The Standard

As another January comes to a close, we're looking back at one of the month's fastest growing trends: Veganuary.

Since it started in 2014, when around 3-thousand people signed up to do it, more than 2 million people have taken part in total.

It appears to be having an impact on what we see on supermarket shelves and in cafes and restaurants - as Veganuary promotions have boomed in recent years.

Now in its ninth official year, we speak with Veganuary founder Matthew Glover, to discuss how it's grown, why it's been so successful, and how London has become the biggest city for vegans in the world.

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London’s big return to the workplace and public transport is continuing apace after Covid restrictions were lifted.

How are you feeling about the prospect of the sardine tin commute?

We speak to Thalia Eley, Professor of Developmental Behavioural Genetics at King’s College London’s Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience.

Professor Eley is an authority on environmental factors affecting anxiety and gives us her advice for getting back into the world.

We ask how it’s possible to better cope with new everyday challenges that can fuel Covid-era anxiety.

The Leader also talks to Londoners about how they’re feeling as the Tube, trains and buses start to fill up again.

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It’s London’s biggest rail project in a long time, eclipsing the Overground upgrade and Jubilee Line extension.

We’re promised Crossrail will be up and running in the not-too-distant future this year...and although the powers-that-be are staying schtum over exactly when, there’s suggestion that May’s the month.

The central part of the new purple £19 billion Elizabeth Line is now being tested to eventually whizz commuters from Abbey Wood in south-east London into Paddington.

As offices grind back into post-Covid life, how busy will the Elizabeth Line be at rush hour, and how much does cash-strapped Transport for London hope to squeeze out of passengers?

The Standard’s City Hall editor Ross Lydall went on a test return trip between Paddington and Liverpool Street, and onboard he quizzed Mayor Sadiq Khan, Crossrail CEO Mark Wild and TfL boss Andy Byford.

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We’re collectively gritting our teeth with April approaching, preparing for energy bills soaring in a crisis fuelled by surging demand in Asia, Russia-Ukraine tensions and a spike in natural gas prices.

But after years of Conservative austerity policies and a drop in life expectancy caused by Covid, the UK’s top health inequalities expert is warning London’s poorest families are going to be hit hardest by the energy crisis.

Professor Sir Michael Marmot, a highly-awarded epidemiologist and director of UCL’s Institute of Health Equity has been researching for decades how social factors influence health, particularly the body's cardiovascular system.

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It’s the hottest new driving manoeuvre you’ve probably only just heard about. But what is the ‘Dutch reach’ and can it help keep the roads safer?

The technique is part of new safety rules in the updated Highway Code to help better protect cyclists and pedestrians, although the AA says a third of motorists don’t even know it’s been revamped.

It follows many years of safety campaigning by Cycling UK, and we’re joined by their head of campaigns, Duncan Dollimore, to discuss the changes as legions of commuters get back on their bikes after WFH guidance was scrapped.

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Following the success of UK police drama Line of Duty, a new TV show has arrived, promising to shed more light on counter-terror policing.

Trigger Point is a new ITV thriller set in London, following the Metropolitan Police’s bomb disposal unit.

It has been compared with Line of Duty, in part because it features LOD writer Jed Mercurio as producer, and actor Vicky McClure is the main character, who played Kate Fleming in the drama.

We speak with the writer of Trigger Point Daniel Brierley about these comparisons, what the new thriller has to offer, and why we love police dramas in the UK.

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To mark its 35th anniversary, the Evening Standard’s ES magazine has undergone a rebrand, starting with a special issue celebrating the milestone.

The new-look publication, which originally launched in 1987 as a monthly magazine, has promised to bring ‘an added dimension of living to our great city’.

Ben Cobb is the new editor behind the rebrand, and says he wants it to be witty, confident and opinionated.

He discusses what has changed for ES Magazine in 2022, what’s to come, and why he loves London.

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Boris Johnson has announced Plan B measures, including work from home guidance and compulsory mask wearing, will be lifted next week.

His decision will be well received by many people, but it comes as the latest YouGov poll puts Labour 32 points ahead of the Conservatives in London.

In a series of other shocks for the Tories, it also showed that two thirds of Londoners believe the Prime Minister should resign.

The Evening Standard’s Political Editor Nicholas Cecil explains what the poll results mean for the Conservatives, and what Boris Johnson must do next to win over MPs and the general public after the ‘Partygate scandal’.

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London’s Mayor Sadiq Khan has spoken with the Leader about his proposal to replace the congestion charge and ultra-low emission zones in the city with a pay-per-mile system instead.

He told us some form of smart road user charging system is 'inevitable' as London aims to cut pollution and congestion.

Other proposals include an extension of the ULEZ to cover the whole of London, and charging drivers of vehicles registered outside London for entering the capital.

In this interview, Sadiq explains why he’s looking at these options, how it can be affordable, and why he’s planning such extensive action to tackle air pollution.

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MPs and business leaders have piled more pressure on Boris Johnson to end Plan B and the work from home advice.

Some have warned of catastrophic long-term damage to some London districts, as a result of lockdowns, trading restrictions and guidance not to commute to the office over the past two years.

Government officials are due to review the Plan B guidelines on the 26th.

Chairman of the Conservatives Oliver Dowden hinted on Sunday that the restrictions could be lifted at the end of the month.

The Evening Standard’s Associate Editor Jonathan Prynn discusses what business groups are calling for, how long they can survive under Plan B measures, and what the future holds for guidance on working from home.

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