Bus users protected from price hikes as Rachel Reeves gives update on £3 cap
Bus passengers will be protected from fare hikes as the £3 cap on single tickets is set to be extended.
In a major boost for bus users, Chancellor Rachel Reeves is expected to protect the nationwide price cap on single trips, which had been due to run out at the end of the year. The cost-of-living lifeline will now be in place across England until March 2027, the Mirror understands.
Single fares could rise by up to £12 in the worst hit areas if the cap is lifted. The Department for Transport previously said a journey between Leeds and Scarborough could cost £15, while a fare from Hull to York would hit £8.50.
The decision, which will be confirmed in the Spending Review on Wednesday, is a major boost to millions of Brits who rely on buses every day.
A Treasury source told the Mirror: 'We understand the cost of living is a priority for the British people. That is why we are investing in Britain's renewal to make working people better off.
Rachel Reeves' Spending Review major predictions on what will and won't be in it
'That's why we're keeping bus fares down by extending the £3 cap to put more money in people's pockets.'
The cap covers around 5,000 bus routes across England, costing the Treasury around £150million a year to keep fares at £3.
The Tories previously introduced a £2 cap on bus fares but only provided funding until the end of 2024. Last year, Keir Starmer said it would rise to £3 for 2025 but its future was uncertain beyond the end of this year.
A Government source said: "Buses provide lifeline access to opportunity for people across the country.
"Keeping fares affordable is a top priority for the Transport Secretary, as our landmark Buses Bill overhauls how services are delivered. Better buses are around the corner with Labour."
The Chancellor will unveil plans to splash tens of billions of pounds on public services such as the NHS, defence and schools over the next three years in the long-awaited Spending Review on Wednesday.
But other departments are expected to feel the squeeze, with cuts looming to unprotected areas such as local government and the Home Office.
Ministers have been locked in fraught negotiations for months over their budgets. The final settlement for the Home Office was only signed off on Monday after a row with Home Secretary Yvette Cooper over cash for policing.
Ms Reeves will also announce funding for infrastructure investment, including big ticket items like road, rail and energy projects. She will confirm changes to Treasury rules to make it easier to pour cash into projects outside of London and the South East.
It comes after a blitz of announcements, including some £15.6 billion of spending on public transport in England's city regions, and £16.7 billion for nuclear power projects, the bulk of which will fund the new Sizewell C plant in Suffolk.
Ms Reeves also confirmed on Monday that some 9 million pensioners would be eligible for the winter fuel allowance this year after backtracking on the unpopular decision to strip the benefit from all but the poorest pensioners.
The Government also announced plans to expand free school meals eligibility to another 500,000 children whose families get Universal Credit, in a major win for the Mirror's campaign to end hunger in classrooms.
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Daily Mirror
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Daily Mail
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A series of protests have taken place outside the hotel since the alleged incidents. There was violence outside the premises last month after 'anti-immigration' campaigners clashed with 'anti-racism' demonstrators. Activists brawled in the streets while police battled to contain the chaos. Twenty-eight people have since been arrested in relation to disorder, and 16 of them have been charged. Police chiefs have already described the unrest at The Bell as a 'signal flare' for another summer of disorder. At a hearing on Friday the council told the High Court the housing of asylum seekers at the property was becoming a 'very serious problem' which 'could not be much worse'. Barristers for the council claimed Somani Hotels breached planning rules as the site is not being used for its intended purpose as a hotel, stating there was an 'overwhelming case for an injunction'. 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He continued that the site 'is no more a hotel than a borstal to a young offender' for asylum seekers and that Somani Hotels had not had 'the courage of conviction to seek a certificate of lawful use', which would have 'resolved the matter in its favour'. Mr Coppel also referenced the alleged sexual assault of the teenage girl, and said several schools were in the nearby area. He said: 'Having this sort of thing go on in such a concentration of schools with no measures in place to stop a repetition is not acceptable. 