58 h. ago Welsh council's plan to cut carbon emissions by 141 tonnes and save £194k a year

The proposed £1.5m programme for 2025/2026 in RCT is due to be considered by council's cabinet soon

Economics

69 h. ago Brace for a Labour tax bomb, Tories warn families and businesses in wake of welfare U

On Tuesday, the Government abandoned its flagship plan to cut disability benefits following a furious backlash from MPs.

Events

3 d. ago Welsh councillor caught in race row apologises as vile remarks exposed

Welsh councillor Susan Davies made a vile remark about Black people during a council meeting and while she apologised for what she said, she insisted her comments were not racist

Events

3 d. ago Humiliation as Keir Starmer wins vote on welfare only after farcical climbdown on welfare reform plans

On a shambolic day for Labour, the Prime Minister dropped his flagship plan to cut disability benefits just hours after ministers had insisted they were going ahead.

Politics

4 d. ago Labour councillor said 'what are we going to do about all the black people' coming to town

A Welsh Labour councillor accepted making the remark during a town council meeting but denied holding racist views

Politics

7 d. ago A good deal or a good deal of waste? How to be more conscious about your consumption during sales periods

Understanding your brain on sale is the first step. Here are some practical measures to ensure you only buy things you need – or items that truly bring you joy in the long termChange by degrees offers life hacks and sustainable living tips each Saturday to help reduce your household’s carbon footprintGot a question or tip for reducing household emissions? Email us at changebydegrees@theguardian.comWhether the discount is offered on social media, via email or in a banner on your favourite website, if a business you’ve ever been a patron of is having a sale you can be sure they’ll find a way to tell you.“Temporary sales events are aimed at leveraging FOMO,” says Jason Pallant, a senior lecturer in marketing at RMIT University. “The idea is to make consumers feel like they will miss out on a great bargain if they don’t buy something right away.” Continue reading...

Economics

8 d. ago Google’s emissions up 51% as AI electricity demand derails efforts to go green

Increase influenced by datacentre growth, with estimated power required by 2026 equalling that of Japan’sGoogle’s carbon emissions have soared by 51% since 2019 as artificial intelligence hampers the tech company’s efforts to go green.While the corporation has invested in renewable energy and carbon removal technology, it has failed to curb its scope 3 emissions, which are those further down the supply chain, and are in large part influenced by a growth in datacentre capacity required to power artificial intelligence. Continue reading...

Events

1 week ago Starmer dismisses welfare cuts revolt as ‘noises off’ and defends his leadership – UK politics live

PM ‘committed to reforming system’ as more Labour MPs join opposition to plan to cut universal credit and PipKemi Badenoch has said it would be “pathetic” for Keir Starmer to postpone the vote on the UC and Pip bill. She posted this on social media, as a comment on the tweet from Kitty Donaldson. (See 11.22am.)This is pathetic. Starmer must not pull this bill. We’ve offered to support him in the national interest if our reasonable conditions are met.If he pulls the bill, it proves Labour isn’t serious about fiscal responsibility. If Labour backbenchers are too scared to deliver welfare changes that make only limited savings, how can they solve bigger problems like the national debt?There is a view forming among ministers and PPS’ that the government will have to pull the welfare bill.However, the message from the centre is very clear it will go ahead regardless of the opposition from MPs because the issue has to be forced.There is widespread speculation in Government that No 10 will...

Politics

1 week ago Welsh councils told to only collect rubbish every three or four weeks

The Welsh Government has told local authorities a collection every three to four weeks is 'sufficient'

Politics

1 week ago Starmer suggests welfare bill revolt just ‘noises off’ as he denies being bad at politics – UK politics live

PM ‘committed to reforming system’ as more Labour MPs join opposition to plan to cut universal credit and PipKemi Badenoch has said it would be “pathetic” for Keir Starmer to postpone the vote on the UC and Pip bill. She posted this on social media, as a comment on the tweet from Kitty Donaldson. (See 11.22am.)This is pathetic. Starmer must not pull this bill. We’ve offered to support him in the national interest if our reasonable conditions are met.If he pulls the bill, it proves Labour isn’t serious about fiscal responsibility. If Labour backbenchers are too scared to deliver welfare changes that make only limited savings, how can they solve bigger problems like the national debt?There is a view forming among ministers and PPS’ that the government will have to pull the welfare bill.However, the message from the centre is very clear it will go ahead regardless of the opposition from MPs because the issue has to be forced.There is widespread speculation in Government that No 10 will...

