16 h. ago Edinburgh Book Festival asks publishers to pay for accommodation costs due to tourist tax

The festival director said the organisation was “actively lobbying” Edinburgh City Council over the city’s new visitor levy.

Economics

5 d. ago Angoulême comics festival in crisis as creators and publishers declare boycott

French government withdraws funding after claims of toxic management and dismissal of staff member who lodged rape complaintOne of the world’s most prestigious comic book festivals is under threat of cancellation after leading graphic novelists and publishers announced they would boycott the event and the French government withdrew a tranche of its funding.In the biggest crisis in its illustrious history, the Angoulême festival of la bande dessinée (comic strip) may not take place in 2026 after claims of toxic management and the dismissal of a member of staff who had lodged a rape complaint. Continue reading...

Events

7 d. ago Is Shabana Mahmood’s plan to seize the jewels of asylum seekers a joke? | Zoe Williams

The home secretary’s idea makes her sound so much like a cartoon villain that I initially assumed it couldn’t be true ...You can’t react to every piece of flotsam on the unending tide of nastiness that emanates from Westminster on the subject of immigration, or you’ll start to feel like you’re the idiot. Are we surprised that a Labour home secretary would want to remove any prospect of permanent citizenship for all refugees, thereby ending Britain’s standing as a place of sanctuary? Petty, vindictive, counterproductive, narrow-minded, yes, but you could hardly call this surprising.But, finally, a policy arrived that was so out of the normal run of things that I assumed it was a joke – a piece of satire, floated on X by some member of the wokerati, to make Shabana Mahmood sound truly heinous. Apparently, she wanted to seize the jewellery and other valuables to pay for their accommodation.Deploying exaggeration to underscore how much like a cartoon villain a politician sounds is a lit...

Politics

7 d. ago London hotel tax: How much extra could it cost to visit the capital?

A tourist tax for London is set to be unveiled — but how much could it be?

Economics

8 d. ago London tourist tax: How much extra could it cost to visit the capital?

A tourist tax for London is set to be unveiled — but how much could it be?

Economics

8 d. ago The Edinburgh winter 'spa escape' available to book for better than half price

"Everything you want a Scottish manor to be and more."

Politics

8 d. ago Jewellery and valuables belonging to refugees could be confiscated to pay for accommodation

‘It is right that if people have money in the bank, if people have assets...they should be contributing’, a Home Office minister said on Monday

Events