UK News and Discussions

[Time_Traveller]

Yodel in final stages of talks amid concern over its future

1 hour ago

Parcel delivery firm Yodel has said it is in the "final stages" of talks over options for the company amid concern over its future.

The company, which employs about 10,000 people, said discussions with "interested parties" were ongoing and "constructive".

Reports suggest the firm is looking for a buyer, and that it could call in administrators if one is not found.

Yodel said its "operations continue without any disruption".

The firm is owned by the Barclay family and one of its largest clients is online retailer Very, which is also owned by the Barclays.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68238101

[Time_Traveller]

Government warned UK could become ‘back door’ to Russian threats as foreign companies snap up British firms

6 hours ago

The government has been warned the UK risks becoming a “back door” to cyber and other national security threats as foreign companies snap up British firms.

Checks are “not keeping pace” with growing threats from countries like Russia, a powerful group of MPs says.

They call for ministers to be notified of proposed investments which would affect media freedom, access to the sensitive data of individual, cybersecurity and critical supply chains.

MPs have attacked the proposed UAE-backed takeover of the Telegraph newspaper group, expressing concerns about foreign state ownership and warning that it is impossible to “separate sheikh and state”.

Liam Byrne, the chair of the Commons Business and Trade sub-committee, said it was “vital that we do not let our country become a “back door” through which our adversaries acquire capabilities that imperil the collective security of either us or our NATO Allies.”

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/p ... 93552.html

[Time_Traveller]

Renters will still face unfair evictions under 'inadequate' new bill, say campaigners

8 hours ago

Campaigners have warned the government's plans to ban no-fault evictions in England are "inadequate".

A group of charities have written to Housing Secretary Michael Gove urging him to strengthen legislation making its way through Parliament.

Without changes, they said renters would continue to be unfairly threatened with losing their homes.

The government said the bill would deliver "a fairer private rented sector for both tenants and landlords".

However, some Conservative MPs fear the Renters (Reform) Bill goes too far and will see landlords sell up, reducing the number of rental properties.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-68250070

[Time_Traveller]

Ban on pavement parking ‘should be rolled out across England’

3 hours ago

Powers to ban pavement parking should be extended across England to make streets safer, according to a report published by councils.

Wheelchair users, older people and parents with pushchairs are among those put at risk by having to navigate around vehicles mounted on kerbs, a study commissioned by the Local Government Association (LGA) warned.

The investigation found some vehicles cause “a complete obstruction to someone walking or wheeling”, meaning they have “no option but to enter the carriageway to continue their journey”.

Pavement parking can also damage the surface, creating trip hazards and leading to costly repairs, the report by active travel charity Sustrans and disability rights organisation Transport for All added.

The study recommended that pavement parking is banned across England, and urged the Government to “recommit to the principle that the function of the footway is to provide space for walking and wheeling”.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/h ... 93966.html

[wjfox]

[Time_Traveller]

Top playwright blames Boris Johnson and Donald Trump for ‘madness’ in modern politics

1 hour ago

Britain’s top political playwright James Graham has accused Boris Johnson and Donald Trump of taking politics to “a new level of madness”.

Graham, who wrote the hit TV drama about Brexit, The Uncivil War, starring Benedict Cumberbatch, is renowned for his even-handed approach and for avoiding revealing his own political stance.

But he has lambasted Johnson and Trump in a hard-hitting interview in which he denounces “populist” leaders.

Tossing aside his usual impartiality, Graham declared: “F*** it! I DO want to disrespect Johnson.”

The former Conservative prime minister had wasted a golden chance to set the UK on a new path, he said. Britain was crying out for new leadership – and it could come in the form of the imminent general election.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/p ... 93681.html

[Time_Traveller]

Starmer engulfed in second Labour antisemitism row after Rochdale by-election furore

4 minutes ago

Sir Keir Starmer is at the centre of a second antisemitism storm after Labour was forced to suspend a would-be MP just 24 hours after it ditched its candidate in the Rochdale by-election.

The party acted after Graham Jones, the prospective Labour MP for Hyndburn, appeared to say that Britons who volunteer to fight for the Israel Defense Forces “should be locked up”.

