25 h. ago Dozens of Cardiff school budgets are heading into the red — and some can’t get out

The number of schools setting deficit budgets in Cardiff has increased over the years and now, council officials predict that number will rise again

Politics

8 d. ago Half of London boroughs face bankruptcy over schools funding crisis

Sixteen of the capitals 33 local authorities have said they face ‘severe budget deficits’ totalling £500million next year over school funding shortfalls

Economics

8 d. ago Half of London boroughs warn they face bankruptcy over insufficient schools funding

Sixteen of the capitals 33 local have said they face ‘severe budget deficits’ totalling £500million next year over school funding shortfalls

Events

1 week ago Rachel Reeves set to revive Tory plans to invest in the Red Wall as Labour tries to head off Reform threat

Rachel Reeves is said to have ordered a review of the framework to enable investment in the North and Midlands at next month's spending review.

Events

2 w. ago What have I seen in Liverpool this week? Kindness in person and conspiracies online | Liam Thorp

After celebration turned to chaos, Liverpudlians stepped in to help those in need – while the usual suspects spread lies“This doesn’t sound good at all.” The message flashed up on a group chat I am in with other journalists in Liverpool and Merseyside. My blood cooled instantly upon reading it. I have heard those words before and I know what they mean. They mean something has happened. Something big and something bad. It wasn’t long before we all started to realise quite how big and quite how bad.After a day of joyous celebration that turned Liverpool into a sea of brilliant red, hundreds of fans were heading back into the city when they looked up to see an ambulance moving through a temporarily pedestrianised route on its way to help a stricken individual. The fans, anxious to assist, moved to the side, when a Ford Galaxy suddenly emerged from behind it and in a few terrible moments, turned elation and harmony into chaos and pain.Liam Thorp is political editor at the Liverpool Echo...

Politics

2 w. ago Bogancloch review – the further adventures of a Scottish hermit in Ben River’s beguiling essay

Rivers returns to document a past subject, Jake Williams, whose reclusive Scottish forest existence is fascinating but defies explanationFilm-maker Ben Rivers, one of the doyens of Britain’s small but stubborn-as-bindweed experimental film scene, catches up with Scottish recluse Jake Williams, the subject of his 2011 film Two Years at Sea and, before that, his 2006 short This Is My Land. All three films never deign to tell viewers much at all about Williams, who spends great chunks of the film doing almost nothing, like sleeping by a tree, taking a bath, or just pottering about at his home, Bogancloch in Aberdeenshire.However, there are oblique hints in plain sight if you look closely. In the bric-a-brac of Williams’ digs and the closeup shots Rivers inserts of some of Williams’ scratched and smudged photographs of places around the world he’s once visited, one of which shows the subject as a young man with a resplendent head of red hair. These days, his scalpline has much receded a...

Politics

2 w. ago Russell Mael: ‘Describe myself in three words? One handsome dude’

The Sparks singer on shoplifting red liquorice as a child, a head-to-head with Godzilla, and underselling his life storyBorn in California, Russell Mael, 76, and his brother, Ron, first recorded under the names the Urban Renewal Project and Halfnelson, before becoming Sparks in 1972. Two years later, they relocated to London and had a hit with their song This Town Ain’t Big Enough for Both of Us. More recently, they composed a radio opera, The Seduction of Ingmar Bergman, collaborated with Franz Ferdinand in supergroup FFS, and released a film, Annette, which won five César awards in 2022. Their 28th studio album is Mad! and their tour comes to the UK in June. Mael lives in California.What was your most embarrassing moment? Signing away the rights to my life story to a major motion-picture company for a sum that I have since been told was way below the market rate. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Details of massive Bruno Fernandes transfer offer as Man Utd left with dilemma

Bruno Fernandes has been a rare bright spot for Manchester United this season but the Red Devils skipper could find himself heading out of the Old Trafford exit door this summer

Politics

3 w. ago Naomi Campbell oozes glamour while Cara Delevingne shows off a dramatic new look as they join Iris Law and Gracie Abrams at The History Of Sound premiere during Cannes Film Festival

The A-list superstars turned heads as they stormed the red carpet to celebrate the release of the historical queer romance film, starring Paul Mescal and Josh O'Connor.

Culture

3 w. ago Diver's horrifying final moments as shark ripped his head off and 'turned sea red'

Randy Fry was just 3ft away from his friend Cliff Zimmerman when he was killed by a great white shark in California - only the 10th known fatal shark attack in the region's history

Politics