Rishi Sunak bans new smart motorways amid safety concerns April 16, 2023 The building of new smart motorways is being cancelled as prime minister Rishi Sunak acknowledged concerns about safety and cost. Fourteen planned smart motorways – including 11 that are already paused and three earmarked for construction – will be removed from government road building plans, given financial pressures and in recognition of the lack of [...]
‘Mob-like tactics’: Peers urged to scrap plans allowing gas network to enter homes and switch boilers WITHOUT consent April 14, 2023 Campaigners are urging peers to scrap a proposed law allowing gas distribution networks to switch boilers to hydrogen without consent.
Sunak and Zelensky discuss ramping up military support to Ukraine after ‘recent battlefield successes’ April 14, 2023 Rishi Sunak and Volodymyr Zelensky discussed ramping up military support to Ukraine in a phone call on Friday, Downing Street said. The Prime Minister told the Ukrainian president that Britain and its allies “needed to continue to ensure Ukraine was in the strongest possible position to build on its recent battlefield successes”. The two leaders [...]
Hunt mulls pension reform amid concern older Brits not getting ‘returns they could expect’ April 14, 2023 The Chancellor has suggested the pension system needs reform to ensure people receive higher returns. Jeremy Hunt said he is concerned that pensioners are not getting “the returns that they could expect”, according to the Daily Telegraph. The Chancellor was speaking in Washington where he is attending the spring meeting of the International Monetary Fund [...]
‘Shocking’: Driver caught on CCTV running down group by Leadenhall Market jailed for seven years April 14, 2023 A BMW driver caught on “shocking” CCTV footage driving at a group of brawlers in the heart of Canada has been jailed for seven years. Two men were hurt when they were hit by Bristan William’s car on Leadenhall Street on the evening of July 26 last year. William had been seen [...]
Childcare: Two in five mothers say high costs are still keeping them out of the workplace April 14, 2023 Two in five mothers feel prohibited from returning to work due to the high cost of childcare, even with Jeremy Hunt’s expanded childcare offering, a new survey of 2,000 mothers has revealed. “Nursery and childminder costs can swallow a huge chunk of new parents’ earnings, and with the current cost of living crisis squeezing every [...]
Sunak insists he is ‘low-tax’ Tory – as UK set for record burden April 13, 2023 Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has insisted he is a “low-tax Conservative” despite the UK being on course for the highest burden of the post-war years. Sunak maintained he wanted “to make sure we can lower taxes over time” but said it was vital to “get inflation down and get borrowing under control” as a first [...]
Labour poll lead narrows as key local elections approach April 13, 2023 Labour’s poll lead has narrowed to just 14 points up on the Conservatives – with just three weeks to go until voters cast their ballots in local elections. Pollsters at think tank More in Common (MiC) found the Conservatives were on 30 per cent with Labour on 44 per cent, the narrowest lead recorded by [...]
Jeremy Hunt tells Washington that UK predictions are ‘much better’ than IMF doomsayers April 13, 2023 Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has said he is “confident” the UK will beat the poor growth forecasts predicted by the IMF. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said earlier this year that the UK economy will shrink by 0.3 per cent this year and grow by just one per cent in 2024. Speaking to Bloomberg in Washington [...]
Sadiq Khan’s London ULEZ expansion faces court challenge from Tory councils April 12, 2023 A judicial review into the expansion of the ultra low emission zone (ULEZ) across Greater London has been granted after a court ruling, it has emerged. London mayor Sadiq Khan opted to push ahead with plans to roll out the zone across all of outer London, from August 29, last year in the face of [...]
