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Daily Mirror
4 hours ago
- Business
- Daily Mirror
Sarah Jones - 'Free advice will help pubs and venues save cash on energy bills'
Our hospitality sector has been hit incredibly hard, with thousands of pubs serving pints and providing a meeting place for our communities closing their doors one last time over the last 15 years. These establishments scattered across our country, that are steeped in British tradition and heritage, are being swallowed up because of matters out of their control. Many of our favourite pubs and venues have faced soaring energy costs as a result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine – leaving us at the whim of global oil and gas prices. That is why we are driving towards clean power, getting us off the rollercoaster of fossil fuel prices. We are also rolling out schemes to provide direct support for our cash-strapped hospitality sector – helping to protect your local boozer or café. Over 600 pubs, hotels, restaurants and cafes will take part in a trial to receive free advice on how they can become more efficient and cut their energy bills, as part of the government's Plan for Change. This will save small businesses £3 million, so they can keep more money in their pockets to grow their business, employ local people and continue to serve your pint of lager or fish and chips. Businesses will have the expertise at their fingertips to make straightforward changes to save money and cut emissions so they can focus on growing the businesses they are passionate about. Follow our Mirror Politics account on Bluesky here. And follow our Mirror Politics team here - Lizzy Buchan, Mikey Smith, Kevin Maguire, Sophie Huskisson, Dave Burke and Ashley Cowburn. Be first to get the biggest bombshells and breaking news by joining our Politics WhatsApp group here. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you want to leave our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. Or sign up here to the Mirror's Politics newsletter for all the best exclusives and opinions straight to your inbox. And listen to our exciting new political podcast The Division Bell, hosted by the Mirror and the Express every Thursday. This is exactly what businesses have been asking for, with a recent report from the Federation of Small Businesses finding that 64% of small businesses think sustainability should be a high priority for the government, but only 26% of small businesses believe they have the know-how to make their business net zero. Through this support, businesses are also estimated to cut 2,700 tonnes of carbon over the year – helping the sector go green while cutting their bills. By delivering this support, we are continuing to move forward with our plan to support British businesses - turbocharging growth, creating thousands of good jobs and a building a more sustainable future for our country.
Daily Mirror
a day ago
- Business
- Daily Mirror
'Starmer wants UK to be war ready - but there's one big unanswered question'
Keir Starmer wants to make Britain "battle ready" with a big bang announcement on reshaping the country's defence. The PM said the long-awaited strategic defence review will shift the UK to "war-fighting readiness" as Russia menaces Europe and Donald Trump threatens to pull the US away from defending the continent. It's clear that the world has changed and Britain must change with it. As Mr Starmer often says, the first duty of any leader is to keep this country safe. How he plans to foot the bill is less obvious. When the public finances are as tight as they are, every decision has a cost - and pumping billions of pounds into defence will mean other areas lose out. The PM said in February that he would hike defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 - paid for by a raid on the foreign aid budget. He refused today to spell out how he'd pay for his aim of hitting 3% in the next Parliament. This reticence will raise questions over whether the cash is really there. The problem is the Government has almost no room for manoeuvre. Chancellor Rachel Reeves promised not to put up taxes on working people but also to protect the public sector from another round of austerity. Public services have been slashed to the bone after years of Tory cuts and voters are fed up of long waits for hospital appointments, pothole-riddled roads and sending their kids to school in crumbling buildings. Ms Reeves is also trying to keep the markets calm by sticking to strict fiscal rules banning her from borrowing cash for day-to-day spending. There are no easy choices. Labour MPs are already on the brink of revolt over cuts to welfare and the winter fuel allowance, and how the party is going to drive down child poverty. Follow our Mirror Politics account on Bluesky here. And follow our Mirror Politics team here - Lizzy Buchan, Mikey Smith, Kevin Maguire, Sophie Huskisson, Dave Burke and Ashley Cowburn. Be first to get the biggest bombshells and breaking news by joining our Politics WhatsApp group here. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you want to leave our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. Or sign up here to the Mirror's Politics newsletter for all the best exclusives and opinions straight to your inbox. And listen to our exciting new political podcast The Division Bell, hosted by the Mirror and the Express every Thursday. Next week, Ms Reeves will set out Whitehall budgets for the next three years in the Spending Review, with fears mounting over cuts expected in non-protected departments. Paul Johnson, from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), today said that the only way to pay for increased military spending was 'really quite chunky tax increases'. But Mr Starmer and Ms Reeves believe that funding defence can deliver an economic prize - a "defence dividend" out of the extra billions being spent on Britain's security. Firing up defence manufacturing can create economic growth along with tens of thousands of good jobs, particularly in Labour's old industrial heartlands, where Nigel Farage's Reform are trying to make inroads. The PM chose to unveil the plans in Govan, in Glasgow, once the centre of Clydeside shipbuilding that has suffered from that industrial decline. It's not far from Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, where Reform are trying to pull off an upset in a critical Scottish Parliament by-election on Thursday. Labour won a landslide victory promising "change" but Mr Starmer has been struggling to articulate his vision for Britain. Getting it battle ready and firing up its industrial heartlands again could be the beginning of his answer.
