Labour demands action over Avanti West Coast reduced train service

Transport secretary urged to press for restoration of full timetable or strip operator of contract after 12 cancellations on MondayLabour has written to Grant Shapps, the transport secretary, urging him to take immediate action to ensure Avanti West Coast restores more frequent services on its busy intercity rail route, or else strip the train operator...

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Brian Adcock on Keir Starmer’s plan to freeze the energy price cap – cartoon

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Ministers planning to cut civil servant redundancy pay at same time as 91,000 jobs

Exclusive: Unions warn proposal to reduce payouts by a quarter as headcount shrinks could lead to industrial actionMinisters are planning to reduce redundancy pay for civil servants while cutting 91,000 Whitehall jobs, setting up a bitter confrontation that unions warned may lead to legal and industrial action.The proposals could result in average packages...

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Starmer strayed in failing to propose targeted energy bill support | Nils Pratley

Labour’s idea may represent smart politics but it makes no economic sense to freeze prices for everyoneThere was an amusing interlude during BP’s announcement of bumper profits earlier this month when the chief executive, Bernard Looney, was asked what he planned to do with the £400 rebate on his energy bill that would arrive courtesy of the cost of...

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The Guardian view on Keir Starmer’s bills freeze: smart politics needs smart economics | Editorial

Labour’s policy puts the party on the side of ordinary people during a cost of living crisis – in sharp contrast to Tory appeals to the wealthyIn the eye of the cost of living storm, Sir Keir Starmer has correctly judged that Labour needs to be bold. His policy of freezing energy bills at their current levels until next spring reveals him to be a politician...

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Starmer says government ‘just not good enough’ on cost of living crisis as he defends plan to freeze energy bills – as it happened

This blog is now closed. You can find the full story here:Starmer says radical plan to freeze bills needed to tackle inflationKeir Starmer has outlined Labour’s energy policy that would freeze bills at current rates, offsetting a feared 80% rise by winter. Starmer ruled out nationalising energy companies, a plan proposed by the former prime minister...

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Boris Johnson’s summer of fun: what has the PM been doing?

The prime minister is still in office but you could be forgiven for thinking he has already leftToday’s politics news – liveIn three weeks’ time, Boris Johnson will no longer be UK prime minister. But, as many have observed, you could be forgiven for thinking he had already left.Despite the country being beset by a series of crises, from the mounting...

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Calls to cut bonuses for UK water bosses until reservoirs built and leaks fixed

Investment is needed to help country recover from drought, say politicians and campaignersWhat are UK water company chief executives paid?Water company bosses should be stripped of their multimillion-pound bonuses until they fix leaks and build reservoirs, politicians and campaigners have said as the country is gripped by drought.With parts of England...

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UK treatment of Afghan refugees ‘continues to be source of shame’

MoD sources accuse other parts of Whitehall of failing to do enough to help Afghans who worked with British forcesTwo RAF flights carrying as many as 500 Afghans who worked with British forces and their relatives are landing in the UK each month from Pakistan but there is deep frustration within the Ministry of Defence about how the rest of government...

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Liz Truss cabinet predictions: who could be in and who would lose out?

Analysis: Kwasi Kwarteng and Thérèse Coffey could be among the big winners if Truss becomes PMLiz Truss has three weeks before she is likely to walk through No 10’s black door as prime minister, facing a difficult in-tray. Here we take a look at how senior roles could shape up. Continue reading...

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