News that the Government intends to ‘renationalise the railways’ – or at least, overhaul the franchise system for passenger services – is the latest sign that we’re in the middle of a shift towards a new Conservative orthodoxy. This move has caused some distress to free marketeers. And it may indeed turn out to involve […]
Congestion is one of London’s biggest problems. Time lost when stuck in traffic rose by 14% between 2012 and 2014 alone. This led to an increase in pollution that today kills an estimated 9,400 people every year. The congestion charge that was introduced by Ken Livingstone in 2003 has been incredibly effective at helping to slow […]
Today’s news that Uber drivers will get a guaranteed minimum wage, holiday entitlement, pensions contributions and insurance is clearly a big moment for the gig economy. Given the company’s share of the ride-sharing economy, their announcement is likely to have reverberations not just in the British taxi market, but in app-based businesses the world over. […]
A global pandemic – combining the threat of infection with government-imposed restrictions all over the world – was always going to hit air travel hard. Millions of people have either chosen not to fly or been prevented from doing so. The implications for are devastating, not just for the industry itself but for the wider economy […]
Ever since the 1800 Act of Union led to demands to improve access to London – and the commissioning of the brilliant engineer Thomas Telford to build the Menai Bridge, enhancing the route from Holyhead for Irish MPs – better transport between the constituent nations of the United Kingdom has been an ongoing political issue. […]
Uber can stay in London, for now. The ride-sharing app is once again ‘fit and proper’ to operate, after winning an appeal against TfL’s decision to revoke their license. We’ve been here before. In 2017 when TfL banned Uber for the first time, they were overruled by the courts. Back then, Uber was granted a […]
The Prime Minister is a tormented soul. His instincts – libertarian, even libertine – are at war with his prime ministerial duties to protect the people he rules. Last week, the Policing Minister Kit Malthouse said that citizens should report a breach of the rule which sets the limit of meetings at six His remark, […]
Amid the flurry of Covid news, yesterday’s announcement on the future of Britain’s rail network has gone somewhat under the radar. The announcement from Transport Secretary Grant Shapps is a pretty big deal – a rescue package for that effectively marks the end of the franchising system that has been in place since privatisation in […]
It is just an aeroplane. Outdated, thirsty, a luxurious irrelevance due to join the sad rows of jets in an aircraft boneyard. Just a machine whose time was up. So why does the memory of that big, re-assuring nose looming out of a velvet black humid Lagos night, or shining on a crisp Johannesburg winter […]
With factories dormant and roads relatively free from traffic, one of the few benefits of the national lockdown has been the short reprieve for the environment. Air quality is up, and greenhouse gas emissions are down. Globally, some estimates suggest the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere this year will be 8% lower […]
Transport for London’s (TfL’s) collapsing revenues from fares and other sources led to a widely publicised bailout. This agreement is, of course, merely a sticking plaster and policymakers will now rightly be focused on shoring up TfL’s short-term financial position. But there is also a longer-term funding challenge that will need to be tackled in […]
Even before last week’s £1.6bn bailout of Transport for London, subsidising the capital’s transport represented a massive transfer from taxpayers in the rest of the country. Despite annual subsidies of around £3bn, including ‘revenue grant income’, TfL’s finances were in a mess long before the current pandemic caused a collapse in passenger numbers. But don’t […]
A few weeks ago, plans for a third runway at Heathrow Airport hit the skids when the Court of Appeal ruled the Government’s decision-making process unlawful. For the moment at least, with ministers preoccupied by both Brexit and the small matter of a global pandemic, it seems likely the proposals are dead. This lengthy legal […]
The UK is at a critical point in its history. Brexit, a new economic framework and a recalibrating Labour Party rub up alongside the dash to carbon neutral, the impacts of AI and, of course, Covid-19. The decisions that are taken now will set the direction of the country for years to come. When we look […]
Tackling regional inequality across the UK will be a central theme in this week’s Budget. The Conservative Party’s 2019 manifesto commits the Government to “invest thoughtfully and responsibly in infrastructure right across our country in order to increase productivity and wages” and to do so “prudently and strategically to level up every part of the […]
Sadiq Khan has a record that would embarrass even Justin Bieber. The ‘greatest’ hits London has suffered since his election in 2016 include: Robbery up 73% Street muggings up 56% Homicides up 34% Not everything is up of course. Transport reliability is down, TFL’s budget has tanked after some very effective self-sabotage, while rates of […]
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