Daily Mirror
2 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mirror
Keir Starmer to give major speech today amid grim warning world is in 'new era'
Keir Starmer will this morning unveil plans to put the UK on a war footing after issuing a fresh warning about Vladimir Putin. The Prime Minister will speak at around 10am in Scotland as he announces the long-awaited Strategic Defence Review. He told the BBC's Today Programme: " Russia has shown in recent weeks that it's not serious about peace, and we have to be ready." He said the review will focus on Britain's readiness for war, stating: "The world has changed and we are entering a new era when it comes to defence and security. "I think that's a common feeling across Europe and more broadly there is greater instability on defence and security than there has been for many, many years, and greater threats, and that's obviously having a direct impact back into the United Kingdom. Hence the review." He said he "very much" hopes he will not be forced to send British troops to war in the face of Russian aggression. But he said the UK "cannot ignore" the threat Putin poses. Earlier defence minister Luke Pollard has said the UK is "certainly not at war at the moment, but it's also true that we're certainly not at peace". He said action was needed to prevent conflict, telling BBC Breakfast: I think all your viewers will have seen the appalling scenes from Ukraine over recent years. They'll be aware that the world is more dangerous. They'll be aware that to secure our freedom and our economic prosperity, we have to invest in our national security. "It's the first duty of any government to keep our country safe, but it's also the first mission of this Labour Government to grow our economy by investing in defence. We're creating jobs in every single part of United Kingdom." He went on: "I don't want us to go to war. I want us to deter aggression. That is precisely what the defence review sets out to do today." A long-awaited strategic defence review will be published today, with the Government commiting to build 12 new nuclear-powered attack submarines and invest £15billion in its warhead programme. Defence Secretary John Healey said last night that Britain "must act decisively to face down Russian aggression". Follow our Mirror Politics account on Bluesky here. And follow our Mirror Politics team here - Lizzy Buchan, Mikey Smith, Kevin Maguire, Sophie Huskisson, Dave Burke and Ashley Cowburn. Be first to get the biggest bombshells and breaking news by joining our Politics WhatsApp group here. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you want to leave our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. Or sign up here to the Mirror's Politics newsletter for all the best exclusives and opinions straight to your inbox. And listen to our exciting new political podcast The Division Bell, hosted by the Mirror and the Express every Thursday.
Daily Mirror
5 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mirror
'Tory neglect left NHS patients and staff in buildings barely fit for purpose'
Our NHS hospitals have been left in an appalling condition. A decade and a half of underinvestment means patients and staff are working and being treated in dilapidated old buildings that are barely fit for purpose, let alone a modern health service. Every Mirror reader will have seen and experienced the dire state of the infrastructure we inherited. Broken lifts, outdated flooring and bad lighting cause uncomfortable conditions. But worse are the burst pipes, power failures and broken heaters that cause the cancellation of vital appointments and operations. Since taking office, we have invested record amounts, totally £26 billion, to rebuild and renew the NHS through the government's Plan for Change. First things first, our hospitals require urgent maintenance to tackle issues plaguing sites up and down the country. This is about freeing up staff time, allowing them to work to the top of their abilities, and keeping patients safe. These fixes are needed now. That's why today we've allocated £750million to hospitals up and down the country to make the urgent repairs they need. Follow our Mirror Politics account on Bluesky here. And follow our Mirror Politics team here - Lizzy Buchan, Mikey Smith, Kevin Maguire, Sophie Huskisson, Dave Burke and Ashley Cowburn. Be first to get the biggest bombshells and breaking news by joining our Politics WhatsApp group here. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you want to leave our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. Or sign up here to the Mirror's Politics newsletter for all the best exclusives and opinions straight to your inbox. And listen to our exciting new political podcast The Division Bell, hosted by the Mirror and the Express every Thursday. Patients will see and feel the difference. It means things like improved lifts, so patients can be transferred safely around hospital buildings. It means upgraded ventilation in neo-natal emergency units, giving new babies receiving critical care and new parents more comfortable conditions. And it means reliable electrics and plumbing, allowing surgeries, treatments and important consultations to go ahead without interruption, improving productivity across the health service. This is just one element of our mission to improve standards and cut waiting times right across the NHS through our Plan for Change. Today's announcement comes alongside £470million to make vital improvements to hundreds of schools right across the country – showing we're taking a cross-government approach to making improvements. And in health, these vital repairs are just the start. We're following through on our promise to deliver better care, closer to home by shifting services from hospitals into the community, including offering more at pharmacies and increasing opening hours at community diagnostic centres. We're utilising technology by expanding the NHS App to save thousands of clinical hours, and rolling out cutting-edge radiotherapy machines to give cancer patients better and safer treatment. The challenge we have to turn around the state our health service was left in is big. But by taking care of the urgent repairs needed in hospitals all over the country, we are proving that no detail is too small.
