I’ve dealt with gangsters and petrol bombs, but Nimbys are a bigger threat to nightlife June 11, 2025 As founder of the world’s biggest nightclub and a festival for 80,000 punters, Manchester’s night time economy advisor Sacha Lord has dealt with guns and petrol bombs. But he says the biggest threat he’s encountered is Nimbys trying to shut down festivals like Brockwell Live What qualifies me to write about Nimbys being nightlife’s biggest [...]
Spending more on less: Premiumisation emerges as retail winner June 10, 2025 Most people will be familiar with retail premiumisation from the pandemic. Faced with a sudden boost in the number of Brits on furlough with time to spend looking for products, a number of retailers – partially luxury and alcohol retailers – bumped up their supply of more expensive, premium products. The strategy worked well, for [...]
Conservatives defy claims the party is ‘dying’ with millions in fundraising June 10, 2025 The Tory party raised £3.4m in donations in the first quarter of 2025, surpassing all other parties’ fundraising efforts and defying claims the party was ‘dying’. In addition to short money – meaning taxpayer and electoral commission funding – the Tories received £5.5m in the three months to end March. In the last quarter of [...]
FCA boss: Buy now, pay later regulation is a trade off June 10, 2025 The chief executive of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said the new clamp down on buy now, pay later (BNPL) regulation would be a “trade off” as he faced a grilling from MPs. Nikhil Rathi, who was reappointed as the regulator’s boss in April, told the Treasury Committee the crackdown would have “beneficiaries and downside [...]
ChatGPT down: did anyone need more proof we’re all addicted? June 10, 2025 Uh-oh, it looks like the rumours are true! ChatGPT went down this morning and its temporary loss proved we’re all as addicted as everyone feared. “How will I answer if someone asks me my name,” one user wrote on social media. Another less dramatic post perhaps captured the nation’s feelings more aptly: “Can’t function now [...]
ChatGPT down: chatbot owners respond as AI fails June 10, 2025 It’s the sort of social media storm we’ll almost certainly be seeing a whole lot more of in the future. As ChatGPT temporarily went down this morning due to technical issues, thousands of users were left without the use of the world’s most commonly adopted AI. Many have taken to social media to share how [...]
London SXSW in review: Where was the vibe? June 10, 2025 A lot to love, but a lot to improve. Was the first year of London SXSW a success? Paul Armstrong gives his verdict.
Londoners most at risk of online fraud, report reveals June 10, 2025 Londoners are at significant risk of digital and financial exclusion after new data revealed one in four people in the UK capital lack confidence in money management. According to research from WPI Economics and Virgin Money, Londoners are twice as likely to experience both digital and financial exclusion than those living in the South East. [...]
Spear guns, knuckle dusters and machetes: The ‘prohibited items’ at London Tech Week June 9, 2025 London Tech Week 2025 opened with appearances from Sir Keir Starmer and Nvidia chief Jensen Huang, but attendees got a bigger surprise from a sign at the door outlining “prohibited items” at the event. City AM has seen a list ranging from spear guns and tear gas to knuckle dusters, nun-chucks and machetes, that looked [...]
Zia Yusuf returns to Reform – just two days after quitting June 8, 2025 Zia Yusuf is returning to Reform UK as head of their “UK DOGE” programme. Just two days after the party chairman stepped down, following a dispute with the party over whether they would support the introduction of a burqa ban, Yusuf announced his new role on social media. Yusuf said he reconsidered stepping away from [...]