Local News

A flurry of general elections since 2015 has brought an unprecedented churn in our parliamentary representatives. This year, two in five MPs aren't seeking re-election and the picture for the Conservatives is record-breakingly grim.An unparalleled total of 23% of Conservative MPs are calling it a day in 2024, more than the previous high of 22% of Tories who quit in 1997, another year of boundary changes.In contrast, only 15% of […]

Dame Emma Thompson has backed Just Stop Oil, just days after the climate action group attacked Stonehenge with orange paint.The actress led thousands of people on a Restore Nature Now march in London on Saturday, aimed at persuading politicians to put nature and climate first. Asked if she supported Just Stop Oil, whose supporters have also targeted private jets, the Magna Carta and the Duke of Westminster's wedding this year, […]

A yellow heat health alert has been issued for most of England as temperatures are set to hit 30C in parts of the country.The notification, covering all but one region of the country, highlights the risk of increased pressure on healthcare services as a result of the forecast mini-heatwave. The alert, issued jointly by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and Met Office, comes into force from Monday morning and […]

Windrush campaigners are calling on the next government to grant citizenship to all victims of the immigration scandal in the first 100 days after the election.Campaigners including Action for Race Equality (ARE) have warned that the current compensation and documentation scheme is "unwieldy" and in need of desperate reform. The Windrush scandal refers to migrants from the Caribbean who started to arrive in 1948 to help rebuild Britain after the […]

Reform UK bills itself as the party "for the left behind" but its flagship tax policy disproportionately benefits those on higher incomes, analysis for Sky News shows.Nigel Farage hailed the plan to raise the threshold at which workers start paying tax to from £12,571 to £20,000, saying it would lift millions of low-paid workers out of paying tax altogether. However, Reform's plan to raise the higher rate threshold from £50,271 […]

Two women have been charged with criminal damage and other offences after Just Stop Oil activists sprayed private jets with orange paint at Stansted Airport.Jennifer Kowalski, 28, and Cole Macdonald, 22, are both due to appear at Chelmsford Magistrates' Court on Saturday. They are alleged to have caused more than £5,000 worth of damage.Essex Police said their officers responded to an incident in the private area of an airfield at […]

Former rugby league star turned motor neurone disease (MND) campaigner Rob Burrow recorded a series of messages for his children before he died, his wife has said.Lindsey Burrow said the messages will be played at special moments in their lives as they grow up. Ahead of a tribute to him by his former club Leeds Rhinos on Friday, Lindsey Burrow revealed her husband looked to the future in his final […]

A British tourist has been stabbed to death outside a nightclub near Barcelona, according to local media.The incident happened at about 5am local time (4am UK) this morning in Calella, about 30 miles away from the city. Police have confirmed that there was a fatality, and another person was injured and taken to hospital.According to El Caso, there was a fight outside the Oxygen nightclub and the tourist died at […]

From Rishi Sunak, we saw the good, the bad and the ugly during the latest TV election showdown with other party leaders - and a tough and unforgiving audience.The good came when he broke his silence on the Tory betting scandal early on in his half-hour session of questions, declaring he was "incredibly angry" and vowing that any law breakers would be "booted out" of his party. The bad followed […]