Allies of Burnham were reported on Sunday to have identified a shortlist of seats to allow the Greater Manchester mayor to return to Westminster in the new year. One of these seats is said to be that of Gwynne, who was suspended by the Labour party in February after a leak of offensive WhatsApp messages. One source was quoted as saying that Burnham allies had found a nailed on constituency,
Over the past four months I have thoroughly enjoyed my time as the chancellor's infrastructure and planning adviser, and in my time have had the ability to advise HM Treasury and help steer the important steps the government is taking to improve the planning system to support economic growth. I look forward to continuing my engagement with HM Treasury and government as I return to the private sector.
Liz Truss, Britain's shortest-serving prime minister, began the first edition of her YouTube show with a vow to unmask the evil-doers attempting to bring down Britain, the US and Europe. She would, she explained, reveal how an international network of leftists work to subvert democracy and the will of the people. Despite her bleak monologue, Truss pointed to hope from across the Atlantic.
However, Badenoch and the shadow health secretary, Stuart Andrew, wrote to Streeting on 25 November, saying they were concerned NHS England was supporting a clinical trial involving drugs which halted natural puberty. Cass found remarkably weak evidence the drugs were effective in treating gender-related distress, adding there is no good evidence on long-term outcomes. She has said a trial is the only way forward in the attempt to understand if there are beneficial effects.
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At a Conservative donors event last week, Kemi Badenoch was asked for a selfie by the former Spice Girl Geri Horner. The Tory leader was, her allies say, a little bemused by the approach. But they were clear about what it meant: cut-through. Badenoch's leadership got off to a poor start. Still reeling from the Tories' worst general election defeat, she took over a diminished and disheartened party, which was languishing in the polls
An inquiry into the role of the UK government's economic forecaster is being launched by a group of MPs, after the body came under intense scrutiny in the run-up to the Budget. The Treasury Committee will examine the Office for Budget Responsibility's (OBR) first 15 years and consider potential reforms, including any improvements or changes to its remit. The inquiry comes after questions over the OBR's influence were raised ahead of the Budget.
We need to have a more mature relationship with risk. Projects often do not go ahead because of concerns about safety but often all you are doing is moving the risk somewhere else. He said the UK's risk aversion was demonstrated to him by a recent decision by London's royal parks to close during high winds. Instead of going for a walk through the park, [people] ended up walking around the edge of it instead, where there were often more trees.
Aisha Jung, 53, from south London, was with her husband and two of her sons, aged 10 and 11, when police arrested her at the November 2023 demonstration in Trafalgar Square, central London, telling her that the sign could be considered offensive. When police surrounded her and asked her to put the sign down she asked them what legislation they were relying on. She said she was told officers were finding out the answer, but was not given an explanation
Despite completing its rollout of a new case management system, Home Office caseworkers are still referring back to data in a 25-year-old legacy system when processing asylum claims, according to a public spending watchdog. The National Audit Office (NAO) also found problems with the data input on the newly implemented system, Atlas, that are delaying decisions. Atlas was developed to digitize and automate routine tasks, and streamline the process.
The home secretary is to order an independent special inquiry into whether the Metropolitan police allowed hundreds of recruits to join without proper vetting amid fears they may pose a criminal risk. The Guardian has learned that the inquiry will be carried out by the policing inspectorate, with concerns centred on 300 new officers hired between 2016 and 2023. The recruits may have had substandard or no vetting before joining the Met and gaining police powers.
Nearly 11,000 people have signed an e-petition submitted to Parliament calling for the government "to make it law that if you hit a cat you must legally report it and take it to the nearest vets". Cats and wild animals are not covered by the Road Traffic Act 1988, which states drivers must stop and report an accident which involves certain specified animals such as dogs, horses, cattle, mules, sheep, pigs or goats.
Opposition MSPs have accused Constance of misrepresenting UK grooming gangs expert Prof Alexis Jay when she said that the academic "did not support further inquiries" into child sexual abuse and exploitation. The Conservatives, Labour and Liberal Democrats are backing motions of no confidence in the minister. While Constance has insisted she gave an accurate account of Prof Jay's views, her critics say newly published emails between the government and the academic show parliament was misled.
