Latest news with #JohnSmith
Spectator
7 hours ago
- Politics
- Spectator
The BBC has finally done something right
This isn't a sentiment you'll have read much in recent weeks, given the BBC's series of appalling misjudgements and editorial disasters. But here goes: Three cheers for the BBC. Its critics are completely wrong and its decision making is spot on. To be clear, I'm not referring to its coverage of Bob Vylan at Glastonbury, the Gaza documentary narrated by the son of a Hamas minister or the BBC's sacking of the two Masterchef presenters. I'm talking about something it has actually got right – but for which it is nonetheless being lambasted: the decision not to decamp its entire political team, and all its political programmes, to this year's party conferences. Previously the lunchtime Politics Live programme has been broadcast from what we used to call the two main party conferences – Labour and the Conservatives – along with Newsnight and much of the news channel's output. To do that, the BBC has taken around 80 journalists and technicians. That compares with three for ITV and eight for Channel 4. Bloated, you say? In years gone by, it was possible to see the validity of such largesse in staffing and coverage. The party conferences used to matter. For hacks, they provided an invaluable opportunity to take 'the feel' of party members and to speak to politicians in a less guarded environment – especially in the bars late at night. For Labour, the proceedings in the hall also mattered, with its jargon of composites, motions and references back all feeding into an atmosphere where votes counted for something. I spent too many years having to attend them, first as a policy wonk and later as a hack. You really did have to be there. There was the Bennite wars of the 1980s, the Militant years and John Smith's 1993 OMOV (one member, one vote) fight. There was Tony Blair's first conference speech in 1994, when he argued for the abolition of Clause IV (Labour's constitutional commitment to 'the common ownership of the means of production, distribution and exchange') and almost no one in the hall realised what he was saying. Labour conference was the arena in which the party's future was played out, with fringe meeting battles and – literally – smoke-filled rooms. Although the conferences mattered, I hated them. All the people I wanted to spend time with I could do so in London. I never got to grips with being forced to spend time with people I had no wish to spend time with, but in a secure area. Add to that the permanent stench of stale air and the annual conference cold, and I was thrilled when I no longer had to go. Party conferences now are just stage shows, like the US conventions, which exist solely to provide fodder for social media clips of Keir Starmer and Kemi Badenoch's speeches and to give the mainstream news broadcasters something to talk about. For the party faithful they're a fun – each to their own – few days of political self-indulgence and a chance to get drunk with people you've seen on telly. For everyone else, they are meaningless for anything other than the set piece speeches – which could equally be broadcast, like Keir Starmer's first as Labour leader during covid in 2020, online from an empty room. The BBC is quite right to call out the emperor's new clothes. The conferences don't need – and don't deserve – the broadcast army of hacks they've always had. Not least because now they're not even necessarily the most relevant gatherings, with Reform increasingly solid ahead in the polls. Caroline Dinenage, chair of the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, told PoliticsHome, which broke the story: 'It's a surprising move by the BBC, who took over 500 of their staff to Glastonbury.' She has a point – but the point isn't that the BBC should take its usual army to the conferences, it's that it took an absurd number to Glastonbury. PoliticsHome also quotes a BBC source: 'We're really upset about it.' Chacun à son goût.
Yahoo
17-07-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Hybrid locomotives aim to halve freight emissions
New locomotives that run on electricity and renewable fuels could reduce rail freight emissions by more than half on a typical journey. A £150m investment was made into Class 99 locomotives, which were unveiled in Peterborough at GB Railfreight (GBRf) headquarters on Thursday. Once testing was complete, the new fleet could enter commercial service to move consumable goods and materials across the country this winter. Andrew Pakes, the MP for Peterborough, said it was a "game changer for our city and the national effort to build a greener, more sustainable future". The Class 99s run on electric lines where available and switch to renewable fuels elsewhere. They aimed to reduce the industry's carbon footprint and ensure goods arrived at their destinations sooner. John Smith, CEO of GBRf, said the locomotives "set a new benchmark for performance and sustainability in UK rail freight". "It's massive," he said. "This is seven years in the making from the point of having the idea to replace our existing diesel trains with this bi-mode locomotive, to ordering them, to financing them, to them actually being built and delivered to the UK." Mr Smith hoped the decarbonising locomotives would help grow rail freight in the UK as it was "far less carbon emitting than road transport". Transports from GBRf included materials for house building, aviation fuel to airports, clothes, white goods, wine and materials used to heat homes. Jon Garner, senior operation training manager, told the BBC it was "a real pleasure" to drive and "fantastic for our office and the community". "I've spent about nine months talking about the locomotives and looking at them when we visited Stadler in Valencia. They're our babies." Rail Minister, Lord Hendy, said he looked forward to seeing the locomotives decarbonising the rail network. He said: "With robust protections for fair network access and ambitious growth targets a part of our plans for Great British Railways, we're ensuring the rail freight sector has what it needs to thrive so it can continue removing thousands of HGVs from our roads whilst delivering huge economic benefits across the country." The new locomotives had hybrid power, faster acceleration, reduced downtime, and increased productivity. Pakes added the investment would not only help cut emissions, but also create local jobs and drive economic growth. "Peterborough is proud to be at the forefront of Britain's rail freight innovation," he said. "I am proud to see our city playing such a key role in shaping the future of rail freight." Follow Peterborough news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X. More like this story Minister opens city's £5.75m rail maintenance hub Rail boss 'surprised and thrilled' at OBE award Related internet links GB Railfreight
BBC News
17-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Peterborough hybrid locomotives aim to halve freight emissions
