Oxfordshire County Council secures a high court injunction against Raise the Colours, banning the group from hanging English and Union flags on public infrastructure without permission, citing safety and intimidation concerns.
A report by HM Inspectorate of Prisons reveals nearly 100 children annually are remanded to custody in England and Wales, only to be bailed or moved within two weeks, exposing them to violence and trauma.
Japanese investors sold $29.6B in US debt in Q1, the largest since Q2 2022, driven by rising JGB yields and BOJ policy shifts. This outflow pressures Treasury yields, acting as a headwind for Bitcoin by making cash and bonds more attractive than speculative assets.
Members of minority communities in Birmingham and elsewhere fear results could lead to rise in hostile rhetoricConceding defeat at the election count at Birmingham’s Utilita Arena on Friday, the outgoing Labour leader of the city council, John Cotton, made a plea. “What I would encourage the next administration in this city to do, whatever form that administration takes, is that it ensures it champions the diversity of this city,” he said.Labour’s 14-year rule of the local authority had come to a crashing end, with Reform emerging as the largest party with 22 councillors so far, followed by the Greens on 19, albeit both parties a long way off the 51 needed for a majority. Continue reading...
Party has success in Labour and Tory heartland areas but one pollster says results suggest Reform may have peakedElections 2026 – live updatesFull results from England, Scotland and WalesNigel Farage hailed sweeping election wins for Reform UK as a “historic shift in British politics” on a day when the populist party made gains at the expense of Labour and the Conservatives.Reform made advances in heartland areas of both parties, clocking up substantial early results in the English local elections by taking control of Essex county council, Havering, its first London local authority, and Sunderland city council. Continue reading...
Councillor announces plan to withdraw from government-funded programme on eve of local electionsUK politics live – latest updatesThe Reform-led Lancashire county council will withdraw from the government’s refugee resettlement scheme, one of its cabinet members has said.Joshua Roberts announced plans for Lancashire to leave the scheme, which would make it the first local authority to do so. It would mean Lancashire would no longer participate in the UK Resettlement Scheme (UKRS) and the Afghan Resettlement Programme (ARP). Continue reading...
Councillor announces plan to withdraw from government-funded programme in run-up to May electionsUK politics live – latest updatesThe Reform-led Lancashire county council will withdraw from the government’s refugee resettlement scheme, one of its cabinet members has said.Councillor Joshua Roberts announced plans for Lancashire to leave the scheme, which would make it the first local authority to do so. Continue reading...
The rising number of private renters in Britain have for too long put up with chronically insecure tenancy agreements and poor conditionsThe defining trend in British housing in recent decades has been towards private renting. The sector in England nearly doubled in size between 2004 and 2013. By 2023 almost two-fifths of households were either renting privately or socially. Meanwhile, the dream of home ownership has steadily eroded: 39% of 25- to 34-year-olds owned their home in 2023, 20 percentage points lower than the peak (59%) in 2000. Many younger adults now rent from a private landlord as the default, and expect to do so for the rest of their lives.Which is why the introduction of the Renters’ Rights Act is important. Until last week, landlords could evict a tenant for requesting a reasonable repair, or challenging a rent hike. A poll in 2023 for the charity Shelter found that tenants who complained to their landlord or local authority were 159% more likely to be served a no-fault eviction notice than those who did not. The fear was that complaints could cost tenants their homes. It was customary for landlords to pre-emptively evict tenants if they wanted to raise rents. Continue reading...
Authority says workers and councillors ‘threatened for explaining the council’s position’ as union jack and St George’s flags taken downResidents, council staff and councillors have been subject to rising “abuse, harassment and intimidation” directly linked to the removal of unauthorised flags, a local authority has said.Shropshire council said it had recorded a rise in reports of abuse with staff and members “being threatened for explaining the council’s position” on the removal of flags and when they attempt to do so – “even in day-to-day work to repair street lighting”, the authority added. Continue reading...
A fifth local authority in WA has been assigned an independent monitor, this time at the council's request, to focus on council member conduct and improving relationships.
Over 150 people convicted of violent crimes were granted taxi licences by Wolverhampton city council last year, data obtained by the Guardian shows. The West Midlands authority issued licences to 438 people with criminal convictions, including 158 violent offenders, 61 drug offenders, 36 drink offenders and four sexual offenders. Despite issuing over 42,000 driver licences—far more than any other UK council—Wolverhampton council insists safeguarding is a priority and that it conducts more rigorous checks than other authorities.
