4:33 am, April 28, 2024
Tory MP Dan Poulter defects to Labour
The shock defection of a Tory MP to Labour in anger over the NHS crisis has heaped pressure on Rishi Sunak ahead of what is already expected to be a tough week for the Prime Minister.
Dr Dan Poulter, a former health minister and working medic, on Saturday quit the Tory Party saying it is ‘failing’ the health service and that he could no longer ‘look my NHS colleagues in the eye’ as a Conservative.
He will take the Labour whip until the general election but will not be running again as the MP for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich, he wrote in the Observer.
Jeremy Hunt ‘set to hold summit to talk up London stock market’
Jeremy Hunt is set to hold a summit to attract companies to London’s stock market, it has been reported.
The Chancellor has invited the bosses of some of Britain’s most prominent private technology firms to meet on May 16 at Dorneywood, his private residence, according to Sky News.
It comes amid a dearth in stock market listings and a slew of listed companies leaving the City.
The day-long event would target fintech and biotech entrepreneurs who could turn their firms public, sources told Sky News.
Titanic watch sells for record-breaking £1.175m
A gold pocket watch that was recovered from the body of the richest man on the Titanic has sold for a record-breaking £1.175 million.
The watch was sold on Saturday to a private collector in the US at Henry Aldridge & Son in Devizes, Wiltshire, for the highest amount ever for Titanic memorabilia, the auctioneers said.
The original owner of the watch, businessman John Jacob Astor, 47, went down with the ship in 1912 after seeing new wife Madeleine onto a lifeboat.
The previous highest amount paid for Titanic artefacts was £1.1 million for a violin that was played as the ship sank – which sold at the same auction house in 2013, according to the auctioneers.
Starmer makes commitment to pension triple lock
Sir Keir Starmer has vowed to retain the pensions triple lock for at least five years if he enters Downing Street, in a pre-election pitch to older voters.
The Labour leader said pensioners “deserve certainty” as he guaranteed the triple lock would be “protected for the duration of the next parliament” under his premiership.
The triple lock refers to the commitment to raise the state pension every year in line with whichever is highest out of wage growth, inflation or 2.5%.
It has become a hallmark of successive Conservative governments since it was announced in 2010 but there has been a debate about its long-term future due the costs.
Warm weather to return from May
Grey skies and rain mean April has felt unusually cold, the Met Office said.
April has been a ‘month of two halves’, with a warm fortnight followed by chillier weather – meaning that the average temperature for the month remains above the norm, according to forecasters.
Despite this, a lack of sunshine and persistent rain may have contributed to it feeling colder than expected for springtime, the Met Office has suggested.
Forecasters expect warmer temperatures to return from Wednesday, with south-east England set to enjoy highs of up to around 20C.
Gaza international aid effort could see British boots on the ground
British boots could be put on the ground in Gaza as part of international efforts to deliver vital aid to the war-torn enclave by sea.
The UK Government is considering deploying troops to land humanitarian supplies from a temporary pier currently being built by the US military, the BBC reported on Saturday, citing unnamed Whitehall sources.
This could involve driving trucks carrying aid from landing vessels via a causeway to the shore, where it would be deposited and picked up by aid agencies.
Weather outlook
Today will see heavy rain and brisk winds moving north across many eastern and central parts of the country, according to the Met Office, and these will mostly clear into the North Sea by late afternoon.
The west will find it drier and brighter with sunny spells and scattered showers throughout the day, and it will still be rather cool for most.
A mostly dry evening with clear spells and lighter winds will be experienced tonight although a band of showery rain arrives in the west through the early hours with colder winds.
