Ed Warner: Activity vouchers can solve post-Covid sport participation problem October 21, 2021 I addressed a bunch of politicians, advisors and sports industry types at a Westminster Forum this week on the challenges facing sport and the public funding priorities as we come out of the pandemic. The risk on these occasions is that you get caught in an echo chamber, telling the audience what it already thinks [...]
Sunderland ’til I die: Labour’s Jonathan Reynolds on reviving the Red Wall May 20, 2021 The highlight of Jonathan Reynolds’ Westminster office is a 1960 election poster of John F Kennedy that hangs above his desk. JFK sits over Reynolds’ shoulder as we speak as a kind of liberal guardian angel to the shadow work and pensions secretary. “Not a perfect President, but he brought hope and optimism,” Reynolds says. [...]
Westminster and City Hall in tense standoff after council misses Sadiq Khan’s deadline for new Oxford Street plans September 26, 2018 Westminster City Council has said it will not meet Sadiq Khan's deadline for submitting its alternative plans for Oxford Street this month, in a move that risks further heightening tensions with City Hall over the abandoned project. The Conservative-led council was working closely with Transport for London (TfL) and City Hall on the pedestrianisation of Oxford Street [...]
John Lewis mulls cutting Oxford Street flagship store space by 40 per cent September 16, 2020 John Lewis is reportedly preparing to slash the size of its flagship Oxford Street department store due to a steep drop in West End footfall during the coronavirus pandemic. The retailer has applied to Westminster council to allow it to reduce its trading space by up to 40 per cent, while the third, fourth and [...]
London lockdown: Khan warns of ‘dark winter ahead’ as city moves to a Tier 2 ban on household mixing October 15, 2020 Mayor Sadiq Khan has sent a stark warning to London, telling people they face a "dark winter" as Tier 2 restrictions are placed on the capital.
London’s historic India Club saved as Westminster council halts Strand development plans | City A.M. August 1, 2018 The Strand’s iconic India Club has been spared destruction by Westminster city council after an application for redevelopment was denied last night. Plans to revamp one of London’s most established Indian restaurants were refused on the grounds of its cultural and historical importance. Marston Properties, the freeholders who had hoped to create a more modern [...]
London needs a homebuilding kickstart package, with social housing at its heart July 7, 2020 The government’s economic statement tomorrow is an opportunity for the chancellor to put building new homes at the heart of a plan to kickstart the recovery and help Britain bounce back after coronavirus. To achieve this, we need to see much more than Boris Johnson set out in his speech in Dudley last week. A [...]
DEBATE: Should the Treasury consider a ‘mansion tax’ to help fund spending commitments? February 13, 2020 Should the Treasury consider a ‘mansion tax’ to help fund spending commitments? Robert Palmer, director of Tax Justice UK, says YES Do you know who pays more in council tax: me in my two-bedroom flat in Kentish Town, or the owner of the £160m penthouse at the top of 1 Hyde Park? Astonishingly, the answer [...]
Shaun Bailey vows to restore free travel for pensioners in London mayor bid October 27, 2020 London mayor candidate Shaun Bailey has vowed to restore the Freedom Pass if elected as Sadiq Khan’s replacement in the 2021 mayoral election. The Conservative party candidate told City A.M. he has pledged to reinstate free travel for people over the age of 66, after it was suspended in June as the coronavirus crisis crippled [...]
Million-pound pension scheme scammer locked up for seven years after fraud investigation January 25, 2019 A man has been thrown behind bars for seven years after stealing more than £1m from a company pension fund, using it to fund the purchase of a house and several cars. Ian Woodall, 47, diverted the stolen money from Westminster City Council (WCC) through Swiss bank accounts and then back into the UK. Read [...]