Drones will transform our cities – and we’re totally unprepared for the consequences February 21, 2017 Drones are everywhere – whether that’s delivering Domino’s pizzas in New Zealand or dancing behind Lady Gaga at the US Super Bowl. With the news that Amazon’s new drone delivery plan includes “package parachutes”, considering how drones will impact our cities in the future is an issue that London must address now. No longer limited [...]
Spending sprees and strikes prove Sadiq Khan is using London as a springboard for his real ambitions: the Labour leadership February 21, 2017 A hypothesis: Sadiq Khan plans to cut and run after a single four-year term as mayor of London. In the meantime he will say and do anything he can to boost his popularity, regardless of the consequences. His motivation? To present himself as a quick-fix, ready-made alternative to the current Labour leader. Khan’s supporters may [...]
London Underground users charged £365m for incomplete journeys February 20, 2017 London’s Tube travellers are leaving themselves open to over-charging by failing to “tap out” with oysters or bank cards at stations on the Underground network. TfL has charged its customers £365m over six years from cards with incomplete journeys, according to figures provided to the Evening Standard. During peak hours, the Tube network charges £7.80 [...]
There’s another anti-Trump protest planned for central London this evening February 20, 2017 Activists are planning another protest against US President Donald Trump in central London tonight. The demonstration will coincide with the House of Commons debate on whether the President should be granted a state visit to the UK. Tonight's action follows numerous other marches and protests against Trump in the capital, sparked in large part by the US leader's travel [...]
UK drivers spend an average of 32 hours in traffic – costing Londoners £1,911 each last year February 20, 2017 The UK been has ranked the 3rd most congested in Europe – drivers spend an average of 32 hours a year in traffic jams during peak times, according to a report by traffic information company Inrix. Over 1,000 cities worldwide were included in the study, and London was named the seventh worst for congestion and [...]
RMT and Aslef to ballot Night Tube drivers for strike action February 20, 2017 The RMT and Aslef unions said this morning they will ballot Night Tube drivers for industrial action over a "block on career progression". Both unions are protesting what they see as obstruction of drivers' career progression. Aslef has set a deadline of 10am on Thursday 16 March for the return of ballot papers. According to the [...]
An old Irish lady found one of the last £50k Jane Austen fivers and donated it to charity February 20, 2017 There's still a £5 engraved with a tiny portrait of Jane Austen floating around – after the last one was discovered and donated to charity. Back in December artist Graham Short declared he had engraved four of the Bank of England's new fivers with a tiny, 5mm, picture of the author, plus a quote from her [...]
Hooray: Higher than average temperatures are coming to London this week February 20, 2017 February’s weather has been a bit all over the place to say the least – from heavy snow in northern parts of the country to Spring-like weather in London earlier on this week, which coincided with the Snow Moon. Londoners will be happy to know that today is the warmest day of the year so [...]
Why HS2 could be a train wreck for Euston station February 20, 2017 Today MPs will debate the HS2 bill in parliament for what is almost certainly the final time. Yet after hundreds of hours of debate and deliberation over more than five years by both MPs and peers, the plan for High Speed Rail 2 into London remains fundamentally flawed. Irrespective of the merits of the entire [...]
Celebrate the businesses that go the extra mile to support their local communities February 20, 2017 The most important part of my role as lord mayor of Canada is to represent the UK’s financial and professional services industry. Since my election last September I have been regularly meeting employees, employers, entrepreneurs and opinion-formers from across the UK – and one thing is increasingly clear: as a nation we [...]