Latest news with #RichardFuller
The Guardian
03-05-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
‘No simple answers' for Reform after local election success, senior Tory warns
Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature Reform UK will find out there are 'no simple answers' to local public finances and have to make 'difficult choices' after the party surged in local elections, a senior Tory MP has said. Richard Fuller, shadow chief treasury secretary, said it was now up to Nigel Farage's party to see if they can deliver in the areas where they have won council seats and mayoral polls. According to the PA news agency, Fuller told GB News: We have to acknowledge Reform did very well yesterday. They won the Runcorn byelection off Labour. They've won some mayoralties and now they will get the chance to show what they can actually do when they give them power. So, no longer pointing at problems, but actually there to try and find solutions, albeit on a local level, to help the people in Lincolnshire or Hull, where they have taken over the mayoralties. And other areas where they have taken control of the council. They'll find out, Reform will find out, I think, that there are no simple answers locally to public finances at local government level, they'll have to make some difficult choices and the local public will … hold them to account for the decisions they make. Farage has previously suggested every county council 'needs a Doge' – a reference to Elon Musk's cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) in the US. Leader of Reform UK Nigel Farage cheers while addressing supporters and the media at Staffordshire county showground after Reform won control of Staffordshire county council. Photograph:Speaking on the BBC's Today programme on Saturday, ex-GB news host Darren Grimes, who won a seat on Durham county council for Reform UK, said: 'On day one of being in control, we're get the auditors in.' More on this story in a moment, but first, here is a summary of the latest updates: Nigel Farage hailed Friday's local election results as 'the end of two-party politics' and 'the death of the Conservative party' as Reform UK picked up 10 councils and more than 600 seats in Thursday's poll. Kemi Badenoch apologised to defeated Conservative councillors after the Tories lost more than 600 councillors and all 15 of the councils it controlled going into the election, among the worst results in the party's history. Conservative figures have sought to deny that the results are 'existential' for the party. Several Labour figures have called on the prime minister to change course after Reform UK won the Runcorn and Helsby byelection by six votes and took control of the previously Labour-run Doncaster Council. Backbench MP Emma Lewell, who has represented South Shields since 2013, said it was 'tone deaf to keep repeating we will move further and faster on our plan for change. What is needed is a change of plan.' Keir Starmer warned against parties offering 'some simple, ideological fix' . In a Saturday op-ed for The Times, Starmer wrote that he wanted 'national renewal'. He added: 'But that can only be built if people across the country have security in their lives and that will only happen if we have a secure economy, a secure health service and secure borders. Change on that scale will take time.' In further signs of fracturing political loyalties, a BBC projection of how the voting would have looked in a UK-wide election put Reform first on 30% , Labour on 20%, the Liberal Democrats on 17%, the Conservatives fourth with 15% and the Greens on 11%. After losing his legal challenge over personal security, the Duke of Sussex, has appealed to the prime minister, Keir Starmer, and the home secretary, Yvette Cooper . Asked whether Starmer should 'step in', he replied: 'Yes, I would ask the prime minister to step in.' He then said: 'I would ask Yvette Cooper, the home secretary, to look at this very, very carefully and I would ask her to review Ravec [Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures] and its members.' The cramped conditions of Victorian prisons in England and Wales are limiting the rehabilitation opportunities for thousands of offenders, an official watchdog has said. As the Guardian launches a visual investigation into the state of Victorian prisons in inner cities and towns, the chief inspector of prisons, Charlie Taylor, said 19th century jails could also be 'incredibly noisy and distressing' for autistic people. Share 'No simple answers' for Reform UK, says senior Tory Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature A Labour MP has suggested that voters shunned her party in local elections because it has failed to live up to the values the public expects from a Labour government. York Central MP Rachael Maskell said Labour needs to be driven by 'a framework of values, which is about protecting people, helping people to move forward in their lives and ensuring you've got those public services ready and working so that people can have that support when they need it'. 