The Rhodes’ Statue Debate is a waste of everyone’s time
By Darragh Roche Anyone who thinks taking down a statue of Cecil Rhodes will strike a blow against racism is delusional. The small, loud and opportunistic group of Oxford students demanding that Oriel College remove the statue are wasting everyone's time and will achieve nothing. The statue of a man who has been dead since 1902 has as much bearing on modern racial politics as a portrait of Henry VIII has on church-state relations. Once again an attention-seeking student organisation...
Tory Minister Anna Soubry at Centre of Northern Powerhouse Row Told “be quiet – it’s not about you!”
By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor Tory Minister, Anna Soubry, fell out with the speaker (again) this time during a debate about the "Northern Powerhouse" where she heckled Labour's statement. The Business Minister's decision to close her department's Sheffield office and move 247 jobs to London had offended the Labour Party and beyond. Sheffield Heeley MP Louise Haigh accused her of "contempt for the north" after she failed to guarantee the survival of more offices in Gateshead, Leeds, Manchester and Teesside ....
Secret Teacher 1st Feb – The Great Ignored…All Children Are Equal, Aren’t They?
We’ve all known them. The lovely people at the places we work. They have no desire to be top dog yet they have pride in what they do and want to do their best for their colleagues and so they can go home knowing they have done their best that day. These are the people who keep the country going. The grafters, the millions of boys, girls, men and women who neither blaze a trail to glory and nor will...
The BBC is Only Interested in One Thing…Itself
By Steven Topple 2016 marks 80-years since the BBC’s first Royal Charter expired – and the issues surrounding its decadal renewal in 9 months are as tempestuous as they have ever been. The news yesterday that “Auntie” will be campaigning for the over-75s to voluntarily give up their free licence, in a bid by the organisation to rake back some of the £700 million it will incur in costs by 2020 (after the Government forced it to suck-up the expense...
A Reminder that Putin is Winning
By Oliver Ward @oli_ward_1 A British led enquiry released information on Thursday that Putin "probably" sanctioned the killing of Alexander Litvinenko in 2006. This cannot come as a surprise to many given the ostentatious contempt Putin has shown for the west in recent years. However in as modern world of espionage, full of NSA surveillence and phone monitoring you can´t help but feel that a spy being poisioned with a radioactive teapot feels a little like a regression to old style...
Snap up a world-class address in Westminster
By Bea Patel, TLE Property Editor and Director of Shop for an Agent Westminster’s concentration of historic landmarks and visitor attractions is one of the highest in London. It includes the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Cathedral and Westminster Abbey. Now there’s a rare opportunity to buy a home there. A luxury two-bedroom show home has opened to the public for the first time on Saturday 30 January 2016 - the final phase of apartments at Berkeley Homes' new...
Cameron, stop throwing New Labour at Corbyn: it’ll never stick
By Callum Towler Sometimes I watch PMQ’s as if it’s a dystopian pantomime, like if all the robots in Isaac Asimov's I, Robot defeated the people, but upheld democracy once a week in parliament just for a laugh. Witnessing David Cameron duck, dive and quip his way through the weekly questions is to watch a well-oiled machine programmed to dodge bullets. Rarely ever does he respond candidly. Instead, in the space where thoughtful answers should be, we’re treated to nothing...
England v South Africa Player Ratings
Sport News 24/7 By David de Winter - Sports Editor @TLE_Sport @davidjdewinter Despite losing the final Test, England’s cricketers still acquitted themselves admirably by beating (former) world number one side South Africa 2-1 on their home patch. They dominated the admittedly mediocre Proteas in Durban and Johannesburg and were resilient in Cape Town, despite a final day wobble. There were some memorable individual performances and some not so memorable ones. Here are my marks out of ten. Alastair Cook -...
London’s Best New Restaurant Openings – February 2016
By Jonathan Hatchman, Food Editor, @TLE_Food With plenty of exciting restaurant openings constantly taking place across the Capital, here’s our pick of the best new restaurants arriving in London over the coming month. Patty & Bun – Soho Since initially setting up as a pop-up restaurant, Patty & Bun have become renowned for producing some of London’s finest burgers. And with three permanent sites already open across London, as well as a popular street food van, the team are currently gearing up to open...