UK News and Discussions

[Time_Traveller]

Renter reforms watered down after concerns from Tory MPs

28 minutes ago

The government has set out a series of changes to planned protections for renters in England, after some Conservative MPs raised concerns they would be too burdensome for landlords.

The proposals include making tenants commit to a minimum six-month period when renting a property.

Campaign groups representing renters accused ministers of watering down the legislation to appease landlords.

But landlord groups said the changes were fair and balanced.

Other changes include delaying a ban on no-fault evictions for existing tenancies until an assessment by the justice secretary on the the readiness of the court system to deal with repossession claims is published.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-68686660

[Time_Traveller]

Peers to get up to £100 a night for hotel stays

1 day ago



Peers who live outside of London will be able to claim up to £100 a night for accommodation when they attend sittings of the House of Lords from next month.

The sum is on top of a £342 allowance for each day they attend, while peers can also claim for travel expenses.

The change was voted through unopposed by peers and comes in from 15 April.

Lord True said the move would help the chamber to be accessible to all, regardless of someone's financial position or where they live.

The Lord Privy Seal, who is responsible for procedure, told peers the Lords had become "far too much a House of the south-east of England".

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-68677341

[Time_Traveller]

Labour will level up better than Tories, pledges Keir Starmer

2 hours ago

Sir Keir Starmer has promised to "level up" regions more effectively than the Conservatives by giving extra powers to local leaders.

Launching the party's local election campaign, the Labour leader said the Tories had failed to deliver on their pledge to reduce regional inequality.

Further devolution was "essential" to make the ambition a reality, he added.

It comes as the party confirms details of its plans to offer new powers to councils in England.

Labour says if it wins the next general election, it would extend the responsibilities given in recent years to mayors in city regions, such as Tees Valley and West Yorkshire.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-68683454

[Time_Traveller]

Sir Jeffrey Donaldson resigns as Democratic Unionist party leader

Fri 29 Mar 2024 13.01 GMT



Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has resigned as leader of the Democratic Unionist party (DUP), again throwing Northern Ireland politics into turmoil.

Donaldson announced on Friday he was stepping down in an abrupt move that stunned his party and jolted the British and Irish governments.

Earlier on Friday he had deleted his X, Instagram and LinkedIn accounts. Senior DUP figures called an emergency meeting.

The Lagan Valley MP, 61, had served three years as DUP leader and recently bolstered his authority by agreeing a deal with Downing Street that revived the Stormont executive and assembly. He had been expected to lead his party into the general election.

The DUP’s deputy leader is the East Belfast MP Gavin Robinson. Its leader at Stormont is the deputy first minister, Emma Little-Pengelly.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... rty-leader

[Time_Traveller]

Tory party to lose almost 1,000 years of Commons experience when MPs quit

Fri 29 Mar 2024 15.25 GMT



The Conservative party will lose almost 1,000 years of Commons experience just from MPs who have already announced they are standing down, a Guardian analysis has shown, amid an exodus likely to be even greater than in 1997.

So far, 66 MPs elected as Conservatives in 2019 have announced they will not stand again – this includes four who have since lost the whip and sit as independents – which is close to one in five of the total.

In 1997, the last time the Conservatives faced a likely wipeout after many years in power, 72 Tories stood down, a total expected to be exceeded especially if, as many predict, Rishi Sunak delays an election until the autumn.

The 66 standing down have a combined 987 years of parliamentary experience. Their departure, coupled with the expected defeat of many dozens more longstanding Tories, could represent an unprecedented loss of institutional memory for the party.

This averages at just under 15 years per MP, with the longest stint being Bill Cash, who was first elected in Stafford in 1984, shifting to the adjoining Staffordshire seat of Stone in 1997.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... e-mps-quit

[wjfox]

[weatheriscool]

King Charles Given 2 Years to Live as He Battles Pancreatic Cancer: His Diagnosis Is an ‘Open Secret’
Alyssa Norwin
March 21, 2024·2 min read
1.6k

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/kin ... fb&tsrc=fb
Less than two months after Buckingham Palace confirmed King Charles III was diagnosed with cancer, sources exclusively reveal to In Touch that the king is battling pancreatic cancer and has been given two years to live.

While the royal family has kept tight-lipped about the specifics of Charles’ illness, including the type of cancer he has, a source exclusively confirms to In Touch that the king’s diagnosis is known to be an open secret among royal staffers.

[Time_Traveller]

Minimum wage rise gives boost to 2.7 million lowest-paid

8 hours ago

The minimum wage set by the government, known as the National Living Wage, is increasing by more than £1 for the first time, providing a boost for 2.7 million low-paid workers.

The main wage rate is rising from £10.42 to £11.44 an hour and will apply to workers over 21 rather than over 23.

Younger workers will also see a rise in the rates that apply to them.

However, some businesses say the higher labour costs will make it harder for them to keep prices down.

The changes mean:

• A full-time adult worker paid the minimum wage will see a pay rise worth £1,800 a year

• A 21-year-old, who moves from the lower minimum wage rate to the main rate, will get a £2,300 rise

• The minimum wage for 18-20-year-olds will increase from £7.49 to £8.60 an hour

• Apprentices will also get an above-inflation rise, with hourly pay going up by more than 20%, from £5.28 to £6.40 an hour

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68678814

[wjfox]

[Time_Traveller]

No progress made on half of UK government’s levelling-up targets

Mon 1 Apr 2024 13.00 BST

The Conservatives have been accused of failing to live up to their ambitious agenda for Britain’s regions, as Guardian analysis shows no progress has been made on half of their levelling up targets.

The analysis of the 12 targets set by Michael Gove in his 2022 levelling up white paper shows there has been no progress in six of them, including three where evidence suggests things have got worse. These include education, skills and wellbeing, which have stagnated, and local pride, housing and health, which have deteriorated in the last two years.

The findings are further evidence of how far ministers have fallen short of the lofty goals set out by Boris Johnson earlier this parliament, when he promised to raise living standards and close Britain’s yawning regional equality gap.

Labour is seeking to put that failure at the heart of its local election campaign, with Keir Starmer accusing the government of having “strangled levelling up at birth”.

The Guardian analysis is the first in a series looking at how the Conservatives’ flagship post-Brexit growth programme was derailed by a mix of political turmoil, pork barrel politics and Whitehall interference.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/202 ... ves-labour