01
SWLondoner
Small businesses bear the brunt as UK records weakest service sector performance since January 2023
Published: 14 July 2026
The UK’s private sector activity contracted for the second month in a row in June 2026, as protracted supply chain disruptions from the Iran War collided with a record-breaking June heatwave to dampen consumer demand.
The latest Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) released by S&P Global showed a services reading of 48.8 in June, falling from 49.3 in May, firmly in contraction territory below the 50.0 neutral mark that separates growth from decline.
02
SWLondoner
WATCH: Londoners face cold food shortages as supply chains tested in record-breaking heatwaves
Published: 14 July 2026
Shoppers across the city are being faced with empty or shuttered cold food shelves as the UK’s cooling infrastructure buckles under extreme temperatures across June and July.
Supermarkets including Sainsbury’s, M&S and Waitrose have reported bare chiller and freezer sections as refrigeration systems designed for milder conditions struggle to cope with 37°C-plus heat.
03
SWLondoner
London food banks set to face challenging months ahead as Iran War exacerbates cost of living crisis
Published:
Dorothy Wrigglesworth has been coming to Newham District Food Bank’s Ascension Church site twice a week since 2020. She arrives on Wednesdays to help prepare the food packages and returns every Thursday for distribution day, when families line up in the car park of the East London church to collect parcels of rice, tinned tomatoes, pasta, and whatever fresh vegetables have come in that week. At 70, she is one of around two part-time staff members and 40 volunteers now holding the operation together.
04
SubStack
Afghanistan’s women are facing a mental health crisis, but help comes from 5,000 miles away
Published: 11 February 2026
Every morning, before starting work, Batool Haidari goes for a walk to clear her thoughts and prepare for the day ahead. For the past month, this has been through the park that adjoins the rear of the temporary house she’s been staying in with her family. Batool is an Afghan asylum seeker who has been living in the UK since 2023. She is one of the writers of the Paranda group, whose collective memoir, My Dear Kabul, became a bestseller in 2024. And, she is one of a handful of psychologists offering remote counselling and therapy services to young girls in her home country of Afghanistan.
05
SWLondoner
Optimism for social mobility lowest amongst 16-29 year olds, new ONS study finds
Published: 10 July 2026
Younger Britons are significantly more likely to feel pessimistic about the prospects of upward social mobility than older generations in the UK, according to a new study by the Office for National Statistics.
Around three quarters of 16-29-year-olds believe children today will not have a better future than the current generation of adults, compared to just over half of respondents above the age of 70.
06
SWLondoner
Misogyny hate crime petition hits threshold for parliamentary debate
Published: 5 May 2026
A petition to classify misogyny as a hate crime has surpassed the 100,000 signature requirement for consideration for parliamentary debate.
The petition calls for the UK Government to amend the Sentencing Act 2020 to record crimes motivated by misogyny as hate crimes, introduce tougher laws for online abuse, fund the training of police and prosecutors, and provide support for survivors in education.
07
The Hedgehog Review
Pretending to destroy art to save the world: the limits of climate activism
Published: 9 November 2022
What is worth more, art or life? Present the question to a sophomore fine arts class, or at a seminar on the visual arts, and it’s likely to elicit a keen discussion on the place and value of art in our lives. But when activists Phoebe Plummer and Anna Holland posed the same question to a crowd of stunned spectators in room 43 of the National Gallery in London, moments after throwing soup onto Van Gogh’s masterwork, Vase with Fifteen Sunflowers, their intentions were a little more straightforward.
08
SWLondoner
Fijians rally for their nation against England, despite fears of a low turnout
Published: 8 November 2025
England’s rugby team faced a different kind of challenge in their match with Fiji this afternoon: apathy.
Many expected a low turnout, with the Rugby Football Union allegedly giving away free tickets in an attempt to shore up attendance at Twickenham.
Tickets for the game ranged from £70-100, prompting frustration among fans who see the cost as being too steep for what some consider a “less glamorous” fixture.
09
Global Think Group
Elon Musk becomes world’s first dollar-trillionaire after record-breaking SpaceX IPO
Published: 15 June 2026
After months of anticipation and market speculation, SpaceX finally had their blockbuster NASDAQ debut on June 12th with the largest IPO ever recorded (a position previously held by Saudi Aramco), pushing the world’s richest man’s personal fortune above the trillion-dollar mark.
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10
Global Think Group
UAE quits OPEC: what it means for energy markets
Published: 4 May 2026
The United Arab Emirates has announced its decision to leave OPEC after six decades of membership, in what is a significant blow to the group that will raise questions about its future. The UAE was the third-largest producer of oil in OPEC before the Iran–US conflict throttled exports, accounting for roughly 12% of the group’s overall supply. Speaking to Bloomberg, UAE Energy Minister Suhail Al Mazrouei said that meeting the shortages caused by the war will require the agility to respond to market demands without being constrained by the collective decision-making process of the wider group.
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