Wentworth Woodhouse restoration champion Dame Julie Kenny dies
Dame Julie Kenny, one of Yorkshire's most successful businesswomen and community champions, has died aged 67.Dame Julie died at Doncaster Royal Infirmary on Friday after a short illness, her family said.She was best known for her achievements across Rotherham, particularly her efforts with charity SAVE Britain's Heritage to buy and restore Wentworth Woodhouse, a Grade I listed Georgian mansion.Rotherham MP and Defence Secretary John Healey called her "a remarkable woman who was proud of her roots and wanted to make life better for others."
Dame Julie was born in 1957 and grew up in Hillsborough and Stannington in Sheffield. She said difficulties during her childhood had given her the motivation to succeed.At 18, she left home to become a legal secretary in Cornwall, and quickly underwent legal training to start a career as a litigation lawyer.In 1986, she co-founded the electronic security equipment company Pyronix, which grew into an award-winning global business trading across 65 countries.She was made a Dame Commander of the British Empire in 2019, in recognition of her successful five-year campaign to purchase Wentworth Woodhouse and her role as leader of the Wentworth Woodhouse Preservation Trust.She called it "one of the most inspiring, yet hardest, challenges of my life"."I believe it was a beacon, one we could make a destination for people from around the world, and how proud that would make Rotherham feel," she said."Many people told me it was impossible. But my view is that nothing is impossible with time, energy, and belief."
Tim Cooke, deputy chairman of the trust, said: "Dame Julie Kenny and Wentworth Woodhouse became synonymous with one another - her personal impact on the house has been enormous."Everyone involved - employees, volunteers, trustees, and patrons - will feel her loss very keenly."Healey said he had first met Dame Julie at the Pyronix factory, where she was "adored" by her staff.He said her achievements also included being president of the Rotherham Chamber of Commerce, trust director of Doncaster Children's Services, and chair of the government development agency Yorkshire Forward."She brought brilliant business insight, plain common sense, and a warm personal touch to every organisation, and she inspired those she worked with to achieve more," he said.
'Kindness and generosity'
Dame Julie was the mother of three children, stepmother of her husband's three children, and had eight grandchildren.Her husband, Iain Hall, said: "I was blessed to meet Julie in 2009, and knew very little about her life and achievements."What struck me most about her was her kindness and generosity."I fell in love with her without realising how truly special she was."I always told her she was the most extraordinary woman I had ever met."She is a light that will never go out, and the void she has left in our lives will be impossible to fill."A statement from her three children said: "She was a force of nature and a powerhouse in business."But she was also our incredible and loving mum and grandmother - inspiring, empathetic, a mentor."Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North or tell us a story you think we should be covering here.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Telegraph
an hour ago
- Telegraph
Britain's debt is a threat to national security
Our sky high debt is a threat to our national security. This year, the cost of servicing our debt will be almost double what we are spending on defence. And in today's turbulent world, the fiscal buffer to cushion us from shocks is paper thin. The smallest tap could shatter our economic credibility. The Prime Minister has made defence and security the organising principle of his government. Given that, putting our debt on a downward path should be his government's priority. It isn't. Debt will be higher at the end of the Parliament than today. And with global government debt already around $100 trillion, and Donald Trump about to increase that by a further $2.4 trillion, who will buy our debt – and at what price? Last year, the cross-party House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee raised a red flag that UK debt risks becoming unsustainable unless tough decisions are taken in this Parliament. We set out a choice: taxes would have to rise, or the state would have to do less. Being cross-party, we did not opine on which option was best. The Government has taken tough decisions – but in my mind the wrong ones. Taxes are rising to record highs. The Chancellor said last year that her strategy would deliver growth, and that she would not come back for more tax. But the growth forecast has been halved, and further tax hikes are on the cards. Meanwhile, pressure to spend more on defence is going to increase. At the upcoming Nato summit, nations are likely to be asked to commit to spending 5 per cent of GDP on defence – double Labour's current commitment. So what is to be done? We need to confront the other option: the state should do less. The Government rightly says that the relentless rise in welfare spending is 'unsustainable'. Spending on disability and incapacity benefits alone is more than on defence. But having announced that action would be taken to curb the growth in the welfare budget, the Prime Minister is now blinking in the face of opposition. The Government – and the nation – cannot afford ministers losing their nerve to keep a lid on spending. The bond vigilantes have saddled up and are on the prowl. Nor can the Chancellor tax her way out of the debt quagmire: to do so would risk us entering into a doom loop of ever lower growth and ever higher debt. If defence and security is the organising principle of government, the Chancellor must set out a credible plan to stop debt's relentless rise and bring it down from today's giddying heights. Not doing so risks economic catastrophe – and our national security.