His taped comments, in which he also referred to “f***ing Israel”, were reportedly made in a rant to Labour’s former candidate in Rochdale, Azhar Ali, at a now infamous meeting at which Mr Ali claimed that Israel had “allowed” last October’s Hamas terror attacks to take place so that it could use them as a pretext to attack Gaza.

The latest row erupted just hours after Sir Keir insisted he had taken decisive action following accusations that the two-day delay in withdrawing support for Mr Ali was “shambolic”.

Labour initially backed Mr Ali, saying he had fallen for an online conspiracy theory. But the party dramatically dropped him on Monday night after it emerged that he had also blamed “people in the media from certain Jewish quarters” for fuelling criticism of a pro-Palestinian MP.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/p ... 95593.html

[Time_Traveller]

Welsh Labour: Lord Kinnock backs Gething to be next FM

1 hour ago

Former Labour leader Lord Kinnock has announced he is backing Vaughan Gething to lead the party in Wales and be the next first minister.

He said that Mr Gething showed "clear, practical purpose, common sense and resilience" as Wales' health minister during the pandemic.

Ex-Islwyn MP Lord Kinnock was UK Labour leader from 1983 to 1992.

Mr Gething, now Welsh economy minister, and Jeremy Miles, education minister, are seeking to replace Mark Drakeford.

One of the two men will become the new first minister by mid-March, following a vote of members of the Labour Party in Wales, sister parties and affiliated organisations.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-68299538

[Time_Traveller]

Labour will block those not fit to be MPs, says John Healey

2 hours ago

Labour will act to block people not fit to be MPs, shadow defence secretary John Healey has pledged, as the party struggles to deal with an ongoing row about comments made by its candidates.

He insisted the party was diligent when picking candidates to be MPs but added: "You can't see everything, everywhere."

The Jewish Labour Movement said it had not been Labour's "finest hour".

Chair Mike Katz said members who failed to call out offensive language should also be suspended.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has defended himself against criticism, saying he "acted decisively".

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-68292736

[Time_Traveller]

Deliveroo and Uber Eats riders strike on Valentine's Day

2 hours ago

Takeaway delivery drivers are striking on Valentine's Day to demand better pay and improved working conditions.

The action, impacting four food apps including Deliveroo and Uber Eats, is thought to involve as many as 3,000 drivers and riders on Wednesday between 17:00 and 22:00 GMT.

One cyclist taking part told the BBC their pay was "absolutely ridiculous".

Deliveroo said rider retention rate was "high" and it reviewed pay yearly. Just Eat said its rates were "competitive".

The action, organised by a grassroots group of couriers is intended to draw attention to what has been described as poor pay and working conditions many riders face while delivering food and groceries in cities across the UK.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68274158

[Time_Traveller]

Bombshell poll shows Rishi Sunak on course to hold just 80 Tory seats

5 minutes ago

The Tories are facing an electoral wipeout that would leave them with just 80 seats, the lowest ever total for the Conservative Party, a bombshell new poll shows.

Rishi Sunak is on course to lose more than three quarters of the Tories’ seats, the survey of 18,000 voters suggests.

As well as spelling near-wipeout for the Conservatives, the shock poll shows seventeen ministers are set to lose their seats, including Jeremy Hunt, Grant Shapps, Penny Mordaunt, Gillian Keegan and Mel Stride.

The poll, by Find Out Now and Electoral Calculus, showed Sir Keir Starmer on course to win an even bigger landslide than Sir Tony Blair in 1997, with a majority of 254.

And the survey, reported by The Daily Mirror, showed Labour’s support among voters at 42 per cent, with a 20-point lead over the Tories on 20 per cent.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/p ... 96283.html

[wjfox]

Bombshell poll shows Rishi Sunak on course to hold just 80 Tory seats

5 minutes ago

The Tories are facing an electoral wipeout that would leave them with just 80 seats, the lowest ever total for the Conservative Party, a bombshell new poll shows.

Rishi Sunak is on course to lose more than three quarters of the Tories’ seats, the survey of 18,000 voters suggests.

