Latest news, sport, business, comment, analysis and reviews from the Guardian, the world's leading liberal voice
Starmer launches local election campaign but warns Labour can’t easily reverse council funding crisis – politics live

Opposition leader says he cannot pretend Labour can just turn funding taps on if it takes power

Starmer is summing up the Labour offer.

This Labour party with Rachel Reeves as chancellor will value every pound as if it’s yours – because at the end of the day, it is.

One, higher growth, with a reform planning system, no longer blocking the homes, the infrastructure, the investment that the country needs.

Two, safer streets, with 13,000 Extra neighbourhood police officers cracking down on the antisocial behaviour which blights so many of our town centres.

Here’s what voting Labour means this year. A plan that starts, as it must – with economic stability. Look at the Tories now, once again in desperation, committing to the madness of unfunded tax cuts. £46 billon to abolish national insurance, with no way of funding it other than risky borrowing or cutting your pension and our NHS.

It’s like they think Liz Truss never happened. And maybe for their bills, for their mortgage, for their cost of living – it didn’t. But beyond the walls of Westminster, working people have paid an enormous price.

Continue reading...
Thu, 28 Mar 2024 11:00:50 GMT
Rayner denies wrongdoing over council house sale amid police review

Labour deputy leader says she can provide tax advice given at time after Tory complaint to Manchester force

Angela Rayner has said she did “absolutely nothing wrong” when she sold her council house after the police announced they were reviewing a decision not to investigate.

The deputy Labour leader told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme she was confident she had not broken any rules.

Continue reading...
Thu, 28 Mar 2024 09:53:50 GMT
Fresh crisis for Thames Water as investors pull plug on £500m of funding

Decision raises concerns about financial future of UK’s biggest water firm and increases prospect of nationalisation

Investors at Thames Water have pulled the plug on £500m of emergency funding, raising concerns about the financial future of the country’s largest water company and increasing the prospect of nationalisation.

The beleaguered utilities company announced this morning that its shareholders had refused to provide the first tranche of £750m funding set to secure its short-term cashflow, after the company had failed to meet certain conditions.

Continue reading...
Thu, 28 Mar 2024 09:45:22 GMT
Gogglebox star George Gilbey dies at 40 in workplace accident

TV personality also starred in Celebrity Big Brother, and made it to the reality show’s final

Gogglebox’s George Gilbey has died aged 40, a spokesperson for the show said. The reality star was best known for appearing on the Channel 4 series alongside his mother Linda McGarry and stepfather Pete McGarry, who died aged 71 in 2021. He also appeared on the 14th series of Celebrity Big Brother in 2014, reaching the final.

Gilbey reportedly died following an accident at work on Wednesday. A spokesperson for the Channel 4 show said: “George was part of the Gogglebox family for eight series alongside his mum Linda and stepdad Pete.

Continue reading...
Thu, 28 Mar 2024 10:00:32 GMT
Transgender judge seeks leave to intervene in UK court case over legal definition of ‘woman’

Victoria McCloud wants leave to join litigation in supreme court appeal brought by For Women Scotland

The UK’s first transgender judge is seeking leave to join the litigation in a crucial supreme court case that could significantly affect legal protections for transgender women, the Guardian has learned.

Victoria McCloud, a senior civil judge who became the youngest person appointed as master of the high court in 2010, will make an application to intervene in the supreme court appeal brought by the campaign group For Women Scotland about the legal definition of “woman”. Interveners can put a case without being among the main parties to the litigation.

Continue reading...
Thu, 28 Mar 2024 05:00:28 GMT
Man seriously injured in stabbing on south London train

Police searching for suspect after incident at Beckenham Junction that left man with life-threatening injuries

Police are searching for a suspect after a man was stabbed on a train in south London and left with life-threatening injuries.

British Transport Police (BTP) said they received reports of two men fighting while entering a train at Shortlands railway station in Bromley shortly before 4pm on Wednesday.

Continue reading...
Thu, 28 Mar 2024 10:15:12 GMT
Russia-Ukraine war live: Putin rules out attacks on Nato countries

Kyiv’s forces shoot down 26 drones overnight as Russian president says suggestion of attacks on nearby Nato states is ‘drivel’

Here are some of the latest images on the newswires:

The Kremlin said on Thursday complete silence was needed when it came to discussions about possible prisoner exchanges involving Evan Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter arrested in Russia a year ago on suspicion of espionage, reports Reuters.

Continue reading...
Thu, 28 Mar 2024 10:47:15 GMT
UK membership of Dignitas soars by 24% as assisted dying in Scotland moves closer

Bill being laid before Scottish parliament could, if approved, allow people in Britain to take their own lives within the law

UK membership of Dignitas, the Swiss assisted dying association, has jumped to 1,900 people – a 24% rise during 2023 – as an assisted dying bill is laid before the Scottish parliament.

People from the UK now make up the second largest group who have signed up to the organisation, which is based near Zurich and helps people take their own lives. The largest group is currently Germans, although they can now get help to end their lives at home after a 2020 court ruling.

Continue reading...
Thu, 28 Mar 2024 05:00:27 GMT
Blow for Sunak as revised figures confirm UK did go into recession last year

Latest estimate from ONS says GDP declined by 0.3% in final quarter of 2023

Official figures have confirmed that the UK economy went into recession at the end of last year, after the latest estimate found it contracted in the last two quarters of 2023.

In a blow to the government’s economic standing, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the economy, as measured by gross domestic product, shrank by 0.3% in the last three months of the year, unrevised from an earlier estimate.

Continue reading...
Thu, 28 Mar 2024 07:02:43 GMT
UK households urged to submit meter readings ahead of energy price cut

Martin Lewis among those encouraging consumers to make a note so they do not overpay when cap reduced

Millions of households are being urged to submit meter readings to their energy supplier this weekend to ensure they do not overpay when cheaper prices come in on Monday.

The consumer champion Martin Lewis is among those urging people to get their phones, pens and notepads out so that they benefit fully from the 12.3% cut to the Ofgem energy price cap, which is altered quarterly.

Continue reading...
Thu, 28 Mar 2024 05:00:25 GMT

This page was created in: 0.02 seconds

Copyright 2024 Oscar WiFi

This website or its third-party tools use cookies, which are necessary to its functioning and required to achieve the purposes illustrated in the cookie policy. By closing this banner, scrolling this page, clicking a link or continuing to browse otherwise, you agree to the use of cookies. If you want to know more or withdraw your consent to all or some of the cookies, please refer our Cookie Policy More info