6:38 am, July 17, 2024
Labour to ‘take brakes off Britain’ with first King’s Speech
Labour will ‘take the brakes off Britain’ when it unveils its first King’s Speech on Wednesday, Sir Keir Starmer has said.
The new government is set to present a ‘packed’ legislative agenda focused on improving living standards by driving economic growth, the first of the prime minister’s five ‘missions for national renewal’.
The address – the first Speech from the Throne under a Labour government for 14 years – is expected to contain more than 35 Bills and draft Bills with an emphasis on improving transport, creating jobs and accelerating the building of houses and infrastructure as Labour seeks to escape Britain’s recent cycle of low growth.
Harris and Starmer expected to discuss Northern Ireland, Gaza and Ukraine
Taoiseach Simon Harris and prime minister Sir Keir Starmer are expected to discuss Northern Ireland as well as the situations in Gaza and Ukraine during their first face-to-face meeting since the UK general election.
Harris said the meeting would also be used to discuss the shared aim of a ‘reset in British-Irish relations’.
The Irish premier is travelling to Chequers where he will meet Sir Keir over dinner.
Johnson says Trump would help ‘protect democracy against aggression’
Boris Johnson has insisted Donald Trump would help to ‘protect democracy against aggression’ after discussing Ukraine in a meeting with the Republican presidential nominee amid concerns about his threats to weaken US support for Kyiv.
The former prime minister also said Trump had responded with ‘sheer indomitability’ following the assassination attempt against him at the weekend.
The two men met on the fringes of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for around half an hour, over which period Johnson said Ukraine was discussed “at length”.
UK inflation to fall below target for first time in three years, economists say
The fight against inflation in the UK could see it fall below the Bank of England’s target level for the first time in more than three years, economists have predicted.
New data released from the Office for National Statistics on Wednesday will reveal how fast prices were rising across the UK last month.
It comes after inflation returned to the Bank’s 2% target in May, after nearly three years of it being above target largely as a result of soaring food and energy prices.
Gething quits as Welsh first minister following resignations from his government
Vaughan Gething is quitting as Welsh first minister after four members of his government resigned and demanded he leave office.
He said he had ‘taken the difficult decision to begin the process of stepping down as leader of the Welsh Labour Party and, as a result, first minister’ and will now discuss a timetable for the election of his successor.
Gething lost a vote of no confidence in the Senedd following rows over his decision to sack former minister Hannah Blythyn and a furore about donations he took while running to be Welsh Labour leader, while Labour’s co-operation deal in the Senedd with Plaid Cymru has collapsed.
Jay Slater’s mother says ‘our hearts are broken’ after court confirms death
The mother of British teenager Jay Slater has said ‘our hearts are broken’ after a Spanish court confirmed his death and said his multiple injuries were consistent with a fall in a rocky area.
The Canary Islands High Court of Justice confirmed the identity of the body with the use of fingerprint technology after the remains were found near the village of Masca in Tenerife on Monday.
A spokesman for the court said the post-mortem examination report determined that the injuries he sustained were consistent with an accidental fall.
Tuesday Car Dealer headlines you might have missed
- ‘Shared services’ with Hyundai helping to boost Genesis’ growth – UK boss
- Former Rolls-Royce head of design Ian Cameron stabbed to death at home
- Podcast: ‘I once locked an annoying colleague in the boot of a car – but all was not what it seemed!’
- Auto Trader issues ‘Highly Rated’ accreditation to car dealers with best customer service
- More Ford workers balloted over strike action as union accuses Blue Oval of ‘bullying’
Avanti West Coast summoned to account for ‘woeful’ service
A railway boss has been summoned by the Transport Secretary to account for the company’s ‘woeful’ service, the government said.
Louise Haigh demanded ‘immediate action’ from Avanti West Coast in a meeting with its managing director, Andy Mellors, after official figures showed its passengers faced some of the worst travel disruption in the country.
The talks on Tuesday marked the start of a ‘rail performance’ investigation in which the ‘worst performing’ train firms will be called in by the Department for Transport (DfT) as cancellations reach record highs.
Nissan’s Nismo performance arm returns to Europe with Ariya-based model
Nissan has confirmed that its performance car tuning arm Nismo will be coming back to Europe with a go-faster version of the firm’s Ariya electric SUV.
The new model will get a series of performance upgrades to help separate it from the standard car, including a tuned version of the car’s e-4orce system for better torque distribution and overall performance, as well as performance tyres and revised version of the car’s electronic stability control system. Nismo says that the brakes have been re-engineered for ‘additional precision’, too.
Nissan has also stated that ‘more product updates’ will be released later this year, with further details about the Ariya’s performance figures and mechanical upgrades expected to be announced then.
Weather
Showers in northwest Scotland will clear leaving a bright day for all of the country, reports BBC Weather. There may be the odd shower but these will be isolated; temperatures will be slightly higher at 24 degrees.
A mostly dry night with increasing cloud cover. Showers will arrive over western coasts later in the night.
