Chris Whiteside's Blog

Today, the   International Trade Secretary announced plans to lift over 100 trade barriers , unlocking export opportunities worth tens of billions of pounds.   Businesses which export pay higher wages and are more productive than businesses who do not, but too often, complex trade rules and practical obstacles prevent them selling overseas.  That is why we have drawn up plans for negotiations to resolve around 100 priority trade barriers, unlocking export opportunities worth more than £20 billion for businesses across our United Kingdom.  This bonfire of barriers will allow world-leading UK goods and services to reach hundreds of millions of new customers around the world, boosting business growth and supporting local jobs. International Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan said: "Every week we remove trade barriers somewhere around the world, helping more and more businesses all over the country. We know that businesses who export pay higher wages and are more productive than bus

Yesterday, the   Defence Secretary announced an increase in our contribution to NATO , boosting our collective defence in response to Putin’s barbaric invasion of Ukraine.  Successive British governments have always been clear that our strength and security comes from our alliances, and NATO is at the heart of that.  That is why the UK government is now making more forces available to NATO to counter future threats, including fighter aircraft, land forces, and maritime vessels. The Prime Minister also met with Sweden and Finland’s leaders at the NATO summit in Madrid yesterday, reiterating Britain's staunch support for their membership aspirations which will permanently strengthen our defensive Alliance.   These additional forces will strengthen NATO’s military command and allow the Alliance to plan for emerging threats. 

Today, the   Prime Minister announced a further £1 billion military support package to Ukraine , sustaining Ukraine’s brave resistance to Putin’s invasion.  Putin’s attacks against the Ukrainian people are becoming increasingly barbaric as he fails to make the gains he had anticipated and hoped for.  That is why Britain is are providing another £1 billion of military support to Ukraine – boosting defensive capabilities with sophisticated air defence systems, uncrewed aerial vehicles, innovative new electronic warfare equipment and thousands of pieces of vital kit for Ukrainian soldiers.  UK weapons, equipment and training are transforming Ukraine’s defences against this onslaught, and we will continue to stand squarely behind the Ukrainian people to ensure Putin fails in Ukraine. 

I am glad that Sweden, Finland and Turkey have been able to reach an honourable compromise which enables Turkey to drop its opposition to the two baltic countries becoming NATO members. As I know from personal experience, Turkey has a genuine problem with some Kurds who have adopted terrorist tactics, though it is equally important not to label every Kurd who disagrees with the Erdogan administration as a terrorist - which Ankara has been accused of doing and not entirely without justice. On 4th of November 1993 I was having a work discussion over a coffee in the 8th floor restaurant in a BT office block at 2-12 Gresham Street with another BT manager - who had previously been a Fine Gail member of the European Parliament and went on to have a third career as an academic - when the fire alarm went and we had to evacuate the building along with about 800 other employees. What turned out to have happened is that we nearly became "collateral damage" in a co-ordinated series of te

 

The NHS is a federation rather than a unified body to a far greater extent than is sometimes realised and some trusts have embraced new technology to a greater extent than others. We are badly behind on some aspects of digital healthcare in Cumbria and I have been making a fuss about this since I was appointed to Cumbria Health Scrutiny committee.  It would be churlish and unfair to deny that there has been progress  but we STILL have the position where trolley-loads of hard copy patient records are being wheeled round hospitals like West Cumberland hospital, a fortune is spent driving these hard copy records around Cumbria to and from storage and highly-paid medical professionals are spending some of their priceless and scarce time logging them in and out. So I welcome the fact that the government is still working on their strategy for better use of patient data and making more use of digital solutions to offer better service to patients, as indicated when t oday the government announ

The UK government has today confirmed   a £1 billion investment to upgrade our railway infrastructure , reducing delays and delivering more regular services for millions of passengers. A week after union leaders brought much of the nation’s railway to a standstill with strikes, we are determined to get on with the job at hand and modernise our railway. That is why the government is upgrading the East Coast Mainline’s signalling infrastructure with a £1 billion investment that will provide train drivers with real-time, continuous information throughout their journey - reducing delays and creating around 5,000 jobs. This investment will allow us to replace unreliable Victorian infrastructure with cutting-edge technology, meaning fewer delays and more regular services for millions of passengers.

