No update to A66 dualling plan in Spending Review
She said: "We haven't set out every project that that's going to fund today and I'm sure the transport secretary will come to this House or the relevant select committee in due course."
Follow the latest reaction to the Spending ReviewKey points: What has the chancellor announced?
Farron said the road upgrade scheme was "critical for the north's economy, for east-west connectivity, and for saving lives"."I will keep up the pressure for ministers to approve this massively important project," he said.Labour MP for Penrith and Solway Markus Campbell-Savours said it was "vital" the upgrade was approved."This isn't simply about quicker journeys, this is about safety and economic development," he said.Before the 2024 general election, the Conservative government was moving ahead with plans for sections between the A1(M) and Penrith, but Labour put the project on hold alongside a number of others.Campaign group Transport Action Network (TAN) previously claimed the scheme would cost £1.5bn and increase carbon emissions by 2.7m tonnes.
Follow BBC Cumbria 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 Independent
12 minutes ago
- The Independent
Starmer accused of ‘abject failure' as people smuggling arrests fall under Labour
People smuggling arrests by the UK's organised crime agency have fallen under Labour, despite Sir Keir Starmer 's pledge to "smash the gangs", as the number of small boat migrants arriving since he took charge soars past 50,000. The latest National Crime Agency (NCA) data shows 192 people were arrested for organised immigration crime in the year to April – down 16 per cent from 229 under the Tory government the previous year. Labour has faced growing criticism over its failure to cut the number of people making the perilous crossing, with education minister Baroness Jacqui Smith admitting the figures were 'unacceptable'. Former Tory immigration minister Robert Jenrick said the latest arrest figures proved 'it's never been easier to be a people smuggler', while former home secretary Chris Philp said they proved Starmer's big talk about smashing the gangs has been an 'abject failure'. It comes as the government ramps up its efforts to tackle the issue amid growing public anger, which has sparked a series of violent protests outside migrant hotels across the country. The prime minister has adopted a hardline approach on immigration, with a string of new measures announced, as he tries to win back voters and fend off the surge in popularity from Nigel Farage's Reform UK. Earlier this year, Yvette Cooper announced an extra £100m to tackle people-smuggling gangs, including 300 more staff at the NCA ' focused on intelligence targeting crime gang members'. And last week, Sir Keir confirmed that the first migrants had been detained under the new 'one in, one out' swap deal between the UK and France – although none have yet been sent back to Europe. The Home Office has also expanded its 'deport now, appeal later' scheme, which sees foreign criminals deported before their appeals have been heard. Despite the fall in people smuggling arrests last year, the NCA said it has "dedicated more resources than ever before' to tackling the threat from organised immigration crime. NCA acting deputy director Dan Barcroft said: 'Arrests on their own are not the only way to judge impact. We have also achieved record numbers of disruptions against people smugglers – 347 last year, up almost a third - each of which will have removed, prevented or reduced a criminal threat.' 'Arrest figures may fluctuate, but over the last four years the NCA has been involved in more than 900 arrests relating to organised immigration crime in the UK and overseas.' The Home Office told The Independent that further people smuggling arrests have been made by Immigration Enforcement and police forces, but refused to share any details. A spokesman said: 'We are taking firm and targeted action to dismantle the organised criminal networks responsible for dangerous small boat crossings – networks that put vulnerable lives at risk and undermine border security.' Reacting to the figures, Mr Jenrick said: 'Starmer said he'd smash the gangs but arrests of people smugglers are down and record numbers of migrants have crossed this year. For all of Starmer's talk, it's never been easier to be a people smuggler.' A Labour MP on the right of the party told The Independent they were 'frustrated' by the government's pace of action. They said: 'The public think we're basically not doing anything and don't believe smashing the gangs will make any material difference. And so far, their suspicions are being borne out by the facts. We have to move heaven and earth to get and show we have control.' Over the past decade, the NCA has been involved in over 2,200 arrests linked to immigration crime in the UK and overseas, with a 93 per cent conviction rate. While the figures do not exclusively cover small boat migration, a large proportion of such crimes involve bringing people across the Channel. This includes arrests across the people smuggling operations chain, from those who supply small boats to lorry drivers illegally ferrying migrants. The NCA told The Independent it is currently leading 91 investigations into organised immigration crime. Despite lower arrest numbers, the NCA said its increased disruptions 'reflect a move towards taking the fight to gangs upstream, focusing on the highest harm networks, and hitting them where the impact on their business will be greater'. One such example last month saw the NCA and Bulgarian law enforcement seize 25 inflatable boats set for use by people smugglers crossing the Channel. Sunder Kutwala, director at the British Future thinktank, said the government's best shot at tackling the problem is to scale up the one-in-one-out deal with France to 500 or 1,000 people a week. 