Solar panels 'to cut leisure centre running costs'
Solar panels have been installed on a leisure centre as part of efforts to reduce costs and protect the environment.
Workington Leisure Centre in Cumbria has been fitted with 160kW panels, which will provide about 20% of the site's electricity demand.
The installation is expected to save money on running costs and generate income by exporting electricity back into the National Grid during periods of low consumption.
Cumberland Council's executive member for vibrant and healthy places, Anne Quilter, said the solar panels were one way the council was working to "build a greener, more sustainable future for [its] communities".
She said their installation also aligned with the Labour-led local authority's "commitment to tackling the climate emergency and building environmental resilience" across the region.
The solar panels were paid for using capital grant funding from the Sport England Swimming Pool Support Fund, which also helped to pay for panels at The Sands Centre in Carlisle.
Tom Rice, partnership manager at Greenwich Leisure Limited, which runs the centre, said: "One of our key priorities is to futureproof leisure facilities across [the area] and champion environmental resilience."
He said the cost savings made from selling electricity back to the grid would be reinvested back into the leisure centre.
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Starmer's new bus scheme puts him on the path of failed prime ministers
Credit: Reuters, ITV Central, ITN News Northern transport schemes have become something of a panic button for prime ministers worried about falling popularity in the polls. With Sir Keir Starmer less popular than Sir Ed Davey, his Liberal Democrat counterpart, the Labour leader sent his Chancellor out to bat for him with Wednesday's announcement. Yet close watchers of politics might feel that some of the sums unveiled by Rachel Reeves, as part of what she described as 'the biggest ever investment by a British government in transport links in our city regions and the surrounding towns', are suspiciously similar to previous pledges. Those include £978 million for transport projects in the Tees Valley region, a sum previously announced in 2023 by the Tories and then placed under review by Labour after last year's general election. A similar situation holds true for the Liverpool city region, which was awarded £1.581 billion in 2023 under the city region sustainable transport settlement, after Wednesday's £1.581 billion award under Labour's newly unveiled transport for city regions funding settlements. Gareth Davies, the shadow treasury minister, said: 'Rachel Reeves is scrambling to salvage her failing economic plan after the Prime Minister has made U-turn after U-turn, punching holes in her credibility. 'She needed to do better than copying and pasting announcements made by the previous Conservative government. The country is not falling for their lies any more. Britain deserves better.' Here are some of the times in the recent past when prime ministers have reached for northern transport funding announcements to shore up their sagging popularity. Mr Brown, who succeeded Sir Tony Blair as prime minister, said he would improve public transport in Sunderland if his party won the 2010 general election. His manifesto that year also promised 'upgrades to Tyne and Wear light-rail systems' and electronic ticketing to promote 'cheap and easy' public transport across the country. It wasn't the first time Mr Brown had fallen back on promises of boosting transport spending outside London and the South East. The previous December, he opened the HS1 railway line in Kent while promising that it would become 'a blueprint for the future of high-speed rail travel in the United Kingdom'. He added, referring to the then not-yet-started project, that HS2 was going to 'make the case for a national high-speed rail network across this country'. Not long after Sir Tony handed over the premiership to Mr Brown, an act followed by a slump in the opinion polls and strong rumours of a 2008 snap election, the new prime minister was forced to deny that transport spending was skewed towards London and the South East. 'The Government has doubled expenditure on transport. It continues to move forward with its road programme, but also its rail and infrastructure programme,' Mr Brown said that year. 'And I don't think it's true to say that transport spending has been skewed to one particular area. In every part of the country, we are expanding transport according to the needs of these different areas. 'The important thing to recognise about transport is that we are investing in every part of the country.' In October 2010, the Tory-Lib Dem government announced deep public spending cuts as part of George Osborne's austerity programme, with the transport budget set for cuts of around 15 per cent. Mr Osborne spearheaded the Northern Powerhouse Rail project, a slogan that promised a lateral high-speed railway line across northern England, alongside plans for HS2 to move off the drawing board and into reality. As the 2015 general election loomed, however, David Cameron – now Baron Cameron of Chipping Norton – started adopting the familiar refrain of North-centric transport announcements in an attempt to woo voters. 