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Starmer says he could ‘go on all morning' about Labour's success - in afternoon PMQs speech

Starmer says he could ‘go on all morning' about Labour's success - in afternoon PMQs speech

Independenta day ago

Sir Keir Starmer has said he could 'go on all morning' about Labour 's achievements in government - in his Prime Minister 's Questions speech, which started at 12 noon.
The prime minister made the gaffe in his address to the Commons before Rachel Reeves delivered her much-anticipated spending review on Wednesday (11 June).
The chancellor told the ministers the spending review 'would invest in economic growth, creating jobs and backing British industry in all parts of the country'.
She promised 'investments in defence, protection of our borders, and energy security; and public services including health and education'.

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Rossington Hall in Doncaster sold after major restoration
Rossington Hall in Doncaster sold after major restoration

BBC News

timean hour ago

  • BBC News

Rossington Hall in Doncaster sold after major restoration

A country house hotel and wedding venue has been sold to new owners, more than a decade after being rescued from dereliction by a property Hall, near Doncaster, had been a residential school for children with behavioural difficulties before Gary Gee bought it in renovated the stately home, which was built in the 1880s, and attracted celebrity guests including Sir Ian McKellen, David Baddiel and Sheridan has now sold the business to hotel group The Crown Bawtry Collection, whose managing director Craig Dowie said he would keep the venue's "extraordinary charm". Mr Dowie said: "It was a massive milestone for Mr Gee to sell and we know it has been overwhelming for him."We seized the opportunity as this kind of sale doesn't come up often and it felt like a really good fit for us."This is the next adventure for us and it is a wonderful hotel with beautiful grounds that are home to peacocks, so we will keep its extraordinary charm and potential as it is and continue lending it out for events and weddings."The Crown Bawtry Collection also owns the nearby Crown Hotel, in Bawtry, and Bawtry Hall. State of disrepair Mr Dowie added that he and chairman Jason Cooper were drawn to Rossington Hall's traditional features as they "contrasted well with the Crown Hotel's contemporary style".The company said it wanted to support local suppliers and tourism in the area with the purchase, as well as "support Doncaster Airport and all the exciting developments at Gateway East".The hall was occupied by the Royal Veterinary Corps during World War Two and was also a training college for Catholic missionaries. Its stable block is part of a horseracing college. Mr Gee wrote on social media that he had returned the hall to its "former Victorian glory and created a business that would look after the hall in perpetuity".He said: "My time at the hall has been rewarding and memorable and I have had the opportunity of working with a magnificent team of staff and meeting wonderful guests over the years."Mr Gee also recently applied to Doncaster Council for consent to change the use of the estate's Victorian entrance lodge into a restoration work had already been completed before the application was submitted and a café called The Lodge opened in the building in 2022. The scheme was approved after council conservation officers determined it was an appropriate way of protecting the site's to documents submitted to the council, the restoration work had been finished by 2018 but it was felt that the building was unsuitable for residential use because of its proximity to a main road. Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North

Government ‘putting its money where its mouth is' with £200m for Acorn scheme
Government ‘putting its money where its mouth is' with £200m for Acorn scheme

North Wales Chronicle

timean hour ago

  • North Wales Chronicle

Government ‘putting its money where its mouth is' with £200m for Acorn scheme

Ministers confirmed they are meeting in full the request for development funding for the Acorn project in Aberdeenshire – the first time a government has provided funding of this scale for such a project to proceed. The scheme, which proposes storing emissions from across Scotland under the North Sea, had previously been overlooked for support despite repeated calls from the Scottish Government and others for it to be backed. With the UK Government also pledging to support the Viking carbon capture and storage (CCS) project in the Humber, Mr Miliband insisted the two schemes will 'support industrial renewal' with 'thousands of highly skilled jobs'. According to the sector, Acorn could support about 15,000 jobs at its peak, with up to 20,000 jobs at the Viking project. As it develops, it is planned the Acorn site will link up with the former oil refinery at Grangemouth via more than 200 miles of pipelines. An existing 175 miles of gas pipes will be repurposed for this, with 35 miles of new pipeline also being built, allowing CO2 from the Grangemouth site to be transported to Acorn's storage facilities under the North Sea. The move is seen by many as being key in securing a future for the facility, where some 400 workers were recently made redundant. Speaking as he visited the site near Peterhead, Aberdeenshire, Mr Miliband said: 'This Government is putting its money where its mouth is and backing the trailblazing Acorn and Viking CCS projects. 'This will support industrial renewal in Scotland and the Humber with thousands of highly-skilled jobs at good wages to build Britain's clean energy future. 'Carbon capture will make working people in Britain's hard-working communities better off, breathing new life into their towns and cities and reindustrialising the country through our Plan for Change.' Mr Miliband visited the site the day after Rachel Reeves promised funding for Acorn in her spending review – although the Chancellor did not put a figure on how much support would be given in her statement to MPs. Scottish Secretary Ian Murray said afterwards: 'The £200 million funding confirmed for the Acorn carbon capture project will help to support the design and preparation as it continues to progress. 'This is about revitalising our industrial communities and creating long-term economic opportunities for Scottish workers.' Tim Stedman, chief executive of Storegga, the lead developer of Acorn, said: 'We warmly welcome the UK Government's support for the Acorn project and the commitment to development funding that will enable the critical work needed to reach final investment decision.' He added the 'milestone' is 'key not only for Acorn but for establishing Scotland's essential CCS infrastructure needed to grow and scale the UK's wider carbon capture and storage industry'. Mr Stedman continued: 'We look forward to working with Government in the months ahead to understand the details of today's commitment, and to ensure the policy, regulatory and funding frameworks are in place to build and grow a world-leading UK CCS sector.' Graeme Davies, executive vice-president at Harbour Energy, which is leading the Viking project, said the commitment in the spending review 'sends a strong signal' that the project is 'an infrastructure-led economic growth priority' for the Parliament. He added: 'We will work with Government on the critical steps needed to progress Viking CCS towards a final investment decision.' However climate campaigners at Friends of the Earth said the money should instead be invested in public transport, energy efficiency and measures to support oil workers to transition to jobs in the renewables sector. Caroline Rance, head of campaigns at Friends of the Earth Scotland, said: 'This is an enormous handout of supposedly scarce public money that will only directly benefit greedy oil and gas companies. 'Politicians are paying hundreds of millions to keep us locked into an unaffordable energy system which is reliant on fossil fuels and is destroying the climate. 'Carbon capture technology has 50 years of failure behind it, so businesses, workers and the public are being sold a lie about its role in their future. 'Building new fossil fuel infrastructure will undermine the energy transition and embolden oil firms to keep on drilling in the North Sea. 'Both the UK and Scottish governments should instead be backing climate solutions that can improve people's lives such as upgrading public transport, ensuring people live in warm homes and creating green jobs for the long-term.'