Politics

1 week ago Starmer suggests welfare bill revolt just ‘noises off’ as he rejects claim row shows he is bad at politics – UK politics live

PM ‘committed to reforming system’ as more Labour MPs join opposition to plan to cut universal credit and PipKemi Badenoch has said it would be “pathetic” for Keir Starmer to postpone the vote on the UC and Pip bill. She posted this on social media, as a comment on the tweet from Kitty Donaldson. (See 11.22am.)This is pathetic. Starmer must not pull this bill. We’ve offered to support him in the national interest if our reasonable conditions are met.If he pulls the bill, it proves Labour isn’t serious about fiscal responsibility. If Labour backbenchers are too scared to deliver welfare changes that make only limited savings, how can they solve bigger problems like the national debt?There is a view forming among ministers and PPS’ that the government will have to pull the welfare bill.However, the message from the centre is very clear it will go ahead regardless of the opposition from MPs because the issue has to be forced.There is widespread speculation in Government that No 10 will...

Politics

1 week ago Angela Rayner says vote on welfare bill will go ahead on Tuesday despite growing rebellion – UK politics live

Deputy prime minister says ‘we will go ahead’ as more Labour MPs join opposition to plan to cut universal credit and PipKemi Badenoch has said it would be “pathetic” for Keir Starmer to postpone the vote on the UC and Pip bill. She posted this on social media, as a comment on the tweet from Kitty Donaldson. (See 11.22am.)This is pathetic. Starmer must not pull this bill. We’ve offered to support him in the national interest if our reasonable conditions are met.If he pulls the bill, it proves Labour isn’t serious about fiscal responsibility. If Labour backbenchers are too scared to deliver welfare changes that make only limited savings, how can they solve bigger problems like the national debt?There is a view forming among ministers and PPS’ that the government will have to pull the welfare bill.However, the message from the centre is very clear it will go ahead regardless of the opposition from MPs because the issue has to be forced.There is widespread speculation in Government that...

Politics

1 week ago Angela Rayner says vote on welfare bill will go ahead on Tuesday as she faces Mel Stride at PMQs – UK politics live

Deputy prime minister says ‘we will go ahead’ as more Labour MPs join opposition to plan to cut universal credit and PipKemi Badenoch has said it would be “pathetic” for Keir Starmer to postpone the vote on the UC and Pip bill. She posted this on social media, as a comment on the tweet from Kitty Donaldson. (See 11.22am.)This is pathetic. Starmer must not pull this bill. We’ve offered to support him in the national interest if our reasonable conditions are met.If he pulls the bill, it proves Labour isn’t serious about fiscal responsibility. If Labour backbenchers are too scared to deliver welfare changes that make only limited savings, how can they solve bigger problems like the national debt?There is a view forming among ministers and PPS’ that the government will have to pull the welfare bill.However, the message from the centre is very clear it will go ahead regardless of the opposition from MPs because the issue has to be forced.There is widespread speculation in Government that...

Politics

1 week ago Courts pushing back on corporate carbon offsetting claims, LSE report finds

Scrutiny of how companies plan to meet climate commitments is growing, with many successful legal challengesJudges across the world are proving sceptical of companies’ attempts to offset their greenhouse gas emissions by buying carbon credits, a report has found.In an analysis of nearly 3,000 climate-related lawsuits filed around the world since 2015, the latest annual review of climate litigation by the London School of Economics found action against corporations in particular was “evolving”, with growing scrutiny of how companies plan to meet their stated climate commitments. Continue reading...

Events

1 week ago The only council nursery school in this Welsh county could close

It offers full-time education and that's something of an anomaly

Politics

1 week ago Welsh Reform councillor leaves voicemail on journalist's phone talking about people from Pakistan

Andrew Barry made disparaging comments about members of the Pakistani community

Politics

1 week ago Welsh county's youngest ever councillor with a past that doesn't define him

The Reform UK member was voted in at a by-election earlier this year

Politics

1 week ago Net Zero levies will be slashed by Labour to cut energy bills for struggling businesses 'to stop them going bust'

The plan, which could cut bills by up to 25 per cent, forms a key part of Sir Keir Starmer 's 10-year industrial strategy which he hopes will address stuttering economic growth.

Economics

1 week ago We asked every Welsh council if it was going to bring in a tourism tax

While it is a Welsh Government law, it will be up to each of Wales' 22 councils to decide whether to implement it

Politics

2 w. ago These AI chatbot questions cause most carbon emissions, scientists find

Every query typed into a large language model like ChatGPT requires energy and leads to carbon dioxide emissions

Events