'I think it is important that to reassure people in the next parliament we're going to spend three times more on other transport schemes, road and rail schemes, as we'll spend on HS2,' he told ITV News in 2014, ahead of the following year's general election. A year later, the prime minister was back out on the stump, promising in a YouTube video addressed to voters in Accrington, Lancashire: 'Today I'm here in the North West talking about how we're going to invest in our universities, in our science base, how we're going to build the roads and railways and infrastructure that we need for our future so we get a balanced recovery right across our country.' The promise may have worked: in 2015 the Conservatives secured a clear majority, meaning they could govern without their erstwhile Lib Dem coalition partners. A year after that, Mr Cameron dramatically stepped down after losing the 2016 EU membership referendum. Mr Cameron's 2016 successor was Theresa May, who felt the heat of unpopularity as early as two years into her premiership. As part of a policy intended to 'help spread growth beyond London', a total of ten city regions around the country – including Greater Manchester, Cambridge, Peterborough, Plymouth, Southampton and Sheffield, among others – were handed a total of £1.7 billion between them for transport projects. 'Our great cities and their suburbs are home to millions of people and world-beating businesses,' Mrs May said at the time. Faced with growing calls for a general election in 2019, she went on to reassure Midlands political and business leaders that the Tories were backing the full length of HS2's northern leg. She said in a letter to the Midlands Connect trade association: 'I would like to take this opportunity to assure you that the Government remains committed to delivering the whole of HS2 Phase 2, and will continue to work closely with you to ensure that the project meets your aspirations for growth and regeneration.' After Mrs May stepped down in 2019, Boris Johnson won the 2019 Conservative Party leadership election – and called a general election in the same year. Having been mayor of London, the one-time Telegraph correspondent was already firmly linked in the public imagination with transport projects – but that did not stop him from reaching for the familiar northern transport announcements when the polls were down. Mr Johnson said in an early 2020 speech: 'I want to be the prime minister who does with Northern Powerhouse Rail what we did for Crossrail in London, and today I am going to deliver on my commitment to that vision with a pledge to fund the Leeds to Manchester route.' That route has, so far, not materialised. During her 45 days in office, Liz Truss had little time to say much. Yet in the run-up to her abortive prime ministerial term, she renewed the Conservatives' pledge to build Northern Powerhouse Rail. 'Leeds is still the largest city in Europe without its own metro network and I would work to fix that. And I will get Northern Powerhouse Rail built,' she told a Tory leadership hustings in July 2022. She did not, in fact, get the train project onto the tracks during her two months in No 10. Rishi Sunak took a much bolder stance than his predecessors, being best remembered in transport circles for cancelling the northern leg of HS2 and freezing National Highways' smart motorways rollout. Yet by 2024, paving the ground for that year's general election, the Tory leader was keen to position himself as a generous benefactor for northern transport projects. 'Through reallocating HS2 funding, we're not only investing billions of pounds directly back into our smaller cities, towns and rural areas across the North and Midlands, but we are also empowering their local leaders to invest in the transport projects that matter most to their communities – this is levelling up in action,' he said in a statement that February. His government's 2023 announcement that HS2 Phase 2 funding was being redirected into various northern transport projects formed the basis of Wednesday's announcement by Rachel Reeves. Keen observers of politics watching Ms Reeves's speech could be forgiven for believing they had become trapped in the film Groundhog Day. But the refrain is so familiar from prime ministers in political hot water that it has become a predictable staple of these types of set-piece speech. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. 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Starmer could be Labour's last PM. That's what makes him so dangerous