'That is what Labour governments do,' she told BBC Breakfast. She added: I believe that when Labour does not meet that sweet spot, that expectation that people have of a Labour government, then they start to look in less favourable places for where that help comes from. Yesterday, many people were searching for that response, to find that protection, to get that support. But, sadly, if Labour were not offering that, they would look in other places. That's why Labour have got to learn from the results yesterday and ensure that we do meet the needs of people in this country in very, very trying times. Share Reform UK will find out there are 'no simple answers' to local public finances and have to make 'difficult choices' after the party surged in local elections, a senior Tory MP has said. Richard Fuller, shadow chief treasury secretary, said it was now up to Nigel Farage's party to see if they can deliver in the areas where they have won council seats and mayoral polls. According to the PA news agency, Fuller told GB News: We have to acknowledge Reform did very well yesterday. They won the Runcorn byelection off Labour. They've won some mayoralties and now they will get the chance to show what they can actually do when they give them power. So, no longer pointing at problems, but actually there to try and find solutions, albeit on a local level, to help the people in Lincolnshire or Hull, where they have taken over the mayoralties. And other areas where they have taken control of the council. They'll find out, Reform will find out, I think, that there are no simple answers locally to public finances at local government level, they'll have to make some difficult choices and the local public will … hold them to account for the decisions they make. Farage has previously suggested every county council 'needs a Doge' – a reference to Elon Musk's cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) in the US. Leader of Reform UK Nigel Farage cheers while addressing supporters and the media at Staffordshire county showground after Reform won control of Staffordshire county council. Photograph:Speaking on the BBC's Today programme on Saturday, ex-GB news host Darren Grimes, who won a seat on Durham county council for Reform UK, said: 'On day one of being in control, we're get the auditors in.' More on this story in a moment, but first, here is a summary of the latest updates: Nigel Farage hailed Friday's local election results as 'the end of two-party politics' and 'the death of the Conservative party' as Reform UK picked up 10 councils and more than 600 seats in Thursday's poll. Kemi Badenoch apologised to defeated Conservative councillors after the Tories lost more than 600 councillors and all 15 of the councils it controlled going into the election, among the worst results in the party's history. Conservative figures have sought to deny that the results are 'existential' for the party. Several Labour figures have called on the prime minister to change course after Reform UK won the Runcorn and Helsby byelection by six votes and took control of the previously Labour-run Doncaster Council. Backbench MP Emma Lewell, who has represented South Shields since 2013, said it was 'tone deaf to keep repeating we will move further and faster on our plan for change. What is needed is a change of plan.' Keir Starmer warned against parties offering 'some simple, ideological fix' . In a Saturday op-ed for The Times, Starmer wrote that he wanted 'national renewal'. He added: 'But that can only be built if people across the country have security in their lives and that will only happen if we have a secure economy, a secure health service and secure borders. Change on that scale will take time.' In further signs of fracturing political loyalties, a BBC projection of how the voting would have looked in a UK-wide election put Reform first on 30% , Labour on 20%, the Liberal Democrats on 17%, the Conservatives fourth with 15% and the Greens on 11%. After losing his legal challenge over personal security, the Duke of Sussex, has appealed to the prime minister, Keir Starmer, and the home secretary, Yvette Cooper . Asked whether Starmer should 'step in', he replied: 'Yes, I would ask the prime minister to step in.' He then said: 'I would ask Yvette Cooper, the home secretary, to look at this very, very carefully and I would ask her to review Ravec [Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures] and its members.' The cramped conditions of Victorian prisons in England and Wales are limiting the rehabilitation opportunities for thousands of offenders, an official watchdog has said. As the Guardian launches a visual investigation into the state of Victorian prisons in inner cities and towns, the chief inspector of prisons, Charlie Taylor, said 19th century jails could also be 'incredibly noisy and distressing' for autistic people. Share
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Fierce Storms Across Midwest Blamed for Deaths of 3 Kids and an Amish Great-Grandfather Riding in a Buggy
Michigan authorities say a weekend accident in which three children died when a downed tree struck a minivan was unavoidable. The children, ages 2, 4 and 11, were killed when the vehicle in which they were riding in was hit by a 'very large tree' as a fierce storm moved across the area about 130 miles west of Detroit on Sunday, March 30, Kalamazoo County Sheriff Richard Fuller said, according to ABC affiliate WZZM13. 'It looks like nothing anybody could have done,' Fuller told reporters on Monday, March 31. 'The family could have not avoided this, they didn't predict that something would happen in that area at that time and ultimately this came very suddenly.' Related: 2 Students Hospitalized After Suspected Tornado Rips Roof Off Alabama School Fuller said the tree hit the van behind the driver's door and across the passenger area, where the children — a 2-year-old girl, her 4-year-old brother and their 11-year-old female cousin — were seated. Three other people in the van were injured, the Associated Press reported. The Branch County family was on their way to visit a relative when the accident occurred, according to the report. