Newts can’t be ‘more protected than people who need housing’, Rayner says December 8, 2024 Angela Rayner has said the UK should not be in a situation where “newts are more protected than people” who need housing, ahead of a government shake-up of planning. The deputy Prime Minister suggested protecting the country’s wildlife should not always be prioritised over building new homes, after Sir Keir Starmer last week reiterated his [...]
Voters ‘angry’ and impatient’, Rayner admits, amid fall in Labour support December 8, 2024 Voters are angry and impatient for change, Angela Rayner has admitted, amid a fall in support for Labour in the polls and a rise for Reform UK. The deputy Prime Minister said she understood the mood of the country after what she called several “significant challenges” faced by the government in its first months in [...]
Starmer to visit Gulf states as he strives to deepen trade ties December 7, 2024 Keir Starmer will strive to strengthen trade ties with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in his first trip to the Persian Gulf as prime minister. The PM will meet UAE president Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed and Saudi Arabia’s crown prince Mohammed bin Salman on Monday, after flying to the Gulf on Sunday [...]
Keir Starmer: £500m Hitachi deal will relieve anxiety of rail workers December 7, 2024 Keir Starmer has said a deal struck by Hitachi which has given a lifeline to hundreds of jobs at a Co Durham train factory will relieve the anxiety of workers.
Keir Starmer: Planning regime ‘suffocating aspirations of working families’ December 6, 2024 Writing in the Times, Starmer said the planning system had become "increasingly ruinous" and was "suffocating the aspirations of working families".
Planning reforms have had ‘profound and hugely positive impact’, Berkeley says December 6, 2024 FTSE 100 house builder Berkeley said it was on track to meet its profit targets in 2025 as it announced a new investment strategy to help capitalise on the government’s planning reforms. The government has committed to building 1.5m new homes over the course of the parliament. To meet its target, ministers are consulting on [...]
Shock poll puts Reform UK ahead of Labour for first time, as Tories surge December 5, 2024 A new poll has put Reform UK one point ahead of the Labour Party for the first time. Research by pollsters at FindOutNow put Nigel Farage’s party on 24 per cent, one point above Labour on 23 per cent. While Kemi Badenoch’s Conservative Party came higher than both, at 26 per cent, with the Lib [...]
Calls to reform ‘beyond repair’ lobbying rules after freebie-gate December 5, 2024 The government should reform the UK’s “beyond repair” lobbying rules in a bid to rebuild public trust in politics in the wake of the freebie-gate scandal, ministers have been urged. Professional body the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) is campaigning for the government to replace the 2014 Lobbying Act with fresh legislation to close [...]
Starmer pledges to deliver ‘higher living standards’ in milestones speech December 5, 2024 Sir Keir Starmer has pledged to deliver “higher living standards” across the UK by the end of this parliament – but did not put a figure on his target. The Prime Minister aimed to flesh out his pre-election promise to kickstart economic growth, as he set out a set of new “milestones” in a major [...]
Slump in housebuilding casts doubt on government’s new homes pledge December 5, 2024 Tim Moore, economics director at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said housebuilding was suffering from a "sustained downturn".