Marble Arch Mound saga: Westminster Conservatives ‘lack financial control’, says Labour councillor October 20, 2021 Labour Westminster councillor Paul Dimoldenberg has accused the council of being ‘untrustworthy’ with public money following the £6m Marble Arch Mound saga. The Westminster Council yesterday published its internal review into how the costs for the project swelled from £2m to £6m within a matter of months. “The £6m Marble Arch Mound fiasco has shown [...]
Boris Johnson considers calls from Tory MP to legalise magic mushroom drug October 20, 2021 Prime Minister Boris Johnson has told Tory MP Crispin Blunt he will look at the latest advice on the legalisation of psilocybin. The psychedelic drug is found in magic mushrooms. Blunt has urged Johnson to review the law to allow more research into the drug’s potential to provide treatment for depression, trauma and addiction The [...]
Sunak eyes Covid-19 emergency loan scheme extension at budget October 20, 2021 Chancellor Rishi Sunak is eyeing extending the emerging Covid-19 loan scheme at the budget next week. The Recovery Loan Scheme was scheduled to finish on December 31, but Sunak is reportedly planning on backtracking on the plans. The news was first reported by Bloomberg. Sources told the news organisation discussions on the matter are ongoing. [...]
Met Police: Officers to use video calls to verify themselves to lone women October 20, 2021 Plain-clothes police officers stopping lone women will be able to confirm their identity through a video call, says Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick. The commissioner told the police and crime committee at City Hall that she will soon be launching the “Safe Connection” initiative. The initiative will allow plain clothes officers to verify themselves via video [...]
Labour pushes government to clampdown on online extremism in the wake of Sir David Amess murder October 20, 2021 Boris Johnson has insisted new internet safety laws will impose “criminal sanctions with tough sentences” on social media giants for allowing “foul content” on their platforms.
Kwasi Kwarteng rules out a fourth Covid lockdown over winter October 20, 2021 Kwasi Kwarteng has today ruled out another winter lockdown, after warnings from some scientists that Covid curbs should be re-implemented over winter. The business secretary said he was “concerned” about increasing daily death rates, but pointed out that “at the beginning of the year we had hundreds, if not thousands, a day”. There were 223 [...]
Vladimir Putin will not attend UN Cop26 climate summit in Glasgow October 20, 2021 Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend the Cop26 climate change summit in Glasgow later this month, the Kremlin has confirmed. Putin’s decision to not attend is a major blow to Boris Johnson and will spark further fears that the ambitions of the US and UK governments at the summit will go unfulfilled. Putin’s no-show [...]
London business groups call on government to stop five per cent rail fare hikes in 2022 October 20, 2021 London business groups have called on the government to ensure rail fares do not surge next year on the back of above expected inflation, warning this would cripple the capital’s recovering economy. London First and the Centre for London said today that a 5 per cent rise in rail fares next year, which is the [...]
Taxing times: Sunak to slim down Bank Surcharge October 19, 2021 The additional tax on banks is set to slashed in the Budget, a boost for the capital’s lenders. The Bank Surcharge, an eight per cent top-up to corporation tax levied on banks, will be reduced to three per cent in the upcoming budget according to the Financial Times. The Chancellor has previously signalled that the [...]
Government’s new boiler strategy to cover just one in 250 households, says Miliband October 19, 2021 Shadow business secretary Ed Miliband has called the government’s new boiler upgrade strategy a “meagre, unambitious and wholly inadequate response,” alongside several environmental campaign groups. Taking to Twitter, Miliband criticised that the Conservative’s government’s plan would only cover one in every 250 households currently on the gas grid, as the UK seeks to replace gas [...]
