Exhibition honours French impressionist whose landscapes have helped island create jobs and forge global ties
The island of Guernsey may be best known as a tax haven for the super-wealthy, a pleasant holiday destination, and for the rich milk its docile cows produce.
But thanks to a brief sojourn by Pierre-Auguste Renoir 140 years ago, and the bold thinking of culture lovers on the island, it is becoming a draw for art fans.
Continue reading...Revisions to figures show stronger performance than Germany and France but momentum starts to stall
The UK economy made a faster recovery from the Covid pandemic than previously estimated, according to revisions to official figures revealing a stronger performance than Germany and France.
In a boost for Rishi Sunak before the Conservative party conference in Manchester beginning this weekend, revised figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed gross domestic product was 1.8% above pre-pandemic levels at the end of the second quarter this year.
Continue reading...The PM instead praised the UK’s ‘fantastic multicultural democracy’, saying the nation has done an ‘incredible job of integrating people’
The former SNP minister Fergus Ewing has claimed his party no longer stands up for Scotland as he was suspended for a week after a disciplinary vote by fellow MSPs.
The sanction, which was backed by 48 votes to nine with four abstentions, came about after Ewing voted against the SNP-Green government in a no-confidence motion against the Scottish Green minister Lorna Slater.
The SNP I joined would never have asked me, or indeed any other elected politician, to choose between loyalty to party and loyalty to constituents …
It was never an ordinary political party because it was one which put Scotland first.
Fergus is a long standing MSP, he has been a minister, he understands the procedures here and what the outcome is of voting in the way that he did.
No, you are and you’re her direct line boss. So why didn’t you deal with that situation, as her boss?
The way it works for MPs is slightly different, in the sense that they themselves are elected by their constituents and we have a separate process for them stopping the job that they’re in. It is not my ability to do that, actually. Ultimately people elect their MPs regardless of who the prime minister is.
Continue reading...Research finds 114 councils in England, Scotland and Wales facing budget gaps of more than £10m
Councils are facing a record cash shortfall of more than £3.5bn in the coming year with jobs and services facing cuts, according to analysis.
Data compiled by Unison, the trade union, found that there were 114 councils in England, Scotland and Wales – almost a third – facing shortfalls of more than £10m. It said 15 councils were likely to be in the red by more than £40m next year.
Continue reading...Shadow ministers used ‘charitable status’ as shorthand for main goal of introducing tax changes
Has Labour flip-flopped on stripping private schools in England of their charitable status? Senior party figures from Keir Starmer down have certainly been guilty of using loose language, conflating such a move with their plan to apply VAT to private school fees and other tax breaks.
Starmer said in July last year: “When I say we are going to pay for kids to catch up at school, I also say it’ll be funded by removing private schools’ charitable status.”
Continue reading...Mohamad al-Bared used technology at Coventry home to make drone designed to deliver a warhead or chemical weapon for IS
A Birmingham University PhD student has been found guilty of using a 3D printer at home to build a “kamikaze” drone designed to deliver an explosive warhead or chemical weapon for Islamic State (IS) terrorists.
Mechanical engineering graduate Mohamad al-Bared, 27, was found guilty of using a 3D printer to make the drone at his Coventry home while sending weekly updates to IS.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Potential plan to restrict measures such as 20mph speed limits and levying fines from traffic cameras alarms travel groups
The government is to limit measures councils can take to curb car traffic including 20mph speed restrictions and bus lanes, the Guardian understands, under plans that have alarmed travel groups and risks a row with local authorities.
In another sign Rishi Sunak hopes to gain support by prioritising the needs of motorists, other plans expected to be announced next week include limits on local authorities’ abilities to levy fines from traffic cameras and restrictions on enforcing box junction infringements.
Continue reading...Green campaigners relieved after last week’s decision to delay ban on petrol and diesel cars
The government has confirmed the majority of new cars sold in Britain will have to be electric by 2030 despite Rishi Sunak’s decision last week to delay a ban on petrol and diesel cars by five years.
Under the long-awaited zero emissions vehicle (ZEV) mandate, 80% of sales must be fully electric, or another alternative, within seven years. Carmakers would have to pay £15,000 for each petrol or diesel engine above that threshold, the Department for Transport said on Thursday.
Continue reading...Former minister had voted with the opposition in a motion of no-confidence against Green co-leader Lorna Slater
The veteran MSP Fergus Ewing has been suspended from the Scottish National party for a week.
The Inverness and Nairn MSP – the son of the late SNP trailblazer Winnie Ewing – has been an outspoken critic of the party’s leadership in the past year.
Continue reading...Sweet Briar Marshes has been created in heart of city with fewer public footpaths than any other in England and Wales
Hidden between a hectic ring road, a chemicals factory and housing estates are 36 hectares (90 acres) of “a green beating heart, pumping nature” into the surrounding city.
