There’s going to be a major Tube strike: Here’s what you need to know January 8, 2017 Happy new year, everyone: London will grind to a halt on Monday as Tube staff from the RMT and TSSA unions go on a 24-hour strike over ticket office closures. Transport for London (TfL) has warned customers to be prepared for most stations throughout Zone 1 to be closed throughout the action. Here's what you [...]
Talks to prevent Monday’s major Tube strike have collapsed January 6, 2017 Talks aimed at putting off a major Tube strike by London Underground workers next week have collapsed, meaning the walkout will go ahead, the Press Association reported this afternoon. The talks, between unions and Transport for London (TfL), were aimed at putting off the strike, which is due to begin at 6pm on Sunday and [...]
A woman has said she just realised £7m in gold was missing from a safety deposit box involved in the Hatton Garden heist January 6, 2017 A woman has come forward to police saying she just realised £7m of her gold is missing from a safety deposit box involved in the Hatton Garden heist more than a year ago. Sky News reported the claim today, which would take the total stolen in the heist to around £21m. Police said in June they [...]
10 things to look forward to in London in 2017 January 6, 2017 Forget 2016; here's what you need to look forward to in London in 2017 1. Nordic Matters Festival, Southbank Centre The Southbank Centre is planning to explore all things Nordic through 2017, with some scandi-tastic special events. Think Moomins, Lego, hygge, saunas and gastronomic treats like cinnamon buns, pickling and curing — alongside the most [...]
Five days in to 2017, London exceeded its air pollution limit January 6, 2017 Finding the city smoggier than usual today? It's no wonder. Five days into the year, London has already broken air pollution limits set for the whole of 2017. Brixton Road is to blame. The road exceeded the hourly limit of 200 micrograms of nitrogen dioxide per cubic metre of air for the 19th time last night. Under EU pollution [...]
Editor’s notes: The great Civil Service myth, and why it’s time to shake things up… January 6, 2017 Though probably not on your daily reading list, Dominic Cummings (former adviser to Michael Gove and a top dog in the official Leave campaign) writes a fascinating blog. In between posts on artificial intelligence, super-computing and advanced physics, you’ll find reflections on his time working at the Department for Education as Gove’s senior adviser. If you [...]
Sadiq Khan launches a fresh plea for more control over London’s trains January 5, 2017 London mayor Sadiq Khan has launched a fresh appeal for control over the capital’s suburban trains. Khan has published a list of promises to Londoners if rail devolution goes ahead. In December, transport secretary Chris Grayling ruled out City Hall control of services, branding any handover “deckchair shifting”. However, Khan has reiterated his demands for [...]
Snooping City: Do you live in London’s most spied-on neighbourhood? January 5, 2017 Londoners have been subject to more than 10,000 days of covert surveillance by councils since 2011, new figures have revealed. Some 27 London borough councils have launched almost 500 surveillance operations over the last five years, but which local authorities did the most spying? A raft of Freedom Of Information requests can reveal surveillance operations [...]
Three contractors just won £500m from TfL to sort out London’s roads January 5, 2017 London drivers, brace yourselves for more roadworks: Transport for London has said it has signed a £500m deal with three of the UK's largest contractors to deliver "complex, large-scale civil engineering schemes" on the capital's roads. Costain, Morgan Sindall and Skanska will spend four years working on projects to improve journey reliability, encourage cycling and [...]
Make 2017 a year of celebration – not the suffocation of London’s Night Time Economy January 5, 2017 We live in interesting times. This term, actually a Chinese curse, reflects all the hope, possibility and opportunity of a period – as well as the worst that we can imagine from it. What has been “interesting” recently is the overwhelming cultural and political view that the British public is a nasty species that requires [...]