6:54 am, November 23, 2022
Sunak delays housebuilding targets due to Tory rebellion – reports
Rishi Sunak has reportedly been forced to delay planning reforms as he faced a significant rebellion by Conservative MPs pushing for an end to mandatory housebuilding targets.
The prime minister was due to face the first major test of his leadership next Monday when MPs were set to vote on the flagship Levelling Up Bill.
But more than 40 backbenchers and former cabinet ministers have signed an amendment to the Bill that would ban councils from taking housing targets into account when deciding on planning applications. The government on Tuesday night appeared to pull the vote, blaming the congested parliamentary timetable, according to the Telegraph and i newspapers.
But Labour accused Sunak of ‘running scared of your own backbenchers’.
Supreme Court to deliver judgment in indyref2 case
The UK’s highest court is set to deliver its judgment on whether the Scottish Parliament can legislate for a second independence referendum.
A panel of five justices is expected to deliver its decision at 9.45am on Wednesday.
The case was brought to the court after first minister Nicola Sturgeon set out plans to hold a second vote on independence on October 19, 2023.
King pays tribute to late Queen and her ties with South Africa at state banquet
The King has paid a touching tribute to the late Queen and her ties with South Africa as he hosted the nation’s president, saying she admired ‘its people, its vibrancy, natural beauty and diversity’.
Charles spoke movingly and with humour about his mother’s long relationship with the Commonwealth nation during a banquet speech to mark South African president Cyril Ramaphosa’s two-day state visit to the UK.
The monarch also mentioned the sometimes troubled past relationship between the two nations that ‘provoke profound sorrow’, but said ‘we must acknowledge the wrongs which have shaped our past if we are to unlock the power of our common future’.
Railway workers to stage series of strikes in December and January
Railway workers are to stage a series of 48-hour strikes in December and January in the long-running dispute over jobs, pay and conditions.
More than 40,000 members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union across Network Rail and 14 train operating companies will strike on December 13, 14, 16 and 17 and on January 3, 4, 6 and 7. There will also be an overtime ban across the railways from December 18 until January 2, meaning RMT be taking industrial action for four weeks.
A statement said: ‘Despite every effort made by our negotiators, it is clear that the Government is directly interfering with our attempts to reach a settlement. The union suspended previous strike action in good faith to allow for intensive negotiations to resolve the dispute. Yet Network Rail have failed to make an improved offer on jobs, pay and conditions for our members during the last two weeks of talks.’
Festive Mini returns with 3,000 twinkling lights to ‘bring joy’ this Christmas
The driver of a Mini decorated in 3,000 twinkling lights hopes to ‘bring little moments of joy to people’s lives’ this Christmas and raise over £10,000 for charity.
Nicholas Martin, 33, is celebrating his fifth year behind the wheel of his ‘Festive Mini’ but has gone to new lengths to create an illuminative show with thousands of app-controlled, battery-powered lights – each one customisable to generate different light patterns, messages, and animations.
With each individual light available to sponsor for £2, Martin will take to the streets of his local town Bracknell, in Berkshire, in the run-up to Christmas with an aim to support The Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Trust and Duchenne UK.
Martin first started driving his decorated Mini in 2018 ‘as a bit of fun;. He continued to spread festive cheer throughout the Christmas Covid lockdowns for the next two years, raising £6,000 and £8,000 in 2020 and 2021, respectively. Mini UK were in touch to provide him with an electric Mini in 2021, keeping the project ‘economically friendly’.
Matt Hancock broke rules on post-ministerial jobs, parliament watchdog says
Matt Hancock has broken government rules by not consulting parliament’s anti-corruption watchdog before appearing on I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!, the body’s chairman has ruled.
Lord Pickles, the Tory chair of the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba) – which advises on post-ministerial jobs, informed cabinet office minister Oliver Dowden of the breach in a letter on Tuesday.
Any disciplinary action would be decided by the Cabinet Office, but Lord Pickles said he believed further action would be ‘disproportionate’.
Tuesday Car Dealer headlines you might have missed
- Used car dealer Gotham Motors speaks out after ejecting BBC camera crew from showroom
- Revealed: Used cars most likely to pass – and fail – an MOT
- Dealers say used EVs are too expensive, new research shows
- Automotive industry is clubbing together to remove stigma of mental health issues
- European new car registrations jumped by over 14 per cent in October
- Winning a Car Dealer Used Car Award shows that a company can be trusted, previous winner tells Car Dealer
Pensioners start to receive up to £600 from Wednesday to help with energy bills
More than 11.6m pensioners will start to receive up to £600 from Wednesday to help with their energy bills this winter.
Winter Fuel Payments, which have been boosted this year by an additional £300 per household Pensioner Cost of Living payment, will land in bank accounts over the next two months.
The vast majority of payments will be made automatically, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) said.
Manston migrant processing centre now empty
The Manston migrant processing centre is now completely empty after concerns it had become dangerously overcrowded.
The holding site in Kent for people who have arrived in the UK after crossing the Channel has been cleared, with everyone who was there now moved into hotels, Home Office sources confirmed.
It is understood the facility remains open and will continue to be used as needed to carry out initial checks on migrants as more arrive. At its peak earlier this month, 4,000 people were at the site – at least double its 1,600 capacity – in what was branded a ‘breach of humane conditions’.
Weather outlook
A band of heavy rain to move northwards across the UK today, starting in the south this morning and reaching north-east Scotland by the afternoon. Sunny spells and blustery showers behind it, reports BBC Weather.
Showers will linger tonight for most western areas, Northern Ireland and in the far north. Windy in the south-west.
