Stress in the City: Let’s move beyond stigmas October 4, 2016 Nearly 80 per cent of Morning Wire readers have experienced poor mental health. If you look around your train carriage this morning at your fellow commuters, that should become a sobering statistic. In truth, it’s not our readers that have been surveyed, but employees across the UK. The charity Business in the Community conducted a [...]
Travel chaos for commuters as power failures shut down several Tube stations October 3, 2016 Local power failures have meant King's Cross, Regent's Park, Euston and Warren Street stations were shut just as many commuters began to pack up for the day. Transport for London said local issues had caused the stations on several different Tube lines to be shut shortly after 4pm today. https://twitter.com/respros/status/782970566588395520 The two mainline stations – King's Cross and [...]
This is London First’s new chief executive October 3, 2016 London First has today announced former Save the Children International boss Jasmine Whitbread will be joining as its new chief executive. Whitbread, who has also held management positions at Thomson Financial and Rio Tinto and is a non-executive director of BT and Standard Chartered, will succeed Baroness Jo Valentine when she steps down at the end of the year. "Jasmine brings an [...]
Southern is asking passengers to complain about RMT strikes and they’re not happy about it October 3, 2016 The reaction to a large advertising campaign Southern Rail took out today suggests it may well have misjudged its audience. The snappily named “Let’s strike back” campaign implored passengers to tweet the RMT union and tell it how rail strikes made them feel. It also suggested a hashtag for users to get involved with: #SouthernBackonTrack. Time [...]
Christmas Tube strike on the cards as RMT ballots London Underground staff October 3, 2016 Bad news for the capital’s commuters – London Underground could be facing a new strike threat just in time for the festive period. Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) are set to vote on whether to launch a campaign of industrial action in the coming weeks. While union leaders have not yet [...]
TfL signs £79.7m five year deal with Serco to upgrade the capital’s thousands of Boris bikes October 3, 2016 Transport for London (TfL) has signed a deal with Serco to develop the next generation of London’s cycle hire scheme, Santander Cycles. The five year contract is valued at £79.7m and Serco will distribute and maintain the hire scheme, while the upgraded bike will be made by Pashley Cycles, a Stratford-upon-Avon firm which celebrated its [...]
Let’s celebrate the incredible generosity of spirit that powers London’s businesses October 3, 2016 In my role as lord mayor, I lead business delegations to key international markets to strengthen commercial ties and promote Britain as one of the best places in which to invest and trade. I am always struck by the positive perception of the UK as not only a good place to do business, but also as a [...]
London bus bursts into flames at Liverpool Street station October 2, 2016 A London bus burst into flames near Liverpool Street station on Sunday morning, blocking roads in the City. The fire ripped through the routemaster bus at around 10am this morning. London Fire Brigade attended the incident and the fire was extinguished, leaving the area cordoned off around the shell of the burnt out vehicle. It's understood [...]
Landlords threaten to hike rents after tax changes kick in October 1, 2016 Landlords have claimed they will be forced to raise rents as a result of the government's string of tax changes and crackdowns on the buy to let sector. A new survey also revealed private sector landlords will not be able to invest as much in improving their properties as a result of the extra charges [...]
Cronut craze: I queued for two hours for a £4 pastry and this is what I learned September 30, 2016 In 2013, Dominique Ansel’s New York bakery started selling a croissant-doughnut hybrid, which he called the Cronut. Nine days later, he’d registered the pastry’s name and crowds of people were queueing around the block to try the odd new delicacy. Now the super-baker has brought his brand, and his Cronuts, to London. The store opened [...]