Chris Whiteside for the North

 

  Earlier this week,   the Chancellor unveiled his Mansion House Reforms to unlock billions of pounds of private investment for high-growth businesses and boost the typical pension by £1,000 a year , using post-Brexit freedoms to grow the economy.  We need to support pension savers, give the sector greater freedoms to invest and ensure British pensioners benefit from the success of British businesses.  That is why the Chancellor set out his Mansion House Reforms to unlock £75 billion of investment and increase returns for pensioners by up to 12 per cent, or as much as £1,000 a year for an average earner. Alongside post-Brexit regulatory reforms, we will welcome an agreement with leading pension firms to put five per cent of their investments, a sum of up to £50 billion, into fast-growing firms to boost economic growth.   These reforms will secure the best outcome for pension savers and strengthen the UK’s position as a leading financial centre by encouragin...

The government is proposing to repeal Section 40 of the Crime and Courts Act, which in my opinion is one of the most malignant and dangerous pieces of legislation ever placed on the statute book. This legislation has never actually been implemented, and for very good reason. If it were, those media organisations which have not signed up to a state-approved regulator would be required to pay the costs of both sides in any legal action brought against them for any of their stories, even if they win. In other words, some modern Robert Maxwell who was trying to prevent an investigative journalist from publishing a truth he wanted to suppress could bring an action against the outlet which published that truth, and the courts could find that the story was True Fair In the public interest Not motivated by malice and still get costs awarded against the publisher which might be ruinously expensive. This pernicious clause, even in its current inactive form is a threat to free speech and accurat...

"Section 40 does not protect “ordinary” individuals as its advocates claim. It protects the rich and powerful and is a gift to the corrupt and conniving to silence investigative journalists – particularly media outfits that don’t have very deep pockets." (Index on Censorship)   

Today the government  announced   new laws which give regulators the scope to hit polluters with unlimited fines   and broaden their powers to target a wider range of offences, tackling pollution and protecting nature for future generations. Our natural environment is precious, but a £250,000 cap on fines for polluters and the small range of offences where regulators are allowed to make fines has forced environment agencies to go through lengthy and complex court proceedings to hold bad operators to account. That is why the government is scrapping the cap on the penalties for polluters levied by the Environment Agency and Natural England and significantly broadening their scope to target a much wider range of offences – from breaches of storm overflow permits to the reckless disposal of hazardous waste. This action will mean polluters are held to account and builds on the action being taken right across government to stand up for our environment – tackling pollution and p...

Today the   Prime Minister is attendomg the second day of the NATO Summit   in Lithuania, coming together with key allies to focus on supporting Ukraine and cementing the UK’s position as a leading NATO ally as we prepare to take on the threats of the future. It has been over 500 days since Putin embarked on his illegal war in Ukraine and weaponised Europe’s energy supply, threating democracy and increasing household bills. Yesterday, the Prime Minister joined NATO allies to reaffirm their pledge that Ukraine will be invited to join the alliance and announce a multi-year assistance package to bring Ukraine’s army from Soviet-era to NATO standards, as well as meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Polish President Andrzej Duda, and Dutch President Mark Rutte to discuss bilateral cooperation on trade, security and illegal migration. Britain remains the biggest defence spender in Europe and the Prime Minister will continue to urge our allies to reach the two per cen...

 

Reforms announced by the Chancellor this week at Mansion house are aimed at giving those who are saving for their pensions a better, fairer deal. Britain should be the best and most innovative financial centre in the world.  in the world. The steps the government is now taking will set us up for another century of success – as the global capital for capital. That is why we are reforming the pensions market – to increase retirement income by over a £1,000 a year over the course of a career and unlock up to £75 billion of additional investment from defined contribution and local government pensions.   Our plans will: Reform the pensions market, boosting outcomes for savers and increasing the availability of funding for high-growth companies. Help companies grow and list in the UK. Enable us to grasp the opportunities of the future by reforming and simplifying our regulatory rulebook. These reforms will deliver on the Prime Minister’s pledge to grow the economy. While we are...

 

New   jobs figures today show there are four million more people in work since Labour were last in power , showing that Britain is making progress on jobs and the economy as we work to halve inflation, grow the economy and reduce debt.  These are difficult times, with Britain’s economy disrupted by a Coronavirus pandemic which directly caused the worst recession for three hundred years and then impacted by Putin’s war in Ukraine.  That is why the Conservative government is taking immediate action to fix the problems families are facing, while putting in place the long-term solutions. A recovering economy will mean reduced inflation and lower mortgage rates, more affordable food and energy and support for the NHS so people get the care they need more quickly.  A stronger economy will mean we can strengthen communities and level up left behind areas, protect Britain’s long-term interests and restore pride in our country – we will build a stronger economy that will guar...