As well as spelling near-wipeout for the Conservatives, the shock poll shows seventeen ministers are set to lose their seats, including Jeremy Hunt, Grant Shapps, Penny Mordaunt, Gillian Keegan and Mel Stride.

The poll, by Find Out Now and Electoral Calculus, showed Sir Keir Starmer on course to win an even bigger landslide than Sir Tony Blair in 1997, with a majority of 254.

And the survey, reported by The Daily Mirror, showed Labour’s support among voters at 42 per cent, with a 20-point lead over the Tories on 20 per cent.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/p ... 96283.html

Jesus.

This wouldn't just be an election catastrophe for the Tories, it would have long-term implications. I reckon the party would permanently split over this.

But I just can't believe they'd only get 80 seats... it would be on a par with the Liberals' demise in the 1910s-20s!

[Powers]

This wouldn't just be an election catastrophe for the Tories, it would have long-term implications. I reckon the party would permanently split over this.

It will probably split votes with the biggest right-wing party.

[wjfox]

It will probably split votes with the biggest right-wing party.

Yes. Most likely Reform UK.

Oh, and the final nail in the coffin for Sunak's election campaign —

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/business-68297420

[weatheriscool]

[weatheriscool]

Wellingborough:

Nick the Flying Brick (Monster Raving Loony): 217, 0.7%, (Did Not Previously Stand)
Ana Gunn (Lib-Dems): 1422, 4.7%, (-3.2%)
Ben Habib (Reform UK): 3919, 13%, (Did Not Previously Stand)
Helen Harrison (Conservative): 7408, 24.6%, (-37.6%)
Ankit Love JKNPP Jay Mala Post-Mortem (Perennial Indie): 18, 0.06%, (Did Not Previously Stand)
Gen Kitchen (Labour): 13844, 45.9%, (+19.4%)
Alex Merola (Britain First/Indie): 477, 1.6%, (Did Not Previously Stand)
Will Morris (Green): 1020, 3.4%, (-0.1%)
Andre Pyne-Bailey (Indie): 172, 0.6%, (Did Not Previously Stand)
Marion Turner-Hawes (Indie): 1115, 3.7%, (Did Not Previously Stand)
Kev Watts (Indie): 533, 1.8%, (Did Not Previously Stand)


Labour Gain

[wjfox]

Helen Harrison (Conservative): 7408, 24.6%, (-37.6%)

[Time_Traveller]

Currys rejects takeover bid from US investment group Elliott

Sun 18 Feb 2024 11.27 GMT

Currys has rejected a takeover bid from US investment group Elliott saying it significantly undervalued the electrical goods retailer.

Elliott tabled a £700m bid for Currys – at 62p a share a 32% premium to its latest share price – with the investment group. Currys was valued at £533m at the close of trading on the London stock market on Friday.

The retailer said that the unsolicited cash offer from Elliott, which owns book chain Waterstones and has a controlling stake in food chain Wasabi, “significantly undervalued” its business.

A deal would heighten fears that London’s status as a premier listings market was under threat, with the number of listed companies shrinking by more than 12% during the past three years, according to the Quoted Companies Alliance.

A spate of takeovers by US and European private equity firms could continue this year while sterling remains weak. Last year, Swedish private equity firm EQT bought Yorkshire-based Dechra Pharmaceuticals in a £4.5bn deal, while US-based CVC bought retailer Ted Baker for £300m.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/20 ... up-elliott

[wjfox]

[Time_Traveller]

Liz Truss endorses Trump by claiming ‘West is doomed’ unless right-wingers save it

20 hours ago

Liz Truss has delivered an apocalyptic warning that “the West is doomed” unless right-wing politicians like her are put in power to save it.

Echoing the rhetoric of Donald Trump, she blamed the “deep state” for her downfall as prime minister when her policies sparked an economic crash.

Ms Truss made her controversial comments in an article for Fox News TV, the right-wing US television station credited with helping Mr Trump win power.

Mr Trump claimed a secretive network of powerful officials and state institutes – the “deep state” – plotted to thwart his aims.

Critics dismissed it as a conspiracy theory aimed at blaming others for his failings.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/p ... 00014.html

She has definitely gone loony.