EU, Britain reach agreement on Gibraltar status
MADRID, June 11 (Reuters) - The European Union and Britain have reached an agreement on the status of Gibraltar on Wednesday, according to a joint declaration between the parties.
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BBC News
37 minutes ago
- BBC News
Merthyr Tydfil moving from ironworks to innovation
From the early ironworks to 21st Century innovation, Merthyr Tydfil has always been a town in heavy industry has been and gone, Merthyr's manufacturing sector has ebbed and flowed with the changing priorities of global brands and the UK are some stalwarts of the business community who remain committed to the area, with the boss of Stephens and George printers speaking of his "pride" at employing local a decades-long renovation of the Prince Charles Hospital is now providing a route into work for young people. In the 19th Century, Dowlais in Merthyr had the largest ironworks in the world and helped fuel the industrial industries, employing thousands of people, shaped the economy. But as fortunes changed, so did the business landscape. They have been printing magazines in Dowlais for 60 years, at a company originally founded just over the hill in Aberdare a century George is now at the helm, having joined the family business in the 1970s. He said: "You have to go back over a hundred years to 1912 when my father's mother's father was a Mr George. "He met a Mr Stephens in Aberdare and they created a company called Stephens and George." The company has weathered the economic storms that have swept through Merthyr and the printing industry over the past hundred years."I have been coming to this valley for work since 1979, and the amount of change that I have seen is absolutely incredible," Mr George said. "The whole industrialised area of Merthyr is gone, there isn't any heavy industry left."While the area is no longer "an industrial heartland", Mr George said his company relied on a loyal and local added: "We've got close to 190 people working here at the moment, and a large proportion of them come from within five miles of the factory."There is regular investment at the factory, where multi-million pound machines are bought from German specialist manufacturers every five or six years. The latest press, which is a year old, can print 21,000 sheets of magazine paper every hour at top speed."Come here on Thursdays and it is manic," Mr George smiled. The company does a roaring trade in football and rugby programmes, which fly out of Merthyr to grounds across the UK every is also investment in the workforce, though some people's expectations of the job have changed."Since Covid," Mr George said, "people took a rain check, I think."Trying to find the right type of youngster who wants to come and work in a factory, and do shifts, is difficult."The printing presses run all day and night, seven days a week, and he admitted: "We do find it difficult to recruit good people."Merthyr Tydfil's chimneys have been replaced with industrial estates, call centres and cutting edge military Dynamics employs around 700 people on its armoured vehicle production there is opportunity in the renovation of the town, with long-term work to modernise the Prince Charles Hospital providing construction work and opportunities for young people. Students from The College in Merthyr are getting a foot in the door with work experience on site."In the industry we've got a huge skills shortage," said Kelly Edwards from construction firm Tilbury Douglas."There are not enough young people taking construction as an option. Not many people are aware of the different opportunities within construction."So it is highlighting to us, and developing, our future pipeline of workers."Carpentry student Kayla Williams, 18, said she "really enjoyed" visiting the site."It was active. I could be hands-on. That's just what I love," she said. "I don't really like to sit down and do nothing!" Elliot Lewis-Campbell, also studying carpentry, said it was "so good to be able to watch other people who are more experienced" at the trade."It's so informative to be able to learn from them," he Jones from The College in Merthyr Tydfil said the links with local construction projects were said: "They are bringing contractors from the site down, they are doing CV talks about how to get into jobs, (sharing) interview techniques."Learners are participating in these sessions, developing their skills and trying to get into work."Back at the printers in Dowlais, Mr George thinks his family firm can navigate any economic headwinds."I am very proud to be able to do this. And I want to see the business continue well into the future," he said.
Telegraph
39 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Crime will be the next immigration. Politicians will be punished for it
It's hard to shake off the sense that Britain is creeping towards lawlessness. Low-level crime is on its way to becoming legalised, whether officially – in the case of cannabis – or not – as with shoplifting. Public faith in the police is collapsing as many serious crimes like burglary and assault routinely fail to be solved, and sometimes even go uninvestigated, while ' speech crimes' trigger the full wrath of the law. Too many neighbourhoods are becoming hotbeds of anti-social behaviour, with begging prolific and buildings defaced by graffiti. True, Britain is cash-strapped. But it's the fusion of chronic underinvestment with liberal idealism which is so toxic. Disorder is being normalised, criminals treated as victims, the rule of law eroded. Though politicians remain convinced that crime is a second-order issue, it could eventually prove the Labour Government's undoing. My own local area in west London is disintegrating. It started with a clutch of beggars congregating outside the Tesco after Covid. Now they are joined by dishevelled women selling 'washing powder' and bare-footed addicts. For the most part, they are a nuisance rather than dangerous. Like many women in the city, when I walk the streets, I get the surreal feeling of being neither safe nor unsafe. With the crime rate in my area surging by a third since 2019, and several of my neighbours recently burgled, that may soon change. When I expressed my concerns to police and crime commissioners this week, they echoed Mark Rowley's complaint about a lack of funds. Some say they find Rachel Reeves's claim that she is hiking police spending by 2.3 per cent each year exasperating. A view prevails in Westminster that crime is a non-issue. Its proponents point to statistics that suggest it is at its lowest level on record. They think that technology is rendering crime a relic of the past, with their favourite example, carjacking, now largely a fool's errand thanks to security device innovation. They think that any ongoing problems pertain to a tiny number of chronic offenders. Meanwhile, Left-leaning criminologists insist that