Latest news with #LucyPowell
Daily Mail
7 hours ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
QUENTIN LETTS: The Lib Dems are no longer against nukes - as long as they're fuelled by lentil gas, perhaps!
When North Korea tried to launch a warship the other day, things did not go entirely to plan and the vessel capsized. Labour 's announcement of its defence plans nearly went the same way. What a foul-up they made of it. MPs were cross that they were not allowed to read the defence review until the Secretary of State, John Healey, was at the despatch box. The Speaker, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, went on the war path, voicing backbenchers' fury and ensuring that Mr Healey's announcement was delayed by other squabbles. Commons leader Lucy Powell took several direct hits from Sir Lindsay. She curled a lip at him but that only encouraged him to unleash more verbal torpedoes. Ms Powell was soon listing, holed below decks and with much of her superstructure gone. After further sorties from her Tory counterpart, Jesse Norman, she may be beyond salvage. While a 'glug glug glug' came from HMS Powell, Mr Healey glided to the despatch box to agree that MPs should, yes, be allowed to read the document before asking him about it. By this stage, many of its contents had already been reported by newspapers – a proud day for journalists, egad – and Sir Keir Starmer had held a wonderfully wooden event in front of two half-built frigates at Govan. The nasal knight was surrounded by shipyard workers. He gulped, blinked, said 'er' and 'um', and managed to create further confusion as to when, if ever, defence spending would reach 3 per cent of gross domestic product. Back at Westminster a junior defence minister, Luke Pollard, had a sticky time explaining what the Government's policy on nuclear weapons would now be. Mr Pollard, hesitating, explained: 'I don't want to eat the Secretary of State's sandwiches.' Speaker Hoyle, roaring in broad Lancastrian: 'Don't you wurry, the Sunday papers did it already!' Mr Healey was by now in the chamber, going through the text of his speech but perhaps silently thinking 'cripes, what a shambles'. Beside him sat another defence minister, Maria Eagle, dabbing at her runny nose with a sopping Kleenex. The chemical warfare laboratory at Aldermaston would not have handled that hankie without a hazmat suit. Just when things could hardly deteriorate further, Tory frontbencher Mark Francois came scampering into the chamber like a plump old spaniel with a string of butcher's sausages. He whispered something urgent to the shadow secretary of state, James Cartlidge, who promptly stood up to announce that the review document had been given to leading defence firms at 8am. Two and a half hours before even the journalists? Disgrace! Speaker Hoyle whooshed back to his feet and said he hoped there had been no insider-dealing on the stock market as a result. Up in the gallery beside us blunt nibs, meanwhile, sat Lord Robertson, the Labour grandee and former Nato boss who led the defence review. Tories suggested he must be appalled by the goings-on. Lord Robertson looked to me as if he was enjoying the chaos enormously. Finally we reached real points of debate. Jeremy Corbyn and a few Lefties complained about a breaking of nuclear non-proliferation treaty agreements. The Greens – Ellie Chowns from the SAS lands of Herefordshire, indeed – wailed that 'warheads don't buy a safer world'. Tory heckler: 'I think you'll find they do.' Debbie Abrahams (Lab, Oldham E) fretted about mental health. The Labour MP for Aldershot wanted a new bank. And the Lib Dems are no longer opposed to nukes. Provided they are fuelled by lentil gas, perhaps. Mr Healey ground his jaw. He spoke of 'our island home' and said 'we must now move to war-fighting readiness'. His macho routine did not work as well as it usually does. When he claimed that Rachel Reeves had 'fixed the economic foundations', I regret to say that the House just laughed. Not that Mr Healey will mind that the Treasury, which may be his more immediate foe than even the Kremlin, has now become a national joke.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Family's joy at £200,000 transformation of junction where daughter was hit by a car
