
Yarm Town Council resignations lead to temporary appointments
It explained because there were so many vacancies, the borough council "may, by order, appoint a person or persons to fill all or any of the vacancies until other town councillors are co-opted or elected to take office".The local authority used its power under the Local Government Act 1972 to appoint John Coulson, Andrew Sherris, Elsi Hampton and Stefan Houghton.It followed an initial wave of seven resignations at the beginning of June.Coulson, who also represents Yarm on the borough council, was one of the town councillors who resigned - also giving up his roles as chairman and mayor - alongside six others.He previously told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "We left because the situation became untenable and in some ways impossible to carry on. "We couldn't progress and proceed how things were."Councillors Pamela Smailes, Brian Newcombe and husband and wife Bob and Barbara Wegg cited ongoing hostility and a "toxic" atmosphere for their resignations last week.The borough council said a notice of election would be published on its website in the coming weeks, no later than 10 July.
Follow BBC Tees on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Sun
25 minutes ago
- The Sun
Workers could see wages shrink by £320 due to Labour's stealth tax rises – check how your pay could be affected
EMPLOYEES could see their wages shrink by £320 due to Labour's stealth tax rises. The government recently said it will not commit to lifting the freeze on income tax thresholds or national insurance (NI) in the next Budget - a move that would force millions of Brits into paying a higher rate of tax. 1 Workers would be pushed into higher tax brackets as their wages rise with inflation - a concept known as fiscal drag. The tax thresholds were frozen under the Tories, and are set to be lifted in April 2028. It has now emerged that people could see their wages fall by £320 under if the freeze is extended by Labour. According to wealth manager Quilter, if the freeze is extended by two years, a worker earning £30,000 could end up paying an extra £106 in income tax and national insurance in 2028-29 and an extra £214 in 2029-30. Someone earning £60,000 would pay an extra £317 in 2028-29 and an extra £643 the following tax year. Meanwhile, someone on £150,000 would pay an extra £354 in 2028-29 and an extra £718 the following tax year. The freeze to income tax brackets means almost 2.9 million more people will pay the basic rate of income tax - which is 20% on earnings between £12,571 to £50,270 - in 2025-26 compared to 2021-22. Over 2.6 million more will pay the higher rate - which is 40% on income from £50,271 to £125,140. If Rachel Reeves does decide to extend the freeze on income tax brackets in her autumn Budget, it will mark yet another Labour U-turn. The Chancellor previously ruled this out in last year's Budget, saying extending the policy would "hurt working people". Millions of workers to get pay rise as Rachel Reeves reveals income tax changes But economists believe Ms Reeves will be forced to renege on her promise, as she struggles to fill a £5billion black hole in the public finances. The Chancellor also needs to find an extra £1.5billion to pay for winter fuel following another U-turn by her party. TaxPayers' Alliance head John O'Connell told the Telegraph: 'This is the sad but inevitable result of successive governments' assortment of anti-affluence tax policies, which penalise aspiration and success. 'The UK is now trapped in a doom loop with the Chancellor desperately scrabbling around for more cash to fill the fiscal black hole and increasingly finding her only option is to come after the middle classes. 'Rachel Reeves needs to now show some humility and reverse the policies that have done so much to drive away high earners.' The prime minister last month refused to commit to lifting the income tax freeze in 2028. He only pledged not to increase National Insurance, income tax, or VAT. Tory leader Kemi Badenoch criticised the stealth tax, saying it would hit "struggling pensioners" who would be dragged into paying income tax for the first time ever. A Tory Party spokesman said at the time: 'The PM wouldn't repeat the promise his Chancellor made in the autumn to lift the freeze on income tax thresholds. "He also refused to rule out a retirement tax and wealth taxes. "The only reasonable conclusion is that a toxic cocktail of Labour tax rises are coming in the autumn budget.'


