6:35 am, October 1, 2023
Rishi Sunak promises to use Tory conference to set out long-term vision for UK
The prime minister has vowed to set out his long-term vision for the country at the Conservative Party conference without taking the ‘easy’ choices.
The Tories will gather in Manchester on Sunday for the opening of their four-day conference with questions hanging over the future of the High Speed 2 (HS2) rail project and clamour from party grandees for tax cuts to be unveiled.
Opinion polling puts the Tories about 18 points on average behind Sir Keir Starmer’s outfit. However, a new survey suggests the race between the two sides has narrowed to the closest it has been since he entered Downing Street almost 12 months ago, with the blue side trailing by 10 points.
Ban on businesses supplying single-use plastics comes into force in England
Bans and restrictions on supplying single-use plastics have come into force in England.
From Sunday, all businesses – including retailers, takeaways, food vendors and hospitality firms – can no longer sell certain plastic items.
The ban will apply to single-use plastic cutlery, balloon sticks and polystyrene cups and food containers. Meanwhile, the use of single-use plastic plates, trays and bowls will be restricted.
Defence secretary plans Ukraine training move ‘in country’
Increased British military training of Ukrainian soldiers could move into the war-torn country under plans revealed by new defence secretary Grant Shapps.
Shapps said he has spoken with Army chiefs about moving ‘more training’ into Ukraine and called on British defence firms to set up production in the country.
Talking to The Sunday Telegraph, Mr Shapps – who took over the defence portfolio from Ben Wallace at the end of August – said he has also spoken to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky about the Royal Navy helping to defend commercial vessels in the Black Sea. And he said Britain was looking for ways to help Ukraine get in shape for membership of Nato.
Liz Truss to call for corporation tax to be lowered back to 19% in rally speech
Former prime minister Liz Truss will urge the Conservative leadership to position itself as the ‘party of business again’ by slashing corporation tax.
Truss will argue in a speech on the fringes of the Tory Party conference that high taxes on businesses must not be ‘normalised’, suggesting the private sector is ‘drowning in red tape’.
The former Tory leader will say that the best way to get the UK economy growing is to ‘free’ the private sector. She is expected to use her appearance at a so-called growth rally in Manchester to call for corporation tax to be lowered back to 19 per cent, taking it down from its current 25 per cent rate.
Lower energy price cap takes effect amid concerns households will pay more
A fall in Ofgem’s energy price cap has come into effect amid concerns that households could still end up paying around 13 per cent more than last winter.
The regulator announced in August that the cap on a unit of gas and electricity would reduce the average bill from £2,074 to £1,923 for the three months from October 1 in England, Wales and Scotland.
This is still more than 50 per cent higher than pre-crisis levels, and the government is yet to announce any financial support. The measures brought the average monthly cost of energy down to £141 but this year, unless further support is announced, average costs from October to December will rise to £160.
Hundreds protest in London against Rosebank oilfield approval
Hundreds of demonstrators gathered in Whitehall to demand a rethink of the approval for the controversial Rosebank offshore development.
Robin Wells, of the Fossil Free London campaign group, said: ‘We are used to U-turns and the government can do a new one over Rosebank.’
She led more than 200 climate activists in chants condemning the scheme outside the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero’s central London offices.
Apple says it will fix software problems blamed for iPhone 15 overheating issue
Apple is blaming a software bug and other issues tied to popular apps such as Instagram and Uber for causing its recently released iPhone 15 models to heat up and spark complaints about becoming too hot to handle.
The Cupertino, California, company said on Saturday that it is working on an update to the iOS17 system that powers the iPhone 15 line-up to prevent the devices from becoming uncomfortably hot and is working with apps that are running in ways ‘causing them to overload the system’.
Instagram, owned by Meta Platforms, modified its social media app earlier this week to prevent it from heating up the device on the latest iPhone operating system. Uber and other apps such as the video game Asphalt 9 are still in the process of rolling out their updates, Apple said.
Weather
It’ll be a day of sunshine and showers in the north and in Wales, turning dry later. Sunshine and cloud elsewhere with temperatures picking up to 23 degrees in the Midlands and south east.
Cloud will turn to showers tonight for most of England and Wales, while the north and west will see blustery showers.
