Starmer says new low-tax zones, a policy inherited from the Tories, will ‘have this government’s stamp on them’
Downing Street will announce five new freeports in next week’s budget as part of its effort to drive economic growth.
Ministers will set out plans to establish five new low-tax zones, plus an investment zone in the East Midlands, where businesses will benefit from tax breaks such as lower tariffs and customs.
Continue reading...PM hinted at tax rises for those who earn income from shares and property, saying they did not fit his definition of ‘working people’
Downing Street is blocking moves to include a ban on smoking outdoors in the upcoming Tobacco and Vapes bill amid fierce opposition by the hospitality trade.
No 10 officials privately believe that banning people from lighting up in pub gardens is “an unserious” policy and is not backed by good evidence showing that it harms non-smokers.
Continue reading...Many drugs in development aim to delay, slow or reverse symptoms, but which are causing the biggest stir?
This week England’s health spending watchdog rejected a new Alzheimer’s drug – the second such drug it has turned down this year.
Both donanemab and lecanemab were approved by the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), yet the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) said their benefits were too small to justify their costs, while there have also been concerns over potential side-effects – such as brain swelling and bleeding.
Continue reading...Collaboration between leading garden designer and Microsoft to go on display at Chelsea flower show 2025
Hardcore gardeners sometimes, when no one else is listening, talk quietly to their prize blooms. But at next year’s Chelsea flower show, visitors will be encouraged to have a chat with its first ever AI-powered garden.
The garden designer Tom Massey has partnered with Microsoft to create the Avanade “intelligent” garden. Sensors in the soil are partnered with an AI trained on Royal Horticultural Society plant data and gardening advice, meaning visitors can ask the garden: “How are you?”
Continue reading...Kevin Jordan and two other claimants argued the country’s climate adaptation plans were insufficient and unlawful
An East Anglian man who lost his home to coastal erosion has lost his high court challenge against the government’s climate adaptation plans.
Kevin Jordan was one of three claimants who argued the government’s plans for adapting to the existing and predicted impacts of climate change, known as the National Adaptation Programme 3 (NAP3), were insufficient and unlawful.
Continue reading...Bank’s boss says chancellor must signal intentions clearly amid risk to borrowing and mortgage rates
Rachel Reeves must “get the balance right” when announcing changes to Britain’s debt rules in next week’s budget given the potential knock-on effects to borrowing and mortgage rates, the boss of NatWest has said.
The bank’s chief executive, Paul Thwaite, said markets would be sensitive to the chancellor’s reasons for releasing up to £50bn of borrowing headroom after she confirmed in Washington on Thursday that she planned to rewrite her fiscal rules.
Continue reading...Traditional Britain Group’s London conference includes speaker from Germany’s AfD party and far-right activists
A group that emerged out of a faction of the Conservative party has become a forum for Britain’s splintered far right.
A private conference hosted earlier this month by the Traditional Britain Group (TBG) was attended by figures from the Homeland party, an extreme nationalist group, as well as rivals from other groups such as Patriotic Alternative.
Continue reading...Some leaders had hoped Charles might use his speech at Chogm in Samoa as an opportunity to apologise for Britain’s colonial past
King Charles acknowledged “painful aspects” of Britain’s past while sidestepping calls to directly address reparations for slavery at the summit of Commonwealth leaders, saying “none of us can change the past, but we can commit … to learning its lessons”.
Charles was speaking to leaders representing 56 Commonwealth nations at the Commonwealth heads of government meeting (Chogm) in the Pacific nation of Samoa, his first time attending the summit since taking the throne. In his speech, the king also addressed the climate crisis, development challenges and paid tribute to Queen Elizabeth.
Continue reading...Rachel Reeves to encourage import of raw materials from Commonwealth countries to counter China’s grip on market
Businesses that import critical minerals to the UK will be given access to state-backed loans in a move to counter China’s dominance in the market.
The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, is expected to announce extra government support to encourage the import of critical minerals such as lithium, graphite and cobalt in her budget next week. Companies that bring supplies of critical minerals into the UK will be able to access state-backed loans under the UK export finance mechanism.
Continue reading...Prime minister trying to secure tournament’s future at Commonwealth summit in Samoa
Keir Starmer will try to find a host country for the 2030 Commonwealth Games this week as ministers try to shore up the tournament’s future.
The prime minister’s spokesperson said Starmer wanted to see “a successful Commonwealth Games from 2030” and would spend time at this week “talking to partners about who may be interested in taking that forward”.
Continue reading...Legal action after fire that killed man at overcrowded flat in Shadwell thought to be the first of its kind involving ebikes
Twelve survivors of an ebike battery fire that killed a man have launched legal action against their landlords and the battery’s manufacturer.
The 12 managed to escape in the early hours of 5 March 2023, after an overcrowded flat they were living in – in Maddocks House in Shadwell, east London – caught fire due to an explosion found by a coroner to have been caused by a faulty ebike battery. Mizanur Rahman, a 41-year-old father-of-two, died in the fire.
