A week ago transport secretary Mark Harper published a letter he had sent to Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer. In it, he referred to an amendment that had been tabled to the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill which would, Harper wrote, “ensure that future clean air schemes cannot be introduced in London whilst ignoring […]
If you tell someone they need to lose weight and they respond by saying that, in that case, they’ll chop their leg off, you’ll know you’re dealing with a child – or at least with someone playing games. That’s how it often seems to the government when dealing with Sadiq Khan over the funding of […]
I have had a quiet lockdown. For seven weeks outdoor exercise has been rationed. For me, at least, this has created a sense of anxiety that, by not taking up my ration, I may be missing out and as a result I have been daily pounding the lawns, hillocks and glades of Kensington Gardens and […]
The pandemic that has filled our hospitals and knocked the capital’s economy for six has already had two significant consequences for the next mayoral election: the date has been postponed by a year until May 2021 and a prominent candidate, the Independent Rory Stewart, has dropped out of the race. Both developments should in principle […]
From time to time, every Mayor of London has to go cap in hand to national government for money. At no time is this more important than when a newly elected government is preparing its first budget, because that budget normally sets the scene for several years ahead. This is particularly important for capital investment, […]
It’s a great pleasure to be speaking after Sara John [of Best for Britain] and indeed before Caroline Pidgeon. Sara draws attention to the money “spent” by the EU in London, without once mentioning that every pound of that money costs the UK taxpayer £1.70. That’s a fact. But let’s move on to another hard […]
Karen Buck, Labour MP for Westminster North and my distinguished On London fellow-contributor, spoke up for Sadiq Khan’s first two years as Mayor of London recently. Writing in City A.M, she did her best with the thin gruel of endless selfies and constant blame-shifting that have characterised the first half of his term. But she […]
Brexit Day in 2019 will come and go and very few will notice. The planes will not be grounded. The lorries will run across the Channel. Trade will continue to flow. The cliff-edge will turn out to be a modest step onto a gentle sandbank. Nor will the City shut down. Some retail-focused services will […]
