Quebec moves to end Canadian elected officials’ oath to King Charles

‘It is a relic from the past’: strong opposition to oath from three political parties of French-speaking province

Quebec’s premier, François Legault, said that his government would introduce legislation next week to end elected officials’ required oath to Britain’s King Charles, as pressure mounts in the Canadian province to cut such ties with the monarchy.

Fresh legislation from the governing Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) follows a separate bill introduced on Thursday by the left-leaning Québec Solidaire party that would allow elected officials to just take an oath to the people of Quebec.

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Polls open in Chester byelection in first test for Rishi Sunak – UK politics live

Latest updates: Labour party expects to retain seat but Tories will be pleased to win above 20% of vote, says election expert

YouGov have published the results of its latest poll on voting intention, showing that support for the Conservatives has dropped by a further three percentage points, and Labour have dropped by one percentage point, though the party retains a strong lead. Right-wing populist party Reform have gained four percentage points, though support remains low, at 9%. The other parties have stayed stable.

A poll in Scotland suggests that more people support Scottish independence than want to remain part of the United Kingdom.

The research found that 49% of Scottish respondents said they would vote Yes and 45% said they would vote No if there were to be a referendum tomorrow on whether Scotland should be an independent country, with the remainder saying they do not know.

Redfield & Wilton Strategies carried out the poll on November 26-27, days after the UK Supreme Court ruled another independence referendum cannot be held without Westminster’s consent.

Support for independence was higher than a comparable poll on 18 September last year, when 44% of respondents said they would vote Yes while 47% said they would vote No.

The latest poll, of 1,000 Scottish voters, also found 46% said they would support a referendum on Scottish independence being held in the next year, while 43% would oppose one, 9% said they would neither support nor oppose the prospect, and 2% said they did not know.

SNP depute leader Keith Brown said:

This poll shows growing support for what the people of Scotland expressed in the 2021 election, they want a choice to become an independent nation.

The chaos at Westminster in recent months has tanked the UK economy, accelerated inflation and crippled household budgets with soaring mortgages, all from successive Tory governments that Scotland didn’t elect.

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Two men and a woman bailed after two babies found dead in Wales

Trio were arrested in Bridgend at the weekend on suspicion of concealing the birth of a child

Three people have been bailed in connection with the discovery of the bodies of two babies found dead in a house in Bridgend.

Two men, aged 37 and 47, and a 29-year-old woman were arrested on Saturday on suspicion of concealing the birth of a child after the discovery in Wildmill, a 55-year-old Radburn estate on the outskirts of the Welsh town.

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Emergency care issues in England contributed to 200 deaths last week, says medical chief

Head of Royal College of Emergency Medicine says lengthy waits forcing ambulances to be ‘wards on wheels’

More than 200 people who died last week in England are estimated to have been affected by problems with urgent and emergency care, according to the president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine.

Dr Adrian Boyle, who is also a consultant in emergency medicine, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that a failure to address problems discharging patients to social care was a “massive own goal”.

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Ambulance waiting times in England three times longer in some rural areas

Disparity between rural and urban areas uncovered by Lib Dem FoI requests to 10 ambulance trusts

Patients in some rural areas wait almost three times longer for emergency ambulances than those in towns and cities, while people with potential heart attacks or strokes now face a one hour 40-minute average wait in one area, statistics have shown.

The disparities were uncovered by freedom of information requests by the Liberal Democrats to England’s 10 ambulance trusts, which in turn covered waiting times for 227 areas across the country.

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UK house prices fall at fastest pace since 2020 amid fallout from mini-budget

Nationwide warns inflation and rising interest rates will weigh down housing market

UK house prices have fallen at their fastest rate for two and a half years as the fallout from Liz Truss’s disastrous mini-budget put buyers off according to Nationwide, which warned inflation and rising interest rates would weigh on the market in the coming months.

The price of an average home dropped 1.4% to £263,788 in November, according to the lender’s house price index, accelerating a slowdown that saw prices fall 0.9% in October. It was the third monthly fall in a row, and the biggest drop since June 2020.