BBC News
26 minutes ago
- BBC News
UK says British Steel's Chinese owners demanding millions
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds is set for a showdown with the Chinese owners of British Steel after the government claimed they demanded hundreds of millions in taxpayer money for the steelworks at Scunthorpe.A search for a new buyer has stalled after Jingye asked for the cash to complete the transfer of the government took control of British Steel in April, amid concerns that Jingye would close down the UK's only remaining blast furnaces and put thousands of jobs at remain the official owners of British Steel after the government stopped short of fully nationalising the loss-making company, which ministers believe is worth effectively zero. Negotiations have been taking place between officials, but BBC News understands Reynolds is likely to join the talks in September.A senior source in the Department for Business and Trade would not rule out handing over some public money to the Chinese firm, but said the two sides' valuations of British Steel were still very source stressed that while "there's a public interest in protecting taxpayers' money, there's also a public interest in drawing this thing to a close".A spokesperson for the business department said they "acted quickly to ensure the continued operation of the blast furnaces and are working with Jingye to determine the best long-term sustainable future for the site".In April, MPs and peers were called back from their Easter holidays to pass legislation that allowed the government to take control of British Steel, during an extremely rare Saturday sitting of said at the time that full nationalisation was the likely next step, but ministers had been hoping that Jingye would hand over ownership of the company for a nominal was thrown into doubt during negotiations between the two sides earlier this summer, when Jingye told government officials they believed British Steel's valuation was still in the hundreds of millions.A government source wouldn't reveal the exact figure, but said Jingye's current valuation of British Steel ran into the hundreds of two parties also clashed earlier this year over the amount of cash ministers were willing to offer as part of a potential rescue rejected a £500m offer from the government in March, with sources suggesting they were holding out for something closer to £1bn. Jingye claimed the Scunthorpe plant was losing £700,000 a day when it announced plans to close the site in government had already put aside a £2.5bn steel fund and has been using cash from that pot to cover the day-today running costs of the site since ministers do not see public ownership as a long-term solution and have repeatedly said they are confident they will find another commercial partner to take on the ownership of British search for that partner has stalled since Jingye's demand for a large payout, and a senior government source said they "can't bring in new ownership while this issue remains unresolved".They said the government was "closer to the beginning than the end" of talks with Jingye, but said they were confident of getting the Chinese firm to accept "a more realistic valuation".Another source close to the negotiations cast doubt on Jingye's willingness to budge and said they believed the government would "need to step in and take ownership of the business" through another Parliamentary Parliament to force through a full nationalisation is understood to be a "last resort" in ministers' minds, because of concerns about the sort of message it could send to the wider business has been contacted for comment. Sign up for our Politics Essential newsletter to keep up with the inner workings of Westminster and beyond.


BBC News
26 minutes ago
- BBC News
Job Ndugai: Tanzanians mourn former speaker who resigned amid debt row
Tanzanians are mourning veteran politician and former Speaker of Parliament Job Ndugai, who became the first to resign from the role after a public fallout with the who has served as an MP for the past 25 years, died in Dodoma, Tanzania's capital, on Wednesday at the age of 62, Speaker Tulia Ackson cause of death was not given, although local media reported he had been undergoing treatment at a hospital in the a statement, President Samia Suluhu Hassan has said she "received with sorrow" the news of Ndugai's death, and has sent condolences to his family and friends. Ndugai has been an MP since 2000 and was preparing to defend his Kongwa parliamentary seat in Dodoma in the October general elections, having just won the nomination of the ruling CCM party."We have lost a courageous leader, a true patriot and a capable public servant who made a significant contribution to strengthening the institution of parliament," CCM said in its condolence Samia's hesitant reforms are fuelling Tanzanian political angerCould this be the end of the road for Tanzania's great survivor?Early in his political career, Ndugai was named the most active MP in parliament, and became deputy speaker in 2010, serving until 2015 when he was elected resigned in 2022 following controversial remarks he made about Tanzania's borrowing and national debt, which drew criticism from President had warned against mounting debt levels saying it risked the country being "auctioned".He later apologised, saying "I was wrong - gravely wrong. May God forgive me. Forgive me, Tanzanians," in the wake of strong reactions and a backlash against him from government and the ruling comments were seen as uncharacteristic of a man known for his unwavering loyalty to the ruling had often faced criticism for appearing overly compliant with the government at the expense of parliamentary one point, some analysts criticised him for presiding over what they considered the weakest parliament between 2015 and 2020, during President John Magufuli's first administration. He dismissed the criticism, telling a local publication that those faulting him did not understand parliamentary was also criticised when he announced that Magufuli would run for president beyond the two constitutionally permitted terms. He had also said he had the power to prevent any MP from speaking in that, Ndugai faced stinging criticism for making dismissive remarks about opposition MP Tundu Lissu, who was recovering in hospital after surviving an assassination attempt in which he was shot multiple also presided over the controversial stripping of Lissu from his parliamentary seat, citing his prolonged absence and failure to submit wealth declaration and opposition members described this as "insensitive" and "inhumane", as Lissu was said to be still recovering abroad rom his was a far cry from his earlier political years - when he ran for speaker in 2015, he was reportedly the only candidate backed by both CCM and opposition it was unsurprising that when he made his remarks criticising government borrowing, there was little support from even within his own after he resigned, which he said was in the interest of the nation, he remained a loyal and influential ruling party figure until his for his funeral are ongoing and further information will be released later, parliament said. More stories about Tanzania from the BBC: Why Samia's hesitant reforms are fuelling Tanzanian political angerCould this be the end of the road for Tanzania's great survivor?Tanzanian PM to step down in surprise moveAre East African governments uniting to silence dissent?Tanzania president warns 'meddling' Kenyan activists Go to for more news from the African us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica