The Sphere venue has found a new home since London Mayor Sadiq Khan unceremoniously blocked plans for it to be built in London. It will now be built in the United Arab Emirates, bringing $2.3 billion of foreign direct investment to the Middle East that could have gone to London. This comes just days after Labour’s so-called ‘Investment’ Summit. Did Khan not get the memo…
Climate crusader Khan rejected the glowing ball because it would cause too much “light pollution” and had a lack of other green credentials. Despite the fact the venue could have boosted the capital’s economy by £2.5 billion, brought in £50 million a year to local businesses and created 1,200 jobs. After Khan gave Sphere Entertainment the cold shoulder, the company said it would instead concentrate on the “many forward-thinking cities that are eager to bring this technology to their communities”. And they have…
Commons sniping has kicked off again this afternoon with Parliament’s return. It was Rayner’s turn first for oral questions on housing. The Tories had some choice words when it came to Labour reducing London’s housing targets and raising them elsewhere…
This month it was revealed Sadiq Khan managed to build just 2% of his affordable housing target. At the same time the government has slashed London’s total target by 17,000 annually. Labour’s explanation: “We will ensure that we are pushing the mayor on a realistic, but achievable, target.” Does that mean the government’s view is that Khan’s own manifesto targets are unachievable…
Badenoch took a dig at Rayner on that line: “She attempts to explain why she’s reduced Sadiq Khan’ London targets and even more when she highlights that he’s consistently under-delivered but my question is: if other local leaders miss their new housing targets, will she reduce their targets too?” Bluster in response..
England’s heartbreak was made worse in London for football fans who tried to find places to watch the Euros final against Spain, only to realise that outside screenings – traditional in the capital’s big parks – had been banned by Sadiq Khan. Mayoral miser Khan blocked the provision of outside viewing areas or big screens for fans in the capital. Londoners were lucky to find a spot in a packed pub – or they had to win a ballot for City Hall’s limited capacity screening of the match at the O2…
The Met slapped an antisocial dispersal order on central London – somewhat confusingly given street gatherings were banned by the Mayor. The force said in a statement:
“If you were thinking of travelling in, perhaps consider other options and remember to plan your journey home.”
Londoners are the cleverest people in the world, according to the Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index. London is second to none in human capital in over 1,000 cities, proving yet again the UK’s global standing post-Brexit. Europhiles aren’t feeling so clever now that there’s not the brain drain that was predicted….
London’s unmatched talent pool keeps global giants flocking to London, rocketing the city to 7th place in the economics category – the only cities ahead all being in the US. Over all five categories measured, Economics, Human Capital, Quality of Life, Environment, and Governance, London came second place in the world, with New York topping the list. The report noted:
“Fears that Brexit would lead to a decline of the city as a global financial centre have not been realised. And we expect London to continue to attract migrants from all over the world to access its world-class institutions and range of job opportunities.”
London brains supreme…
One hour ago the Tories released a London campaign video called “Life Under Labour“. All in black and white, an American narrator details the hellscape that London has become, where “the scales of justice remain tipped in favour of the darkness, leaving them [citizens] to navigate the darkness alone“. A bleak picture – the only problem? One of the scenes in the video shows footage of innocent bystanders running from gunfire in a train station in… New York. Guido’s not sure Susan Hall can help out on that one…
The video was swiftly deleted. Though not before Guido grabbed a copy for some relaxing viewing…
Guido has been wondering for a while why Susan Hall hasn’t hired a campaign manager. Now the answer’s clear – CCHQ is going to take over the operation. Tory campaigners have now caught the scent of blood and think if they put some weight behind Hall she has a good chance of winning in May. Despite a recent poll from the Evening Standard reaffirming Khan’s supremacy, Tories are optimistic. CCHQ internal polling has Hall at a one-point lead. Internal polling is infamous for its unreliability…
CCHQ’s focus right now is on sprucing up Hall’s attack line delivery. Winning in London will be a massive morale boost for the Tories – it never made sense to take an arm’s length approach to the campaign. Guido hears the Tories are finishing up arrangements for the takeover, which won’t be too difficult seeing as Hall’s already set up in the basement of the Matthew Parker Street HQ. Ramping up…