Traffic noise and sirens are muffled by ancient oaks, while late-season dragonflies sweep over hawthorns laden with blood-red haws as a kestrel hovers, head down, searching for field voles hiding in the tufty grasses.
Continue reading...Watchdog says there is insufficient evidence Lord Chadlington breached rules over £50m in contracts
A Conservative peer has been cleared of breaking lobbying rules for a second time by the House of Lords watchdog over introducing a company that was awarded government PPE contracts worth £50m.
The watchdog had been asked to reopen his investigation into Lord Chadlington after it emerged that there was an exchange with the government that had not been fully provided to his first inquiry.
Continue reading...Police say teenage boy has been arrested in connection with the rush-hour stabbing
A 15-year-old girl has been stabbed to death on a busy street in south London during the morning rush hour.
The girl was pronounced dead at the scene in Wellesley Road at about 9.20am on Wednesday in front of horrified onlookers.
Continue reading...The unequal battle between major developers and cash-strapped councils means the reach of town hall enforcement officers is declining
The decision by the Royal Borough of Greenwich to say enough is enough and order the demolition of 204 homes at the Mast Quay development in south-east London casts a spotlight on one of the most unequal battles in the public realm – between major developers and town hall planners.
And it is one that often enrages the public. Greenwich’s gambit has cheered community groups who say they are feeling increasingly powerless to challenge, even with the help of the planning system, the might of developers.
Continue reading...Broadcaster says it is conducting full investigation after also suspending Fox
GB News has suspended the presenters Dan Wootton and Laurence Fox as the channel struggles to contain the fallout after misogynistic comments made on Wootton’s show.
The rightwing news channel said on Wednesday: “GB News has suspended Dan Wootton following comments made on his programme by Laurence Fox last night. This follows our decision earlier today to formally suspend Mr Fox. We are conducting a full investigation.”
Continue reading...Campaigners including Greta Thunberg had called for halt to Rosebank project involving Oslo-listed Equinor
Britain has given the go-ahead to develop the UK’s biggest untapped oilfield off Shetland, sparking outrage from environmental campaigners.
The UK oil and gas regulator’s decision to grant the Oslo-listed Equinor and the British firm Ithaca Energy permission to develop the Rosebank oil and gas field in the North Sea was condemned by the Green party MP Caroline Lucas as “the greatest act of environmental vandalism in my lifetime”.
Continue reading...Danger-to-life warning issued as first named storm of autumn damages buildings and disrupts travel
Gusts of 70mph were recorded as the first named storm of the autumn, Agnes, swept across Britain and Ireland, damaging buildings, causing travel delays and leaving homes without power.
The Met Office issued severe weather warnings covering much of the UK, where strong winds and heavy rain were expected on Wednesday evening and into Thursday.
Continue reading...Councils, police and hospitals endangering women by accidentally revealing details such as addresses, says ICO
Councils, police forces and hospitals are putting women’s lives at risk by accidentally disclosing domestic abuse victims’ addresses to perpetrators, the UK’s information watchdog has said.
John Edwards, the information commissioner, who has reprimanded seven organisations in just over a year for data breaches affecting victims of abuse, said: “This is a pattern that must stop.”
Continue reading...Coalition of experts publish action points including tackling inequality, poor housing and child poverty
Ministers must tackle poverty, poor housing and air pollution to improve England’s worsening mental health, a coalition of charities, thinktanks and staff groups has urged ministers.
Their blueprint for better mental health also includes a crackdown on racism, reforms to the benefits system and action to end the stark inequality whereby people with severe psychiatric conditions die up to 20 years sooner than the general population.
A new Child Poverty Act to banish child poverty by 2030.
The creation of a minimum income guarantee and reforming sick pay.
Action against junk food, smoking, alcohol and gambling.
The end of “hostile environment” immigration policies.
Continue reading...Lender says homes needing renovation are most in demand as people seek cheaper properties
The number of first-time buyers in the UK has fallen by more than a fifth, while homes in need of renovation are most in demand as buyers look for cheaper properties, in the latest evidence that people are struggling with higher mortgage costs.
There were 22% fewer first-time buyers between January and August compared with the same period last year, according to the mortgage lender Halifax. They still accounted for more than half (53%) of all home loans agreed in the first eight months of this year, similar to a year earlier (52%).
Continue reading...Thinktank carried out analysis as calls mount among Tory MPs for the tax to be abolished
Scrapping inheritance tax would cost the government almost £15bn a year in lost revenue by 2032, according to analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies that follows calls from Tory MPs for the main tax on inherited wealth to be abolished.
The thinktank said the latest figures from HMRC showed fewer than 4% of estates paid inheritance tax (IHT) in 2020–21, but the rapid growth in wealth among older individuals meant this number was set to rise to more than 7% over the next decade.
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