Government stake reduced to under 2% as bank’s profit of £1.8bn beats analyst forecasts by £200m
NatWest has reported a 36% increase in profits in the first three months of this year as the government reduced its stake in the bank to less than 2%, paving a return to fully private ownership after 17 years.
The bank reported operating profit before tax of £1.8bn, up from £1.3bn in the same period last year, beating analyst consensus forecasts by £200m.
Continue reading...Runcorn win was much bigger than polls implied, suggesting overall effectiveness of ground campaign
For the last few months, Nigel Farage has been promising to professionalise his Reform UK party, saying its general election result of five seats had been hampered by the party’s “amateurism”.
Friday’s narrow victory in the Runcorn and Helsby byelection suggests his strategy is starting to bear fruit. Not only did the party win a seat in which it came a distant third less than a year ago, but it did so with a much bigger swing than implied by the national polls – demonstrating the effectiveness of the party’s ground campaign.
Continue reading...Result will heighten government’s fears it could lose scores of MPs to Nigel Farage’s party at next general election
Nigel Farage’s Reform UK has dramatically won the Runcorn and Helsby byelection by just six votes in a blow to Keir Starmer’s premiership.
The hard-right party narrowly overturned Labour’s 14,700-vote majority in the first full-scale electoral test of Starmer’s government and set a new record for the smallest majority at a parliamentary by-election since the end of the second world war.
Continue reading...Charities say the judgment creates ‘a legal framework that simply cannot uphold the dignity’ of trans people
Fourteen national LGBTQ+ charities have written to Keir Starmer seeking an urgent meeting to discuss what they describe as “a genuine crisis for the rights, dignity and inclusion of trans people in the UK” after the supreme court’s ruling on biological sex.
The UK supreme court ruled last month that the terms “woman” and “sex” in the Equality Act 2010 referred only to “a biological woman” and to “biological sex”, with subsequent advice from the equality watchdog amounting to a blanket ban on trans people using toilets and other services of the gender they identify as.
Continue reading...A ‘wetter farming’ project explores rehydrating peatland to help grow crops in boggier conditions while cutting CO2 emissions
“I really don’t like the word ‘paludiculture’ – most people have no idea what it means,” Sarah Johnson says. “I prefer the term ‘wetter farming’.”
The word might be baffling, but the concept is simple: paludiculture is the use of wet peatlands for agriculture, a practice that goes back centuries in the UK, including growing reeds for thatching roofs.
Continue reading...Jagtar Singh Johal’s hopes of being freed on bail have been dashed for now despite being cleared of charges in one case
Hopes that Jagtar Singh Johal, a British Sikh man held in an Indian jail for seven years, would be released on bail were dashed on Thursday when his case was deferred by the Indian supreme court possibly until after the summer, prompting calls from MPs for the UK to intervene.
The foreign secretary, David Lammy, is due to meet Johal’s brother again next week.
Continue reading...Decline in output and new orders in April allied with rising uncertainty is prompting layoffs, survey finds
Britain’s factories suffered a slump in export orders last month as Donald Trump’s globally unsettling tariff regime sent overseas demand for UK goods tumbling at the fastest pace in five years.
Manufacturers reported rising economic and trade uncertainties in April as some tariffs took effect and other threatened border taxes loomed, forcing them to lay off workers for a sixth consecutive month.
Continue reading...Linzagolix hailed as a possible ‘gamechanger’ in tackling the painful condition for some patients in England
More than 1,000 women a year in England could benefit from a new pill for endometriosis.
The condition occurs when tissue similar to the womb lining grows elsewhere in the body, such as the pelvis, bladder and bowel. It can cause chronic pain, heavy periods, extreme tiredness and fertility problems.
Continue reading...Labour face first electoral test since general election with more than 1,600 council seats up for grabs
One of the signs that Bluesky is functioning as a decent alternative to Elon Musk’s X is the fact that it has become a decent source for #dogsatpollingstations. Here are some of the nicer pictures I have seen there this morning.
The Metropolitan police has confirmed that counter-terrorism police are investigating footage that appears to show Irish language rap band Kneecap calling for politicians to be killed, and shouting “up Hamas, up Hezbollah”.
On April 22, we were made aware of an online video believed to be from a music event in London in November 2024. Following this, we were made aware of a further video, believed to be from another music event in London in November 2023.
Both videos were referred to the Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit for assessment by specialist officers, who have determined there are grounds for further investigation into potential offences linked to both videos.
Continue reading...Following a rebrand and move to digital-first the total losses over eight years rise to nearly £125m
Evgeny Lebedev, the owner of the Standard, has pledged to provide funds to keep the newspaper company going after it lost nearly £20m in the year before it went weekly.
The paper, formerly the Evening Standard, which had been published daily in London for almost 200 years, was rebranded last autumn to make it a digital-first publication, supported by a weekly print edition, the London Standard.