Brace, dear readers, brace, for everything will get worse before it gets better. Sir Keir Starmer's premiership is holed below the waterline, his party on the verge of disintegration. Starmer has lost control of immigration and of the public finances. Nobody knows what he stands for. It is a question of when, not if, he is forced to fire Rachel Reeves. It is unclear whether he will lead Labour into the next election, or even whether it will remain the dominant party of the Left. Bring it on, I hear you say. But a desperate Starmer will be far worse than the incompetent, complacent version we have been subjected to so far. He no longer has anything to lose. He will target Middle England with wanton abandon, embracing Corbyn-lite policies to shore up his far-Left flank. Every stupid idea in the collectivist arsenal – wealth taxes, the revaluation of council tax bands to hammer expensive homes, a cap on pension pots, the removal of pension tax relief, a war on Isas, steeper inheritance tax – is bound to make a comeback to fill his self-inflicted fiscal black hole. The 'rich' will be asked to pay more for water and broadband via 'social tariffs'. Ed Miliband will be emboldened in his rush to net zero, minus the occasional tactical delay. There will be no end to the woke madness, rampant crime and unjust legal decisions. As ludicrous as this might sound to outsiders aghast at Starmer's proto-socialism and disgusted by the human rights lawfare pushed by Lord Hermer, his attorney general, many Labour MPs and intellectuals actually believe that Starmer's error was to tack too far to the Right. They believe he cares too much about a Red Wall that is already lost. 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There is talk that 15 Labour MPs may defect to the Greens if they choose as their new leader Zack Polanski, who wants to turn the party into a Left-wing populist alternative to Reform. It is hard to oust a Labour leader, but Starmer's position is weakening. Labour's problem is the mirror image of the Tories'. Britain is undergoing a brutal realignment. Both parties were coalitions; the Tories had no rival to their Right and Labour none to their Left. Policies were designed to appeal to centrist 'median voters' and a few thousand swing electors in a few seats. Everything has changed, for three reasons. First, the Blair-Brown-Osborne-Starmer managerialist orthodoxy has failed. The economy is toast, the public sector is kaput, social breakdown is rife and the ultra-high immigration model has gone badly wrong. The electorate craves new ideas. Second, voters have become radicalised by culture wars. Previously uncontroversial views – on biological sex, on free speech – are now key markers of identity. Education has become more important than class, income or wealth when it comes to political affiliation, and, tragically, sectarian voting is back, fuelled by demographic change. Third, the political marketplace is working: the public want more choice, and they are getting it. Nigel Farage's Reform is leading the polls, while on the far-Left the Greens and 'pro-Gaza' Independents are surging (with the latter's appeal probably underestimated by researchers). Many no longer detect any difference between Labour and Tories, and no longer care which of the old duopoly is in power. On the Left, voting is becoming performative, an expression of identity and values, not a means to seize power; tactical voting is waning, and fragmentation rising. The Labour coalition is gone, never to return. Its Right flank has fled to Reform. Some social democrats are opting for the Lib Dems, a party that could yet overtake Labour in parliament. For Starmer, the only hope is to tack Left, appealing to Greens and Corbynites, to bash Israel and U-turn on cuts, but it won't work: this electorate has become so extreme that even a speech praising Marx and Engels would flop. Recognising Palestine wouldn't be sufficient; they would demand Russia-style sanctions. Higher benefits would be ridiculed as Austerity 2.0. There are some around Starmer who believe he can muddle through, but they are deluded. Yes, the French are saying they will help with small boats (good luck with that), two polls suggest a smaller Reform lead, and £15 billion will be spent on buses in the North. So what? The big picture is apocalyptic. Reeves will increase taxes at the Budget to fund her U-turns on winter fuel, the two-child benefits cap and personal independence payments, as well as public sector pay rises. She will then need to rise taxes again and again over the next few years to put defence on course for 3.5 per cent of GDP, plus another 1.5 per cent on related spending – even before any further increases in spending on the welfare state in a doomed attempt to buy back votes. This could trigger a full-on fiscal crisis: the tax take is already maxed out and will surely fail to keep up with spending. Labour is polling at 22 per cent, down 11.7 points on a pathetically poor election victory. Gordon Brown, Ed Miliband, Jeremy Corbyn, Neil Kinnock and Michael Foot performed better than Starmer's current ratings. We need to go back to 1918, when Labour, still a fringe group, collected 20.8pc under William Adamson, for the party to be scoring so poorly. This is where Labour is heading, or worse. Starmer could be its final PM, the closing chapter in a 100- year story. Let's hope he doesn't entirely ruin Britain on his way out. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