Telegraph
3 hours ago
- Telegraph
Councils fly flags to support Ukraine's war – but block defence spending
Councils are flying flags for Ukraine from their town halls while blocking investment in the British defence industry. At least a dozen English councils have passed motions 'divesting' from defence companies because of the war in Gaza, or taken steps to reduce their holdings in arms companies. A new report by two Labour MPs found that defence companies have missed out on at least £30 million in investment because of action taken by local councils to focus their pension funds on 'ethical' firms. It comes despite the fact that several of the councils have displayed the Ukrainian flag from their town halls in solidarity against Russia. The MPs, Luke Charters and Alex Baker, said there was 'untapped potential' in local government pensions that could be used to boost investment in the defence sector, which often struggles to access finance. They argued that supporting British defence companies would help Ukraine, which has received more than £18 billion in military and humanitarian support from the UK. The MPs said there was a 'concerning trend among UK councils to divest from defence, with at least a dozen authorities implementing partial or full exclusion policies since 2022'. The MPs did not name the councils, but The Telegraph has found evidence of town halls in London, Bristol, Somerset, Oxford and Dudley where motions have been passed banning defence investment in support of Palestine. Dudley Council, which is under no single party's overall control, passed a motion to divest from defence companies with the support of Labour and Liberal Democrat councillors. The council has flown the Ukrainian flag several times since the Russian invasion in February 2022, and lit up its town hall in blue and yellow. Labour-run Manchester City Council, which voted to pressure its pension provider to abandon weapons manufacturers in November last year, has celebrated Ukrainian independence day and spent £50,000 to support Ukrainian refugees arriving in the city. The motion noted that councillors 'recognise the inextricable link between war, climate destruction, and human suffering' and that 'armed conflicts not only result in loss of life, including civilians and children, but also lead to intense environmental destruction'. Labour-run Waltham Forest Council, which announced plans to sell all defence investments in August last year, has hosted events for Ukrainian residents affected by the 'crisis' in their home country. Mr Charters told The Telegraph: 'With war on our continent, this is not the moment for councils to pull back from investing in UK defence. 'Firms and financiers have been clear when we have engaged with them: barriers like weak demand signals, short-term contracts, divestment, and regulatory uncertainty are holding the sector back. 'Our report calls for urgent engagement with local government pension schemes — and sets out 12 reforms to help unlock the capital and credit our defence sector needs to grow. 'Financing sovereign defence isn't optional – it's vital to our security and economic future.' The report's findings also include an apparent admission from the parliamentary pension scheme for MPs that their savings are often deliberately not invested in defence. A letter to the MPs from the chair of the fund said that while there was no specific ban on defence investments, 'environmental, social, governance (ESG) and climate change issues tend to be more pronounced in some defence companies'. Mr Charters and Ms Baker said: 'There needs to be a holistic review by officials to understand how public investment vehicles are performing when it comes to defence sector investment. 'The UK cannot afford to miss this moment due to outdated ethical aversions. 'Defence investments represent not only a financial opportunity, but also an ethical obligation to secure the nation's future amidst an increasingly volatile geopolitical landscape.'
The Independent
20 hours ago
- The Independent
UK could face up to £30bn of tax rises to fund defence spending boost, economist says
Rachel Reeves could be forced to raise up to £30bn through tax rises or funding cuts as the chancellor seeks to meet Labour's pledge to boost defence spending, an economist has claimed. The government has promised to increase defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2027, and has an 'ambition' – but no firm commitment – to raise it to 3 per cent in the next parliament, after 2029. But the UK's Nato allies are expected also to push for a fresh target of 3.5 per cent, with the alliance's chief Mark Rutte pushing for a 'dramatic increase', with discussions over a possible 5 per cent target – as called for by Donald Trump – also taking place. And Sir Keir Starmer this week vowed to make Britain 'a battle-ready, armour-clad nation' as a long-awaited defence review called for major upgrades to the UK's military. While the major proposals were based around Labour's current spending pledges for 2027 and the next parliament, the report warned that 'as we live in such turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster' on increasing the UK's defence capabilities. Michael Saunders, a senior economic adviser at the Oxford Economics consultancy, suggested that the government could take steps towards this in the chancellor's next Budget. 'To establish a more credible path to defence spending 'considerably north of 3 per cent' next decade, the government may decide in the autumn Budget that it needs to add some extra spending within the five-year OBR forecast horizon,' said Mr Saunders. 'It's not hard to see pressures for extra fiscal tightening of £15bn to £30bn,' he told The Telegraph. Fiscal tightening involves either raising taxes or cutting government spending. Earlier this week, Paul Johnson, the director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), also warned the only way to pay for the increased defence budget would be through 'chunky tax rises' as the government grapples with other key areas of public spending. He told Times Radio: 'You really do have to ask that question, what are the choices that you're going to make? Bluntly, it really does seem to me that the only choice that is available, is some really quite chunky tax increases to pay for it.' According to the IFS, hitting the 3 per target by 2030 would require an extra £17bn pounds between now and then which is yet to be accounted for. Sir Keir has previously said that increasing defence spending to 2.5 per cent would mean 'spending £13.4bn more on defence every year from 2027'. The Office for Budget Responsibility has also estimated that reaching 3 per cent by the next parliament would cost an additional £17.3bn in 2029/30. Speaking in parliament as the defence review was unveiled this week, Lib Dem defence spokesperson Helen Maguire said: 'It is staggering that we still don't have an answer to the vital question: 'Where is the money coming from?' The government has flip-flopped a number of times on 3 per cent.' On Tuesday, defence secretary John Healey failed to rule out tax rises to make Britain 'war ready' and insisted he was '100 per cent confident' the 3 per cent target would be met — but struggled to say how it would be paid for. It came as defence sources were reported to expect that Britain will be forced to sign up to a target to hike defence spending to 3.5 per cent by 2035 at a Nato summit later this month in a bid to appease the US president.
