6:49 am, October 1, 2022
Energy bills rise to record-high levels
Families have been urged to take a photograph of their meter reading and do what they can to cut their energy use as prices spike from Saturday.
The amount that a household pays for each kilowatt hour of electricity it uses will rise to 34p from the already record 28p that families pay today. Gas prices will go from 7p to 10p per kilowatt hour under the new guarantee.
Just a year earlier gas had cost 4p per kilowatt hour for customers on the price cap and the charge for electricity was 21p.
We had no choice but to do something different with economy, says Kwarteng
The chancellor has defended his mini-budget by saying the government ‘had no other choice’ than to do ‘something different’ to spark the economy.
As the prime minister admitted the strategy had caused ‘disruption’, Kwasi Kwarteng said the public expected public spending would be tightly controlled.
‘The British taxpayer expects their government to work as efficiently and effectively as possible, and we will deliver on that expectation,’ he wrote in The Daily Telegraph. ‘Not all the measures we announced last week will be universally popular. But we had to do something different. We had no other choice.’
Train services set to be crippled by fresh strike
The government is being urged to take urgent steps to help resolve the bitter rail row as services are set to be crippled by a mass walkout on Saturday.
Members of four trade unions will strike for 24 hours, causing the worst rail disruption of the year so far, with some areas of the country having no services all day.
Rail passengers have been advised only to travel if necessary on Saturday because of the strike by members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT), Aslef, Unite and the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA).
William says children need more online protection after Molly Russell’s death
The Prince of Wales has said online safety for children ‘needs to be a prerequisite’ after a coroner ruled social media contributed to the death of Molly Russell.
Senior coroner Andrew Walker said material viewed by the teenager on sites such as Instagram and Pinterest before her death in November 2017 ‘was not safe’ and ‘should not have been available for a 14-year-old child to see’.
On Thursday evening William, who met Molly’s father Ian Russell in November 2019, said on Twitter ‘no parent should ever have to endure’ what the family went through.
He went on: ‘They have been so incredibly brave. Online safety for our children and young people needs to be a prerequisite, not an afterthought.’
Elon Musk says Tesla Cybertruck can ‘serve briefly as a boat’
Tesla boss Elon Musk has said the new long-awaited Cybertruck will be capable of crossing rivers as well as seas that ‘aren’t too choppy’.
Tesla’s first attempt at a pick-up has been shrouded in mystery since its reveal in November 2019. At the time, the American EV firm said it would enter production in 2021, but as we get to the end of 2022, no versions have yet been made.
However, the model has certainly not been forgotten – at least by Musk, who reignited speculation about it by boasting about its boat-like properties on Twitter.
Tesla now says production of the Cybertruck will begin in 2023.
Covid-19 infections in England and Wales continue to increase
Covid-19 infections in England and Wales are continuing to increase, new figures show.
The rise means the total number of infections in the UK has also gone up, though the trend in Scotland and Northern Ireland is unclear.
Some 1.1m people in private households across the UK are likely to have tested positive for coronavirus in the latest survey, which covers the seven days to September 17 in England and the week to September 20 in the other three nations, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). This is a rise of 14 per cent from 927,900 in the previous survey, which covered the week to September 13/14.
Friday Car Dealer headlines you might have missed
- Geely takes 7.6 per cent stake in Aston Martin Lagonda
- Commercial vehicle production nearly doubles in best August for decade
- Pre-tax profit rises by nearly £2m for Cotswold Motor Group
- Drive Bury St Edmunds celebrates winning Vauxhall award for customer excellence again
- Used car chain Motorpoint opens latest store to take total to 18
Tens of thousands of letters of condolence sent to royals since Queen’s death
More than 50,000 letters and messages expressing the public’s condolences following the Queen’s death and funeral have flooded into Buckingham Palace.
The royal family have received sack loads of mail from well-wishers who felt moved to write and convey their sympathy for the monarchy.
The palace said all letters are carefully read and responses will be sent, as the small correspondence team processes the thousands of items sent to the King, his Queen Consort and other members of the royal family.
Weather outlook
A breezy but sunny day for most today, reports BBC Weather. Blustery showers will blow in for northern and western areas, however.
Rain seen earlier in the day will stay in the north-west and spread southwards and into Wales. It’ll be clear in the east.