Today   the Prime Minister calls on our NATO allies to invest more in defence , helping to protect us all from the evolving threats that we face in the decade ahead. The NATO Alliance keeps our people safe every day, but over the next ten years the threats around us are only going to grow.  That is why, building on the Integrated Review and the biggest increase to UK defence spending since the Cold War, we need all our allies to dig deep to restore deterrence and ensure defence in the decade ahead. Britain has met the 2 per cent NATO target every year and remain the leading defence spender in Europe. Britain's investment in defence will create and sustain almost 400,000 high paying skilled jobs across the country, and keep our people safe. (NATO leaders at the Summit today)

Yes, Steve Bray is an annoying berk. (He's the nutter who dresses up in an EU cape and hat and shouts rude things through megaphones outside parliament and Conservative conferences.) He's also part of the great British tradition of people who think something is wrong making a nuisance of themselves by shouting about it. If he started behaving in a threatening way, the police should, and I think would, take action. But I have never seen him do that. If he started shouting at people's kids outside their houses, or using his megaphone in a residential area in the evening or at night, that would be harassment and it would be right to take action, but to the best of my knowledge he hasn't done that either. I'm not convinced that taking his amplification equipment off him is proportionate or reasonable or that this was the intention of the Police, Sentencing and the Courts act which came into force yesterday and the vast majority of which, such as mandatory life sentences

Yesterday's front page headline from "The National" which is a pro-independence newspaper in Scotland: I agree. The will of the Scotland's people, who voted by 55% to 45% that Scotland should remain part of the UK in what both sides agreed was a once-in-a-generation vote, should prevail. So should the wishes of the Scottish people about whether there should be another referendum: an opinion poll in the Daily Record suggests that 60% of scots do NOT want another Independence referendum before the end of next year, against just 29% who do.

As far back as when I was a boy I recall my late mother saying that many of the things which happen in America seem to find their way to Britain sooner or later. I have read or heard the same thing since then many times from many other people. And sometimes it is true, as with many aspects of the so-called "Culture wars." But it is not always inevitable, and indeed the differences between ourselves and our cousins over the pond sometimes make it extremely unlikely. Indeed, when we import arguments from the "Culture Wars" of the United States of America to Britain we may find ourselves fighting arguments which are almost entirely irrelevant to the situation here. Dominic Sandbrook has written on the excellent Unherd website a counterblast to those who keep importing arguments from the United States called " Stop Pretending Britain is America " which makes some very important points about the differences between our two countries. The idea that anything like

This week   landmark reforms within the Police, Crime, Sentencing, and Courts Act come into effect   – protecting the public and making our streets safer.  The first job of any government is to keep people safe, and Britain's Conservative government is committed to cutting crime and reforming our justice system so that it serves the law-abiding majority. That is why new powers and sentences from our Police, Crime, Sentencing, and Courts Act came into force yesterday, including whole-life orders for the pre-meditated murder of a child, mandatory life sentences for unlawfully killing emergency workers in the line of duty, and ending the automatic early release of offenders deemed to be a danger to the public. These reforms will protect the public by keeping the most dangerous offenders behind bars for longer, while better protecting the brave men and women who keep us safe every day.

The cancer campaigner Dame Deborah James, A.K.A. "Bowel Babe" has died at the age of 49 from her bowel cancer, leaving a widower and two children. She had spent the last five years of her life raising money and awareness of cancer, spreading messages like "Check your poo" - the sort of thing people didn't say in the past because it sounds a bit rude but the sooner you detect things like bowel cancer the better your chance of a less damaging outcome. There have been many tributes including this one from the Prime Minister:  "I’m terribly saddened to hear that Dame Deborah James has died. What an inspiration she was to so many. The awareness she brought to bowel cancer and the research her campaigning has funded will be her enduring legacy. Because of her, many many lives will be saved." Rest in Peace.

Emperor Marcus Aurelius once wrote that "Nothing that goes on in anyone else's mind can harm you." This is true, but I would add the words "unless you allow it to do so."  

