
Badenoch says ‘rush' to meet net zero pushing up holiday costs
She slammed Labour's 'ideological' plans to reach net zero by 2050, a target she previously dismissed as impossible to meet, and said they would hit holidaymakers.
'Labour's ideological rush to Net Zero 2050 is not only bankrupting our country and leaving us dangerously reliant on China, it's also making holidays more expensive, just as the cost-of-living crisis for working people gets worse.
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch meeting staff during a visit to Stansted Airport in Essex (Chris Radburn/PA)
'Under my leadership the Conservative Party are going to make things easier for the makers, the people who work hard to provide for their families, and not force up the cost of their summer holidays,' she said.
The Tory leader pointed to plans to raise air passenger duty and the Climate Change Committee's call for the cost of decarbonising aviation to be reflected in the cost of flights.
Speaking to airport staff during the visit, Mrs Badenoch told them how the pandemic showed how 'critical' Stansted was for the local economy.
'But I always tell the story of how when Covid hit and so many people lost their jobs, all of those people turned up in my surgeries.
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch meeting staff during a visit to Stansted Airport (Chris Radburn/PA)
'It really showed just how critical the airport was, how important it was for the local community and well beyond.'
The new arrivals building was part of a £1.1 billion transformation at Stansted, the UK's fourth largest airport.
The work, expected to continue over the next three to four years, will also include a £600 million extension to the main terminal, increasing its size by 40%.
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North Wales Chronicle
20 minutes ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Tories and Reform decry two-tier justice as suspended Labour councillor cleared
Ricky Jones, 58, faced trial at Snaresbrook Crown Court accused of the offence after he described demonstrators as 'disgusting Nazi fascists' at an anti-racism rally in the wake of the Southport murders. He was cleared on Friday. Nigel Farage and shadow home secretary Chris Philp both pointed to the idea of 'two-tier justice' in relation to the case. This is another outrageous example of two-tier justice. — Nigel Farage MP (@Nigel_Farage) August 15, 2025 Mr Philp compared the case to that of Lucy Connolly, who was jailed after she posted a tweet calling for 'mass deportation' and 'set fire to all the f****** hotels' on the day of the Southport attacks last year. In a post on X, Mr Philp said: 'The development of two tier justice is becoming increasingly alarming.' Ex-Reform chairman Zia Yusuf also referred to Connolly's case, and said that 'two tier justice in this country is out of control'. Connolly pleaded guilty last year to a charge of inciting racial hatred by publishing and distributing 'threatening or abusive' written material on X, which meant she did not face a trial. In Jones' case, a jury deliberated for just over half an hour before they found him not guilty. A video showing Jones addressing crowds on Hoe Street in Walthamstow, east London, on August 7 last year went viral on social media after the protest, which had been organised in response to plans for a far-right march outside Waltham Forest Immigration Bureau. It is astonishing that Labour councillor Ricky Jones, who was caught on video calling for throats to be slit, is let off scot free – whereas Lucy Connolly got 31 months prison for posting something no worse. The development of two tier justice is becoming increasingly alarming.… — Chris Philp MP (@CPhilpOfficial) August 15, 2025 The suspended councillor said in the clip: 'They are disgusting Nazi fascists. We need to cut all their throats and get rid of them all.' He also drew his finger across his throat as he spoke to the crowd. Jurors deliberated for just over 30 minutes and found him not guilty on Friday. Jones, who wore a navy blue suit with a white shirt and pale pink tie in the dock, was seen mouthing 'thank-you' at the jurors. Family and supporters hugged each other before Jones, who declined to comment on the verdict, was driven out of the court grounds in a car. The 58-year-old, who at the time was also employed as a full-time official for the Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA) union, was arrested on August 8 last year and interviewed at Brixton police station that night. Jones, who has been a borough councillor in Dartford, Kent, since 2019, was suspended by Labour the day after the incident. It is understood that a party investigation remains ongoing, and its outcome will decide what happens to his membership. A spokesperson for the party said at the time that his behaviour 'was completely unacceptable and it will not be tolerated'. Giving evidence in his trial, Jones said his comment did not refer to far-right protesters involved in the riots at the time, but to those who had reportedly left National Front stickers on a train with razor blades hidden behind them. Before he made the comment, jurors were shown video where he said to crowds: 'You've got women and children using these trains during the summer holidays. 'They don't give a shit about who they hurt.' He told the court he was 'appalled' by political violence, adding: 'I've always believed the best way to make people realise who you are and what you are is to do it peacefully.'


