What should we make of Makerfield? June 11, 2026 Much analysis of the Makerfield by-election focuses on what it means for Keir Starmer and the Labour party’s national fortunes – but how should we assess it on its own terms? Asks Steve Akehurst It can be stated without much hyperbole that when the people of Makerfield go to the polls next week it will [...]
Forget Palantir, Microsoft is the government’s real tech problem June 11, 2026 MPs are right to warn about the dangers of the public sector’s use of Palantir, but the bigger story is the vice-like grip Microsoft exerts of government IT systems, says Bill McCluggage Palantir, the Peter Thiel-founded data analytics firm with its murky intelligence community roots, makes for an irresistible villain. So it’s no surprise that [...]
Why are so many people abandoning sex toys on the Tube? June 11, 2026 Last year the number of bedroom gadgets found on the transport network increased by 30 per cent. James Ford has some questions… There is a moment every year that I look forward to. Not, perhaps, as much as Christmas….but it’s close. It is, of course, the moment when some bored journalist at the Evening Standard [...]
The ‘like’ button ruined social media – are we making the same mistake with AI? June 11, 2026 The ‘like’ button was a single design choice that had profoundly harmful downstream effects. AI sycophancy could be the next one, says Annabel Gillard I’ve been working on the human impact of AI in our work and lives since 2020, but CityAM asked a genuinely new question that prompted this piece. Given that we [...]
London Tech Week day three: Workers are adopting AI quicker than their bosses June 10, 2026 How is AI changing the future of the workplace? Russ Shaw reports from day three of London Tech Week.
For all their charm, digital banks still leave me tearing my hair out June 10, 2026 I admire London’s digital banks. But three events in the past month have made me realise I’m not parting ways with my high street bank any time soon. The first was dodgy transactions that started showing up on my Revolut account. I was being charged for random TfL tube journeys. I had a feeling this [...]
An emboldened – or desperate – new government will look to wealth taxes June 10, 2026 Wealth taxes are climbing back up the political agenda as the Labour party begins the process of reinventing itself for a post-Starmer era. Wes Streeting thinks he’s found “a wealth tax that works” by hiking capital gains tax while Andy Burnham is flirting with a land value tax that would naturally hit wealthy areas the [...]
Let’s help London’s £53.5bn airport investment opportunity take off June 10, 2026 The report highlights how London’s global success has been underpinned by its connectivity. Yet those connections are straining through a combination of a Byzantine planning system, regulatory hurdles and rising, policy-driven, operating costs. If London can’t get airport investment off the ground, it’ll be left on the tarmac while other country’s growth flies, says John [...]
Oxford St vs the Square Mile: a tale of two cities June 10, 2026 The Square Mile has reinvented itself in recent years, but West End politicians must stop blocking common sense if Oxford Street has a chance of mimicking the City’s success, says Andrew Teacher Back when Netflix was still posting DVDs through letterboxes, the £6m Marble Arch Mound would have handed the writers of Brass Eye and [...]
Instead of picking winners, Peter Kyle should get out of their way June 10, 2026 If Britain is to ever produce a trillion-dollar company, it will not be a result of the schemes announced by Peter Kyle and Rachel Reeves this week. It will be a result of creating an economic environment in which ambitious businesses can start, scale, invest and recruit without needing special handouts or assistance from the [...]