Chris Whiteside for the North

 

 RUSSIA'S USE OF ENERGY AS A WEAPON

  Today the government launched the  new £4.7 billion Local Transport Fund for the North and Midlands , reallocating savings from HS2 to invest more in the transport schemes that matter most to people. In October the Prime Minister set out a new vision, to focus on the journeys that matter most to people, that drive growth and jobs and truly level up our country. He committed to take every pound that would have been spent extending HS2 and invest £36 billion into transport.  This means that today the government can invest a record £4.7 billion through the new Local Transport Fund, providing almost 11 million people across the region with almost nine times more transport funding. This is the first transport budget of its kind for our smaller cities, towns and rural areas. It will pay for the infrastructure communities truly want: building new roads; improving road junctions and pavements; installing or expanding tram lines; improving stations. The Conservatives are st...

  This week  the government confirmed that  one million properties in hard-to-reach communities can now access lightning-fast broadband thanks to Project Gigabit , as we stick to the plan to speed up interest connections for families and businesses and grow the economy. Fast broadband speeds are essential to modern day life, which is why we announced Project Gigabit in 2021.  Thanks to the Conservative long-term plan, more than one million properties in hard-to-reach communities have now been upgraded with access to lightning-fast gigabit-capable broadband, helping to grow the economy and improve services for households.  Conservatives will sticking with our long-term plan to improve access to the fastest broadband, allowing households to connect to the internet seamlessly to make work and leisure easier as we build a brighter future for all.  Full disclosure - I am writing this post as a Conservative activist but am also an employee of Openreach and hold a...

I know I have posted other versions of this Purcell aria recently, but as it was snowing this morning in the Barnard Castle constituency where I was staying last night, and has been snowing most of today in Leeds, it just seems too appropriate not to use again.

Today the government is publishing an  NHS Dental Recovery Plan , delivering an extra 2.5 million appointments over the next year so everyone can receive the dental treatment they deserve, quickly and easily.  Dentistry is an essential part of NHS healthcare and everyone should be able to see an NHS dentist and receive treatment quickly and easily when they need to.  That is why the government is announcing the NHS Dental Recovery Plan, backed by £200 million, which includes measures such as ‘new patient’ payments for NHS dentists to treat adults and children who have not seen a dentist in over two years and incentivising NHS dentists to work in underserved areas. Meanwhile, Labour-run Wales has the worst access to dentistry in the UK – showing what happens when you come into government without a plan. Labour proposals in England – which include ordering teachers to supervise toothbrushing in schools – would deliver barely a third of the appointments we have promised....

"Zero. Nothing. Precisely £0️⃣.    I won’t tax you for anything other than essential police and fire services.  No new tax. No expensive new bureaucracy.  👉 Read more about my pledge here: http://keane4mayor.co.uk/news ( Keane Duncan , Conservative candidate for Mayor of North Yorkshire)

Most of those who are eligible for cost of living support will start to receive their payments from today.  Find out more on the ‘Help for Households’ website at Help for Households - Get government cost of living support From  today   eight million families will receive their third Cost of Living Payment , bringing the total payments to £900 of support per household and representing a £2 billion support package, as we continue to stick to the plan to lower inflation and cut taxes to ensure people can keep more of their money. By sticking to the plan, we have more than halved inflation, allowing us to cut taxes for 27 million working people but as we drive inflation down further, we must continue to support the most vulnerable. That is why, from today eight million low-income households will receive their third Cost of Living Payment, totalling £900, to support with household costs such as energy bills.  This will ensure that as we stick to the plan to lower inflatio...

"Wishing His Majesty a full and speedy recovery. I have no doubt he’ll be back to full strength in no time and I know the whole country will be wishing him well." Prime Minister Rishi Sunak . I also, of course, with His Majesty the King a full and speedy recovery following his cancer diagnosis. For anyone who has not seen it, this was a statement from the palace yesterday:

Anorak post warning - this is going to be a very long post with a lot of reference to statistics and the details of Brexit. At some stage I must write a book on how easy it is to make true but misleading statements promoting a pre-judged narrative yet based on accurate statistics. It would also cover what you need to look for to get to the truth (not that hard if you know what you are looking for) and, rather harder, how to tell the story if you want to show the accurate picture. Though if you want to read a classic book on the subject it is still hard to beat a golden oldie, "How to lie with statistics" by Darrell Huff,   a book which is significantly older than I am, but which has rarely been equaled and never surpassed. It is still available on Amazon. There was always a lot of this between left and right, but a UK national conversation full of utterly misleading nonsense from all sides reached it's absolute nadir from both "Leave" and "Remain" camp...