conservatives' fears that 'soft' policing could drive up crime are prejudiced. Crackdowns are said to be 'counterproductive', alienating 'disproportionately-targeted' minority groups. Such framing overlooks the risk that unrecorded crime is quietly climbing, as law-breaking becomes such a regular occurrence that some victims don't bother to report it. Other kinds are probably not being picked up properly by polling. Even more worrying is the Leftist view that, if there is a specific issue with chronic offenders, it's the consequence of too much law and order rather than too little. Keir Starmer's prison guru, James Timpson, thinks Britain is 'addicted' to sentencing. Sadiq Khan has backed 'partial' cannabis decriminalisation, amid claims that policing the drug harms more than the substance itself. The way in which the Left tries to romanticise these criminals is if anything becoming more strident – we are told that in the wake of austerity and Covid, certain law-breakers are, deep down, troubled souls. Shoplifters and fare dodgers who are allegedly 'struggling with the cost of living' are the latest group to which any 'compassionate' society should turn a blind eye, the Left insist. This myth threatens to shake the foundations of our society by undermining the sacred principle that we are all equal under the law. There is only so far we can fall down this rehabilitation rabbit hole before triggering a crime surge. Labour is adamant that the Michael Howard school of tough sentencing has failed. It has opted to release offenders early and ignore our rotting prison estate. This is a terrible mistake. Even if prison isn't working in the sense that it isn't preventing ex-convicts from reoffending, policymakers should not use this as an excuse to avoid punishing those who break our laws. The answer to our failure to rehabilitate is not to allow criminals to escape punishment. In the most important sense, prison almost always 'works' by preventing somebody who is locked up from stealing or assaulting other people. True, rehabilitation can sometimes work wonders. I have spoken with ex offenders who have been transformed by such programmes. One woman, Sonia, told me of how the support of one charity helped her evade the 'revolving door back to prison'. But resource-intensive, bespoke rehabilitation is tricky to scale. In austere times, the temptation to roll out rehab on the cheap could prove overwhelming, and will end in failure. As veteran probation expert Mark Leech told me: 'There are prisoners that have done the courses so many times they could deliver them better than the tutors who deliver them.' Chasing a utopian ideal, with no idea how to make it work, let alone on a tight budget, is flirting with disaster. Efforts by some criminologists to discredit the policing approach known as 'broken windows' could also end badly. This concept, which clamps down on low-level crime such as graffiti and drug-taking on the basis that tolerating 'minor' disorder leads to a culture that promotes much more serious crime, helped flatten a vicious crime wave in 1990s New York. It has been trashed in recent years, amid complaints it is racist and based on 'bogus' evidence. I disagree. Broken windows could once again be a vital weapon against certain serious crimes, such as sexual offences. Police officers on the front line certainly seem to think so: as Matthew Barber, PCC for Thames Valley, says: 'You won't find many hardened criminals who didn't start doing things at a young age before getting steadily out of control. Fix those basics and you'll prevent an awful lot more serious crime down the road.' Though Labour politicians may be in denial, a slow-burning crisis is unfolding. There is a widespread sense of malaise, that law is breaking down. In Red Wall towns, Labour's 'levelling up' projects are being undermined by anti-social behaviour. In the cities, alarm at gang violence, as well as muggings and burglary, may yet nudge professionals to the Right. Labour's inability to tackle crime could cost it dear.
The Guardian
41 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Poundland sold for £1 with dozens of store closures expected
The discount retail chain Poundland is expected to close dozens of its stores after it was sold to the investment company Gordon Brothers for £1. Poundland, which has more than 800 outlets in the UK and employs about 16,000 people, was put up for sale by its owners, Pepco Group, in March as a result of 'challenging trading conditions'. The US investment firm Gordon Brothers, former owner of Laura Ashley, said it would invest up to £80m in Poundland to help turn the business around. As part of the deal, Poundland faces a restructuring plan that is expected to include a swath of store closures, putting thousands of jobs at risk. The company is also thought to be looking to slash its rent bill. Poundland said the details would be communicated 'in due course'. Poland-based Pepco, which bought Poundland in 2016, had been looking at options for the outlet since late last year in order to focus on its more profitable Pepco brand, at a time when Poundland was facing tough competition from other discount chains and in the face of increased wage costs. Stephan Borchert, the chief executive of Pepco Group, said the sale 'marks an important milestone in our strategic plan to move away from FMCG [fast-moving consumer goods] and focus predominantly on Pepco, our higher margin clothing and general merchandise business'. Pepco reportedly received interest in Poundland from others, including the restructuring specialist Hilco and Modella Capital, the new owners of WH Smith's high street business. However Pepco said last month that any sale of Poundland would not result in 'major proceeds' for investors as Poundland might not make a profit in the last financial year. Even at a time when consumers are watching their spending, budget chains such as Poundland have been having a particularly tough time as a result of growing competition from supermarkets such as Tesco, Aldi and Lidl, as well as the expansion of rival groups such as Savers, The Range and Home Bargains. Discount retailers such as Poundland have slim profit margins, giving them little room to absorb extra costs such as the increase in national insurance contributions, which took effect in April, at the same time that sales growth is slowing as UK households rein in their spending. Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning after newsletter promotion Poundland was founded in 1990 with its first store in Burton upon Trent. It became popular for offering value products ranging from food and cosmetics to homeware and stationery, with all items originally priced at £1. It moved away from its £1 model in 2019, bringing in what it called a new pricing structure, although in recent months it has tried to win back customers by increasing the number of £1 products it sells.