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Starmer faces calls for stronger line on Gaza
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The Israel Defence Forces say its troops fired shots after identifying suspects who moved towards them "deviating from the designated access routes". The UK's Middle East Minister Hamish Falconer faced the anger of backbench Labour MPs - many of whom were wearing red "stop arming Israel" badges - in the House of Commons. Falconer said he was "appalled" by Palestinians being killed when trying to access aid sites, adding: "We call for an immediate and independent investigation into these events for the perpetrators to be held to account." He added: "Israel's unjustified block on aid into Gaza needs to end - it is inhumane. "Israel must immediately allow the United Nations and aid partners to safely deliver all types of aid at scale to save lives, reduce suffering and maintain dignity." Killings near Gaza aid centre will deepen criticism of Israel's new distribution system UK, France and Canada threaten action against Israel over Gaza Paul Adams: Starmer and Lammy sound genuinely angry at Israel Labour MP Rosena Allin-Khan called for Mr Netanyahu and "the other murderous figures who are responsible" to be sanctioned. "Words are not enough," she said, as she called for a date for when the government would impose restrictions on them. Labour MP Paula Barker said the history books "will not be kind" to the government unless action is taken. "What more evidence do we need to call this exactly what it is? A deliberate policy of annexation and genocide," she added. Her call for the government to acknowledge that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza was echoed by a number of MPs. Falconer said that it was a matter for a "competent court to determine". He added that he understood their frustrations, and promised further action if the UK could not persuade the Israeli government to "change course". Israel says it is working to destroy the Palestinian armed group Hamas and get back hostages they have taken. It has strongly denied allegations of genocide, claims which are also being examined by the International Court of Justice. The government is also facing calls to "urgently" recognise the state of Palestine - including from Conservative MP and former attorney general Sir Jeremy Wright. Sir Jeremy told MPs he he had changed his mind the timeframe for such a move - traditionally seen as being part of a "two-state solution" - over the rhetoric coming from the Israeli government. During the debate, protesters gathered outside Parliament to demand the end of arms sales to Israel, something that was repeatedly echoed by MPs, including former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. The MP, who now sits as an independent, is calling for a public inquiry to uncover what he called the "murky history of what's gone on, the murky arms sales and the complicity in appalling acts of genocide". He has tabled a draft bill to set up an inquiry to examine the "any UK military, economic or political cooperation" with Israel, with powers to question ministers and officials. The bill is backed by prominent left-wing Labour MPs including Diane Abbott and Richard Burgon, four independent MPs, two Greens and members of Plaid Cymru and the SNP. It has been scheduled for debate on 4 July, but is unlikely to become law without government backing. Corbyn was among the MPs calling for a total embargo on the sale of arms to Israel - including parts for F-35 fighter jets. Hamish Falconer said the UK had already taken steps to "ensure that weapons directly for use in Gaza have been suspended," and had stopped supplying F-35 parts "directly to Israel". But he said the UK would continue to supply parts to the "global pool" of F-35 spares, as this was needed to help "the defence of Nato allies" and support the Ukraine war effort. When it was put to him that Ukraine did not use F-35s, he said the planes were needed for the redeployment of F-15s, which were used in the fight against Russia. But Corbyn and other critics insist the government's explanations lack credibility and they must know that the parts are being used to attack Palestinians in Gaza. The Lib Dems are also urging a tougher stance from the government on Israel. At prime minster's questions, Sir Ed Davey urged Keir Starmer to "push at the UN Security Council for humanitarian corridors to get the desperately needed aid urgently into Gaza". Sir Keir said that the government is "working at pace with our allies on that very issue, to take whatever measures we can to get that humanitarian aid in". Israel launched its military campaign in Gaza in response to Hamas' cross-border attack on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage. At least 54,607 people have been killed in Gaza since then, including 4,335 since Israel resumed its offensive on 18 March, according to the territory's health ministry.
