One of SW1’s favourite lunch spot is set to be clobbered by a massive rise in vendor pitch fees, going from £22 to between £39 and £44 depending on the day. That chicken gyros is about to burn an enormous hole in a wonk’s wallet…
Berwick Street in Soho faces the same rises, while new licences for non-food traders would jump from £96 to £964. The changes would come in from January.
The council says its markets run a £2.4 million deficit and would still lose around £1.6 million a year even after the increases. Tory councillors point out the government has cut Westminster’s funding by £100 million while keeping 97% of the business rates the borough raises. Until now, the council has deliberately charged traders less than the cost of cleaning up after the markets to back local businesses. Now they say it’s too much…
Keck said:
“Wonks, journalists and everyone else who cares about the burritos on Strutton Ground must unite with Westminster council against the government’s disgraceful cuts to our funding. The residents and businesses in Westminster contribute £8.8 billion to the economy, we deserve our fair share back.”
The cost of Labour…
Entries in the comments…
A snapshot of Burnham’s travel last week. And the private jets…
Thursday:
- Afternoon: Burnham goes to Derby for a Budget promo, then legs it to Manchester on the ground.
- 4.12 p.m: Government Dassault Falcon 900lx flies from London to Manchester and parks.
- 7:45 p.m: Burnham and his wife are photographed attending the Everton game at the Hill Dickinson Stadium, 30 miles away. And celebrating the win…
Friday:
- 7.34 a.m: The Dassault Falcon 900lx leaves Manchester for Glasgow, carrying Burnham.
- 10.21 a.m.: A second Falcon leaves London for Glasgow, probably carrying John Healey.
- Lunchtime: Burnham chairs the National Economic Council in Glasgow.
- 2.58 p.m: Burnham’s Falcon leaves Glasgow for Manchester.
- 3.15 p.m: The second jet leaves Glasgow for Northolt, just outside London.
- 4.28 p.m: Burnham’s Falcon leaves Manchester without Burnham, changing its callsign.
Monday:
- After weekending in Manchester, Burnham requests a pick up by the much larger A321.
- 6.05 a.m: the A321 leaves Stansted without Burnham.
- 6.39 a.m: the A321 lands in Manchester to collect Burnham and his wife Marie-France.
- 8.06 a.m: the A321 leaves Manchester for Antigua, via a refuelling stop in Newfoundland.
Thanks to Burnham’s going to Manchester on Thursday and watching the Everton game, three additional private jet flights took place. And that’s ignoring the old ‘you could take the train’ argument…
The hypocrisy is rank:
- Rayner 2022: Liz Truss’ use of the A321 showed “the public exactly quite how little respect this Conservative government has for taxpayers’ money.”
- Reeves 2023: “First, we will crack down on Tory ministers’ private jet habit. What is Rishi Sunak so scared of up there in his private jet Meeting a voter? We will enforce the ministerial code on the use of private planes and save millions of pounds for taxpayers in the process.”
- Rayner 2023: “The truth is, looking down from his private jet, Rishi Sunak can’t understand why young people can’t get on the housing ladder.”
- Labour Press release 2024: “During his time as Prime Minister there was repeated criticism of Rishi Sunak’s use of the taxpayer-funded luxury aircraft for short-haul trips that could have been taken by road or train.”
Travelling by jet is expected from senior government figures, though in the past it was also normal to travel commercial. Why did Labour make such a huge fuss about it then immediately use as many jets as they could all the time?
The RMT has announced London Underground drivers will strike yet again for eight days over ‘new working arrangements’. Tube drivers can earn £80,000…
- Thursday 26 November 2026
- Thursday 17 December 2026
- Saturday 19 December 2026
- Monday 4 January 2027
- Wednesday 6 January 2027
- Wednesday 17 February 2027
- Tuesday 23 February 2027
- Thursday 25 February 2027
The union is opposing management’s plans for a voluntary four-day working week alongside a new Trains Modernisation Framework. It claims the proposals would mean longer duties and short-notice shift changes. RMT General secretary Eddie Dempsey said:
“This is not about improving work-life balance. It is about squeezing more work out of fewer drivers while giving management greater flexibility at the expense of our members.”
Here we go again, prepare for gridlock…
DESNZ wants a Deputy Director on up to £117,800 a year to get trade unions into the clean energy industry. Can the unions not do their own recruiting?
The advert to head the Office for Clean Energy Jobs says the job holder will “promote good quality work including strong trade union recognition”. They must make sure the energy transition delivers “hundreds of thousands of good jobs, at good wages, with strong trade union representation”, and lead engagement with ministers on “the role of trade unions in supporting quality jobs and workplace rights”. Just checking – does this job involve the trade unions at all?
Unions are mentioned no fewer than seven times in the advert. So they can ruin ‘clean energy’ jobs as well…
On top of the salary comes a 28.97% gold-plated pension contribution of course, worth £34,000. The office also runs the North Sea Jobs Service, which finds new work for oil and gas workers as the government winds down the basin. Do the sacked oil men want to start a union? Guido will chip in…
Shabana Mahmood is looking at tighter laws on kirpans – Sikh daggers – after the murder of Henry Nowak in Southampton. His murderer Vikrum Digwa has has his minimum sentence increased from 21 to 25 years…
Mahmood told ITV she has “not taken any options off the table” and said that recently some Sikhs have begun carrying much bigger, visible kirpans which differ from the discreetly worn blades most Sikhs carry. Digwa killed Nowak with an eight-inch blade he persuaded the court was a kirpan. He was also carrying a small kirpan…
The Criminal Justice Act 1988 lets baptised Sikhs with the required spiritual training carry a kirpan. The Nowak family is campaigning to have the kirpan defined in law – size, type, and so on…
Digwa’s mother, Kiran Kaur, was jailed for three years for hiding the weapon and is reportedly due out in about a month. Meanwhile – 14 years for failing to charge Labour’s new Tourist Tax…
Krishnan Guru-Murthy asked John Healey: “Just finally, I mean Andy Burnham has been very clear he wants Britain back in the European Union in his lifetime. Do you?”
The Chancellor replied: “I’m older than Andy Burnham. I don’t expect to see that.”
