LDN Weekly – Issue 200 – 8 December 2021
200!
In October 2017 we launched the first edition of LDN – London in Short in the format you know and love today. For many years before that it had been a much longer, monthly briefing and something we actually charged people for.
No images? Click here 200!In October 2017 we launched the first edition of LDN – London in Short in the format you know and love today. For many years before that it had been a much longer, monthly briefing and something we actually charged people for. So why do we gift it to you for free now? Well we quite like saying hello to our illustrious network each week – hi! – but we also felt that there was a gap in the market for our updates and insight on the capital. We do our best to take a view across the politics, places, communities and culture that make London tick and this weekly discipline makes us better at our jobs. I suppose the idea is that it might make you better at yours too – for the good of this great city. If you feel that it does, even in a small way, you owe some thanks to the incredible LDN writing team (aka LCA’s brilliant Research Team) Stefanos and Emily, who unfailingly pour their hearts, souls and laser-sharp minds into each edition. I certainly owe them my gratitude and appreciation. Thank you team. And of course, thanks to you our readers! To mark the occasion and reward your loyalty, we thought we might honour a grand LCA tradition and run a little competition. So, the first 50 readers to respond correctly to the following three questions will be entered into a prize draw with a selection of London-themed prizes on offer…
Answers to research@londoncommunications.co.uk! As ever we hope you enjoy this edition and if you don't already, follow us on Twitter and Instagram and feel free to visit our website for more information on LCA’s team, services, and clients. Oh and a technical note: If you like hearing from us, make sure to add ldn@londoncommunications.co.uk to your contacts or ‘safe sender’ list – this will help ensure our news bulletin lands in your inbox. 'PLAN B'As we went to print, the Prime Minister was revealing the shift to “Plan B” – the return of some COVID restrictions. These include the reintroduction of working from home for those who can from Monday, masks returning to most indoor venues from Friday, making NHS COVID passes mandatory for entry into nightclubs and venues where large crowds gather from next Wednesday, and “daily tests for contacts instead of isolation” . As of writing, the press conference was still in full swing, so we will follow up on the detail – and how it was met in London – next week. The new restrictions were extensively trailed in the press and some of the measures had already been widely reported. RECOVERY INTERRUPTEDThese restrictions – even if more ‘light touch’ than a full lockdown – are likely to have a significant impact on the capital - and the Central London economy in particular. Retailers across the UK have been reporting rising sales figures and footfall in key is inching towards pre-pandemic levels. But the New West End Company has warned that we are still far from a full recovery and that ‘footfall in the country’s main shopping district remained down 30% on pre-pandemic levels in the last week beginning 29 November’. Local authorities and businesses are both doing their damnedest - from London Councils’ Small Business Saturday campaign to the issuing of heavily discounted tickets to West End shows as part of the Let’s Do London campaign. But the new measures - and working from home especially - are likely to reduce the number of visitors to Central London. (DE)FUNDING TFLThe return of restrictions will certainly have a major impact on TfL passenger fares, at a critical juncture for London’s transport authority, whose central Government funding lifeline expires on 11 December – and who only recently re-introduced weekend late night services. Funding negotiations with Government are reported to have finally started last Wednesday, though it emerged yesterday that Transport Secretary Grant Shapps himself has not yet met with the Mayor of London or any representatives to discuss the matter. TfL and the Mayor have continued to issue cautionary tales, warning that in the event of a failure by Government to properly and sustainably fund TfL we could see the closure of a whole Tube line. They have also warned that housing delivery will be at risk without investment in infrastructure. Separately, it has already been announced that TfL will be unable to provide free travel on New Year’s Eve this year and much more worryingly, that between 500 and 600 TfL jobs are already set to be scrapped as a pre-emptive cost-saving measure – a situation likely to make the already tense relationships with the unions dramatically worse. The Government’s response so far has been to accuse the Mayor of ’melodrama’ but Khan is not alone in sounding the alarm. No fewer than 80 business and charity leaders, brought together by London First, have written to the Chancellor expressing their ‘serious concerns’, while Dawn Butler, Labour MP for Brent Central, has accused the Prime Minister of using Londoners as a ‘political football’. Meanwhile, six London Labour MPs have warned that contracts for new DLR trains may be at risk if TfL is not granted funded by the Government. LEVELLING UP IN LIMBOMeanwhile, the Housing Secretary has made a splash with proclamations on building safety and planning reform while postponing the publication of the key Levelling Up White Paper. Michael Gove has called for the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One team to drop a sponsorship