Labour criticises ‘unprecedented’ refusal to allow debate time for motion of no confidence in Boris Johnson
A bitter row has broken out between Labour and the government over Keir Starmer’s plan to table a motion of no confidence in Boris Johnson’s government.
Labour reacted with fury after Downing Street refused to allow parliamentary time for a motion it had tabled, expressing no confidence in the government under Boris Johnson.
Continue reading...Most of toymaker’s staff in Moscow to lose jobs and partnership with retailer to be wound up due to invasion of Ukraine
Lego is to cease all operations in Russia “indefinitely” after pausing deliveries to its 81 stores in the country in March.
The world’s largest toymaker said it was ending the employment of most of its staff in Moscow and terminating a partnership with Inventive Retail Group, the company that runs stores on its behalf in the country.
Continue reading...A lack of recent rainfall forces part of the Leeds-Liverpool canal to shut while 5 million face a hosepipe ban
Boat owners on the UK’s longest canal will not be able to move their boats next week, due to a water shortage, while 5 million people have been warned they may be soon facing a hosepipe ban.
Stretches of the Leeds-Liverpool canal will be closed during periods next week after a lack of rainfall has led to low levels in some Yorkshire and Lancashire reservoirs, leaving canal locks unable to be filled.
Continue reading...Analysis: Investors often turn to US currency in times of uncertainty and there are plenty of reasons for them to be jittery
It is two decades since the euro was last trading below $1.00 (£0.84) against the US dollar. Now the single currency is once again teetering on the brink of parity.
There are a host of reasons why, although the prompt for the most recent slide in the currency has been the fear Europe faces an energy crunch this winter.
Continue reading...Photos dating back to 1800s made free to allow telling of black history stories beyond enslavement and colonisation
A collection of almost 30,000 rarely seen images of the black diaspora in the UK and the US, dating from the 19th century to the present, has been launched as part of an educational initiative to raise awareness of the history of black people in the UK.
The Black History & Culture Collection includes more than 20 categories of images including politics, hair, education, female empowerment and LGBTQ+.
Continue reading...Critics accuse ministers of introducing a ‘scab charter’ that risks public safety and workers’ rights
Ministers have approved controversial plans to allow agency workers to replace striking workers, voting through the regulations on Monday night by 289 votes to 202.
While the business minister, Jane Hunt, said the change, which was accelerated as a result of the ongoing rail strikes, was needed to remove the “outdated blanket ban” on using agency workers to cover official industrial action, critics say the measure is akin to a “scab charter”.
Continue reading...Almost two-fifths of children in north-east live in poverty after a decade of decline as campaigners warn of worse to come
The north-east of England has the highest rate of child poverty of anywhere in the UK, for the first time overtaking London as the nation’s hotspot for hardship and deprivation, new analysis shows.
Although the latest UK-wide figures show child poverty rates overall fell slightly in the first year of the pandemic due to the temporary £20 weekly uplift to universal credit, detailed breakdown shows child poverty continued to rise in areas like Sunderland, Newcastle and Middlesbrough.
Continue reading...Boost in demand in June on back of jubilee celebrations fails to prevent third successive fall
Britain’s retailers are suffering the sharpest drop in spending since the depths of the coronavirus pandemic as hard-pressed consumers tighten their belts as a result of soaring inflation.
The monthly health check from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) reported a third successive drop in activity as the cost of living crisis continued to bite.
Continue reading...Police order dispersal of crowds awaiting rapper at Cafe Koko after numbers threaten public safety
A meet and greet scheduled in Camden for Nicki Minaj had to be cancelled due to overcrowding.
Adoring fans descended upon Cafe Koko in their droves after the rapper took to social media to reveal she would be at the venue from noon on Monday.
Continue reading...Chair of 1922 Committee says candidates will now need 20 MP backers to enter, in move to speed up process
Britain’s new prime minister will be announced on 5 September, it has been announced, as the starting gun was fired on a Tory leadership race that will see the hopefuls whittled down to two by Thursday.
With just two contenders so far having the support of the 20 Tory MPs needed to get them on to the ballot, the nine remaining hopefuls were scrambling to shore up support by Tuesday night before knockout votes begin on Wednesday afternoon, with the first results announced later that day.