Continue reading...Jia Xin Teo, 22, concealed her pregnancy from friends and gave birth in bathroom at student halls
A Coventry University student who concealed her newborn baby in a cereal box hidden inside a suitcase after giving birth on her bathroom floor has been convicted of murder.
Jia Xin Teo, a 22-year-old student from Malaysia who arrived in the UK earlier this year to study, was found guilty of murdering the baby she gave birth to in March. The trial at Warwick crown court heard how Teo concealed her pregnancy and gave birth to a full-term baby on 4 March in the en suite bathroom of her bedroom in student halls of residence.
Continue reading...Proportion of students eligible for free school meals at 15 who progress to higher education falls from 29.2% to 29%
The proportion of disadvantaged teenagers in England going on to study at university has fallen for the first time on record, leading to accusations that the country is moving backwards in terms of social mobility.
Figures released by the Department for Education show that 29% of students eligible for free school meals at 15 had progressed to university by the age of 19 in 2022-23, compared with 29.2% the previous year – the first time the rate has fallen since it was first measured in 2005-06.
Continue reading...Chancellor pledges to spend, but says there will be no Truss-style splurge when she changes fiscal rules in budget
Rachel Reeves will pledge to reverse huge cuts in public investment in her budget next week after she confirmed that rules limiting her spending power will be overhauled to enable the government to release as much as £50bn for infrastructure spending.
The chancellor said she would revise how the Treasury calculated shortfalls in the government budget over the rest of the parliament to free up funds to invest in public infrastructure.
Continue reading...Seven people treated in hospital after suspected carbon monoxide poisoning but are not in serious condition
A member of staff was among those taken to hospital in a suspected carbon monoxide leak believed to have resulted in the deaths of three people at a Dorset care home.
As police and firefighters continued to investigate the tragedy at the Gainsborough care home in Swanage, it also emerged that one of the victims, an 86-year-old woman, had lived at the home with her sister, who survived and was among those evacuated. Two men aged 91 and 74 also died.
Continue reading...Former chancellor says ‘increasing borrowing means interest rates would be higher for longer’ as Reeves says it will ‘make space for investment’
Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, has said that “no one knows” who Robert Jenrick, the Tory leadership contender, is.
Of the two candidates left in the contest, Jenrick is the one who is doing most to appeal to Tories who defected to Reform UK, because he is saying Britain should leave the European convention on human rights.
I know the fella. Is he the chap that one day was on the very much on the left of the Conservative party and is now on the right of the Conservative Party?... No one knows who he is.
I’m sure government can agree that support and providing opportunities for young people should be central to the policy of any government. We are glad to see the government working to build closer economic and cultural ties with Europe. We want to forge a new partnership with our European neighbours, built on cooperation, not confrontation and move to a new comprehensive agreement.
We must build rebuild confidence through seeking to agree partnerships or associations helping to restore prosperity and opportunities for British people.
We are not going to give a running commentary on the negotiations. We will obviously look at EU proposals on a range of issues, but we are clear that we will not return to freedom of movement.
Continue reading...Starmer under pressure from Caribbean countries at Commonwealth talks but is refusing payments or apology
Keir Starmer has opened the door to non-financial reparations for the UK’s role in the transatlantic enslavement, as he came under pressure from Commonwealth leaders to engage in a “meaningful, truthful and respectful” conversation about Britain’s past.
While Downing Street insists that the wider issue of reparations is “not on the agenda” of this week’s Commonwealth heads of government (Chogm) gathering in Samoa, No 10 has accepted it is likely to be referenced in the end-of-summit communique.
Continue reading...Call from head of Caribbean reparations body comes as Bahamas foreign minister claims UK PM will change his position
Britain has a legal and moral case to answer over its historical role in slavery, the chair of the Caribbean’s slavery reparation commission has said, as Keir Starmer continues to reject calls to put the issue on the agenda at the Commonwealth summit.
Responding to the British prime minister’s insistence to “look forward” rather than have “very long endless discussions about reparations on the past” when he meets 55 other country leaders on Friday, the distinguished Caribbean historian Sir Hilary Beckles, who chairs the Caribbean governments’ reparations body, articulated the region’s call to the British government and institutions to “engage in a compassionate, intergenerational strategy to support postcolonial reconstruction”.
Continue reading...Charity Commission investigation also said there had been mismanagement within Mermaids
A charity supporting gender-questioning young people has been told to rewrite its guidance about the risks of puberty blockers, after a two-year Charity Commission investigation, which also concluded that there had been mismanagement within the organisation.
However, the investigation found that the charity, Mermaids, had appropriate safeguarding policies in place and there was no evidence that it provided medical advice to children, which would have been outside its remit.
Continue reading...National Audit Office report finds no signs of improvement in lives of pupils despite record spending
The bill for special needs education in England has hit £10bn a year, with the number of children and young people entitled to government support in the form of education, health and care plans set to double to 1 million within a decade, a landmark report has found.
The investigation by the National Audit Office (NAO) found that despite record levels of spending there had been no signs of improvement in the lives of children with special educational needs (SEN).
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