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Nature calls! We’re looking for children to write for the Guardian

Young Country Diary is back, and taking pieces from children about the natural world in winter

Once again, the Young Country Diary series is open for submissions! Every three months, as the UK enters a new season, we ask you to send us a piece written by a child aged 8-14.

The article needs to be about a recent encounter they’ve had with nature – whether it’s climbing a tree, a chilly birdwatching trip, or watching a big beast like a red deer.

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Hong Kong withholds British lawyer’s visa, delaying Jimmy Lai trial

Hong Kong’s immigration department withheld Timothy Owen KC’s application for an extension of his work visa on Thursday

Hong Kong has temporarily blocked a top British human rights lawyer from representing jailed pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai, in a trial stymied by delays and calls for an intervention from Beijing.

British King’s Counsel Timothy Owen was set to represent Lai, the founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily, who has been in jail on protest-related offences since his high-profile arrest in 2020.

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Rishi Sunak faces first electoral test as Chester votes in byelection

Vote was triggered by Labour MP’s resignation and is first byelection under current prime minister

The first Westminster byelection since the resignation of Boris Johnson and Liz Truss and the financial fallout from the mini-budget takes place on Thursday.

Polls are set to close at 10pm in the City of Chester in the first electoral test for Rishi Sunak.

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Conditions at Manston asylum centre prompt torture monitor visit

Council of Europe’s ‘rapid reaction visit’ followed reports of diphtheria outbreak and squalid conditions

Conditions for small boat arrivals at the Manston reception centre in Kent have sparked international concern and triggered a “rapid reaction” visit from European torture monitors in the last few days.

A seven-strong delegation from the Council of Europe’s Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment Committee carried out a the visit to Manston from 25-28 November due to concerns over conditions there.

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North of England mayors urge ministers to tackle rail misery

Five metro mayors meet transport secretary saying action needed to avoid ‘Christmas chaos’

Mayors in the north of England have called for immediate government action to tackle continuing rail misery, warning time is running out to avoid a Christmas of chaos.

The five metro mayors for Greater Manchester, Liverpool City Region, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire and North of Tyne met Mark Harper, the transport secretary, in offices near to Manchester Piccadilly station on Wednesday.

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Gang leader tried to bribe Channel crossing victims’ relatives, court hears

Harem Ahmed Abwbaker is accused of being complicit in crossing that resulted in deaths of more than 20 people

An alleged “right-hand man” in a people-trafficking gang offered money to the families of migrants who drowned trying to cross the Channel in a dinghy to stay silent, a court has heard.

Harem Ahmed Abwbaker, 32, was alleged to be one of two main figures in an organised criminal gang thought to be connected to the crossing which resulted in the deaths of more than 20 people last winter.

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Who is royal aide Lady Susan Hussey?

Former lady-in-waiting stepped down from palace role after incident in which she asked guest where she ‘really came from’

Lady Susan Hussey has been a pivotal figure in the royal family for decades, serving as one of Queen’s Elizabeth II’s lady-in-waiting for more than 60 years.

She was the late monarch’s longest-serving lady-in-waiting with the title Woman of the Bedchamber and is also a godmother to the Prince of Wales, but on Wednesday stepped down from her palace role and apologised after a black charity founder at a reception was left feeling traumatised after Hussey questioned her repeatedly about where she “really came from”.

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MoJ requests urgent use of 400 police cells for male prisoners

Prisons minister writes to police chiefs to establish Operation Safeguard due to lack of space in men’s prisons

Dominic Raab has been accused of presiding over a “foolish and unrealistic” prisons policy after his department was forced to request the emergency use of 400 police cells for inmates for the first time in 14 years.

Ministers blamed the recent barristers’ strike for an “acute and sudden increase in the prison population” of 800 in the last two months – a claim that was challenged by charities, MPs and unions.

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UK imposes fresh round of sanctions on Russian officials

Foreign Office targets 22 officials, including Denis Manturov, deputy prime minister responsible for troop supplies

The UK has announced a fresh round of sanctions against 22 Russians, including those the Foreign Office says were involved in enlisting criminals to fight in Ukraine.

