The Standard

St Paul’s Cathedral is in financial dire straits, with its Dean, the Very Rev Dr David Ison, admitting “very big decisions” are needed. The nearly 400-year-old building relies on international tourists to raise the cash needed for the millions of pounds worth of renovations and repairs required to keep it open . The Evening Standard’s arts correspondent Robert Dex says during the pandemic those vi...

Showbiz reporter Lizzie Edmonds was among the 4,000 to be at the Brit Awards, the biggest live event since the pandemic began. She tells us how organisers managed to get so many people into the O2 arena safely, and the exhilaration of seeing real performers on a stage again. We also talk about the on-stage calls for more support for NHS workers, and was it a good idea to open the largest “live” mu...

The Evening Standard’s Jack Kessler breaks down the Queen’s Speech from tax rises for the better off to those controversial voter ID plans. What does the government actually mean by “level up” and will it hit cities like London in favour of shoring up the Conservative’s new found votes in former ‘Red Wall’ Labour heartlands like Hartlepool. We also discuss how the great ceremonial tradition behind...

Our city hall editor Ross Lydall’s spoken to Sadiq Khan who has now been signed in as mayor of London for the second time at a ceremony in the Globe Theatre at the Southbank. They talk about his priorities for a new term in office, including the “Let’s do London” campaign which is encouraging people to staycation in a capital desperate to get visitors back into its attractions. Ross also gives us...

The Brit Awards will be held on May 11th with a live audience of 4,000 heading to the O2 arena to watch acts like Coldplay, Dua Lipa and Pink on stage. And no-one will be wearing a face mask. How are they going to do that safely? We speak to Genarro Castaldo from the BPI, which organises the annual showcase, who takes us through the enormous logistics of putting together a massive live event under...

Don Thompson, President of the Jersey Fishermen’s Association, tells us how the French blockade of St Helier harbour could lead to the island running out of food and fuel within two days. Tensions are escalating between the UK and France, with Britain sending two Royal Navy vessels to the Channel island to keep watch over the protest. Paris has responded by sending the military ship Athos to the h...

Our City Hall editor Ross Lydall tells us how a delay to the London mayoral election has affected the vote. The public’s going to the polls tomorrow, a year after the pandemic forced the ballots to be closed. Ross says candidates like independent Rory Stewart dropping out changed the way the campaign was fought, and will probably have some effect on the vote for both Labour’s Sadiq Khan and Conser...

Our City Hall editor Ross Lydall joins the podcast to discuss the Evening Standard’s third and final poll of voting intentions in the London mayoral election. The Opinium survey shows Mr Khan on 48 per cent, down three points on last month, and Mr Bailey unchanged on 29 per cent of first-preference votes. The first of our three polls, in March, had Mr Khan on 53 per cent and Mr Bailey on 28 p...

Features writer Katie Strick’s been looking at how the redecoration of 11 Downing Street by Boris Johnson and Carrie Symonds reportedly hit the £200,000 mark. She reveals the costs of hiring one of London’s top interior designers, Lulu Lytle, whose fabric prices start at £100 a metre. And she’s been looking into how much of the flat’s furnishings were really from John Lewis when the Prim...

Evening Standard columnist, Anne McElvoy takes us through the changing role of the Duchess of Cambridge as we mark the 10th anniversary of her fairy tale wedding to Prince William. Has royal life turned out the way Kate Middleton wanted it to? We discuss how she’s taken on a “centrist” role, acting as a kind of peacemaker during a time of disruption in the family. And we talk about...

Our political editor Joe Murphy tells us why the Electoral Commission’s launched a “bombshell” investigation into the redecoration of 11 Downing Street. The watchdog says it’s “now satisfied that there are reasonable grounds to suspect that an offence or offences may have occurred.” The announcement came shortly before Prime Minister’s Questions, during which Boris Johnson was also asked agai...

Susannah Butter joins the podcast to look at Boris Johnson’s finances. As the cost of the Prime Minister’s flat refurbishment comes under scrutiny - why can’t he afford to pay for it? We learn how the UK PM’s salary is much lower than some other countries’ and Mr Johnson has actually taken a considerable pay cut to take over at Downing Street. But he also has considerable outgoings, including the...