Today the UK government convened a meeting with   leading financiers and philanthropists to unlock private investment in climate action , delivering on the Conservative promise to grow the economy, boost energy security, and cut bills.   No government can tackle climate change alone. We need to work with our allies and unlock trillions in private investment to accelerate net zero and boost our energy security.  That is why, in partnership with our US allies, we are convening leading figures in finance and philanthropy to accelerate net zero and energy security. Using world-leading expertise and private investment, we will support emerging economies to strengthen their climate resilience and boost our energy security at home.  Today's meeting was not just about cutting emissions, it was part of an ambition to achieve a secure, home-grown energy system that will grow the economy, create jobs, and cut bills for the British people. 

Today, the Conservative government announced the extension of the   action plan to support victims of rape , and continued reforms to the criminal justice system to give victims the support they deserve.    Rape and sexual violence are horrific crimes that can impact victims for the rest of their lives – we launched an action plan in 2021 to drive up prosecutions and give victims the support they deserve.  The progress report published today shows the government remains on track to hit and exceed targets for action to protect women and girls from rape. Two of the three key ambitions in the plan to cut rape have been achieved ahead of schedule – restoring the number of police referrals and cases reaching court to 2016 levels. Plans were also announced today to train 2,000 extra police investigators in rape and sexual offences by April next year, further improving responses .      We must transform the way rape investigations are handled, ensuring victim...

You would think that with their party's former Leader and Scottish First Minister, former Chief Executive, and incumbent Treasurer all having been arrested by Police Scotland over serious corruption allegations, with 61% of Scots telling pollsters their current leader is doing a bad job, the worst rate of drug deaths in the UK and  hundreds of millions of pounds wasted by SNP incompetence,  that Scottish Nationalists might have enough to worry about without attempting to purge anyone in Scotland who doesn't share their views. But you would think wrong. The latest hate-fuelled crusade of the Cybernats has been petitioning to drop former Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson from the Scottish Rugby Union board for no apparent reason other than her political views which they argue make her a "traitor to Scotland" - and the SNP Members of Parliament for Paisley and Renfrewshire seems to have nothing better to do with himself than to join in this witch-hunt,  The onl...

 

 

 

 

 

"The UK delivered one of the world’s fastest COVID vaccines 🇬🇧 We’re now channelling that same can-do spirit to tackle one of the biggest health challenges of our time – cancer. On Wednesday we announced a plan to help more patients get cancer jabs and save many more lives. When I promised to clean up our streets, I meant it. On Thursday I put into action more of the @Conservatives plan to stamp out anti-social behaviour in our communities:      👮‍♂️ more police in high crime areas      ✅ better CCTV and street lighting      🧽 immediate punishment for criminals" PM Rishi Sunak on Twitter this morning

 

  Yesterday the government announced more visible policing and swifter punishment for anti-social behaviour, backed by additional funding, keeping people safe on our streets. Anti-social behaviour is unacceptable. It prevents people from spending time in their local area, makes women and girls feel unsafe, and erodes a sense of community. Tackling this crime is key to levelling up and restoring pride in local communities. So I welcome the decision of the government to launch 16 'hotspot' policing or 'immediate justice' schemes, increasing the number of police patrols and requiring offenders of anti-social behaviour to repair damage they have caused to the community.  The government is also providing an extra £60 million – £1.4 million for every police force area in the country – to invest in CCTV or street lighting, and local community projects as part of the Safer Streets Fund and I look forward to seeing the results delivered in places like North Yorkshire and Cumbria...

  (Letter in The Times today, reposted on Twitter by the author)

 

The PM hosted a reception in the Rose Garden at Number Ten today, organised together by Greg Hands MP, for Regional and Area officers of the party and Constituency chairmen in Yorkshire, the North West, North East and Scotland. Last time I was invited to a reception here I asked him about the need to train more doctors and medical personnel. I very much got what I asked for: last week a new NHS manpower plan was announced which did indeed include a very large increase in the number of medical professionals to be trained. Took the opportunity to discuss the matter with the PM again today and why I think we need a new school of rural medicine with a style of doctor training better suited to maintaining services in rural areas like North Yorkshire or Cumbria.

 

Today is the 75th anniversary of the founding of the NHS. In that time millions of people have worked for the service and we must celebrate all they achieved to help scores of millions of patients. We know there are pressures on services, particularly following the pandemic, and it is important the NHS changes and adapts in response to this, including with technological and medical advancements. That is why we are supporting our NHS with record levels of investment, record numbers of doctors and nurses, and wide-ranging reform, including our 15-year NHS workforce plan, backed by £2.4 billion, modernising the workforce, and setting out the largest expansion in training and recruitment in the NHS’ history. We are confident that with our plans for recovery and reform and an embrace of technology and innovation, our NHS will be fit to deliver the best care to patients for another 75 years, as we deliver on the Prime Minister’s pledge to cut waiting lists. A Conservative government will pro...