From today   pharmacists across the country will be able to treat more health conditions without patients needing to see a GP , helping to unlock ten million doctors’ appointments as we stick to the plan to cut waiting lists so people can get the care they need.  The Conservative government has made progress to cut waiting lists but there is more that can be done to make better use of professionals such as pharmacists to cut them further. That is why today we are launching Pharmacy First as part of our primary care recovery plan, meaning pharmacists can treat seven common health conditions such as sinusitis and earache without patients needing to see a GP.  This will help free up to ten million GP appointments, meaning those who genuinely need to see a doctor can do so more quickly, helping to continue to drive down wait times in contrast to Labour-run Wales where patients consistently wait longer because Labour do not have a plan.  The pandemic put huge pressure on ...

Last night,   British forces conducted an additional round of proportionate and necessary strikes against eight Houthi targets in Yemen , to protect global trade and innocent lives. The Houthis’ have now conducted more than 30 dangerous attacks against commercial shipping since mid-November, as well as a direct attack against British and American warships in the Red Sea. This cannot stand. The attacks by Houthi militants on international shipping passing through one of the world's busiest trade routes have mostly been directed against harmless merchant ships which had nothing whatsoever to do with the war in Gaza. The Houthis are indiscriminately attacking merchant ships of all nationalities, most of which are not bound for Israel and even including shipping belonging to countries allied to their own Iranian allies, such as the Russian Federation. That is why yesterday, alongside the US and other International Partners, Britain conducted an additional round of proportionate and nec...

 

The Met Office has issued a YELLOW warning for rain until 6am tomorrow (Monday 22nd January 2024) and an AMBER warning for wind will be in place from 6pm tonight until 6am tomorrow morning. This is ahead of expected disruption as Storm Isha arrives in the UK, The warnings indicate some risk of danger to life, power cuts, building damage and travel disruption. These warnings are in place in large parts of the United Kingdom, partiuclarly in the North and West. Wrap up warm if you are travelling and be very careful. Make sure your property is secure. 

This seemed all too appropriate for a very cold Monday in January!

As indicated here last night, (in the "quote of the day" post,) y esterday the PM and post office minister Kevin Hollingrake announced   our plan to quash the wrongful convictions of the brave victims of the Horizon scandal , giving postmasters the justice they deserve. We will act at speed to bring forward legislation to quash all convictions that were based on this miscarriage of justice. We will also introduce an upfront compensation offer to recognise the vital role of the group of the 555 postmasters and consult on speeding up access to compensation. Our plan will clear people’s names, deliver justice and ensure swifter access to compensation for innocent people who have waited too long, as we work to ensure that such a tragedy can never happen again. 

I have believed for a long time that it is essential if Britain is to have a save, secure and environmentally-friendly supply of loc-carbon energy, then we need a balanced energy policy in which nuclear power is part of the mix. So I strongly welcome today's announcement by the government of   the biggest expansion of nuclear power for 70 years  – delivering cheaper, cleaner and greener energy for the long-term as we grow the economy.  Nuclear power is the perfect antidote to our energy challenges – it is green, cheaper in the long term and will secure our energy security.  Under our plan we will quadruple our nuclear power generation by exploring a new power station as big as Hinkley C and Sizewell C, delivering a fleet of Small Modular Nuclear Reactors and investing £300 million into a new high-tech nuclear fuel programme. This will mean cheaper household bills for the long-term and put the UK on course to achieve net zero by 2050 without driving up taxes for worki...

Russia has added a new expression to the lexicon of euphemisms used by official statements attempting to hide a ghastly mistake - "abnormal discharge of aviation ammunition" for bombing your own side. Anyone who is following the war in Ukraine will have noted that one of the few things the present Russian armed forces are good at is bombing and killing civilians. The latest MoD intelligence bulletin gives two instances of Russian planes bombing, respectively, Russian civilians and Ukrainian civilians in the area of occupied Ukraine which Russia claims is now part of Russia.

On Monday, the Prime Minister hosted a PM connect event in Lancashire , where he reaffirmed his long-term plan and made clear what is at stake for our country. The Conservatives have made progress on our five priorities, with inflation more than halved and our economy outperform countries like Germany, meaning we can build a brighter future for our country - Rishi Sunak will take the right long-term decisions for our country. Keir Starmer will take us back to square one with his £28 billion a year unfunded spending spree. It is always the same old irresponsible, short-term approach from Labour – more spending with taxpayers footing the bill.

 A healthy, happy and prosperous New Year 2024 to everyone reading this.

  For anyone reading this who is of the Jewish, Christian, Muslim or Bahai faiths , May the God of Abraham be with you and all who you love at this time, guard, guide and protect you. For anyone reading this who loves the Christmas story: May the Joy of the Angels, The Eagerness of the Shepherds The Wisdom of the Magi The Patience of Joseph The Love of Mary and the Hope represented by the baby Jesus be with you this Christmas season and throughout the year For anyone reading this of any other faith , may your God be with you at this time. And for everyone reading this , I with you and your family good health and happiness at this time and a peaceful, happy, healthy and prosperous New Year 2024. In other words:  HAPPY CHRISTMAS!