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Fuller added that the tree was so large 'that it came across two lanes of traffic and out the other side of the vehicle, about 12 more feet.' Two deaths in Indiana are also being blamed on the storm, which tore across the Midwest. Lonnie Yoder, 84, was killed when his Amish buggy flipped due to intense winds in Middlebury, Ind. shortly before 6 p.m. local time on Sunday. Related: 6 Children and Pregnant Woman Among 13 Hospitalized After Apartment Explosion Yoder — a father of seven, grandfather of 24 and great-grandfather of 14 — leaves behind his wife of 62 years, according to his obituary. The high winds also claimed the life of a 34-year-old man in Valparaiso, who was killed when he was hit by a tractor-trailer that had flipped onto its side, according to NBC affiliate WNDU-TV. Read the original article on People
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Wild weather blamed for deaths of 3 kids in Michigan and a man in an Amish buggy in Indiana
KALAMAZOO, Mich. (AP) — A tree fell on a van in Michigan, killing three children, during a fierce weekend storm that swept the region and contributed to the death of an 84-year-old man in an Amish buggy in Indiana, authorities said Monday. Meanwhile, more potentially dangerous weather rolled across parts of the Southeastern U.S. Trees and power lines were no match for freezing rain and extreme winds over the weekend, and utilities were gradually restoring power in Michigan, although 290,000 outages remained by Monday afternoon, according to Indiana and Wisconsin had trimmed their outages to roughly 85,000. The victims of the fallen tree in Kalamazoo County were a 2-year-old girl, her 4-year-old brother and an 11-year-old girl who was their cousin. Three other people in the van were injured Sunday about 130 miles (209 kilometers) west of Detroit. 'The family could not have avoided this,' Sheriff Richard Fuller told reporters, adding that the tree struck the passenger area where the children were sitting. 'It was such a large tree that it came across two lanes of traffic and out the other side of the vehicle for about 12 more feet,' the sheriff said. The area had been under a severe thunderstorm warning at the time, one of several Sunday in southern Michigan. At roughly the same time, an Amish buggy in Middlebury, Indiana, flipped because of intense winds, killing Lonnie Yoder, police said. Michigan's northern Lower Peninsula remained a mess Monday, with thousands of trees down because of freezing rain that struck Saturday. Police urged people to stay off roads. The Alpena News said it couldn't publish a newspaper because it had no power, like the rest of Alpena County. The Mackinac Bridge, a 5-mile (8-kilometer) span connecting Michigan's two peninsulas, was shut down because of the danger of thick ice falling on cars from the bridge's towers and cables. In Valparaiso, Indiana, investigators believe severe crosswinds blew over a tractor trailer Sunday afternoon, killing the driver at the property of Pratt Industries, the Porter County sheriff's office said. Jagbir Singh, 34, of Ontario, Canada, was found outside the passenger compartment. A warehouse in Elkhart, Indiana, was destroyed, though no injuries were reported, WSBT-TV said. Winds in southwest Ohio toppled a church steeple, damaged homes and flipped campers Sunday night, authorities said. No injuries were reported. Storm damage was reported in several counties in Tennessee, including Maury and Humphreys, WSMV-TV reported. Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis reported damage across the county, including a roof torn off a house. The homeowners were trapped inside but not injured. Clusters of thunderstorms accompanied by strong to severe wind gusts and perhaps a few tornadoes were spreading across much of the Southeast on Monday, the National Weather Service said. The Associated Press
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Yahoo
Deputies investigating after 2 pizza delivery drivers robbed in Galesburg
GALESBURG, Mich. (WOOD) — The Kalamazoo County Sheriff's Office is investigating a disturbing trend in Galesburg off Burgess Drive after two separate pizza delivery drivers were robbed at gunpoint weeks apart. Sheriff Richard Fuller said the initial incident happened just after midnight on Jan. 1. A Hungry Howie's driver told deputies he was robbed by a 40- or 50-something Black man who was about 5 feet, 9 inches tall with a thin build. 'Initially, we weren't sure if they did or didn't display a firearm, but ultimately the person turned over their baked goods, their pizzas to the suspect and the suspect fled,' Fuller said. The second incident occurred over a month later, on Feb. 26, in the exact same area. Galesburg Pizza King said in a now-deleted Facebook post that one of its 'worst fears came true.' Although the driver was unharmed physically, the emotional toll the robbery took on both the driver and his fellow staffers played a role in the company reexamining its delivery routes and policies. 'We put out a team of drones, we had K-9s and had detectives in both cases investigating these cases, trying to see what we could find these nights,' Fuller said. It is unclear if one or more people are involved with these robberies, but Fuller said the two incidents are likely connected. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
