
How can Starmer square Labour's absurd Net Zero drive with his plans for this £10BILLION AI data centre that could emit as much CO2 as an airport? ROSS CLARK
For a Prime Minister who has laid out his priorities as 'growth, growth, growth', the prospect of ten gleaming 'data centres' rising on the Northumberland coast is manna from heaven.
The contrast between the architect's drawing of these huge factory-like centres – built to house millions of computer servers – and the coal-fired power station that used to stand here, north of the town of Blyth, could not be greater.
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Daily Mail
12 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Is the Nintendo Switch 2 worth the £400 price tag? PETER HOSKIN says the answer is an emphatic yes... and reveals why
Nintendo Switch 2 Verdict: Joy redefined The latest Nintendo console, the Switch 2, is finally here — and a question mark block hovers over it, just like the ones above Mario's head. Is it worth the £395.99 asking price (or £429.99, when bundled with the new Mario Kart World)? In this economy, and with more powerful PlayStations and Xboxes available for less, that's quite an outlay. I could make a financial argument for the Switch 2. Its predecessor, the original Switch, has been around for eight years now. If this new console has the same shelf life, that amounts to about £50 a a pound a week. Most people's chocolate habits cost more. But financial arguments are boring, when the Switch 2 is anything but. Although this is mostly just a bigger, better Switch, it's bigger and better in exciting ways. The larger, higher-definition screen is tremendously good for handheld play. Its more powerful innards mean that it can handle some very visually demanding games, including Cyberpunk 2077, which is also available now. It will come in two varieties: just the console and the console bundled with Mario Kart World. The former will cost £395.99 and the latter £429.99 Can the PS5 and Xbox Series X run these games even better? Yes. But a PC can run them even better again. And none have the easy, well, switchability of the Switch 2, which can move from your TV to your handbag in an instant. Technological domination isn't everything. Then there are the Switch 2's innovations, like its new mouse mode. The detachable Joy-Con controllers can be laid on their sides and moved and clicked just like the mouse for your desktop computer. It adds to the sense that Nintendo has made the Swiss Army knife of consoles. Everything for all occasions. The real draw, though, is the games. Neither the PlayStation nor the Xbox will ever get Mario Kart World, which is a loss for them. This first open-world entry in the madcap racing series is — much like the Switch 2 itself — an improvement on its already great predecessor. And think of all the joys to come! A new Donkey Kong game in July, which looks as though it delivers on its hero's full destructive potential. Followed by, presumably, new Mario and Zelda releases in future. Get saving.


BBC News
15 minutes ago
- BBC News
Lack of Devon and Cornwall transport funding criticised
The government has been accused of leaving Devon and Cornwall behind in terms of transport Rachel Reeves announced £15.6bn of funding for transport projects across parts of England including Greater Manchester, the Midlands, West England and Yorkshire on and business leaders based in Devon and Cornwall have criticised the government for overlooking the region after no money was earmarked for projects in either Department for Transport (DfT) said it was committed to delivering infrastructure that would boost the whole country. 'Underfunded services' Leigh Frost, leader of Cornwall Council, said the county's roadwork of more than 4,500 miles (7,242km) would have to be maintained with limited Liberal Democrat councillor said: "Our residents deserve a reliable, affordable, and integrated public transport system."Instead, we're left to struggle with making the Cornish pound stretch further to support our underfunded services, while other areas receive the lion's share of investment."Ben Maguire, Lib Dem MP for North Cornwall, said the county had "yet again been overlooked" by the government and the area deserved much better."We've had promises of 'levelling up', but this £15bn plan doesn't offer a single penny for our region," Mr Maguire added. Lib Dem MP for St Ives Andrew George accused the government of targeting "handpicked mayoral zones" with its £15.6bn of George added: "So we're expected to believe this is a politically neutral decision based on need?"Cornwall's Chamber of Commerce said transport consistently ranked as the top priority for businesses in the county, but said there was still not enough support from the Brown, the chamber's chief executive, said Cornwall was being left behind."Our businesses struggle daily with connectivity issues that limit growth potential," he said. "While metro mayors across England receive billions for trams and mass transit, Cornwall's economy continues to be hampered by inadequate bus services and rail connections that fail to meet business needs." 