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
Accepting the role, McDonnell said he was honoured to lead the group at a "critical juncture" for financial oversight in the UK, stressing that victims of investment fraud and regulatory failures "deserve justice, not excuses", adding 'We will not allow a race to the bottom in regulation'. He argued that consumer protection must be viewed not as a brake on growth but as "the foundation of a financial system that works in the public interest".
In opposition, Sir Keir Starmer called the unelected House of Lords indefensible. This week, barely 18 months into his prime ministership, Sir Keir took the total of unelected peers he has appointed since July 2024 to 96. Remarkably, Wednesday's 34 new life peerages, mainly Labour supporters, take his appointment total above those of each of his four most recent Conservative predecessors. You must go back to David Cameron to find a prime minister who did more to stuff the Lords than Sir Keir.
Warwickshire county council has been warned by its executives that anything less than a 5% maximum council tax increase will put its financial viability at risk. In a report published on Thursday, the council's board said anything below a 4.99% council tax rise the equivalent to a 1.75 a week increase on a band D property is a riskier financial strategy that would threaten the medium-term sustainability of the local authority.
A world-beating deal, boasts the science minister, Patrick Vallance. It paves the way for the UK to become a global hub for life sciences, claims the business secretary, Peter Kyle, with the government press release adding: Tens of thousands of NHS patients will benefit. Presented with such triumph, His Majesty's press is up on its hindlegs. Happy pills ran a laudatory editorial in the Times, while the Daily Mail sportingly thanked Donald Trump for his US lifeline for UK pharma. Britain 1, America 0!
A group of councillors were violently intimidated and pelted with eggs at a meeting by people wearing balaclavas in the public gallery, MPs have been told. Swale Borough Council in Kent were debating making their area a District of Sanctuary for asylum seekers in the meeting on Wednesday evening. The council also confirmed that their office was also damaged, with toilets and lifts vandalised and deliberate flooding caused water to pour through the ceiling in several areas.
I am very sorry to hear how troubling recent reports have been for you, he wrote. We fully recognise the seriousness of the behaviours described in the media, and we understand why you and others who were at the college during that period have felt compelled to speak out. Allegations of racist and antisemitic conduct are profoundly distressing, and it is important to say clearly that such behaviour is wholly incompatible with the values the college holds.
Bonnie's most effective way of advertising her X-rated content to the masses now is by generating enough controversy to get her publicly talked about, and she's very good at making just enough noise (this time in the Spectator, of all places) to drum up a bit of traffic. But to say that diversifying into hard-right politics makes her an outlier for her existing young fanbase is nonetheless an understatement, given Reform is now polling at just 5% among under-24s.
Sounding the alarm over a worsening youth jobs crisis, the report from the accountancy firm PwC said Britain's economy was missing out on 26bn a year because of sharp regional divisions in youth joblessness. In its annual youth employment index, it said the UK was falling behind other advanced economies amid a deterioration in the youth jobs rate to a 10-year low while other comparable nations were making progress.
The gap means the council is considering raising council tax by almost 5%, while looking for extra income and spending cuts elsewhere. Council leader Dominic Twomey said the council's situation was incredibly difficult. He pinned the blame on 14 years of austerity and a lack of funding for local government. The council launched a public consultation on its spending yesterday (Wednesday 10th) as it begins work to set next year's budget.
We are on the cusp of delivering a fully integrated, world-class transport system for our global city-region. These changes will make everyday journeys easier and open up new opportunities for people across Greater Manchester. Bringing rail into the Bee Network, alongside our long-term vision for rail in Greater Manchester, are all part of our plan and commitment to maximise good growth across the city region for the next decade and beyond, which our residents and businesses deserve.
It must be clear about what this decision [to strike] means. Other NHS colleagues have had to cancel Christmas plans just to cover shifts; patients will have operations cancelled; and the NHS will be preparing for the worst in the middle of an unprecedented flu season. We've done everything we can to cancel these strikes, even giving them the option to extend the strike mandate so they can call off the strikes and consult their members. It's frankly astounding that the BMA leadership rejected this.