'It really could not be much worse than this.' Another factor in favour of granting an injunction would be removing a 'catalyst for violent protests in public places'. The barrister added: 'Allowing the status quo to continue is wholly unacceptable, providing a feeding ground for unrest.' Piers Riley-Smith, representing Somani Hotels, said the alleged planning breach was 'not flagrant', and that it was 'entirely wrong' for the council to 'suggest the use has been hidden from them'. The barrister told the court that the hotel previously housed asylum seekers from 2020 to 2021, and from 2022 to 2024, and that the council 'never instigated any formal enforcement proceedings against this use'. He said company applied for planning permission for a 'temporary change of use' in February 2023, but this was later withdrawn as it had not been determined by April 2024. Asylum seekers then began being placed in the Bell Hotel again in April 2025, with Mr Riley-Smith stating that a planning application was not made 'having taken advice from the Home Office'. Addressing the public protests at Epping, the barrister said: 'The court should bear in mind - as recognised by the claimant - that these have spread far beyond locals who might have a genuine concern about their area to a wider group with more strategic national and ideological aims, but that does not necessarily mean the concerns are well-founded. 'Fears as to an increase of crime associated with asylum seekers or a danger to schools are common, but that does not make them well-founded. 'It also sets a dangerous precedent that protests justify planning injunctions.' Mr Justice Eyre refused to give Somani Hotels the green light to challenge his ruling, but the company could still ask the Court of Appeal for the go-ahead to appeal. In his judgment, he said that while the council had not 'definitively established' Somani Hotels had breached planning rules, 'the strength of the claimant's case is such that it weighs in favour' of granting the injunction. He continued that the 'risk of injustice is greater' if a temporary injunction were not granted. A further hearing on whether the injunction should be made permanent is expected to be held at a later date, and is expected to last two days.
Daily Mirror
40 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Spain wildfires LIVE: Foreign Office's new advice amid 'very high' fire threat
The British Foreign Office has revised its Spanish travel advice - as the country faces a "very high or extreme" wildfire threat. Temperatures have soared to 45C in Spain, which has fuelled several blazes, including multiple across northwestern regions in recent days. Soldiers continue to support firefighters across the Galicia and Extremadura regions in particular, both of which border Portugal. And, with around two weeks left of the school summer holidays, the danger poses a threat to British holidaymakers considering the Iberian Peninsula - or with trips booked there already. The Foreign Office's website now reads: "There is a high risk of wildfires during the summer season from April to October." But it doesn't warn against travelling to Spain, which last year welcomed more than 18 million visits from Brits. Holidaymakers, though, should be aware the smaller, sparsely populated towns, especially across Galicia in the northwestern tip of Spain, have been ravaged by the fires. Are you in Spain and affected by the wildfires? Contact webnews@ 03:43Bradley Jolly Towns in northern Spain ravaged by the wildfires The fires in Galicia have ravaged small, sparsely populated towns - forcing locals in many cases to step in before firefighters arrive. Firefighting units from Germany arrived in northern Spain on Tuesday to help fight the blazes, Spain's Interior Ministry announced. More than 20 vehicles were deployed to help fight an ongoing blaze in Jarilla in the Extremadura region that borders Portugal, the ministry said. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez visited the area Tuesday and spoke of the heat that has fueled the fires. Temperatures across Spain dropped by about 4 degrees Celsius (about 7 degrees Fahrenheit) Tuesday after a 16-day heat wave with several days above 40 C (104 F), Spain's weather agency reported. 03:41KEY EVENT Foreign Office updates advice for travel to Spain Following the major wildfires yesterday, the Foreign Office revised its Spanish travel advisory, stating: "There is a high risk of wildfires during the summer season from April to October." Officials warn that severe weather conditions can impact numerous Spanish regions, particularly throughout the warmer months. But crucially, it hasn't added Spain to the "no go" travel list. 03:36KEY EVENT One of Spain's most destructive wildfire seasons Spain is experiencing one of the country's most destructive wildfire seasons in recent decades. Temperatures are dropping - but they had peaked at 45C last week. Thousands of firefighters aided by soldiers and water-bombing aircraft continue to fires tearing through parched woodland. It is especially severe in northwestern Spain, where the country's weather agency AEMET reported a still 'very high or extreme' fire risk — particularly in the Galicia region.