Continue reading...Ex-chancellor to kick off his Tory leadership campaign as speculation grows over who could back him
Rishi Sunak will kick off his leadership campaign on Tuesday with a promise to grip inflation and lower taxes, as speculation mounted over which candidates could swing in behind the former chancellor.
Sunak will promise “a return to traditional Conservative economic values – and that means honesty and responsibility, not fairytales.”
Continue reading...Latest updates: joint executive secretary of 1922 committee says process of choosing new PM will be announced today
According to Sky News, supporters of Priti Patel, the home secretary, are saying there isa a “strong but not 100% chance” that she will declare herself as a candidate later today.
Starmer says all the Tory candidates making “wild” promises should say how they will fund them: by cuts, or by borrowing, or from the magic money tree?
Continue reading...Tory MPs are ambivalent on the issue and there is uncertainty over what a caretaker government can do
Channel 4’s privatisation could be dropped by the next prime minister, with plans to sell the channel unlikely to be published before September.
Boris Johnson had already signed off on proposals to sell the publicly owned broadcaster, and the culture secretary, Nadine Dorries, had been preparing to push the law authorising the change through parliament in the autumn.
Continue reading...Leak shows how the former Labour minister used his access to pro-Kremlin oligarchs, including some now under sanctions
Even before Uber’s top executives arrived in Davos in January 2016, its bosses were trying to secure invitations to the exclusive party hosted by the billionaire Russian metals magnate Oleg Deripaska. Famous for its free-flowing vodka, the event was an invitation-only, after-hours fixture of the world economic forum, the annual gathering of corporate leaders and politicians in the Swiss Alps.
Fortunately for Uber, it had hired someone who could pull strings. “Put them on list at door,” ordered Peter Mandelson, according to messages in the Uber files data leak.
Continue reading...Rescue services urge caution when swimming as boy’s body recovered at Dawber Delph, Appley Bridge
A 16-year-old boy has drowned in a flooded quarry in Lancashire, as rescue services urged caution when swimming in open water during the heatwave.
The teenager, who has not yet been named, got into difficulty on Saturday night at Dawber Delph, Appley Bridge, Lancashire constabulary said.
Continue reading...Airport asks airlines including British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and Air France to remove flights
Heathrow airport cancelled more than 60 flights on Monday and warned that it may have to ask airlines to remove more as it struggles to cope with the rebound in travel demand after the pandemic.
The flights were spread across Terminals 3 and 5, with British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and Air France among the airlines affected.
Continue reading...English sprinter Jonnie Peacock edited out of promotional content, along with footage of Oscar Pistorius, after complaint
The Paralympic athlete Jonnie Peacock is among several public figures who have asked to be removed from the promotional video released by the Conservative MP Penny Mordaunt as she launched her party leadership bid.
On Sunday morning, Mordaunt, the MP for Portsmouth North, posted the video on her Twitter account with the caption “Our leadership has to change. It needs to become a little less about the leader and a lot more about the ship.”
Continue reading...Staff absences adding to workforce problems caused by Brexit, pension disputes and exhaustion, says expert
Hospitals are battling staff absences, exhaustion, persistent backlogs and problems discharging patients in the wake of the latest wave of Covid, the Guardian has found, as infection levels continue to rise across the UK.
According to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics, an estimated 2.71 million people in the UK had Covid in the last week of June, an 18% rise on the week before. In England alone, the most recent figures suggest about one in 25 people had a Covid infection.
Continue reading...Follow all the political developments as more candidates join the race to succeed Boris Johnson as Tory party leader and prime minister
Sajid Javid, who resigned as health secretary five days ago, is on BBC’s Sunday Morning discussing his leadership bid.
He says he didn’t want to give up the “very important” post and denies that his resignation was a move coordinated with former chancellor Rishi Sunak.
Continue reading...Union organisation criticises Tory ‘litany of failures on workers’ rights’ five years on from Taylor review
The Trades Union Congress has criticised the Conservative party for “a litany of failures on workers’ rights” as it published analysis showing a rise in insecure jobs in the five years since the government pledged to make work in the UK fairer.
At least 3.7 million people in Britain are in insecure jobs, up from 3.6m in 2021, out of a total workforce of 34 million, according to analysis of government data by the TUC. That compares to 3.2 million in late 2016, before the publication of the Taylor review, a landmark government-backed report on work in the UK.
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