 Fifa World Cup draw, to the delight of US President Donald Trump and Fifa chief Gianni Infantino, many fans’ thoughts had already turned to who their team would be playing and when. And when the full schedule was confirmed 24 hours [...]
LRN Appoints Bob Lemmond as Chief Executive Office December 9, 2025 Accomplished information-services and governance executive to expand LRN’s global impact in ethics, compliance, and principled performance
Goalhanger profit soars as Gary Lineker-owned podcast firm attracts global audience December 9, 2025 Profit at Gary Lineker-owned production group Goalhanger has soared as the media group continued to build up a global audience for its portfolio of podcasts. The group’s retained earnings, a measure of the total profit accumulated since the firm was founded, more than tripled to £4.6m in the seven months to the end of December [...]
City of London considers outside investment for housing projects December 9, 2025 The City of London is considering bringing in outside investors to help fund housing projects in the Square Mile. A partnership would be the first time the Square Mile has brought in outside investment for housing in the Corporation’s nearly 1000-year history. The Corporation, which manages 1,800 social rented homes as well as 900 leasehold [...]
UK legal sector books double-digit revenue growth in 2024 December 9, 2025 Total revenue from legal activities in the UK reached a record £52.3bn in 2024, up 11 per cent from 2023, according to a new report by TheCityUK, published in partnership with Barclays. The UK boasts the world’s second-largest legal services market, trailing only the US, thanks to the dominance of English common law. Overall, the [...]
Reeves is betting big on AI, but does the public back her? December 9, 2025 Rachel Reeves is betting the UK’s economic future on an AI-driven productivity surge, but there are serious questions about the plausibility of this bet given the UK’s weaknesses in implementation, scaling capacity, talent retention and public pessimism, says Paul Armstrong Rachel Reeves has placed an enormous bet on AI rescuing the UK’s dwindling economy. Fraser [...]
Pubs outraged as Selfridges and Harrods see business rates slashed December 8, 2025 Rachel Reeves is facing a backlash for a cut to business rates for the likes of Selfridges and Harrods while many pubs and restaurants see a huge hike. Analysis has found that a new shake-up of business rates will cause the tax bill of luxury stores to fall, while smaller venues face double-digit increases. Harrods’ [...]