Londoners pay ‘astonishing’ 30 per cent of UK’s capital gains tax November 25, 2020 Londoners pay nearly 30 per cent of the UK’s capital gains tax, with taxpayers in Kensington and Chelsea forking out the most, according to a new study. The research published this morning showed that London accounts for 29 per cent of the tax, despite being home to just 13 per cent of the UK’s population. [...]
Selling off museum pieces to save jobs should not be a taboo — especially during a pandemic December 18, 2020 When a group of Royal Academy of Arts grandees recently suggested selling one of the institution’s masterpieces, it caused quite a stir. This was not just any artwork: it was Michelangelo’s Taddei Tondo, a great unfinished masterpiece that is considered among the Academy’s crown jewels. The proposal — auction it off for more than £100m [...]
Billionaires’ wealth swells to record $10.2 trillion during pandemic October 7, 2020 The world’s billionaires got a whole lot richer during the pandemic, seeing their collective fortunes rocket to a record height of $10.2 trillion (£7.9 trillion) in the height of the coronavirus crisis. The super-rich cashed in on lockdown shopping trends and a V-shaped economic rebound to boost their wealth more than a quarter from April [...]
A catch-up strategy? How Government can give young Brits a boost in Budget 2021 February 26, 2021 A catch-up strategy? How Government can give young Brits a boost in Budget 2021
London can show the country how to do democracy better October 30, 2019 A General Election is coming, and I am leaving parliament to run as an independent candidate for mayor of London. I am running to be mayor and not for parliament because I find Westminster increasingly depressing as it loses more and more of its meaning and purpose in stale divisive rows. And I believe that [...]
Focus On Bermondsey: The London borough with the Shard in its back yard June 7, 2019 Seventy two households, all belonging to the Count Robert of Mortain, and collectively worth a grand total of 40 pence; this was the value of Bermondsey as recorded in the Domesday Book in 1086. Things have changed somewhat since then (Bermondsey wasn’t even an official part of London at the time), but few areas have [...]
Focus On Camden: Camden Market turns 45 tomorrow, but how much have house prices changed in this cultural hotspot? March 29, 2019 Today, a London institution reaches proper middle-age. Camden Market – once home to punks and mods, now home to an awful lot of tourists looking for the punks and mods – turns 45 on 30 March 2019. It could be home to you, too, if you can afford it. The average second hand sales price, [...]
Houseplants are all the rage, but are they are millennial cry for help? We speak to the companies cultivating this urban jungle March 5, 2019 Millennials have been accused of killing almost every industry there is, but there may be one that 25-35 year olds are actually propping up. Houseplants are taking off like an avocado tied to a racing drone among Generation Rent, prompting investigations by such serious organs as The Washington Post and New York’s Nylon magazine, in [...]
Focus On Harrow: Why this west London suburb is popular with families and first time buyers September 28, 2018 With inner city London gradually dividing itself into a series of ‘villages’, mimicking the community, farmers markets and independent high streets of semi-rural life, what’s the point of suburbs anymore? Places like Harrow have traditionally been quite pedestrian places, attracting families to its healthy stock of semi-detached houses and good quality schools. The ultimate – [...]
The “cheapest home in Mayfair” has gone on sale for just £500,000 (but there’s a catch) February 21, 2017 If you have ambitions of being a small fish in a very expensive pond, look no further than a two-bedroom apartment which has just gone on sale in London's most exclusive borough, Mayfair, at the bargain price of just £500,000. Admittedly, though, there's a catch… The apartment, next to Claridges on Davies Street, has been [...]