Continue reading...Shares rise on promises to return £2bn to investors through buybacks and dividends, and more hotel openings
Profits at the Premier Inn owner Whitbread have fallen after it was hit by higher costs and a drop in UK bookings, but shares rose on the promise of a share buyback and more hotel openings.
Britain’s largest hotel group, which owns 852 hotels in the UK and 61 in Germany, reported a 14% fall in adjusted pre-tax profit to £483m for the year to 27 February. Revenues dipped by 1% to £2.9bn, as revenue per available room in the UK was down by 2%.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Britain is key financial hub for destructive fossil fuel mega-projects, according to research
Banks in the City of London have poured more than $100bn (£75bn) into companies developing “carbon bombs” – huge oil, gas and coal projects that would drive the climate past internationally agreed temperature limits with catastrophic global consequences – according to a study.
Nine London-based banks, including HSBC, NatWest, Barclays and Lloyds are involved in financing companies responsible for at least 117 carbon bomb projects in 28 countries between 2016 – the year after the landmark Paris agreement was signed – and 2023, according to the study.
Continue reading...Of course she didn’t. Gifted on climate policy, she used all six of her questions to call for another child abuse inquiry
On days like these, Keir Starmer might come to believe there is a God after all. Fair to say the prime minister has been under the cosh recently. His popularity ratings tanking as people continue to feel fed up that nothing still appears to be working as it should. The local elections on Thursday are unlikely to provide any joy for Labour with Reform ahead in several polls. Even the election of Mark Carney has been a mixed blessing. A reminder that some politicians get rewarded for taking a tough line on Agent Orange. The Lib Dems have declared themselves honorary Canadians.
To cap it all, Tony Blair had just published a report on climate policy that even his best friends might consider to have been “unhelpful”. Tony is a former politician who is unable to go gently into the dark night. Eighteen years after stepping down as prime minister, he still yearns for relevance.
Continue reading...Labour insider rebukes ‘tech bros’ within Tony Blair Institute as critics question past work with petrostates
In little more than 1,600 words voicing his scepticism over net zero policies, Tony Blair this week propelled himself and his increasingly powerful institute back into the national debate.
In the past eight years, the former prime minister has built a global empire employing more than 900 people across more than 40 countries, providing policy advice to monarchs, presidents and prime ministers.
Continue reading...Charles reveals his experience has deepened his admiration for charities supporting the 390,000 cancer cases each year
The king has reflected on his experience with cancer, saying has brought into “sharp focus the very best of humanity”, while acknowledging that each new case is “a daunting and at times frightening experience” for those receiving a diagnosis and for their loved ones.
In a personal written message, released to coincide with a Buckingham Palace reception celebrating organisations that help people with the disease, he described himself as one of the “statistics” among the 390,000 who “sadly” receive a cancer diagnosis in the UK each year.
Continue reading...Labour politicians warn former PM had boosted Tory and Reform climate sceptics on the eve of local elections
Tony Blair has been forced by Downing Street to row back from his criticism of the government’s net zero strategy after furious Labour politicians warned he had given a boost to Tory and Reform sceptics on the eve of the local elections.
Climate experts also accused the former prime minister of granting political cover to fossil fuel interests and weakening momentum behind the UK’s legally binding target to reach net zero emissions by 2050.
Continue reading...Up to 15,000 could be given nivolumab in injectable form to treat 15 cancers including lung, bowel and skin cancer
Up to 15,000 cancer patients a year could be treated with a quick injection, NHS England has announced.
It is the first health service in Europe to offer patients the injectable form of the immunotherapy drug nivolumab.
Continue reading...Two permanent members of UN security council could make move at conference in June on two-state solution
The UK is in discussion with France and Saudi Arabia over the recognition of a Palestinian state at a June conference convened by the two countries on keeping alive the political path to a two-state solution in the Middle East, the UK foreign secretary has said.
David Lammy’s comments mark the first time the UK has acknowledged that a discussion with France about a recognition process around the conference is under way.
Continue reading...RAF jets target buildings used to make drones, officials say, in Britain’s first involvement since Trump took office
British fighter jets joined their US counterparts in airstrikes against Yemen’s Houthi rebels overnight, the first military action authorised by the Labour government and the first UK participation in an aggressive American bombing campaign against the group.
RAF Typhoons, refuelled by Voyager air tankers, targeted a cluster of buildings 15 miles south of the capital, Sana’a, which the UK said were used by the Houthis to manufacture drones that had targeted shipping in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
Continue reading...Growing numbers of older people are creating enterprises in everything from baking to biodiversity – but does the freedom make up for the graft?
Kari Johnston felt ready to retire after 45 years in nursing when, at 63 years old, she decided to launch her own business – a professional decluttering and organising service.
She had read about decluttering and, fascinated, quickly created a website and advertised. Her first clients were friends. Three-and-a-half years later, Johnston, from St Monans in Fife, is now fully retired from nursing, and feels delighted with the success of her new venture.
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