deal with Kingspan, the manufacturer of the combustible insulation used on Grenfell Tower – something which they have since done. Meanwhile, a QC representing Gove’s department has, in statements to the ongoing Grenfell Inquiry, apologised for 'mistakes and missed opportunities' that helped create the conditions for the fire. Also on the subject of building safety, Inside Housing and the Times have reported that Gove is planning a list of “penalties” for companies that hold responsibility for the Grenfell fire and the cladding crisis more generally. Gove has also made headlines by backing legislation – first proposed by Policy Exchange – that would enable residents to vote on design rules favouring the extension of existing buildings on their streets in order to create new homes. Gove is still though tight-lipped on when his department will be revealing its delayed Planning Bill in full, currently expected sometime in the new year. Equally significantly, his Department has let it be known that the flagship Levelling Up “White Paper will not be released this month, but ‘in January’. That hasn’t stopped unnamed ministers and aides from briefing the press on some of the contents, including a possible ‘scrapping’ of Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEP) , the creation of ‘American-style governors’ for rural areas, and a renewed focus on ‘civic pride’. So we wait. REBRANDING FOR A NEW ERA?London First know about as much as anyone else about what levelling up actually means – but they know enough to realise that their name doesn’t quite fit the Government’s agenda. The business group is apparently ‘preparing to rename itself’ and is now consulting with ‘current and recently departed members’ on a rebrand – and it very much seems like the name change is only one part of a wider effort to reconsider its strategic direction. One source cited by the newspaper points to ‘the need to strengthen links with the regions’, while a London First spokesperson explains that ‘as we look out beyond Brexit and the pandemic, and with a new CEO at the helm, this is the right time to refresh our brand so it reflects London’s future competitiveness and our capital’s role in driving recovery, jobs and growth for the whole of the UK.’ Discussions about renaming the organisation date back at least five years, and have in the past been raised twice in potential merger discussions with the London Chamber of Commerce. PEOPLE NEWS
TIDE TURNING?Recent election results and polling have suggested that the electoral tide may be turning against the Conservatives, amid a difficult few weeks for the Government – and that’s even before the now-infamous No 10 Downing Street Christmas parties hit the headlines. Though the Conservatives held the constituency of Old Bexley and Sidcup in last week’s by-election with 51.5% of the vote, they saw their majority cut from 18,952 to 4,478, a 10% swing to Labour. Outside London, the Conservatives lost control of Worthing Council after a Conservative councillor resigned and the vacant seat was won by Labour in the subsequent by-election. At the national level, recent voting intention polling has put the Conservatives and Labour neck-and-neck. Redfield & Wilton Strategies’ latest polling, published on 6 December, puts the Conservatives on 38% and Labour on 36%, while Deltapoll’s most recent polling, published on 4 December for The Sun on Sunday, put Labour on 38% and the Conservatives on 37%. The next test for the parties is the upcoming North Shropshire by-election, triggered by the resignation of Owen Paterson, who was found to have broken lobbying rules and triggered a chain of events that still haunts the Government. While the constituency is considered a Conservative stronghold, internal polling carried out by Labour has reportedly shown the Conservatives leading by just seven points, with Labour in second place – though the Lib Dems will be hoping for a repeat of June’s Chesham and Amersham by-election, which saw the party overturn the Conservatives’ 16,000 majority to win the seat. PLANNING ROUNDUP
RESEARCH ROUNDUP
Last Saturday, LCA helped the Earls Court Development Company (ECDC) launch a major phase of public consultation on the future of the site of the former Earls Court exhibition centres, with the first of several public engagement events to take place over the coming months. With a clear vision to bring the wonder back to Earls Court, ECDC has set out four priorities and is seeking feedback from across the local communities. You can view more information about plans for this 40 acre site, connected to three tube stations, by visiting the website here. LDN CONTRIBUTORSRobert Gordon Clark, Senior Advisor and Partner Jenna Goldberg, Board Director Stefanos Koryzis, Research Manager Emily Clinton, Research Executive Aroa Maquedano Pulido, Middleweight Designer LCA prides itself on its intelligence-led approach to PR and communications and our dedicated research team monitors London politics, news and issues as it happens. If you would like to know more about LCA or anything in this edition of LDN – London in short please get in touch. Email us ![endif]>![if> If you have received LDN Weekly indirectly and would like to subscribe to receive it every week, please click here to register your details.LDN is put together by a dedicated team at London Communications Agency. The content for each edition is developed from news drawn from the last week from every London local paper as well as the regional and national press, from intelligence gathered by monitoring local, regional and national government activity and from the insight and expert knowledge of the entire LCA team. |