Editor @_TheLondoner | Founder of UK 2.0, a newsletter about tech & politics in Britain 📩 | Header @dancoxdesign

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I've spent this past week a little baffled by the story of the bakery in Borough Market that says it's been asked to leave because it's too successful. Could that really be the case? The answer, as ever, is complicated. My first story for @_TheLondoner
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Went to a very interesting talk about this place which talked about how some of the stories are actually apocryphal, but that this is sometimes necessary to create folk (non-military, non-aristocratic) heroes.
The small Memorial to Heroic Self-Sacrifice in London's Postman's Park is quite moving: an assembly of earnest Arts and Crafts tiles commemorating people who died saving the lives of others. George Watts, the creator, in 1887: "My proposal, as you know, is plainly this: that the memory of the deeds of heroism constantly recurring in our everyday life should be perpetuated and honoured as such deeds should, for they illustrate the character of our people as a nation of great acts." And elsewhere: "It is a great pity that they should only receive the recognition of a newspaper paragraph, and be forgotten next day." I'm often struck by how figures in this period across many countries seem solemnly concerned with the character of the nation.
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Alys Key retweeted
EXCLUSIVE: Monzo, the digital lender which has become one of Britain's biggest consumer banks, is in talks about a sale to Brazil's Nu Holdings which could value it at between £8bn and £10bn, ending the prospect of a near-term IPO of a UK fintech champion. news.sky.com/story/digital-b…
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I'm in two minds about this. Landlord has a community focus, so understandable that it wants to put a nursing home there. But it's a prime South Bank site that must get millions of passers-by a year. Is what's best for local area the same as what's best for London as a whole?
In April 2025, the tenants of Gabriel’s Wharf were informed that 2026 would be their last year of trading. Since then, the relationship between the tenants and their landlords, has fallen apart. So why is a community non-profit bulldozing this artsy South Bank market?
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What?
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If I know any Australians (or other Aussie Rules fans) who are going out in London this weekend to watch the AFL Grand Final, I'd love it if you'd send me your pics & anecdotes from the day for a newsletter. 🦘
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Exclusive: The multimillionaire Labour donor and Ecotricity founder Dale Vince has assembled a "rescue package" to save the Camden New Journal and two other London newspapers, nearly two years after he was thwarted in a bid to take over The Observer. news.sky.com/story/labour-do…
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Alys Key retweeted
I've spent this past week a little baffled by the story of the bakery in Borough Market that says it's been asked to leave because it's too successful. Could that really be the case? The answer, as ever, is complicated. My first story for @_TheLondoner
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Alys Key retweeted
This is an extremely exciting role imo. We are being very ambitious about our content strategy - you could be the person to lead this work!
🚨 We're hiring! 🚨 We are looking for an *Editor* to help build our Substack, create new content for different forms of media, and manage our research publications. 📍 London, 4 days in office ⏰ Full-time, permanent 💰 £55,000-£80,000 subject to skillset and experience This could be a good fit for someone who has experience in public-facing writing & editing, journalism, policy or comms. For full details and how to apply, see here: britishprogress.org/opportun…
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I'll be at Labour Conference Mon-Wed next week. Keen to meet people who represent or otherwise have a stake in parts of London! Drop me a DM on here if that's you.
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Belter of a story this is - ‘wars of Borough Market’
I've spent this past week a little baffled by the story of the bakery in Borough Market that says it's been asked to leave because it's too successful. Could that really be the case? The answer, as ever, is complicated. My first story for @_TheLondoner
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Alys Key retweeted
It's the most sought-after spot for a London food business. So who gets to stay in Borough Market? And who should have to go? That debate got heated last week when Bread Ahead said it had been asked to leave. So we did a deep dive into what's going on.
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I've spent this past week a little baffled by the story of the bakery in Borough Market that says it's been asked to leave because it's too successful. Could that really be the case? The answer, as ever, is complicated. My first story for @_TheLondoner
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PauseAI at Downing Street today
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Written some reflections on this week here uk20.substack.com/p/the-week…
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If you haven't read this wild ride of a story by @AndrewKersley yet, you might want to do it now. Because part 2 of the saga is out today...
Goldie Saloon was one of London's hottest queer bars. Then it mysteriously shut and its social media was taken over by an Essex dog groomer. Finding out why unveiled an insane saga of mummified cats, secret deals and a man called “the demon twink”. the-londoner.co.uk/goldie-sa…
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