The transformation of a dangerous junction has been completed. The £200,000 pedestrian safety scheme at the corner of Thicketford Road and Crompton Way has officially opened—five years after 10-year-old Lucy Powell was hit by a car at the busy junction. The 2020 accident sparked a campaign by Lucy's parents, Nicky and Chris, to improve safety measures at the intersection. Their efforts have now culminated in the installation of full pedestrian crossing facilities on all sides of the junction. Roadworks to transform the junction got underway in March. The family joined councillors to see for themselves how it had been made safer for pedestrians. The new system, which began operating on Wednesday, includes multi-way traffic signals and upgraded traffic lights, designed to enhance both pedestrian safety and traffic flow through the area. (Image: NQ) READ MORE: Crompton Way Thicketford Road junction improved after girl runover Bolton Council chiefs vote in Cllr Nick Peel as the leader Lucy, now 15, joined her parents as the first to use the new crossing during the official opening. Relieved mum Nicky said: 'We decided to campaign to get pedestrian lights put here. There has been a lot of disruption, so we are grateful to everybody who has been very patient about that. 'We're very pleased that, at last, the pedestrian lights are available so people can cross the road safely.' (Image: NQ) Funding for the project came from Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) and local ward councillors through the area's devolved budget. Tonge with the Haulgh ward member and leader of Bolton Council, Cllr Nick Peel, said: 'I'm really pleased. A few years ago, we had a series of pedestrian accidents, and as ward councillors, we responded by allocating significant funds from our local devolved budget. With support from Transport for Greater Manchester, we've now delivered a major upgrade to this junction. 'It's been a long time coming, but it's here at last—and it's going to make a major difference to people's safety.' Residents welcomed the newly transformed junction saying it would make crossing the busy junction easier.
Daily Mirror
3 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Mirror
MPs back the Mirror's campaign for a monument to honour UK terror victims
Labour's Kim Leadbeater, Lucy Powell, Andrew Gwynne and Graham Stringer all support our fight for a lasting touchstone to honour UK victims of terror and their families MPs have backed the Mirror's campaign for a monument to honour all UK terror victims. Labour's Kim Leadbeater, Lucy Powell, Andrew Gwynne and Graham Stringer all support our fight for a lasting touchstone. Last night Kim, whose sister Jo Cox MP was murdered by a white supremacist, said: "We should never forget the people we have lost to terrorism and I congratulate the Mirror on their 'Place to Remember' campaign which I am proud to support. 'Too many people have lost their lives to terrorism and extremist violence in our country and too many families have been left having to deal with their loss." The Spen Valley MP, 49, added: "We know that people grieve in different ways, but for some people having a special place to go to remember their loved ones could provide great comfort. A memorial would also serve to remind us of the life-changing impact of the actions of those who use violence to seek to divide us." The Mirror-backed Place to Remember Campaign is calling on the government to erect a monument honouring all those affected by terror attacks in the UK. We are also demanding that calls for a National Remembrance Day for Victims and Survivors of Terrorism be urgently listened to. March, Security Minister Dan Jarvis launched a consultation for a day of remembrance, which is due to close next month, but this does not include plans for a shrine. For Lucy Powell, MP for Manchester Central, the catastrophic impact of terrorism is all too familiar, having worked closely with victims of the Manchester Arena attack. Backing our campaign, she said: "As a constituency MP for Manchester Central I have seen first-hand the utter devastation and lasting trauma that terrorism causes. In Manchester, we pulled together as a city after the arena attack in 2017, and the Glade of Light memorial has provided a fitting space for remembrance and reflection in the city. 'However, a national monument to honour all those affected in the UK is perhaps overdue and would provide a central united space for remembrance. As such I support this and calls for a National Remembrance Day for victims and survivors of terrorism which would provide an opportunity for the nation to come together to remember those lost and affected.' Greater Manchester MPs Andrew Gwynne, who represents Gorton and Denton, and Graham Stringer, of Blackley and Middleton South, are also pleased to support our fight. Both leaders were heavily involved in the aftermath of Salman Abedi's blast at Manchester Arena on May 22, 2017, which left 22 dead and thousands more injured. Jo Cox, MP for Batley and Spen, was fatally shot and stabbed outside a library in Birstall, West Yorks, where she was about to hold a constituency surgery on June 16, 2016. Attacker Thomas Mair, a white supremacist who was obsessed with Nazis and apartheid-era South Africa, was handed a whole-life tariff and will likely die in prison. Jo's widower Brendan Cox, who co-founded terror victim Network Survivors Against Terror after her death, has also backed our campaign for a physical memorial.