Scotland Yard’s launching Operation Sceptre in another attempt to tackle London’s horrific knife crime problem. The Evening Standard’s John Dunne details how it will use technology, like knife detectors at train stations, as well as sending officers into schools to educate young people about the dangers of blades. The operation comes after a weekend of violence in which Fares Maatou, 14, was stabb...

Deputy political editor Nicholas Cecil discusses the Downing Street lobbying row that won’t go away. One of the government’s own ministers, Caroline Dinenage, revealed she doesn’t have Boris Johnson’s mobile phone number, saying it’s not given out “willy-nilly”. But that’s led to some asking why a businessman like Sir James Dyson has the ability to text the Prime Minister when some ministers thems...

The Evening Standard’s City Hall editor Ross Lydall joins the podcast with two weeks to go until London hits the ballot box for the mayoral election. He’s been speaking to both Sadiq Khan and Shaun Bailey who have been campaigning in the city, with the Conservative candidate making up some ground in the polls although the Labour incumbent is far ahead. We also hear from the Greens’ Sian Berry and...

The Queen has thanked people around the world for their “support and kindness” following the death of Prince Philip as she marked her first birthday without her “strength and stay”. In a statement the monarch, who turned 95, said that the Royal Family were in a period of “great sadness” but that she had “received many messages of good wishes, which I very much appreciate”. The Evening Standard’s L...

Children are returning to school following the Easter break, following a long stretch of being taught at home. For some families, those lockdown kitchen classrooms became quite chaotic, and there are concerns the upheaval left a student generation behind in their education. Now the government’s put a price tag of £1.7 billion on helping their academic recovery. But a report by the Education Policy...

Are you among the legions of employees who have spent this pandemic year wedged in a spare bedroom or camped out with your laptop at the kitchen table? The Office for National Statistics kicks off this week with research showing that nearly half of London’s employees have been working from home since Covid struck - that’s far more people avoiding the daily commute than anywhere else in the United...

Prince Philip’s biographer, Philip Eade, joins the show to discuss the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral at Windsor Castle. He tells us the stripped back event is “exactly the sort of funeral he would have chosen for himself,” with a guest list strictly limited to just 30 people and much of the ceremony cut down. The funeral’s taking place at St George’s Chapel in the grounds of Windsor Castle, with gue...

Health editor Ross Lydall explains the results of an exclusive poll for the Evening Standard showing London would support controversial Covid passports if they meant being able to go out again. Some 67 per cent say they would personally take them up, boosting hopes that Covid certificates are the key to filling the West End, nightclubs and Wembley Stadium this summer. In a survey of 1,100 people i...

The Evening Standard’s health editor Ross Lydall explains what the South African variant of coronavirus is and how the capital’s battling to contain it. Residents in a “targeted area” within SE16 in Southwark are being urged to get a test after a case of the mutation was detected there. Additional testing sites, some of them mobile, are also being rolled out in Wandsworth and Lambeth where dozens...

With over-50s and priority groups all offered the first dose of a coronavirus vaccine, the government is now rolling out the jab to other groups. Our deputy political editor Nicholas Cecil tells us who’s going to be next, and also tells us how the debut of the Moderna vaccine will pick up the slack left by the AstraZeneca injection which is no longer being recommended for the under 30s. Meanwhile,...

Recorded in the beer gardens of Walthamstow’s Orford Road, this special edition of the Leader looks at the impact of lifting some lockdown restrictions on the hospitality industry. Chief food critic Jimi Famuwera joins the show to talk about the relief being felt by restaurateurs and bar owners across the city, but warns there is a huge unpaid rent crisis looming. He also gives some recommendation...

The Evening Standard’s royal editor, Robert Jobson, joins the podcast to talk about the life and legacy of Prince Philip, who has died at the age of 99. Robert discusses the Duke of Edinburgh’s role in modernising the monarchy, and his importance to the Queen during their long marriage. Buckingham Palace says Prince Philip “passed away peacefully” at Windsor Castle, where he had been staying with...

Our deputy political editor Nicholas Cecil is on the show after the Evening Standard spoke to a leading expert on vaccinations, following concerns the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab could cause blood clots in very rare cases. Professor Adam Finn says that even if someone was hit by the condition following the jab, “there is effective treatment” and people should take the injection if they’re offered...