'If [people smuggling] is a lucrative business, and the barriers to entry are pretty low and the cost of getting your dinghy slashed is quite low – or getting low-level operatives arrested is low – you'll always get new entries to the market' he told The Independent. 'The government has now got a shot at establishing the returns deal and, with enforcement, it looks more viable than any of these offshoring models [like Rwanda]. If I was the government, I would [scale up] quickly not slowly.' The number of migrants crossing into the UK by small boats is up 47 per cent from the same time last year, at record levels. Fourteen people have already died this year trying to cross into the UK, with the highest on record (73) last year, and a woman, 30, died on Monday while trying to board a boat attempting to make the crossing to the UK from Dunkirk. The Mayor of Dunkirk, Patrice Vergriete, said that the situation "can't stand much longer". He called for the creation of a "legal immigration route to the UK" saying "our coastline is a daily witness to an absurd, ineffective and terribly cruel management of the migration crisis".
Daily Mail
13 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Revealed: Man United to open mega pop-up PUB at Old Trafford which can hold over a THOUSAND fans - and it will be open on time for the first game of the season against Arsenal!
Manchester United are to open a 'pop-up pub' at Old Trafford. Officials will unveil vast, 900 square metre-marquee behind the Stretford End in time for their first match of the season on Sunday against Arsenal. The new addition will have room for 1,000 supporters, and be viewed as a form of 'fan village' at Old Trafford. Starting from this weekend's Arsenal season-opener, the new addition will be free to enter and will open three hours before the match starts. The move is aimed at bringing fans to the stadium early and helping to generate and atmosphere in the build up to kick-off. United also believe it will provide an opportunity for local businesses. Manchester-based brewer Shindigger, will provide the beer while food will be supplied by city-centre-based eaterie Yard and Coop. Around 1,000 fans will be able to fit in the gigantic watering hole at Old Trafford from Sunday There will be a fast-pour system via units which can fill a pint in 10 seconds, music from local bands - and for the Arsenal game Denis Irwin will be the first club legend in attendance. Club partners Estée Lauder and Cadbury will provide giveaways, while fans can hang their flags on the marquee wall. The idea came from a consultation with supporters, who said they wanted more to see and do around Old Trafford. Should the pop-up be successful, it could see its stay extended. United are reluctant to spend big on new infrastructure at their current home given they hope to a new stadium in the next five years. However, officials believe the marquee could become popular and satisfy what they see as an immediate need.
BBC News
13 minutes ago
- BBC News
How Reading's 'Smelly Alley' is changing with the times
Union Street in Reading town centre, perhaps better known as Smelly Alley, has hosted many businesses over the the moniker because of the fishmongers that used to be based there, it was also the site of an open sewer hundreds of years Becky Ottery is planning to move her Eclectic Games business from Union Street to Duke Street, where she said the visitors were more likely to be interested in her shop, than in what has become "Tech Alley"."It's changed in character and therefore the flow of people through it has changed. You used to have the families doing all their fresh veg shopping," she said. "Now you've got people coming along because their mobile phone screen has cracked and they want to drop it off and get it repaired. "You tend to have hordes of young people who want to buy as many vapes as possible for a tenner, which is less of a key demographic for me."The business will move from Union Street after a decade later this month. Kevin Little ran fishmongers Frosts in the street for decades before it closed in 2019."It was so busy but such hard work because [trade] was continual. You couldn't walk down the street," he said."There were two fishmongers, I think four butchers, four greengrocers. It was the place to be, but those days are gone. That's how it was but those things will never return, not like that," he said."I do walk back there and have a look but it's just not quite the same, is it?"Gurdeep Wadwa opened his phone shop in Union Street for the first time in 2008 and said he was attracted by its cheaper rents."It's very different now. When I started, all other businesses were there and it was very busy and you would see foot flow of at least 5,000 to 7,000 a day," he said."It was a quick way of getting to the station and to Broad Street or get to other businesses. It has changed so much." You can follow BBC Berkshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