BBC News
6 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Cramlington and Killingworth MP calls bus services 'unreliable'
A Labour MP has slammed bus services in her constituency as "unreliable" and "inaccessible".Cramlington and Killingworth's Emma Foody surveyed hundreds of constituents which found broad dissatisfaction with services in the in the House of Commons, Foody said the government's upcoming Bus Services Bill needed to put passengers "back in the driving seat".Leader of the House of Commons, Lucy Powell, said the bill would devolve more powers locally to improve transport options. "The villages and towns across my Cramlington and Killingworth constituency rely heavily on our bus services," Foody said."Despite this, my Big Bus Survey that I've been running recently shows that local people too often have found buses to be unreliable, inaccessible and they don't take them to the places they need to go." 'Affordable and reliable' Powell replied the Bus Service Bill will give local areas the power to have "affordable and reliable bus services".The bill will give local authorities control over routes, timetables, connections and fares, according to the Local Democracy Reporting will also lift the ban on councils establishing their own bus companies and ensure that lifeline bus services cannot be removed or changed without councils reviewing their ability to serve communities."I have seen what happens with local areas like mine in Manchester having those powers," Powell said."It has massively increased the number of people using bus services and has brought in extra funding from doing so."The Conservative Party has previously called on the government to explain how local authorities would fund the proposals. Follow BBC North East on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
The Courier
6 days ago
- Business
- The Courier
SNP 'wrong' to block community bid to take over 200-year-old Fife pub
A Scottish Government decision to block an attempt to bring the Albert Hotel in North Queensferry into public ownership has been criticised in Westminster. It follows proposals by North Queensferry Community Council to take over the pub – which has been mothballed since 2017. The picturesque village pub sits below the Forth Bridge and dates back to 1824. House of Commons leader Lucy Powell said the SNP administration's rejection of community buy out attempt 'should not have happened'. Since its closure, the local community explored how a local takeover of the privately-owned pub could revive it as a community space selling food. An application was submitted in 2023 under the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2016. But the plan was not judged to be economically viable and was rejected. The decision was raised in Westminster by Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy MP Melanie Ward. Commons leader Lucy Powell said she is 'really sorry to hear' the Scottish Government has rejected the application. 'That is something that I don't think should have happened, she added. 'We will be debating the importance of community right to buy in forthcoming legislation.' Ms Ward recently met Iain Mitchell, chairman of the North Queensferry Community Council, during his visit to Westminster. The Labour MP told The Courier: 'The Albert Hotel is a much-loved part of North Queensferry's identity. 'The SNP Scottish Government's decision to deny the community the chance to secure it for public use is short-sighted and deeply disappointing.' The Albert Hotel is owned by the Festival Inns Limited SSAS pension fund, controlled by the Edinburgh-based hospitality tycoon Kenny Waugh The owner previously applied for permission to convert it into flats but was rejected by Fife Council. Mr Waugh has since unveiled a £400,000 investment plan which stalled while the community buy-out application was assessed. Reports suggest the building – which includes a nine-bed former hotel – has been left to fall into serious disrepair. Developers say it has become infested with wood rot and is not safe for use without redevelopment. A representative of Mr Waugh previously told the Daily Record that locals should drop their campaign. They say that if the community council accept the decision then progress will be made in restoring the building. Campaigners have submitted an appeal against the ministerial decision. A Scottish Government spokeswoman declined to comment while the appeal process is underway.