The tragedy at Grenfell shows how much we need to improve Britain's building safety regime and that this is a long standing problem for which governments and councils of all parties have to take responsibility. But it is now being addressed and from today   reforms within the Building Safety Act come into effect   – protecting leaseholders from unfair bills as we remove dangerous cladding from buildings.  Everyone deserves to feel safe and secure in their own home, but in the past it was too easy for developers to get away with substandard construction while leaving leaseholders footing the bill. That is why today new laws come into effect from our Building Safety Act which will legally protect leaseholders from unfair bills as they make their homes safer, while ensuring that those responsible for historical safety defects, and those who own buildings, fund essential repairs. Hundreds of thousands of innocent leaseholders now have the legal protection they rightly deserve, freeing

Today the British government has announced   new measures to support Ukrainian scientists and researchers , helping the best and brightest to continue their work in the UK as we stand up against Putin’s barbaric invasion.  People across the UK have opened their hearts and homes to support those fleeing violence in Ukraine, and our world-leading universities, research institutions and tech businesses are no different. That is why Britain has announced an additional £9.8 million in funding for the Researchers at Risk Scheme, which will help more than 130 Ukrainian academics come to the UK, as well as funding to increase links between UK and Ukrainian universities, and support for science and tech business leaders in temporarily relocating from Ukraine. These measures will not only strengthen UK and Ukrainian industries, but will build on our support to those seeking refuge from Putin’s illegal invasion. 

 

  At the G7 summit (above),  the Prime Minister called on world leaders to take vital and urgent action to get essential goods and supplies out of Ukraine   – ending Putin’s stranglehold on food prices and making life easier for households across the world. Ukraine is the breadbasket of Europe but 25 million tonnes of corn and wheat cannot be exported and Russia’s blockade has put 47 million people around the world on the brink of disaster.  So in addressing the G7, the Prime Minister emphasised the need for an internationally coordinated solution to support Ukraine’s efforts to develop safe passage for commercial vessels out of the country. To aid this, Britain is contributing up to £10 million in materials to repair Ukrainian railways and get grain out of the country by rail.  Only Putin can end this needless and futile war – but we must come together to help Ukraine, restore international order and make life easier for households across the world.

The UK government has   announced £25 million of UK aid to help prevent and prepare for future pandemics , using the lessons of Covid to protect future generations in years to come. Pandemics such as Covid are rare – and thanks to our historic vaccine roll-out we were able to restore freedoms across the country – but we cannot be complacent over future threats. That is why Britain has announced £25 million of UK aid backing to the new World Bank fund to prevent, prepare and respond to future devastating pandemics that not only have a devastating toll on human life, but economies around the world.  We must ensure we learn the lessons of Covid, helping us to mitigate any future threats and protect our populations.

At the G7 meeting it was announced that there will be a   ban on all new Russian gold imports , as we ratchet up the pressure on Putin’s war machine. Putin is squandering his dwindling resources on this pointless and barbaric war, and alongside our allies, we need to starve his regime of its funding. That is why today we announced a ban on all imports of Russian gold to the UK which will cover over £13.5 billion of our imports from Russia, alongside bans by the USA, Canada and Japan that will isolate Russia from the global gold market. By taking these measure alongside our allies, we are maximising the impact that we can have on Putin and his cronies and striking at the heart of his barbaric war machine.

In the 20th century there were repeated attempts to use lighter-than-air flight, which were not entirely without success, but the technology of the early and middle years of that century was not up to operating lighter-than-air vehicles larger than a blimp to the safety standards civil society would demand, while there were few military applications as airships proved hideously vulnerable to fixed-wing aircraft.  Over the last forty years, the excellent safety record of more recent airships and blimps have demonstrated that the original safety problems have been overcome, but the huge energy advantage enjoyed by lighter-than-air vessels - the fact that they do not have to use vast amounts of energy and generate a huge carbon footprint just to stay in the air - was not enough to offset the greater speed and flexibility of fixed-wing and rotary-wing heavier-than-air planes and helicopters. Hence airships and blimps have accounted only for a very small part of the aircraft we use. However

The UK government has today announced some of the   strongest safety measures in the world for medical devices , protecting patients and letting them access new treatments more quickly. Whichever way you voted in the EU membership referendum, the majority of those who voted opted to leave, and Britain having done so, it would be stupid not to take advantage of the positive opportunities that gives us to set standards tailored to Britain's needs, Setting our own standards does not have to mean a race to the bottom: it can and sometimes should mean setting higher standards than the EU. An example is medical equipment safety standards, which can and should be set even higher as we learn lessons from the pandemic and from other recent events and learning in the field of medicine. Now we have left the EU, Britain can set our own standards and use this power to improve how medical devices like hearing aids, x-ray machines and insulin pumps are regulated by the Medicine and Healthcare pro

The UK government has announced a   further £217 million for three major education projects across the Commonwealth , as we lead the way on championing girl’s education. By giving all children the chance to get at least 12 years of good schooling, we create more stable, prosperous and happy societies. That is why the Prime Minister yesterday announced a further £217 million to support teacher training in Rwanda, programmes to get girls and vulnerable children into school in Pakistan and global education data gathering so that every child can get the education they deserve. The UK is a world leader in championing girl’s education and the funding announced today will help end education inequality and give millions more children the chance of a better life.

