Plaisance Theatre Pantomimes and politics: Both thrive on performance, exaggeration and audience participation. In pantomimes, the audience boos the villain and cheers the hero; in parliament, political leaders are cast in these roles with MPs jeering. It's a comparison Islington North MP Jeremy Corbyn understands. "Panto every day would be a good thing. Mind you, I work in Parliament so I get that already," he said.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves is backing an inquiry into pre-Budget leaks from the Treasury which knocked business and consumer confidence and moved markets. The chief secretary to the Treasury told the Commons on Wednesday an inquiry into pre-Budget leaks was under way, led by top Treasury civil servant James Bowler and had "the full support of the chancellor". Policies such as a freezing of income tax thresholds, a pay-per-mile levy on electric vehicles and a tourist tax were all reported in the lead-up to the Budget on 26 November.
The disciplinary inquiry was launched by Manchester city council, where Binks was then assistant chief executive, last summer after complaints by young female employees about sleazy and creepy behaviour on a night out last November. Binks took over as chief executive in Rochdale in April. The investigation by the law firm Weightmans LLP upheld a complaint that Binks had inappropriately touched and grinded on a junior female employee at Manchester council in a city centre bar.
The Liberal Democrats are calling for a 'Farm First' scheme to train graduates for careers in farming, aiming to prevent what they describe as a "lost generation" in the sector. The scheme would be similar to Teach First, a charity which trains graduates as teachers and places them in schools. The party estimates their proposal would cost 60m per year, funding two-year training placements for 1,000 trainees.
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Tesla privately warned the UK government that weakening electric vehicle rules would hit battery car sales and risk the country missing its carbon dioxide targets, according to newly revealed documents. The US electric carmaker, run by Elon Musk, also called for support for the used-car market, according to submissions to a government consultation earlier this year obtained by the Fast Charge, a newsletter covering electric cars. The Labour government in April worried some electric carmakers by weakening rules, known as the zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate.
Over the past decade 97 women have died in prisons in England and Wales, as incidents of self-harm among female prisoners reach the highest level on record, a new report has found. Inquest, the charity that produced the report, collated Ministry of Justice (MoJ) figures since 2015 to arrive at a total number of deaths. It said the numbers were evidence for its case that all women's prisons should be closed.
Rayner, who was the driving force behind the legislation in government, is understood to have accepted the compromise to remove day-one rights against unfair dismissal and replace it with a reduced qualifying period, down from two years to six months. Trade unions have mostly accepted the compromise arguing that the alternative of a nine-month probation period needed extra time for consultation amid worries it was unworkable. Unions also secured the lifting of the compensation cap for claims, a long-term goal.
Good times for Britain when the chancellor is saved by the Office for Budget Responsibility being slightly more inept than her at a single convenient moment. Following the accidental early publication of the fiscal watchdog's market-sensitive budget document, chair Richard Hughes has now fallen on his sword. Although it's possible he meant to fall on his feet but just mistimed it. On Monday we discovered that the OBR's website is not securely hosted but was built using WordPress.