Glasgow Times
24 minutes ago
- Glasgow Times
Tories and Reform decry two-tier justice as suspended Labour councillor cleared
Ricky Jones, 58, faced trial at Snaresbrook Crown Court accused of the offence after he described demonstrators as 'disgusting Nazi fascists' at an anti-racism rally in the wake of the Southport murders. He was cleared on Friday. Nigel Farage and shadow home secretary Chris Philp both pointed to the idea of 'two-tier justice' in relation to the case. This is another outrageous example of two-tier justice. — Nigel Farage MP (@Nigel_Farage) August 15, 2025 Mr Philp compared the case to that of Lucy Connolly, who was jailed after she posted a tweet calling for 'mass deportation' and 'set fire to all the f****** hotels' on the day of the Southport attacks last year. In a post on X, Mr Philp said: 'The development of two tier justice is becoming increasingly alarming.' Ex-Reform chairman Zia Yusuf also referred to Connolly's case, and said that 'two tier justice in this country is out of control'. Connolly pleaded guilty last year to a charge of inciting racial hatred by publishing and distributing 'threatening or abusive' written material on X, which meant she did not face a trial. In Jones' case, a jury deliberated for just over half an hour before they found him not guilty. A video showing Jones addressing crowds on Hoe Street in Walthamstow, east London, on August 7 last year went viral on social media after the protest, which had been organised in response to plans for a far-right march outside Waltham Forest Immigration Bureau. It is astonishing that Labour councillor Ricky Jones, who was caught on video calling for throats to be slit, is let off scot free – whereas Lucy Connolly got 31 months prison for posting something no worse. The development of two tier justice is becoming increasingly alarming.… — Chris Philp MP (@CPhilpOfficial) August 15, 2025 The suspended councillor said in the clip: 'They are disgusting Nazi fascists. We need to cut all their throats and get rid of them all.' He also drew his finger across his throat as he spoke to the crowd. Jurors deliberated for just over 30 minutes and found him not guilty on Friday. Jones, who wore a navy blue suit with a white shirt and pale pink tie in the dock, was seen mouthing 'thank-you' at the jurors. Family and supporters hugged each other before Jones, who declined to comment on the verdict, was driven out of the court grounds in a car. The 58-year-old, who at the time was also employed as a full-time official for the Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA) union, was arrested on August 8 last year and interviewed at Brixton police station that night. Jones, who has been a borough councillor in Dartford, Kent, since 2019, was suspended by Labour the day after the incident. It is understood that a party investigation remains ongoing, and its outcome will decide what happens to his membership. A spokesperson for the party said at the time that his behaviour 'was completely unacceptable and it will not be tolerated'. Giving evidence in his trial, Jones said his comment did not refer to far-right protesters involved in the riots at the time, but to those who had reportedly left National Front stickers on a train with razor blades hidden behind them. Before he made the comment, jurors were shown video where he said to crowds: 'You've got women and children using these trains during the summer holidays. 'They don't give a shit about who they hurt.' He told the court he was 'appalled' by political violence, adding: 'I've always believed the best way to make people realise who you are and what you are is to do it peacefully.'


Glasgow Times
25 minutes ago
- Glasgow Times
Locks need urgent repair amid threat to future of Cambridge punting
The flat-bottomed boats, propelled along the river by someone pushing a long pole against the river bed, have been enjoyed by visitors to the prestigious university city for more than a century. But the possible collapse of a lock island could take out a sluice, lowering the river water level to a 'muddy trickle' and putting an end to punting, it is feared. David Goode, chair of the Conservators of the River Cam – which manages a stretch of the river, said a structural engineer surveyed two locks as 'in imminent danger of collapse' in May last year. Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey punts along the river Cam during his visit to Cambridge. (Chris Radburn/ PA) Both Jesus Green Lock near central Cambridge and Bait's Bite Lock, further north on the river, remain closed to navigation as they are 'unsafe'. He said work to replace the two locks could cost around £25 million, and the conservators do not have the money to do it. Sir Ed, speaking after he tried his hand at punting on Friday, said: 'I think these locks urgently need to be repaired and potentially rebuilt. 'It's essential for people using the river but the river itself. 'Without that water control, the river would go to a trickle. 'Punting might just go away. Jesus Lock on the River Cam in Cambridge. (Chris Radburn/ PA) 'All the jobs, all the revenue, all the tourism that brings to this great city. 'So this is actually quite an urgent investment and I hope Cambridge City Council can work with the Government or with other agencies to get that investment.' Rod Ingersent, managing director of Scudamores – a Cambridge punting company, said: 'It's almost certainly been a problem building over many decades and it's to do with very old structures which are expensive to maintain.' He said that 'something of this scale gets beyond' what the conservators 'can be reasonably expected to do as it requires so much investment and so much expertise in the maintenance of old structures'. 'But the effect would be catastrophic for punting, certainly for the colleges above the lock, the old buildings would be in trouble, and there's some amazing listed buildings along the college backs, they'd be under risk from the foundations being affected,' he said. 'Then below the lock the rowing with the city and the college clubs, that would be disrupted.' Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey punts along the river Cam during his visit to Cambridge. (Chris Radburn/ PA) He said the problem was of 'such a scale, the level of funding, it needs to go up some stages'. 'It might… need to go up to Defra, up to central government possibly,' Mr Ingersent said. 'I think it's not reasonable to expect the Cam conservancy to do it from their own resources, they're quite a small body and their main task is looking after navigation rather than I suppose being maintainers of old structures which they've inherited.' He said water has been 'scouring away at the foundations' of the lock island, and if there were another high water event it 'could be very challenging and something could start to give way with maybe quite catastrophic results'. Mr Goode said the river level is 'artificially held high' to allow navigation, and if the lock island collapsed it could take out a sluice causing the water level to drop. 'The lock irons are directly connected to the sluices so if the lock island collapses it's going to take out the Environment Agency sluice with it, I imagine, and that would be the issue with water level,' said Mr Goode. Jesus Lock on the River Cam in Cambridge. (Chris Radburn/ PA) 'Because then the water level would not be maintained at its current depth which it is on the Backs, which is the section of the river where the punting takes place.' He said that 'every 20 years or so' the conservators ask the Environment Agency to drop the river level so 'we can clear the crap out of the river'. 'Bikes, shopping trolleys, all the things students and townspeople throw in on a drunken night out,' said Mr Goode. 'When we do that we let the water out so we simulate what would happen if the sluice or the weir failed. 'All that's left is a muddy trickle. 'You would not be able to support punting at all. 'You could walk across it (the river) from one side to the other. 'So that would be the end of punting if that were to happen.' He said that £1.6 million 'stabilisation work', described as a 'temporary fix that will enable us to re-open the lock safely', would start at Bait's Bite lock from August 25. Mr Goode said that fix could last five to 10 years. He said they have 'sold the family silver', including some cottages and the former conservator's house which they owned, to afford the work to Bait's Bite Lock – but do not have funds for more work.