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The National
5 days ago
- Business
- The National
Ed Miliband put up your energy bills – and hoped you wouldn't notice
THE end of term is usually accompanied by hijinks and obnoxious traditions. At my alma mater, that august institution Park Mains High, it was the thing for departing sixth-year pupils to throw fish onto the roof, hire bands to follow teachers around and generally make a nuisance of themselves before going to the beach and getting diabolically mad wae it. Ed Miliband – and the rest of the UK Government – have an entirely different tradition, one even more antisocial than spraying a French class with Silly String and drinking WKD in the rain. He decided to see off the year as is custom in the House of Commons – by sneaking out some bad news under the wire, hoping that no one would notice. Miliband took the last day of term before MPs knocked off for a six-week-long holiday – sorry, I mean 'working in the constituency' – to let slip that he was putting up your energy bills. (Image: Mike Page) This is to pay for the ballooning cost of the Sizewell C nuclear plant in Suffolk. Incidentally, another thing that the Energy Secretary let out the bag on Tuesday was that the cost of this had almost doubled to £38 billion. That is regrettable but Miliband did not want us to get too down about it. The UK Government expects that it will be 'limited to an average of around £1 a month on a typical household bill'. Given the way that energy bills have gone in recent years, I doubt that anyone feels anything less than seething resentment at paying even another penny. READ MORE: The National's front page as Donald Trump set to arrive in Scotland Not to worry though, Miliband's statement to the Commons reassures us: 'This is a good deal for consumers, as demonstrated by the value for money assessment that will be published today.' Well, that's alright then. In virtually the same breath, value-for-money whizz Miliband tells us that the UK Government is the biggest equity stakeholder in Sizewell C, with La Caisse taking a 20% stake, Centrica 15%, EDF 12.5%, and Amber Infrastructure Ltd initially 7.6%. I think it unlikely their interest derives chiefly from their beneficence. This is a classic tactic by governments. Slip out some politically sensitive news on the last day before one of Parliament's absurdly long recesses – your regular reminder that MPs are paid £93,904 per annum, plus expenses – and hope that no one notices. On the same day, the Government also told us – through written statements only checked by journalists and wonks – that it would use artificial intelligence, yes, the same thing that has told people to put glue on pizzas and praised Adolf Hitler – to check the age of asylum seekers. And they disclosed that the Government's official target to spend 0.7% of gross national income on foreign aid had been missed. This last was the least surprising, given that Keir Starmer had previously announced the budget was being raided to pay for more bombs. But don't forget just how politically sensitive this issue is; the Prime Minister's announcement earlier this year triggered the resignation of Anneliese Dodds from her position as international development minister. These stories may fade into the ether of the summer or they could come back when parliamentary scrutiny resumes at the beginning of September. But we felt it important to give you a reminder; we never like letting them get away with it. You can get the Worst of Westminster delivered straight to your email inbox every Friday at 6pm for FREE by clicking here. –
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Yahoo
Law roundup: Man with gas can seen by truck leaking gas
May 1—A blue truck was allegedly leaking gas in front of a store, and a passerby told police they saw a man with a gas can by the vehicle and took pictures of him, thinking he might be stealing the gas. Officers received information from an associated call about a man working on a car. The hazardous spill, which was less than 10 gallons of gas, was mitigated. Officers made contact with a man they identified from the pictures and notified the jail. A man with "pointed fingernails" and a walking stick allegedly kept talking to children playing tennis matches at the location, telling them that they knew him while touching them on the arm or the back and trying to hug them. The man reportedly kept walking back-and-forth from the tennis courts and a pond several times. The person making the report wished the man would stay away because he made the children uncomfortable. A man alleged his neighbor was harassing him by way of calling law enforcement with complaints and yet made another complaint after his daughter installed a security camera pointed in the vicinity of a sidewalk and the neighbor's porch, noting that he thought it activated by motion-sensor and he didn't have access to the footage. He also contended the neighbor was "always out filming him" and predicted they would be doing so when he went out to do some yard work. Officers discussed how "generic filming" doesn't break any laws, and it should be fine to keep the camera up, unless there was something in his restraining order that specified otherwise. An audience of teens sitting on top of a sliver sedan were reportedly watching vehicles drag race. Teenagers in a blue Tesla allegedly chased a youth in a store parking lot, spraying Silly String at him, before going into a store where an employee counseled them about their foolish behavior. A pretty friendly pit bull named Tina was reported missing by a caller who provided their contact information if someone found her. Tina has black and white coloring on her chest, wasn't wearing a collar and isn't chipped.
Yahoo
23-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Roksanda Fall 2025: Art and Craft
Roksanda Ilincic took to the skies once again, showing a collection filled with offbeat color combinations and oversized proportions on the 17th floor of Space House, the refurbished 1960s show venue in Covent Garden that has spectacular views — when it's not so cloudy. She drew inspiration from the late artist and sculptor Phyllida Barlow, who worked leftover, everyday materials such as cardboard, fabric, plywood and plaster into her large-scale works. In this age of sustainable fashion, and a make-do-and-mend mentality, especially among young people, Ilincic was spot on trend. More from WWD Penelope Tree Is Back on the Runway, and Will Walk for Fendi in Milan Stephen Jones Serves Up a Feast for the Senses for Fall 2025 London's Mayor Opens London Fashion Week Store The designer rooted around her studio and used leftover materials, mainly from her spring 2023 collection, to create the sculptural, abstract looks in the show's finale. Deadstock included melton wool (which she uses to line the inside collars of coats), paper, raffia, viscose and big, stiff squares of sponge. Skirts and tops fashioned from those floppy sponge panels seemed to float around the models' waists and necks, while ragged-edged fil coupe dresses, coats and tunic tops looked as if they were made from Silly String. Ilincic said she left those colorful fil coupe threads 'free and loose' so they could fall in all different ways and create different types of sculpture 'on their own.' The main collection had a similarly arty feel, with standout pieces including a sheer, floaty gown that was a patchwork of lavender, yellow and cornflower blue; and a lineup of lovely pink dresses, some of which were painted. Not all of the looks had such a light touch. Some of Ilincic's collaged creations were heavy-handed, including the dresses, headpieces and long belts made from layers of giant sequins that rustled as models walked. Oversize jackets with sheer black panels, and a fuzzy-backed coat, swamped the women wearing them, and looked almost comical at times. Those outsized proportions were more suited to the art — or sculpture — gallery, and will need a few tweaks before they hit the shop floor. Launch Gallery: Roksanda Fall 2025 Ready-to-Wear Collection Best of WWD Windowsen RTW Spring 2022 Louis Shengtao Chen RTW Spring 2022 Vegan Fashion Week Returns to L.A. With Nous Etudions, Vegan Tiger on the Runway