'Languishing behind' The funding announcement also received criticism in Smith, Conservative MP for South West Devon, said she was "deeply disappointed" that no money had been given to Devon or Cornwall."Anyone living in our corner of the UK will know that our transport infrastructure languishes behind the rest of the nation," Ms Smith said."I have warned before that the South West risks becoming Labour's forgotten region. It seems this remains true." 'Pushing our government' Jayne Kirkham, Labour MP for Truro and Falmouth, defended the government, saying the funding was focused on city said she and Perran Moon, Labour MP for Camborne and Redruth, had been told more help was expected in Spending Review due to be set out by the chancellor on 11 June."We will be pushing and pushing and pushing our government to make sure we get as much as we can for Cornwall, because we know how much we need it here," Ms Kirkham DfT said Wednesday's announcement would help more than a quarter of England's population get better transport infrastructure.A spokesperson added decisions on future transport spending would be announced as part of the Spending Review."We are committed to delivering transport infrastructure that will boost growth and opportunity across the whole country, as part of our 'Plan for Change'," the spokesperson said."This includes investing in Cornwall – where this year alone we are already providing £10m towards better bus services, up to £48m for highways and local transport maintenance and £1.1m to enable better walking, wheeling and cycling opportunities."


Telegraph
20 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Terrorism the only issue Starmer handling well, poll finds
Terrorism is the only issue that British people think Sir Keir Starmer is handling well, new polling suggests. In a damning audit of Labour's first year in office, voters gave the Government bad marks on 14 out of 15 key policy areas, from taxation to immigration. The YouGov survey, conducted over the past month, makes grim reading for the Prime Minister, who has struggled with plummeting approval ratings since entering No 10. It indicates the scale of the challenge he faces to win back the public's trust amid the rise of Reform UK, with Labour still reeling from disastrous results at last month's local elections. Asked how the Government was faring in 15 key policy areas, voters indicated that terrorism was the only one they thought Sir Keir was handling well, with a net score of +3. The 14 other issues all received net negative ratings, with immigration the lowest at -60, followed closely by taxation on -58 and welfare on -53. Sir Keir also got bad marks on the economy, with a net score of -52, as well as housing, the NHS, crime, inflation, unemployment, Brexit, the environment, education, transport and defence. The survey, published on Thursday, was conducted between May 3 and June 2, using a representative sample of 8,538 British people. It will come as a blow to the Prime Minister before the spending review next week, at which the Chancellor is expected to unveil cuts to day-to-day spending to keep within her self-imposed fiscal rules. The positive feedback on Labour's handling of terrorism will be encouraging for the Government, suggesting Sir Keir is broadly trusted to keep the country safe. But the lack of confidence in the Prime Minister's ability to tackle the small boats crisis will concern No 10 as Reform storms ahead in the opinion polls. A similarly dire score on welfare suggests Sir Keir has work to do to win back Labour's traditional supporters on the Left, many of whom were dismayed by his sweeping cuts to benefits earlier this year. No 11 will also be disappointed by the lack of faith in Labour's ability to handle the economy, despite Rachel Reeves's attempt to put fiscal responsibility front and centre of her plans. Sir Keir declared Reform his main opposition last month, setting him up for a battle with Nigel Farage on highly charged issues such as migration and net zero. Meanwhile, the Reform leader parked his tanks on Labour's lawn by promising to reverse the cut to winter fuel payments for pensioners in full and lift the two-child benefit cap. The YouGov poll found that nearly three-quarters of voters thought Sir Keir was doing 'very badly' or 'fairly badly' on immigration, compared to just 13 per cent who thought he was doing well. Labour has been accused of losing control of Britain's borders after close to 1,200 small boat migrants crossed the Channel in a single day.