Latest news with #HighStreets
Daily Record
5 days ago
- Business
- Daily Record
Dame Helen Mirren needed lift from Dobbies...so I took her shopping for some luxury cashmere, says MBE recipient Margarette Bryan
Margarette Bryan has been recognised in the latest King's Honours List. She once picked up Dame Helen Mirren from the local garden centre for a shopping trip with a difference. Now retail queen Margarette Bryan is set to collect her own glittering prize after being handed a gong in the latest King's Birthday Honours List. Margarette, who spent almost 30 years as sales boss at luxury cashmere firm Alex Begg and Co, regularly welcomed star names to her factory in Ayr's Viewfield Road. And after devoting decades to the industry she loved, she has been recognised with an MBE for services to the retail sector in Scotland. Margarette, who also spent 27 years as a driving force on the committee of Ayrshire Business Women, said: "I'm absolutely thrilled - it's a huge honour. "The business world has changed a lot since I started out with High Streets hurting, but one thing that will never change is the demand for good customer service. People buy into people. "I fully believe that good customer service is coming back. Online reviews drive that demand for standards. And councils need to see there are great opportunites with youngsters coming out of college who are keen to make a difference." Margarette was a highly respected figure at Begg and Co, where she dealt with some A-list clients down the years. She revealed: "One of the best stories was when when I got a call to say Helen Mirren, who was staying at Turnberry, was up at Dobbies buying plants. "She needed a lift to come over to the factory for a look around so I went and got her. She wasn't sure how she'd get back to Turnberry, so I the coast road is lovely, I'll take you back down the road! "We were fortunate to get a lot of visitors like that down the years. The legendary golfer, Arnold Palmer, was another good customer who I had the pleasure of dealing with. It was a fantastic place to work." Margarette has spent much of her time down the years advising and mentoring businesses, working with staff and providing motivational training. She has been a passionate ambassador for women in business, stepping down earlier this year from the committee of Ayrshire Business Women after 27 years of dedicated support to others in the region as well as working internationally. She has also been a non-executive director at Ayrshire College where she spent more than five years on the board and has lobbied at the Scottish Parliament with Scottish Enterprise for the Scottish textiles industry. Throughout her career, Margarette has worked on projects from the UK to America and Spain. Also receiving MBEs in the Honours List were Dalry's Anne Cadman, an administrator for the Scottish Ambulance Service, for services to healthcare in remote and rural areas. Kilmarnock's Paula Daly, a Mission Area Officer for southwest scotland, is being honoured for her work with the Royal National Mission to Deep Sea Fishermen for services to fishermen and their families.
BBC News
03-04-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Labour launches local election campaign with promise of 'change'
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has urged the public to "vote for change in your community", as he launched Labour's local election campaign for England. The elections on 1 May are the party's first major test at the ballot box since winning power in last July's landslide Labour is now facing a more challenging backdrop, after slumping in the polls in recent months. At an event in Derbyshire, a key target council which is currently run by the Conservatives, Sir Keir said Labour councils would "work hand-in-hand" with the government on its plan for change, including bringing back community policing, supporting High Streets and fixing potholes. He acknowledged people were "still struggling with the cost of living" but said the government was "turning things around". The PM pointed to increases in the minimum wage, falling NHS waiting lists and cuts to fuel duty as examples of the difference the government was he accused "tired" Tory councils of "putting on the blockers" and "holding Britain back". "Last year, the general election was that opportunity to vote for change for the country," Sir Keir said."This year, the local elections are the chance to vote for change in your community."Speaking to a crowd of activists at the same event, Deputy Leader Angela Rayner said Conservative councils had "let public services crumble". She added: "That is why we need great Labour mayors, leaders and councillors delivering the change across our great towns, cities and counties, so that we can transform the lives of people at a local level." Elections will be held for 23 councils, while there will also be mayoral elections in the West of England, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough and - for the first time - in Hull and East Yorkshire and Greater the party is facing a by-election in Runcorn and Helsby, after former Labour MP Mike Amesbury resigned following his conviction for assaulting a constituent. Elections to all 21 county councils in England were due to place. But last month the government announced local elections would be postponed in nine areas, where councils are being reorganised. The Conservatives are defending the most seats in the upcoming elections, which were last contested in 2021 when then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson was enjoying a surge in support following the rollout of the Covid vaccine. Other areas where Labour is hoping to make gains include Durham and Nottinghamshire, parts of the country where the party won seats at last year's general election. However, it is facing a difficult economic backdrop, with Chancellor Rachel Reeves setting out sweeping benefit cuts last month amid pressures on public spending. On Wednesday US President Donald Trump announced new global tariffs, which could hit the UK's economic growth and wipe out the headroom the chancellor has to meet her spending and borrowing rules. Sign up for our Politics Essential newsletter to read top political analysis, gain insight from across the UK and stay up to speed with the big moments. It'll be delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
