Starmer’s faith in Mandelson was a catastrophic error of judgement February 5, 2026 If Keir Starmer had hoped that his own indignation, doubtless sincerely felt, would put distance between Downing Street and the Peter Mandelson scandal, he was mistaken. Amid dramatic and at times chaotic scenes in the House of Commons yesterday, the Prime Minister was forced into a humiliating u-turn as opposition and Labour MPs united to [...]
Women-only Tube carriages are a terrible, unworkable idea February 5, 2026 Sex offences on public transport in London are soaring, but the solution is better policing and security across the network not voluntary gender segregation, argues James Ford Harold Macmillan, in a speech in 1961, said that the Liberals (as they were still then called) “offer a mixture of sound and original ideas…unfortunately none of the [...]
Openclaw just showed how fast your workforce can outrun your controls February 5, 2026 Openclaw, a rapidly adopted open-source and autonomous personal AI assistant, is significantly increasing “Shadow AI” risk within organisations by operating locally, coordinating tasks across systems, and even creating a social network for agents, says Paul Armstrong Editing this piece took longer than expected because the subject wouldn’t stay still long enough to cooperate. Clawdbot became [...]
London doesn’t need an ambassador Mayor – it needs a chief executive February 5, 2026 The capital punches below its weight because it can’t govern itself. Slash the number of boroughs, reform the London Assembly and give the Mayor revenue-raising powers to unleash London, says Joe Hill To be the Mayor of London is to be the leader of a global capital city. It is a different job to the [...]
Political risk is back – and financial services are most exposed February 4, 2026 As global politics becomes more volatile and the state accounts for more activity, political risk is becoming a major factor in investment decisions – and the smartest firms are pricing it in, says Benedict McAleenan There’s a meme on social media where people post photos of themselves in the innocent days of early 2016. Gen [...]
Lime policy chief: Retime traffic lights to make London cyclists safer February 4, 2026 London should follow Copengahen and Amsterdam by retiming traffic lights to reward safe cyclists, writes Lime policy director Hal Stevenson.
The Debate: Should student loan debt be forgiven? February 4, 2026 Student loans are under the spotlight, with those who took out plans between 2012 and 2023 feeling the bite. Should student debt (or some of it) be forgiven?
The economics of superstars: Is Taylor Swift in her AI era? February 4, 2026 Claims that AI will make it harder for working class talent to succeed in the creative industries miss the point – the arts are inherently unequal, and not because of technology, says Paul Ormerod The cultural and creative industries have been very much in the news over the past week A report fronted by the [...]
The only thing that’s growing in Britain is the civil service February 4, 2026 The salary bill for the civil service rose to £21bn last year, up more than seven per cent in a year when economic growth was anaemic at best. The private sector is funding a pay bonanza while businesses are ground down with higher taxes and more regulation, says John O’Connell While Britain’s businesses struggle with [...]
Fix Hammersmith Bridge to jolt Britain out of degrowth daydream February 4, 2026 The seven-year closure of Hammersmith Bridge is emblematic of British decline. The government must now take responsibility, says Neil Garratt “When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.” We might picture a bewhiskered Victorian Londoner contemplating those words in Arthur Conan Doyle’s latest novel, The Sign of the Four, [...]