Sellafield nuclear plant contractors PX Ltd to strike
The final pay offer was 3.5 to 5% depending on a set of criteria, Unite said.Unite general secretary, Sharon Graham, said: "PX Limited can clearly afford to pay our members for the vital work they do but is choosing to put profits over people."This dispute is completely caused by the employer's greed."A spokesperson for Sellafield added: "As always, the safety and security of the Sellafield site, our workforce and the local community will be our priority during any industrial action."
Follow BBC Cumbria on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Times
an hour ago
- Times
Keir Starmer must let in sunlight to avoid further lobbying scandals
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton long ago predicted that lobbying would be 'the next big scandal' to hit politics, warning of the dangers of what happens behind closed doors. 'We all know how it works. The lunches, the hospitality, the quiet word in your ear, the ex-ministers and ex-advisers for hire, helping big business find the right way to get its way,' he said in 2010. It was somewhat apt that despite introducing the first real oversight for lobbyists, the former prime minister was caught in just such a scandal after he departed from office. Despite a repeated cycle of scandals involving what Lord Cameron spoke of, lobbyists have continued to work in the shadows. As this newspaper has exposed, the Starmer government is facing serious questions over 'cash for access' after businesses were approached by a Labour group offering private meetings with 'an influential Labour figure'. The Labour Infrastructure Forum (LIF), which is run by lobbyists from Bradshaw Advisory along with an advisory council of senior party figures, has offered businesses the chance to meet 'key policymakers' to help 'shape the discussion'. The forum has offered sponsorship packages for potential clients, including breakfast meetings for almost £9,500. Darren Jones, the chief secretary to the Treasury, has spoken at an LIF event. • Labour 'leaving public in the dark' about payments from lobbyists Although the LIF insists that the sponsorship money is used to cover costs, the group declined a request by The Times to disclose details of which companies had sponsored events at what cost until its next annual report. The Labour Party too has declined to say which senior figures had attended any LIF meetings. Yet undercover reporting has shown Gerry McFall, director of the forum alongside his leading role at Bradshaw Advisory, boasted of meetings between his clients and senior figures in government, including Jonathan Reynolds, the business secretary. There is a clear problem here that must be addressed. The Office of the Registrar of Consultant Lobbyists, which was set up during Lord Cameron's premiership, governs lobbying and is supposed to ensure it is transparent and open. Businesses who regularly engage in lobbying, known as 'consultant lobbyists', are required to register their activities. Yet the LIF was not required to register as it did not fall under this category: in-house lobbyists who are employed directly by companies, think tanks or 'forums' are not required to register. This must be addressed: all lobbying activity should be recorded, along with the details of who exactly is meeting which ministers. That being said, ministers should show more common sense. Mr Jones should have done due diligence before speaking at an LIF event. The same goes for Mr Reynolds, the minister most exposed to the potential influence of businesses. The lack of records charting his meeting with a Bradshaw Advisory client at a Labour conference highlights another flaw in transparency rules, which does not require ministers to report meetings at such events not deemed to be in a ministerial capacity. Even if the party insists it was instead 'held in a political capacity', Mr Reynolds should have realised that he should strive for transparency. • How we exposed Labour's cosy links to lobbyists None of this is to say that all lobbying is inherently bad, or that onerous restrictions are required. It is essential to good policy making that ministers hear from businesses — particularly a government that has as little private sector experience as this one. But it must be done in an open and transparent manner, something lacking at present. According to an analysis by the Chartered Institute of Public Relations, registered Westminster lobbyists account for just 0.5 per cent of registered lobbyists across a host of similar countries. If Sir Keir Starmer is to avoid further such scandals, he must strengthen the oversight. By letting in as much sunlight as possible, it will go some way to curtail any sense of wrongdoing, real or perceived.
