6:39 am, May 15, 2023
Braverman to push for lower migration at conservative gathering
Suella Braverman will argue that there is ‘no good reason’ the UK cannot train its own workforce of lorry drivers and fruit pickers, in a speech that will stress the need for overall immigration to the UK to come down.
The home secretary will be among the star turns at the National Conservatism Conference later on Monday, which comes only days after a similar gathering of Tory MPs and grassroots members in Bournemouth.
Her speech, which will be seen as a warning to Cabinet colleagues against relaxing immigration visa rules in a bid to boost growth, comes as Rishi Sunak grapples with signs of discontent and division with his party’s ranks.
Community clinics will cut NHS waiting lists, vows Sunak
New community diagnostic centres will ensure the government target of cutting waiting lists is met, Rishi Sunak has said.
The PM has hailed the community clinics as a key plank in his efforts to drive down NHS waits, with six new centres opening across the east of England, the Midlands and the south east.
More than 100 are already being used across England, with over 30 more set to open before the end of the year. Amid ongoing pressure on the NHS, ministers are hoping the ‘one stop shops’ for tests, checks and scans can relieve the strain.
Ministers braced for fresh industrial unrest as nurses gather in Brighton
Ministers are facing the possibility of fresh industrial unrest, as teachers and senior doctors prepare to ballot for strike action and hundreds of nurses gather for the Royal College of Nursing annual congress.
It comes as RCN general secretary Pat Cullen called on health secretary Steve Barclay to restart pay negotiations with a proposed rise in double digits.
Members of RCN, one of the two unions to turn down the recent government pay offer to NHS staff, will gather in Brighton as the long-running dispute continues. Union members will begin a new ballot for strike action on May 23 after the existing six-month mandate ran out at the start of the month.
France pledges more military aid to Ukraine as Macron meets with Zelensky
France pledged additional military aid for Ukraine on Sunday as French president Emmanuel Macron and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky met in a surprise meeting in Paris.
Macron has offered light tanks, armoured vehicles, training for soldiers and other assistance as the Ukrainians gear up for a counteroffensive against Russian forces.
Zelensky and Macron met for about three hours at the French presidential Elysee Palace — an encounter kept under wraps until shortly before the Ukrainian leader’s arrival in Paris from Germany on a French government jet which extended his multi-stop European tour. With Ukraine planning to go on the offensive hoping to retake Russian-occupied territory, military aid was a top agenda item.
Teacher unions begin new strike votes after rejected pay offer
Two teacher unions have opened new ballots for strike action after rejecting the government’s recent pay offer.
Members of the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) and National Education Union (NEU) rejected the pay and working conditions offer and ballots for members to vote on industrial action opened on Monday.
The NEU said it will be re-balloting teacher members working in England’s state-funded schools, with the current mandate for industrial action ending on July 13. The NAHT ballot will close on July 31, with education unions agreeing to co-ordinate strike action in the autumn term.
Listen to the latest Car Dealer Podcast
EV Experts co-founder Martin Miller joins the podcast this week. The EV dealer chats about the best stories of the week with Car Dealer’s James Baggott and Jon Reay. Listen to the show via Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Minister defends rail disputes strategy despite financial hit
Rail minister Huw Merriman has defended the government’s stance on strikes, months after admitting that the government has lost more money due to the impact of rail strikes than it would have cost to settle the disputes months ago.
In remarks at the Transport Select Committee in January, the Conservative minister said the row with rail unions has ‘ended up costing more’ but insisted the ‘overall impact’ on all public sector pay deals must be considered.
Merriman, in an interview with The House magazine, said that while he ‘would not deny’ there has been financial damage caused by strike action, the government stance was the right one.
Weekend Car Dealer headlines you might have missed
- Scammers set up new fake car auction Silantlea Limited after previous website is shut down
- Swansway Motor Group completes refurbishment of Cupra Crewe dealership
- Howards Taunton is crowned UK’s top Citroen dealer at annual awards
- Dealership courtesy car caught by police speeding at over 140mph
England’s exam results to return to pre-pandemic levels as modifications removed
England’s exam regulator has said results in 2023 will signal a ‘step back to normal’, after Covid led to an increase in top grades in 2020 and 2021.
Dr Jo Saxton, head of England’s exams regulator, Ofqual, explained results would be more similar to pre-pandemic levels this year, with some of the support measures and adjustments introduced during the disruption of Covid removed and scaled back.
According to Dr Saxton, examiners will use data to set grade thresholds that were ‘fair to students’.
Weather outlook
Rain in the south-east will disperse during the day, leaving sunny spells, cloud and the odd shower, says BBC Weather. The rest of the UK will see a similar picture. A breezy day; highs of 18 degrees celsius.
A clear night for most, although north-western and far northern Scotland will see spells of showery rain.