James Cleverly, the foreign secretary, said on Wednesday his department would target a new set of officials, including Denis Manturov, the deputy prime minister, who is responsible for troop equipment supplies.

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Ofgem tells energy network firms they must invest without increasing bills

New electricity price controls from 2023 to 2028 will keep costs to customers at about £100 a year

The operators of Great Britain’s local energy networks will be forced to spend more of their profits on investing to future-proof the country’s electricity grid, after the regulator, Ofgem, said it would not allow any rises in household bills.

In a new set of price controls that will run from 2023 to 2028, the energy watchdog said it would keep costs to customers unchanged at about £100 a year.

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NHS England ad campaign hopes to change behaviours and relieve service

Exclusive: The Help Us Help You campaign by M&C Saatchi, worth up to £28.6m, encourages people to cut down on in-person GP visits

Plans have been drawn up to avoid the NHS being overwhelmed this winter by encouraging patients to “behave in ways they’ve not experienced before” and cut down on in-person GP visits, the Guardian can reveal.

An advertising campaign devised by M&C Saatchi, awarded a contract by NHS England worth up to £28.6m, suggested ways people could be encouraged to settle for a virtual appointment or visit a pharmacist instead.

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Wednesday briefing: The (un)intended consequences of voter ID

In today’s newsletter: Why a purported solution to concerns about voter fraud may create a whole set of new problems instead. An electoral systems expert explains how

Good morning. It’s a simple enough proposition: ask people to show photo ID if they want to vote. The government says that a new law coming into effect next year will ensure the integrity of elections, and reinforce public trust in British democracy. But others say the reality is a lot more complicated than that.

The strongest critics of the Elections Act argue that, far from being an attempt to secure the voting system, it is a “shameless voter-suppression bill” – and, given there was only one conviction for voter impersonation at the 2017 election, totally unnecessary in any case.

Health | Researchers have hailed a new era of Alzheimer’s therapies after a clinical trial confirmed that a drug slows cognitive decline in patients with early stages of the disease. Read Ian Sample’s recent feature on why lecanemab could lead to drugs that offer better and better control of Alzheimer’s.

Census | Census results revealing that England is no longer a majority-Christian country have sparked calls for an end to the church’s role in parliament and schools, while Leicester and Birmingham became the first UK cities with “minority majorities”.

Local government | A Tory-led council has admitted a series of disastrous investments caused it to run up an unprecedented deficit of nearly £500m and brought it to the brink of bankruptcy. Thurrock has appealed to the government for an emergency bailout and warned that it will have to push through a drastic programme of cuts.

Channel crossings | A man has been arrested in the UK in connection with the deaths of at least 27 people who drowned while trying to cross the Channel in a dinghy a year ago. Harem Ahmed Abwbaker, 32, is accused of being a member of an organised crime gang behind the disastrous crossing in November 2021.

China | China has sent university students home as part of an attempt to disperse protesters angry at zero-Covid policies, as the country’s top security body called for a crackdown on “hostile forces”. Authorities also announced plans to step up vaccination of older people.

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Census says 39% of Muslims live in most deprived areas of England and Wales

Campaigners urge policymakers to act on ‘cycle of poverty’ entrapping generations of British muslims

Campaigners have urged policymakers to act on the “cycle of poverty” entrapping generations of British Muslims, as the latest census shows that 39% of Muslims are now living in the most deprived areas of England and Wales.

The proportion of people who identify as Muslim has risen by 1.2 million in 10 years, bringing the Muslim population to 3.9 million in 2021, the census shows. Overall, Muslims now make up 6.5% of the population in England and Wales, up from 4.9% in 2011.

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Poorer students over £1,000 worse off this year, warns IFS

Raising maintenance loans in England in line with forecasts, not actual inflation, could cause ‘significant hardship this winter’

England’s poorest students will be more than £1,000 worse off this academic year than the last, according to a new analysis that warns of “significant hardship for many this winter”.

According to the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), the reduction – which means students from the poorest families will be £125 out of pocket each month – is due to the falling value of maintenance loans, which students take out to cover their living costs.

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