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Revealed: Clifftop mansion being offered in latest Omaze Million Pound House Draw had its price slashed by £2million a year ago
A cliff top mansion currently being offered in the latest Omaze Million Pound House Draw saw £2million slashed from its asking price, we can reveal. The four-bed mansion in the Cornish coastal village of Porthcothan - close to millionaire's playgrounds of Padstow and Mawgan Porth - is described as being worth 'over £3million'. But little over a year ago the same house was marketed with a £5million asking price. While the final sale price hasn't been released, shortly before the sale progressed to the company behind Omaze, its guide price had fallen to £3.5million. This week neighbours told the Daily Mail the house - named Llawnroc, which is Cornwall spelled backwards - has never been lived in since it was built over a decade ago. One said: 'The previous owner thought it was terrific but I wasn't surprised when it appeared in the Omaze draw. 'The £5million asking price was laughable. It would probably sell at about £2.5million. 'I know a lot of people around here have bought a ticket for the draw but if I win it'll be up for sale the next day.' Bath-based management consultants Colin Price and Sharon Toye spent £1million building the house in 2014 having demolished a 1960s three-bed house bought for £1.75million three years earlier. But the construction was far from straight-foward as Mr Price acknowledged in an interview with Homebuilding & Renovating magazine following its completion. He said: 'The build was tricky and it would have been something of a disaster if we damaged the cliff while digging down but our builders managed it with great skill, and the project was finished on time even considering we experienced one of the worst winters on record.' In 2014 during construction a spectacular rock arch in the bay cliff collapsed after it was battered by towering waves and storms. Even before breaking ground on the new house, a number of residents voiced concern about whether the cliffs would be impacted. One wrote: 'The amount of bed-rock that will have to be removed to lay the foundations and accommodate the new building is both startling and very worrying. I assume that a comprehensive geological survey has been carried out on the site (which is very close to the cliff edge) and to which accountability may be applied in the case of structural damage to any of the nearby properties and especially the cliff itself. 'In the absence of such a survey I would hope that the Planning Authority would undertake one before any permissions are granted as the ramifications of any damage occurring in this area of the cliff are too serious to contemplate. I would like to see any assurances in writing.' The original design was refused by Cornwall Council and an appeal also upheld the decision leading to the removal of a circular roof for a more conventional pitched roof The striking design has four 'lenses' of floor-to-ceiling glass - intended to mimic binoculars looking out to sea. Ten years on a number of neighbours still grumble about the design - which saw the home double the size of its processor. The original design was refused by Cornwall Council and an appeal also upheld the decision leading to the removal of a circular roof for a more conventional pitched roof. One said: 'The first design was completely unsuitable for this bay and was rejected by the council, they also lost on appeal but what they have built is actually worse if anything. 'So this is what we are left with, most people still think it's wrong for the area but what can you do? 'People walk along the coast path all the time and stop to look at the houses, you can see into almost all the rooms because they have glass walls. 'I personally wouldn't be keen on having people staring into my sitting room or bedroom. Another neighbour, who has lived in the village for 45 years, added: 'There used to be a community along the clifftop but now just three of the 15 houses are lived in. 'It used to be a quiet lane but now it's like the M1 with people rushing back and forward, different people every week on holiday. 'I have no idea who any of my neighbours are, you see different cars going up the road every week, they could be up here burgling for all we know. 'I would love to leave this house to my family but there's no way they could afford the inheritance tax bill. I feel sorry for the young people around here.' The quiet cove of Porthcothan Bay, is dubbed one of Cornwall's 'best kept secrets'. The unique design is energy efficient and the bedrooms have been planned to capture the morning sun from the east, with the main living areas placed in a triangle widening towards the sea views and sunsets. The property has 3,390 sq ft of accommodation. On the lower ground floor there is a bedroom with en-suite, a home office that could also be another bedroom, a utility and a large open plan kitchen/dining room with a pantry and walk-in fridge and bi-fold doors that open to the garden. Upstairs there are three bedrooms, two bathrooms and an impressive sitting room. Outside it has driveway parking and a secure garage, a partially covered terrace dining space, a sunken fire pit in the garden, and an outside shower to wash off sandy feet from the beach. The property has a gate leading onto the coastal path and the beach below. While a winner of the latest Omaze dream home has yet to be selected, the competition already has a track record of winners quickly putting the homes on the market - dubbed the Omaze curse. In June the youngest ever winner Lauren Keene, 24, followed in the footsteps of the vast majority of winners by cashing in on her six-bedroom Hollywood-style home in the Wirral, Merseyside, by putting it on the market for £2.5million, a discount of £500,000 on the original £3million valuation. The full time nanny and her partner Ryan Mitchell spent only a few nights at the spectacular house due to them living and working almost 200 miles away in Gloucester. Like many other winners of Omaze's Grand Designs-style homes, Lauren is also said to have been put off by the expensive running costs of her new dream home. Instead she and her Ryan, a software engineer, are buying themselves a much smaller and more practical semi-detached home in Gloucester. The Mail can now reveal that all, but a handful of the 39 winners of Omaze home draws in the UK, have sold or are planning to sell their multi-million pound prizes.
The Sun
3 hours ago
- The Sun
15 reasons why the Ford Transit is the GOAT of the van world – from transporting rock bands, elephants and even ROYALS
WE could argue all night about who is the GOAT. 15 15 15 But when it comes to vehicles, it's not even a debate. G reatest O f A ll T ransit. The humble Ford Transit has been Britain's best-selling van since day one - August 9, 1965. That's like Liverpool winning the Prem for 60 years on the bounce. Everyone else might as well give up and go home. To celebrate Transit's 60th, we've peppered today's column with quirky facts, as well as hearing from owners with a cherished van from each decade. Ford's famous Backbone Of Britain telly ad from the Eighties was genius marketing. Yet also 100 per cent true. Transit keeps this country ticking. Everything we see and touch was transported in a van. 15 15 One reason Transit is successful is that Ford engineers sit with owners to find ways of making the next model even more useful. Like the bloke who shoved a lump of wood through the bottom of the steering wheel to make a lunch table. The latest Transit Custom has a tilt-up steering wheel with a tray for his quinoa tuna salad. Bosh. Ford's insane V8 1971 Transit Supervan Retired builder Peter Lee, founder of the Transit Van Club, said: 'Transit is like a forklift with two doors. "Built to work. They're good honest vans that will do the job.' The OG and still the best. 3 MILLION UK sales and counting. Always available in white. 15 15 15 15 15 15
