6:55 am, March 31, 2024
Sunak and Starmer issue Easter messages with eye on election to come
Rishi Sunak said Easter is a time to ‘pause and reflect’ while Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said it was a time of ‘optimism and new beginnings’.
The Easter messages issued by the party leaders come just weeks before a set of local polls on May 2 which could give an early indication of Tory and Labour prospects at the general election.
Sir Keir, who hopes to be in No 10 by the end of the year, used his message to say that people would use Easter to think about ‘our future and how things can change for the better’.
Tories set for worst election result, major poll suggests
Rishi Sunak’s Tories could be reduced to fewer than 100 MPs at the general election, a new poll has suggested.
The 15,000-person poll was used to create a seat-by-seat breakdown, which indicated the Conservatives would be wiped out in Scotland and Wales and hold just 98 seats in England.
The survey put Labour on 45% with a 19-point lead over the Tories on 26%.
🔥NEW BEST FOR BRITAIN MEGA-POLL: The Tories face electoral OBLIVION at the next election under Rishi Sunak. Read more: https://t.co/Ykn9hdf1FI pic.twitter.com/6GLx8pZdB4
— Best for Britain (@BestForBritain) March 30, 2024
British-made compact hydrogen fuel cell aims to make zero-emission mobility a reality
A smaller and more powerful hydrogen fuel cell system has been revealed for the passenger car market.
Loughborough-based fuel cell developer and manufacturer Intelligent Energy has unveiled its new IE-Drive system that can produce electrical power of an equivalent 157bhp – one of the highest of any single stack hydrogen platforms for passenger vehicles.
However, the system’s real focus is its size, which is why the platform is 30 per cent smaller than other fuel cell systems, but enables a cruising speed of 80mph in peak temperatures and 55mph going up steep inclines.
Spring clock change can impact investors response to company earnings – study
The spring clock change significantly affects how investors respond to companies that reveal unexpected levels of earnings, new research shows.
The study suggests that sleep disruption resulting from the one-hour change means financiers underreact when firms announce higher earnings than analysts predicted.
A study conducted at the University of Edinburgh’s business school says when a so-called earnings surprise coincides with the spring reset, when clocks go forward an hour, an affected company’s stock return typically drifts towards what seems to be the correct valuation in the post-announcement period.
Saturday’s Car Dealer headlines you might have missed
- Used car dealer appoints liquidators after racking up eye-watering debts of £430,000
- Car dealers back calls for motor trader licences amid Trading Standards clampdown
Rower criticises ‘poo in the water’ after Thames Boat Race
A University of Oxford rower has criticised conditions in the River Thames during the Boat Race, saying: ‘It would be a lot nicer if there wasn’t as much poo in the water.’
Research earlier this week found high levels of E. coli were in the part of the river used for the annual race between the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge.
All crews were given safety guidance on a range of preventative measures, from covering up scrapes with waterproof plasters to ensuring rowers avoided swallowing any water that splashed up from the Thames.
AT&T contacting 73 million people about theft of personal data
Telecommunications giant AT&T has begun notifying millions of customers about the theft of personal data recently discovered online.
The company said on Saturday that a dataset found on the so-called dark web contains information such as social security numbers for about 7.6 million current AT&T account holders and 65.4 million former account holders.
Officials said they have already reset the passcodes of current users and will be communicating with account holders whose sensitive personal information was compromised.
Heavy rain and flooding disrupt Easter weekend events
Heavy rain over recent days has led to flooding cause disruption to Easter weekend events.
The Met Office said more rain was forecast over the bank holiday weekend, with travel disruption likely as a band of heavy rain moves across England and Wales on Monday.
The Environment Agency issued 17 warnings for expected flooding across parts of Wiltshire and Gloucestershire on Saturday morning.