Daily Mirror
27-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mirror
Nigel Farage announces tax break plan - but your relationship status matters
Nigel Farage has said he would introduce tax breaks for married couples if he was elected in an attempt to get people to have more babies. In a speech, the Reform UK leader also said he'd scrap the two-child benefit limit to try to boost birth rates. And he committed to fully reinstating the winter fuel payments in a bid to outflank Labour after Keir Starmer announced a U-turn on cuts to the allowance. The politician said his "biggest aspiration" was for Brits to avoid paying tax on any earnings up to £20,000. Currently workers pay the 20% basic rate of income tax on everything between £12,570 and £50,270. Mr Farage claimed he'd be able to pay for the series of expensive announcements through measures including scrapping plans to reach net zero and diversity and inclusion programmes. The marriage tax break would reportedly exempt one spouse from paying tax on the first £25,000 of their income. The other would enjoy a tax-free income of £20,000. A Marriage Tax Allowance currently allows spouses or civil partners, who do not pay tax, to transfer £1,260 of their tax-free personal allowance to their spouse or partner if they pay the basic rate of tax. It then lowers the higher earner's tax bill for the year. In a speech in Westminster, Mr Farage said he wants "to encourage people to have children, to make it easier for them to have children". The divorced politician said: "That is why I also believe that having a transferable tax allowance between married people is the right thing to do. Now, I know many will say, look, marriage is outdated. Most people don't bother to get married anymore. "And you know, I'm hardly standing here in front of you as a religious priest and moralising. I'm not sure my own track requisites are good on this, and we all lead imperfect lives. "But what is true? What is absolutely true? The evidence is there to prove it - is that where people who are married stay together for the longest period of time, the children that grow up in those environments have the best chance of success in life." Follow our Mirror Politics account on Bluesky here. And follow our Mirror Politics team here - Lizzy Buchan, Mikey Smith, Kevin Maguire, Sophie Huskisson, Dave Burke and Ashley Cowburn. Be first to get the biggest bombshells and breaking news by joining our Politics WhatsApp group here. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you want to leave our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. Or sign up here to the Mirror's Politics newsletter for all the best exclusives and opinions straight to your inbox. And listen to our exciting new political podcast The Division Bell, hosted by the Mirror and the Express every Thursday. Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said the Tories' two-child benefit limit hasn't 'had an impact on the decisions that people are making around family size." "All it has done has pushed more children into poverty,' she said. The Cabinet minister added that scrapping the two-child limit was "on the table" for Labour. It comes after the party last night launched a blistering attack on Mr Farage's "unfunded spending pledges". Labour said: 'Nigel Farage, a private-educated stockbroker and career politician, has only ever cared about his own self-interest and personal ambition, never about what is good for working people in this country. "His Reform manifesto included billions of pounds worth of unfunded spending pledges but did not commit to the Triple Lock. Farage must urgently clarify whether he will cut the state pension to pay for his reckless tax cuts." Mr Starmer last week announced he wants more pensioners to be eligible for the winter fuel allowance in a major U-turn. But the details are still unclear on who would be eligible. Mr Farage wants to fully reinstate the policy, meaning millionaire pensioners would be eligible for the up to £300 help.
