UK Faces Decade Of Lost Growth Without Action – CBI
Firms are not investing, prices are rising and the economy is contracting – a dire economic picture that is set to last into next year, the UK’s biggest business group has warned. The UK could even face a decade of lost economic growth if action is not taken, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) boss... Read More
Labour To Promise Biggest Ever Transfer Of Powers
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer is to promise “the biggest ever transfer of power from Westminster to the British people” if his party wins the next election. He will launch a report in Leeds on Monday that proposes far-reaching reforms to the UK’s political system. The report will recommend abolishing the House of Lords, despite... Read More
Six Children Die With Strep A Bacterial Infection
Six children have died with an invasive condition caused by Strep A – including five under 10-year-olds in England since September – the UK Health Security Agency has said. A girl from Wales has also died. No deaths have been confirmed in Scotland or Northern Ireland. Strep A infections are normally mild but people can... Read More
30 Years Of The Text Message – ‘Merry Christmas’
The text message is celebrating its 30th birthday – the first was sent to a mobile phone by a Vodafone engineer in Berkshire in the UK on 3 December 1992. It was sent in order to test out the tech, and read “Merry Christmas”. Neil Papworth sent it to one of the firm’s bosses, Richard... Read More
Liz Truss Wanted Government Turned Up To 11 – Former Aide
Liz Truss took a “Spinal Tap approach” to government, with the volume turned up to 11, her former chief speechwriter has told the BBC. As Bennett said Ms. Truss demanded “fast action” to put “rocket boosters” on the British economy. It was a “bitter regret for us all…it didn’t come off like that,” he added.... Read More
Rishi Sunak Pledges Police Powers To Tackle Illegal Protests
Rishi Sunak has said it is “completely unacceptable” that people were having their lives disrupted by a “selfish minority” who join illegal protests. Home Secretary Suella Braverman has met with police chief constables to discuss tactics used by some environmental protest groups, such as Just Stop Oil. The prime minister said: “My view is that... Read More
Progress On Trade Deals Slower Than Promised – Brexit
The government is set to miss its target for securing post-Brexit trade agreements, as figures show a 15% fall in the number of UK exporters. At the 2019 election, the Conservatives promised to get agreements covering 80% of UK trade by the end of this year. The most recent figures suggest it will be just... Read More
Labour Hold City Of Chester Seat In Rishi Sunak’s First Electoral Test
Labour has won the City of Chester by-election, retaining the seat and delivering a defeat for Rishi Sunak in his first electoral test as PM. Samantha Dixon has become the constituency’s new MP with a majority of 10,974 votes. Her party secured more than 61% of the vote with a 13.76% swing from the Conservatives.... Read More
Forty-Hour Ambulance Waits As NHS Delays Worsen
More than 10,000 ambulances a week are caught in queues of at least an hour outside accident-and-emergency units in England, a BBC News analysis shows. The total – the highest since records began, in 2010 – means one in eight crews faced delays on this scale by mid-November. Paramedics warned the problems were causing patients... Read More
Little Simz And Knucks Tie For Best Album Prize – Mobo Awards
Rappers Little Simz and Knucks have been named joint winners of the best album prize at this year’s Mobo Awards. It was the first-ever tie in the 25-year history of the awards, which celebrate black music and culture. The win was a further accolade for Simz’s intensely personal Sometimes I Might Be Introvert, which won... Read More