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Labour’s Ashley Dalton told the Conservatives “move out of the way” after a comfortable win in the West Lancashire by-election. She demanded a general election, telling Prime Minister Rishi Sunak that it was time for Labour to take over. Bitterly cold conditions on polling day and the expectation of an easy Labour hold contributed to a turnout of less than 32%. Ms Dalton, who works part-time for a local charity, […]

Titles incorporating themes of mental health lead the shortlist for the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize for 2023. The winner, which will be selected from a total of 18 books across three categories and voted for by Waterstones booksellers, will be announced during a ceremony on March 30. With six books nominated in each category, the illustrated books nominees include The Missing Piece, by author Jordan Stephens and illustrator Beth Suzanna, […]

House prices are starting to reflect the shift in demand in the market, according to surveyors. Agreed sales, house prices and new instructions to sell homes remained on a downward trend in January, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) said. Property professionals’ expectations suggest this picture is likely to remain in place for a while longer as the market adjusts to higher interest rates, Rics’ report added. A net […]

Around 70 members of the UK International Search and Rescue Team have arrived in Turkey to assist with the search operation as the death toll from the 7.8 magnitude earthquake approached 12,000. The team of volunteers, which included firefighters, medics, engineers and vets, was joined by crews from at least 24 countries. UK International Search and Rescue team coordinator Mark Davey said it had taken a lot of organisation to […]

Britain will narrowly avoid a recession this year, but there will be little respite for under-pressure families – with around seven million households expected to struggle to pay energy and food bills, according to an economic think tank. The National Institute of Economic and Social Research (Niesr) has forecast that the UK will swerve a technical recession – as defined by two or more quarters of falling gross domestic product […]

Child victims of sexual abuse are waiting more than 600 days to see their attackers brought to justice, figures suggest. A report by the Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse (CSA Centre) found that in 2021/22 it took an average of 261 days for police to reach a charging decision after a crime was reported, and then another 353 days for the matter to be concluded in court. That […]

McDonald’s has signed a legal agreement with the equality watchdog amid concerns over how it has handled sexual harassment complaints made by UK staff. The move comes after allegations by workers at the fast-food chain’s US restaurants of sexual harassment in the workplace over several years and the company’s failure to deal with the issue. It is not known how many current complaints have been made in the UK but […]

Profit more than doubled at oil giant BP last year as the business benefited from runaway gas prices caused by the war in Ukraine. The company said that it would invest an additional eight billion dollars (£6.6 billion) each in the energy transition, and in oil and gas, as boss Bernard Looney promised to keep affordable energy flowing. The business said that underlying replacement cost profit – the figure most […]

Rapist Metropolitan Police officer David Carrick is facing a life sentence after committing “violent and brutal sexual offences” against a dozen women. Carrick, who joined the Met in 2001 before becoming an armed officer with the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command in 2009, pleaded guilty to 49 charges, including 24 counts of rape. Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb is expected to sentence Carrick, 48, from Stevenage, Hertfordshire, at Southwark Crown Court on Tuesday. […]