The lyrics of this motet, composed by Deiterich Buxtehude in about 1668 and sung here by Laura Heimes,  are inspired by Psalm 73 (verses 25 and 26) and are as follows: Herr, wenn ich nur dich hab,  so frag ich nichts nach Himmel und Erden,  wenn mir gleich Leib und Seele verschmacht.  So bist du doch Gott allezeit meines Herzens Trost und mein Heil.  Alleluja.  The first line is sometimes translated from the German as "Lord, if I have only you," hence the title of this post, but I prefer to refer back to the original psalm.  Here are those verses as they were translated from the original Hebrew to English in the King James Bible: "Whom have I in heaven but thee? And there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever."

Today, the Prime Minister is   attending the first in-person G7 summit since Putin’s invasion of Ukraine   and calling on our allies to keep up their resolve on support for Ukraine. Ukraine can and will win, but they need our backing to do so. Any fatigue or wavering in Western support would play directly into Putin’s hands. The Prime Minister at the first in-person G7 summit since Putin’s invasion of Ukraine today, is encouraging our allies to keep up their support for Ukraine and build on their previous pledges with even more financial, humanitarian and military support. The UK is continuing to step up with a further £429 million in guarantees for World Bank loans to Ukraine, because we know that their security is our security, and their freedom is our freedom.

This week the government moved forward on helping people to own their own home, lauching the latest phase of the   Help to Build scheme , creating new jobs, supporting the construction industry, and giving thousands of families the opportunity to build their own home.  More people should be able to enjoy the security of owning their own home - and building your own home should not be the sole preserve of those with sky-high budgets. That is why the government is  launching the lastest phase of the Help to Build scheme, backed by £150 million of Government funding. Under the scheme, people will be helped to build the home they need, with just a 5 per cent deposit towards land and building costs. This builds on the success of other schemes, including Help to Buy and Right to Buy, which have helped more than 765,000 people buy their own homes. Help to Build will help level up communities across the UK by supporting more people and families into homeownership in the places where they want

 

This week   the Prime Minister met with the President of Nigeria , setting out our plans to boost economic ties and cooperation between the UK and Nigeria on energy supplies and clean technology. Our friends and partners across the world are facing huge challenges, and African countries are seeing particular difficulties caused by rising global commodity prices fuelled by Russia’s appalling invasion of Ukraine. That is why the Prime Minister met with Muhammadu Buhari, President of Nigeria in Kigali yesterday to outline plans to boost economic and energy ties with Nigeria, the largest economy in Africa, as well as discussing national security and Nigeria’s leadership on environmental issues.  Britain is showing global leadership, not only by supporting Ukraine’s fight against Russia, but also by boosting links with developing nations and promoting progress on our environmental targets.

The results in the Tiverton and Honiton and Wakefield by-elections were disappointing, and nobody in the Conservative party is pretending otherwise. I went to Wakefield twice and also took part in telephone canvassing. We had excellent candidates in both seats  but there was clearly a lot of discontent, particularly in respect of the cost of living but about a number of other issues too, and we clearly need to learn from this. The Conservatives are determined to listen to what we have been told on the doorstep, learn the lessons, and then unite and focus on delivering for people across the UK.  Midterm by-elections are always very challenging for incumbent governments, especially after 12 years in office, and both these by-elections were called following the resignation of sitting Conservative MPs, in one case in criminal circumstances. It appeared that that Labour and the Liberal Democrats were effectively co-operating in an undeclared manner, with each party effectively giving the ot

This week the UK government committed   £372 million of support for countries on the food security frontline , helping those countries hit hardest by rising global food costs including many Commonwealth states. The government has put in place an unprecedented package of support to help the most vulnerable households in our own country with the rising cost of living, but it is also right that we step up to support countries hit the hardest by rising global food costs, including many Commonwealth states. That is why Britain is committing £372 million of support for those countries hit hardest by rising global prices, including funding for the World Food Programme and the UN’s global emergency response fund. We are also working with allies to end Russia’s weaponising of hunger - by breaking their blockade of Ukraine’s ports. This vital funding will provide humanitarian aid to increase access to food across the worst hit countries, helping to protect millions of people at risk from a growi