FTSE 100 closes at record high as Trump's tariffs shake faith in US
FTSE 100 closes at record high as Trump's tariffs shake faith in US

Telegraph

timean hour ago

  • Telegraph

FTSE 100 closes at record high as Trump's tariffs shake faith in US

Britain's main stock market index closed at an all-time high on Thursday as investors seeking refuge from America's market slump turned towards the UK. The FTSE 100 index of London's largest companies ended 0.2pc higher on Thursday at 8,834.92 points amid a backlash against Donald Trump's economic policies, which investors fear will hinder American companies' profits. The flagship British index, which had performed poorly in recent years compared with the US, is up by 8.7pc since the start of the year, beating America's S&P 500's which has risen by 2.7pc. Neil Wilson, of Saxo Bank said: 'We have clearly seen a rotation in global equity markets as investors have for the first time in years questioned the 'Tinata' – there is no alternative to America.' He said clients were talking about 'reducing exposure to the US'. The FTSE 100's record high came as the value of the dollar plunged to a three-year low after President Trump sparked fresh fears about global trade. The US currency sank on Thursday to its lowest level since March 2022 against a group of major peers, leaving it down by nearly 10pc so far this year. Investors have turned away from the dollar after the US president said he would send out letters to countries outlining the terms of trade deals. That sent the pound to a three-year high above $1.36 and pushed the euro to close at $1.16, its highest level since 2021, as the president's comments renewed concerns that US tariffs could hit global growth. 'I love China' In a further sign of his mixed signals on trade, President Trump sought to calm nerves by talking up the prospects of a US-China trade agreement, following two days of talks between Washington and Beijing officials in London this week. He wrote on his Truth Social platform: 'THE CHINA DEAL IS GREAT!' He later told reporters: 'I love China. We just made a deal, and I respect President Xi a lot, and we made a deal that's good for both countries. The deal we made with China good for both countries. Going to be a lot of money made, and it's going to ultimately open up China, which is the ultimate thing.' Charu Chanana, of Saxo Bank, said: 'Markets may have no choice but to respond to Trump's tariff threat – even if it's just posturing to bring others to the table.' The dollar was also hit by a flurry of data, which suggested the global economy was beginning to show signs of strain. Britain's goods exports to the US plunged at a record pace after President Trump launched his tariff onslaught in April, official figures showed. UK exports to the United States fell by £2bn compared with the previous month, according to the Office for National Statistics, which was the largest drop since official records began in 1997. The value of goods exports to the United States during the month – totalling £4.1bn – fell to its lowest level since February 2022. The US president hit Britain with 10pc tariffs under plans announced on April 2, a date which Mr Trump had long touted as his so-called 'liberation day'. Businesses dramatically changed their investment plans in response, bringing forward orders in an effort to get ahead of higher import taxes before they were announced. Official figures showed UK manufacturing output fell by 0.9pc in April, a further drop from 0.8pc in March but a sharp reversal from a 2.4pc surge in February. This was despite the high-profile announcement by Sir Keir Starmer of a trade agreement with the US last month, which is yet to be finalised. Robert Wood, an economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said: 'Exports should begin to stabilise in May now that the front-running has unwound and after President Trump began walking back some of his more ruinous tariffs. 'That said, the UK-US trade deal 'agreed' in May is yet to fully come into force so there could be further export weakness still ahead.' In a further sign of strain in the US, wholesale inflation ticked higher last month. The producer price index – which measures inflation before goods hit consumers – rose by 2.6pc in May, according to the Labor Department. This was up from 2.4pc in April but in line with expectations. Separate data showed US filings for jobless benefits were unchanged last week.

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