6:59 am, September 25, 2023
Donald Trump backs Rishi Sunak’s decision to water down net zero measures
Donald Trump has backed Rishi Sunak’s decision to delay a series of measures aimed at curbing emissions.
The Prime Minister announced plans including a five-year delay in banning petrol and diesel cars and made changes to the shift away from gas boilers in an effort to spare hard-pressed households from the cost of green commitments.
Former US president Mr Trump – who has railed against climate measures in his country – said: ‘I always knew Sunak was smart’.
400,000 wait more than a day in A&E – figures
Twenty-four hours in A&E is ‘no longer just a documentary’, leading medics have warned as figures show that almost 400,000 patients spent 24 hours or more in an emergency department in England last year.
The Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) said the very long waits are a matter of national shame’.
Shocking figures uncovered by the college, shared exclusively with the PA news agency, show that 399,908 people waited 24 hours or more in an emergency department in England in 2022/23.
Lib Dems adopt early version of manifesto aimed at winning over Tory heartlands
The Liberal Democrats have become the first major political party to adopt an early version of its manifesto for a general election expected next year, with a host of policies aimed at winning over Tory heartlands.
Keeping the triple lock for pensions, introducing a £5bn social care package and banning sewage dumping are among pledges the party says are central to the newly approved document.
Its focus is on local health services and the environment, which the party believes is crucial to woo traditionally Conservative voters in places like southern England.
Shapps says HS2 cannot have ‘open-ended cheque’ as Sunak set to wield axe
It would be ‘irresponsible’ to keep ploughing money into the HS2 project in the face of rising costs, a Cabinet minister said as Rishi Sunak considered scrapping the route from Birmingham to Manchester.
Former transport secretary Grant Shapps said the scheme risked sucking up money which could be used on other local projects as ministers considered the future of the project.
Mr Shapps said the government could not write an ‘open-ended cheque’ if costs were ‘inexorably going higher and higher’.
School strikes set to go ahead as weekend engagement fails
Strikes in 24 of Scotland’s local authorities are set to go ahead this week after councils and a trade union failed to reach an agreement over the weekend.
Unison was the only major union not to suspend three days of action among its non-teaching school staff planned to begin on Tuesday after a new deal was put on the table.
Unite and the GMB union both cancelled strikes to put the offer from local authority body Cosla to members, while Unison opted to ballot staff while continuing action.
The weekend’s Car Dealer headlines you might have missed
- Car dealer group Yeomans sees pre-tax profit slide despite soaring turnover
- Scottish government is urged to up its game over EV charging points
- Big Mike: Size really can be important – as Electric Eddie found to his cost…
- Ford dishes out prestigious President’s Award gongs to car dealers in England and Scotland
- Americans think they know how UK car market works but they don’t, says eBay Motors Group COO
- Opportunity knocks for rural used car dealers thanks to expansion of Ulez
- ‘Remarkable’ results for supercar dealer Romans International Group as profits rise despite turnover dipping
- Sell it like Beckham! Football legend joins guests for launch of Maserati’s premier UK new store concept
Armed police step back from duties after murder charge over Chris Kaba death
A large number of armed officers from the Metropolitan Police have stepped back from firearms duties in the wake of a murder charge over the shooting death of Chris Kaba.
Mr Kaba, 24, was unarmed when he was shot and killed in south London last year.
A Met Police officer appeared in court on Thursday in relation to the fatal shooting as senior officers, including the Police Commissioner, have been meeting with firearms officers in recent days to reflect on the murder charge.
Number of older people in part-time work ‘at record levels after Covid setback’
The number of older people working part-time has reached a record high, new research suggests.
A study of official data showed there were 3.6 million over 50-year-olds in part-time jobs.
Rest Less, which offers advice to older people, said the number of over-50s working part-time had increased by 12 per cent in the past two years, by 26 per cent in the past decade and by 56 per cent in the past two decades.
Nasa lands Bennu asteroid samples back on Earth
Nasa has successfully landed the largest asteroid sample ever collected back on Earth.
A capsule containing about 250g of rocks and dust collected from asteroid Bennu touched down in the Utah desert near Salt Lake City at 3.52pm BST on Sunday, three minutes ahead of schedule.
It was then checked for any damage and wrapped in thermal blanketing, before being recovered by helicopter using a cargo net.
Weather outlook…
Overnight patchy rain will soon clear the south-east this morning, with further blustery showers moving into northern and western areas, especially in Scotland. Plenty of sunshine elsewhere, the BBC reports.
Largely dry with clear skies for England, Wales and eastern Scotland, and further showers for western Scotland and Northern Ireland overnight. The risk of showers in the far south later in the night.
Tomorrow will see the early showers across the far south of England move northwards in the morning, with the risk of some thunder. Rain in the west spreading eastwards in the afternoon. Staying windy.
