Lead News

Zac Goldsmith faces the political fight of his life to become Mayor after Sadiq Khan extended his lead among first preference votes to eight points, according to a new poll. With less than five weeks before polling day, the exclusive Opinium survey for the Standard showed growing first preference support for Labour contender Mr Khan particularly in inner London. Conservative ...

Union leaders are calling on David Cameron to take personal charge of talks to prevent the closure of Tata Steel’s Port Talbot plant. They have accused Business Secretary Sajid Javid of “taking his eye off the ball” and say the PM needs “to get a grip” of the negotiations. It comes ahead of emergency talks in London between unions and ...

A record 12 candidates are in the running to be the next Mayor of London, it has been confirmed. Nine men and three women will vie for the public’s vote to succeed Boris Johnson in the May 5 election, officials at London Elects said on Friday. In 2012, when Labour’s Ken Livingstone was defeated by Mr Johnson, only seven candidates ...

More than 100 London business  figures today came out to back Sadiq Khan as Mayor, saying he would be a “business friend at City Hall”. Labour’s candidate sought to paint himself as the most business-friendly contender by publishing a list of 101 endorsements including a sheaf of directors and entrepreneurs. Laura Tenison, founder of children’s boutique JoJo Maman Bébé, said ...

Dame Zaha Hadid, the world-renowned architect, whose designs include the London Olympic aquatic centre, has died aged 65. The British designer, who was born in Iraq, had a heart attack on Thursday while in hospital in Miami, where she was being treated for bronchitis. Hadid’s buildings have been commissioned around the world and she was the first woman to receive ...

David Cameron has said his government is “not ruling anything out” when it comes to helping to rescue the British steel industry, but warned that he does not believe that nationalisation is the right answer. The idea of placing plants in public ownership following the financial crisis that led to Tata Steel deciding to sell its British operations was seen ...

Sadiq Khan’s bid to be London Mayor was dealt a blow today as hard-Left activists admitted backing him to “strengthen” Jeremy Corbyn. The Standard can reveal that leaders of the controversial Momentum group told activists to support the Labour candidate because defeat in London on May 5 would “undermine” his party’s leader. Tories seized on the revelation by taunting: “Vote ...

North London is one of the UK’s top black spots for “crash for cash” road traffic accident scams. Four areas of the capital are in a top ten list of “induced accident” hotspots in the UK, according to a study by insurers Aviva. East London and parts of north-west London also feature in the rankings, which group areas by postal ...

Teachers have voted to ballot for a boycott of all primary school tests, after claims that children in England are the “most tested in Europe”. The National Union of Teachers’ conference heard warnings that schools had become “exam factories”. Delegates criticised “chaotic” changes to primary assessment and voted for a ballot to boycott tests taken by seven and 11 year ...

Storm Kae is set to bring high winds to coastal regions for the rest of the Easter weekend. A naonwide weather warning for wind has been issued and drivers are being told to watch out for strong gusts on roads and the possibility of fallen trees. The Met O!ce has also issued yellow weather warnings for northern Scotland on Sunday. ...