The government is now allowing   the Homes for Ukraine scheme to begin processing existing applications from unaccompanied children   with strict safeguards, helping the most vulnerable get to safety in the UK. Some Ukrainian families have made the incredibly difficult decision that they want their children to travel to safety in the UK, even if their parents cannot travel with them. So the British government has worked with the Ukrainian Government to allow children to travel to the UK without a parent or parental guardian – subject to the strictest safeguarding measures, with all applications requiring notarised parental consent and children staying with someone personally known to their parents, except in exceptional circumstances. These changes will ensure children who have been forced from their homes by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine can come to the UK safely and do not have their life chances spoiled as a result.

Vivaldi's "Four Seasons" is a wonderful piece of music, and the performance in Paris in 2005 by Nigel Kennedy from which this rendition of the third movement of "Summer" was a masterpiece. Don't just listen, watch: I just love the energy, the enthusiasm, the way the soloist and orchestra are not just performing this piece but bringing it to life. By all accounts the composer himself was superb at performing his own music (and whipping up his musicians into a frenzy of enthusiasm.) As recording devices sadly did not exist in the Baroque era we have to rely on the comments made by contemporaries who heard his performances, which we will never be able to do: but 20th century performers like Yehudi Menuin and current ones like Nigel Kennedy have brought their own interpretations which are just as magical.

 

Global events are leading to inflation and cost of living pressures for many households – we are supporting the lowest income families in our society with £37 billion in support in the face of these pressures.  Putin’s barbaric invasion of Ukraine and global challenges are causing cost of living pressures around the world, and people are worried about the rising cost of living. That is why we committed £37 billion of cost of living support to combat global cost of living pressures – including one off cash Cost of Living Payments of at least £1,200 for over 8 million of the most vulnerable households. The first initial automatic instalment of the £650 payment will be £326, paid on 14 July, with the rest of the payment to follow in the Autumn. Pensioners will receive an extra £300 while disabled households will get a £150 payment – on top of the £150 council tax rebate paid in April and the £400 cash discount on energy bills this Autumn.  We are using all the tools at our disposal to bri

 

This week  the UK government  launched negotiations for a free trade deal with the Gulf nations worth over £33 billion in trade , helping to grow Britain's economy and create jobs across the country. Our current trade with the Gulf is worth over £33 billion and Gulf investments supported over 25,000 UK jobs in 2019 – triple what it was 10 years ago. That is why we have launched trade negotiations today with the Gulf, the UK’s seventh largest export market, which will benefit British farmers and producers, as they are dependent on imported food. The East Midlands, West Midlands, North East and Yorkshire and the Humber will be in line for the greatest gains and the deal would boost Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland’s economies by almost £500 million. This trade deal has the potential to support jobs from Dover to Doha, growing our economy at home, building vital green industries and supplying innovative services to the Gulf.

 

Today the government   announced that Moderna are set to build a state-of-the-art vaccine research and manufacturing centre in the UK , future-proofing the UK against emerging health threats, creating highly skilled jobs and boosting our status as a science superpower. Following the world leading success of Britain's Covid vaccination programme, it is essential to boost our ability to respond to the next pandemic by making sure we are able to produce vaccines rapidly on our own shores. That is why the UK government is entering into a strategic partnership with Moderna to build a global clinical trials base here in the UK – the large manufacturing site will give NHS patients guaranteed access to Covid jabs and next generation of mRNA vaccines and treatments, future-proofing the UK against emerging health threats. This will bring supercharged, home-grown vaccines right to our shores, making the UK the brightest and best in research and technology, creating more jobs and securing our

Today the government announced   a new Bill of Rights to strengthen freedom of speech and curb bogus human rights claims , bringing an end to claims wasting taxpayers’ money and court time. Our human rights laws need reform – under the current system those convicted of hurting their own partners and children have evaded deportation by claiming it would breach their right to family life. That is why our new Bill will reinforce freedom of speech, while making sure that courts cannot interpret laws in ways that were never intended by Parliament. It will also introduce a new permission stage in court to prevent trivial legal claims wasting taxpayers’ money. These reforms will strengthen freedom of speech and the role of UK courts, while helping us to deport more foreign offenders and better protect the public from dangerous criminals.

