Does Labour’s pledge to cut rail fares make sense from a social mobility perspective? December 5, 2019 Does Labour’s pledge to cut rail fares make sense from a social mobility perspective? Grace Blakeley, economics columnist at the New Statesman, says YES. Many have pointed out that middle-earners are most likely to use trains, but few analyse why. First, trains around London are too expensive for many commuters, meaning that they are forced [...]
Eddie Stobart lines up administrators ahead of vital vote December 4, 2019 Troubled trucking company Eddie Stobart has reportedly lined up Deloitte to act as its administrator ahead of a shareholder meeting that will decide on its future on Friday. Shareholders are set to vote on whether to approve a £55m financing package from former owner Dbay Advisors. The Telegraph reported that if shareholders reject the deal, [...]
TfL adds extra peak time services to London Overground December 4, 2019 The London Overground will add early morning capacity on services from Gospel Oak to Barking from next month. The line will benefit from two extra services before 6am to meet “growing customer numbers”. Read more: Crossrail delay until 2021 may cost London £2bn Rory O’Neill, TfL’s general manager for London Overground, said: “These additional early morning [...]
South African Airways: State-owned carrier in limbo as bailout doubts persist December 4, 2019 Time is running out for South African Airways (SAA), as the embattled carrier hopes for a bailout from South Africa’s government. The state-owned airline paid only half of staff salaries last month, and may have to file for liquidation in the near future if it cannot secure R2bn (£100m). Read more: Virgin Atlantic in fresh [...]
Rail strike: Union writes to South Western to restart talks as commuters complain of ‘hell’ December 4, 2019 Rail union bosses have written to South Western Railway in an attempt to halt what is planned to be Britain’s longest ever rail strike. As commuters complained of “hell” on their way to work with the strike entering its third day out of 27, the Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) Union asked South Western [...]
Sadiq Khan should ‘review’ fare freeze, says new report December 4, 2019 Sadiq Khan should review his Transport for London (TfL) fare freeze and make zonal reform to make public transport more accessible for people on low incomes, according to a new report. The report, from the Centre for London think tank, points out that the fare freeze does not count for weekly, monthly and yearly Travelcards, [...]
Commuter chaos continues as London rail strike standoff enters second day December 3, 2019 The standoff between South Western Railway and the Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) Union went on today, as Labour faced claims it was working alongside union bosses to boost its election prospects. Commuters were left miserable again as the longest rail strike in history entered its second day, with some warning that the remaining [...]
Tesla CEO Elon Musk set to testify at ‘pedo guy’ trial today December 3, 2019 Elon Musk is expected to testify today at a defamation case brought against him for calling a British cave diver a “pedo guy”. The Los Angeles Federal Court case begins today and will put Musk and his accuser Vernon Unsworth face-to-face for the first time. Read more: Tesla CEO Elon Musk will testify at his [...]
UK construction sector shrinks again amid election uncertainty December 3, 2019 The UK construction sector contracted for the seventh month running in November as new work fell sharply amid yet more political uncertainty, survey data has shown. The poor performance of the sector led firms to lay off workers for the eighth month in a row, in the latest sign that Britain’s jobs boom is slowing. [...]
To tackle regional inequality, we must rethink the ‘left behind’ places December 3, 2019 From Brexit to crime to the future of the NHS in a US-UK trade deal, this election has been dominated by national issues. But while the politicians tour the country with their lofty nationwide visions, Britain continues to suffer from a regional inequality. While many of our cities have done well over the last two [...]