New locomotives that run on electricity and renewable fuels could reduce rail freight emissions by more than half on a typical journey.A £150m investment was made into Class 99 locomotives, which were unveiled in Peterborough at GB Railfreight (GBRf) headquarters on testing was complete, the new fleet could enter commercial service to move consumable goods and materials across the country this winter. Andrew Pakes, the MP for Peterborough, said it was a "game changer for our city and the national effort to build a greener, more sustainable future". The Class 99s run on electric lines where available and switch to renewable fuels aimed to reduce the industry's carbon footprint and ensure goods arrived at their destinations Smith, CEO of GBRf, said the locomotives "set a new benchmark for performance and sustainability in UK rail freight". "It's massive," he said. "This is seven years in the making from the point of having the idea to replace our existing diesel trains with this bi-mode locomotive, to ordering them, to financing them, to them actually being built and delivered to the UK."Mr Smith hoped the decarbonising locomotives would help grow rail freight in the UK as it was "far less carbon emitting than road transport". Transports from GBRf included materials for house building, aviation fuel to airports, clothes, white goods, wine and materials used to heat Garner, senior operation training manager, told the BBC it was "a real pleasure" to drive and "fantastic for our office and the community". "I've spent about nine months talking about the locomotives and looking at them when we visited Stadler in Valencia. They're our babies." Rail Minister, Lord Hendy, said he looked forward to seeing the locomotives decarbonising the rail said: "With robust protections for fair network access and ambitious growth targets a part of our plans for Great British Railways, we're ensuring the rail freight sector has what it needs to thrive so it can continue removing thousands of HGVs from our roads whilst delivering huge economic benefits across the country."The new locomotives had hybrid power, faster acceleration, reduced downtime, and increased added the investment would not only help cut emissions, but also create local jobs and drive economic growth. "Peterborough is proud to be at the forefront of Britain's rail freight innovation," he said."I am proud to see our city playing such a key role in shaping the future of rail freight." Follow Peterborough news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
USA Today
15-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Brooklyn Nets jersey history No. 21 - John Smith (1970)
The Brooklyn Nets have 52 jersey numbers worn by over 600 different players over the course of their history since the franchise was founded in 1967 as a charter member of the American Basketball Association (ABA), when the team was known as the "New Jersey Americans". Since then, that league has been absorbed by the NBA with the team that would later become the New York Nets and New Jersey Nets before settling on the name by which they are known today, bringing their rich player and jersey history with them to the league of today. To commemorate the players who played for the Nets over the decades wearing those 52 different jersey numbers, Nets Wire is covering the entire history of the franchise's jersey numbers and the players who sported them since the founding of the team. The 22nd of those 52 different numbers is jersey No. 21, which has has had a total of 26 players wear the number in the history of the team. The first of those players wearing No. 21 played in the (then) New York (now, Brooklyn) Nets era, big man alum John Smith. After ending his college career at University of Southern Colorado, Smith was picked up with the 101st overall selection (there were many more rounds in that era of the draft) of the 1968 NBA draft by the Los Angeles Lakers. The Columbus, Mississippi native would play parts of the first two seasons of his pro career with the defunct Dallas Chapparals. He also played with the (also defunct) Pittsburgh Pipers before he signed with New York for the last 16 games of his ABA career. During his time suiting up for the Nets, Smith wore only jersey Nos. 10 and 21 and put up 1.4 points and 3.8 rebounds per game. All stats and data courtesy of Basketball Reference.
Rhyl Journal
12-07-2025
- Sport
- Rhyl Journal
Fox Legacy too smart in John Smith's Cup
The four-year-old, who is owned by King Power Racing and trained by Andrew Balding, was not far from the action when last seen in the Royal Hunt Cup at Ascot and was a 10-1 chance under PJ McDonald. Always prominent when racing from stall 19, the bay progressed nicely through the race and was comfortably able to pull clear when asked in the final furlong to prevail by a length. 'It's a testament to the horse that from that draw I was able to get a position and then take him back and relax where I was,' McDonald told ITV Racing. 'The only thing I had to do was to make sure not to go too soon, he travelled around beautifully for me and he gave me a great spin. 'I was still going nicely into the two (furlong pole). I thought if I let him stretch out and take it (the lead) they'd have to come and get me. Andrew's horses are absolutely flying.' Al Qareem showed there a few more reliable horses in training when seeing off all challengers to claim the John Smith's Silver Cup Stakes. Karl Burke and Nick Bradley Racing's seasoned six-year-old won a Listed contest over the same course and distance last time out and was well backed as the 4-7 favourite under Clifford Lee. He took up the lead at an early stage and was never passed, shrugging off every horse that attempted to challenge him in the home straight to claim victory by a dominant two and a half lengths. 'He always seems to look as though they're going to get him but he just grinds it out, he's so honest and a superstar of a horse to train,' said Burke. 'I'd say the weight will rule him out of the Ebor, presumably he'd get a penalty as well. 'It's always been the target, the Irish St Leger, I think it'd be a nice race for him to roll the dice in.' Washington Heights claimed a well-deserved success in the John Smith's City Walls Stakes at York, justifying his status as the 9-4 favourite. Trained by Kevin Ryan and ridden by Shane Gray, the five-year-old has run with real credit in a range of Group sprints and was most recently seen finishing a close-up seventh in the King Charles III Stakes at Royal Ascot. On the Knavesmire he tackled the same five-furlong trip but was dropped down to Listed level, taking on seven rivals and proving the best of them with a smart three-quarter-length victory. 'He's a great horse for a syndicate like this, he takes them to all the right meetings and as you can see today, they support him well,' said Adam Ryan, assistant to his father. 'It's great for him to get his head in front. The thing with him is he's as tough as bell metal, I thought they were going to get to him a furlong down but it was going to take a brave horse to get past him. 'Thankfully he dug deep, which he always does.'