 

  Yesterday the government   announced up to £3 million of investment to close gaps in student mental health services , making sure students are supported and can fulfil their potential.  Moving to a new place is one of the most exciting parts of going to university but can create barriers for students in accessing mental health services. That is why the government is bringing together university, NHS and mental health services to create regional partnerships that could include physical hubs for students to visit in-person, closing any gaps between universities and NHS services – and backed by up to £3 million. By making sure students have good mental health and feel supported, this will boost attainment and outcomes, helping them towards their bright futures.

Today, the RMT strike action, which some Labour frontbenchers backed while others stayed silent, shut down much of the UK’s transport network – disrupting the lives of millions of passengers. The   Government is calling for a sensible compromise to end the dispute   for the good of the British people and the rail workforce. The unions are harming the very people they claim to be helping. By going ahead with these rail strikes, they are driving away commuters who ultimately support the jobs of rail workers, whilst also impacting businesses and communities across the country. Too high demands on pay will also make it incredibly difficult to bring to an end the current challenges facing families around the world with the rising cost of living. Now is the time to come to a sensible compromise for the good of the British people and the rail workforce. We will not however load higher fares on passengers to carry on paying for working practices that date in some cases to the 19th century – th

This week   Defence Secretary Ben Wallace praised industry leaders for their vital role in helping provide weapons, ammunition and logistical support to Ukraine , as we stand shoulder to should with our ally in their hour of need.  As this unprovoked attack continues and Russia’s tactics change, the UK government is working closely with industry partners to provide innovative solutions that will bolster the heroic Ukrainian efforts. That is why the Defence Secretary convened a roundtable at Downing Street with industry leaders yesterdays, as organisations came forward with proposals to accelerate the development of equipment for Ukraine’s armed forces. Their creativity and commitment to this complex and demanding problem has been invaluable to helping resist the Russian invasion. Backed by our formidable Defence industry, the UK has been one of the global leaders in providing military assistance to support Ukraine’s armed forces to defend their sovereignty and territorial integrity and

Britain's railways are a proud part of our history, but they are struggling to keep pace with the needs of passengers post-pandemic – and are too often hamstrung by the antiquated and outdated work practices enforced by the trade unions.  During the pandemic alone the government delivered £16 billion of emergency funding to keep the railways running – equivalent to £600 for every family in the UK or £160,000 for every rail worker. This level of subsidy is unsustainable, and shows why reform is needed now.  But instead of working with the government to reform our railways to make them fit for the future – Labour have chosen to side with their trade union paymasters by refusing to condemn their reckless strike action which starts today. These strikes will hit millions of families in the pocket, costing them more to get to work. They will harm the economy, costing British businesses millions of pounds. And they will disrupt vital services like operations on the NHS and GCSE exams. Thi

The above statements are often ascribed to President Lincoln: in quoting them for their own merit, I ought however to point out that most scholars who have looked into the origin of these words ascribe them not to Lincoln, but to  William J. H. Boetcker .   They are taken from a list called  "The Industrial Decalogue: Ten Don'ts," which Boetcker published in 1917.

The government has announced a new deal for private renters, ending the injustice of unfit homes and protecting renters from the rising cost of living. There are many decent landlords who treat their tenants properly and we need a fair balance between the rights of tenants and landlords But not all landlords are like that, and for too long many private renters have been at the mercy of the less scrupulous landlords who fail to repair homes and let families live in damp, unsafe and cold properties, with the threat of unfair ‘no fault’ evictions orders hanging over them. So the government has announced a new deal for renters – that will ban section 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions and extend the Decent Homes Standard to the private sector, end arbitrary rent review clauses, outlaw blanket bans on renting to families on benefits or with children, and making it easier for tenants to share homes with pets. These new measures will improve the rights and conditions for millions of renters, help to sav

As the RMT try to drag the railways into the past, and Labour fail to condemn the strikes which will make it difficult for Britain's workers to get to work, students to get to school, and patients to get to hospital,  Transport Secretary Grant Shapps set out a better, more positive vision for a future for Britain's railways. This is what he had to say. "Good morning everyone and welcome to the Siemens maintenance plant here in Hornsey, North London. The train you see behind me is a Desiro Class 700, one of the most advanced, digitally-enabled trains in the world. The passenger benefits, including live travel information, intelligent air conditioning and as much capacity as 21 double-decker buses, have already transformed journeys on the Thameslink line. But the cleverest technology is invisible to passengers. Because this is the first mainline train that can drive itself across central London, under the watchful eye of the driver and detect faults before they need fixing b