8 h. ago Local people to ‘control where Whitehall cash goes’ under neighbourhoods plans

Money will be made available from April 2025, with projects expected to be able to get up and running in 2026.

Events

40 h. ago In Pontypool, I saw the looming threat of Nigel Farage – and how Labour is playing into his hands | John Harris

Instead of bowing to rightwing populism, Starmer should take it on by rebuilding towns – and giving people the jobs and homes they craveThe south Welsh town of Pontypool doesn’t quite suggest a crucial political frontline. The town centre is full of imposing 19th- and 20th-century buildings that were created in a spirit of pride and optimism but have long since lain empty; local people talk about the shadow of the old iron and coal industries, and the fact that precious little ever came along to take their place. On the Monday afternoon I visited, the most forlorn sight was a huge mural of a local rugby crowd, lovingly sprayed on the exterior of a former discount store: a two-dimensional throng, put there to “inspire people to remember what Pontypool could be like as a thriving community”.Despite appearances, a significant watershed moment happened here recently. Like so much of south Wales, Pontypool has long been seen as a loyal Labour redoubt – but on 13 February, Reform UK gaine...

Events

3 d. ago Unwelcome country: why have some conservative politicians stopped acknowledging Indigenous lands in Australia?

Welcome to country ceremonies are commonplace in Australia. The campaign against them is ‘just ugly politicking’, says Aboriginal leaderGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe Northern Territory chief minister made a deliberate omission at an event last month commemorating the 1942 bombing of Darwin by Japanese forces. In her opening remarks, Lia Finocchiaro acknowledged veterans and the families of those who survived – but not the Larrakia people, on whose land the event was held.She later told local radio that such gestures, widely made at public gatherings to show respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, had become “tokenistic” and “divisive”.Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago Ungovernable by Simon Hart review: A tale of brothels, backbiting, and Conservative politics

The revelations are out from Simon Hart’s book: The Political Diaries of a Chief Whip. There’s the one about being woken at 4am by an MP who was being held in a Bayswater brothel by blackmailers, not to be confused with another MP, Mark Menzies, who found it difficult to extricate himself from “bad people” and allegedly paid for his release from local party funds (which he denied); then there was Rishi Sunak’s observation about the female minister promoted to the Cabinet who was “f***ing useless but we can’t get rid of her” — which may or may not have been Kemi Badenoch. There was Boris Johnson’s attempt to kill off a disobliging report by the Privileges Committee on his lockdown activities which did not, by that time, shock Hart.

Politics

6 d. ago NHS chief’s surprise resignation puts scrutiny on Streeting’s vision for NHS

Health secretary reveals that tighter Whitehall control will form part of government’s ‘plan for change’

Politics

6 d. ago NHS chief’s shock resignation puts spotlight on Streeting’s vision for health service

Minister reveals that tighter Whitehall control will form part of government’s ‘plan for change’

Events

7 d. ago Five people charged after 'disturbance' involving 'group carrying weapons' in Helensburgh

Police arrested five people following a disturbance, which was said to have involved a group carrying weapons, in a Helensburgh street on Saturday evening.

Events

1 week ago South Lanarkshire Council is to step back from using X social media platform

Almost 60,000 people follow the local authority on the X platform.

Politics

1 week ago London's town halls can help pull in the tech investment that will drive UK's growth

Local authorities can bring organisations and people together who can help deliver economic progress for all.

Science

1 week ago US deportees moved from Panama City to Darién jungle region, lawyer says

Local paper says 170 of 299 people kept under watch in a hotel transported to dense and lawless regionA group of immigrants deported from the US to Panama last week have been moved from a hotel in the capital to the Darién jungle region in the south of the country, according to a lawyer representing an immigrant family.Susana Sabalza, a Panamanian immigration lawyer, said a family she represents was transferred to Metetí, a town in the Darién, along with other deported people. La Estrella de Panamá, a local daily, reported on Wednesday that 170 of the 299 people who had been in the hotel had been moved to the Darién. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Crumbling NHS hospitals infested with vermin are leaving patients fearing their care is unsafe, poll reveals

Almost one in five people say their local hospital building is not a safe place to receive care, while 30 per cent do not know if it is safe, according to a poll.

Science