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Your support helps us to tell the storyFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorSixteen new train stations and 250 miles of railway lines that would benefit millions of passengers are on a list of projects at risk of being scrapped as Labour tries to plug a £22bn budget black hole, The Independent can reveal.The full list of 36 schemes includes several where work has already begun as part of Boris Johnson’s now ditched £500m restoring your railways (RYR) initiative.The north of England and the South West are the areas set to be hit hardest if all the plans are axed in chancellor Rachel Reeves’ autumn Budget, with the long-awaited Portishead to Bristol line and the much-delayed White Rose station in Leeds among those at risk.The chancellor announced in July that Labour would be cancelling the RYR programme but individual schemes would be reconsidered in a review by transport secretary Louise Haigh, in a bid to save £85m. Ms Haigh previously branded Rishi Sunak’s move to scrap the HS2 leg between Birmingham and Manchester – first revealed by The Independent – “a great rail betrayal,” but now finds herself wielding the axe.Responding to the revelations, the Campaign for Better Transport’s Stephen Goss called it “a backward step”.“We were very disappointed at the announcement because Labour had been promising before the election that they were going to ‘get Britain moving’,” he said.“So when it was announced that they were scrapping at the fund, which aims at expanding the railway network, it seemed backwards from what they have been promising and proposing.”Also revealed to be under threat are the Fleetwood railway line, and stations in Deeside, Haxby, Edginswell, St Clears and Thorpe Park (Leeds).Most of the projects are located in the North, with 16 railway lines and five stations. This is followed by the South West, which has seen six lines and eight stations placed at risk.During her speech in July, Ms Reeves said that only those projects that had “not yet commenced” would be cancelled. Despite this, several which have seen considerable work begun on them are listed as being under threat.Even Wellington station, which Ms Reeves previously assured Lib Dem MP Gideon Amos in the Commons would not be cancelled, makes the list.Also included is White Rose Station in Leeds, where construction work has already begun. Planning documents for the scheme predict that it would enable 343,000 trips through the station per year, and increase the number of jobs in the area by 10,000.The White Rose project was being managed by West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA), alongside the Leeds Thorpe Park station, with both receiving funding from the RYR programme. A 2022 update on the scheme from the Department for Transport and Network Rail said both of these projects were “being delivered”.The DfT has confirmed that all 36 railway projects are still being considered in their internal review, but says those at the delivery stage will go ahead. However, the WYCA says that it expects to receive no further funding from the department for the two Leeds stations, but adds that it intends to press ahead with its own funding or money previously received.There has also been a backlash against the likely cancellation of the Portishead to Bristol line, a long-demanded scheme that has faced repeated setbacks. The project requires just over three miles of new track but without funding its future is once again uncertain.North Somerset MP Sadik Al-Hassan said: “For years this railway line has been promised, and none the funding has ever really been put into it to actually guarantee its delivery.“I am working with my cabinet colleagues, knocking on every door, having discussions with the key decision makers, to make sure that our government understands how important this project is in North Somerset and to local people”.“I am optimistic that this vital project will eventually see the light of day”.The approved business case submitted by the council estimates that passenger demand for the station would be 958,980 in its opening year, rising to 1,295,103 per annum by 2036.North Somerset MP Sadik Al-Hassan attends Portishead Railway Rally at Bristol Temple Meads station More

Your support helps us to tell the storyFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorConcerns have been raised over the future of the Falkland Islands after the UK gave up control of a remote archipelago – sparking anger from indigenous campaigners and MPs. In a move which has since been dubbed a “strategic disaster”, the government on Thursday said it had reached a political agreement to hand the Chagos Islands over to Mauritius following negotiations which began in 2022. The deal is meant to secure the future of a secretive military base on the island of Diego Garcia, but it has left the UK without sovereign territorial control over a piece of land that is crucial to Western security in the Indian Ocean. While the US-UK base will remain on the island, the agreement has triggered fears that China could achieve its goal of setting up bases on the Chagos Islands, as well as compromising UK control over the Falklands. On Thursday, the government announced it had reached a deal with Mauritius over the Chagos Islands More

Your support helps us to tell the storyFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorSir Keir Starmer has said ministers do not need to follow his example and pay back ‘freebies’.On Wednesday, the prime minister attempted to draw a line under the escalating row by repaying £6,000 for hospitality and gifts he had received since entering Downing Street.But the move prompted questions over whether his senior ministers were supposed to follow suit. Labour politicians have accepted ‘freebies’ ranging from tickets to football matches and music concerts to wardrobe upgrades. Now the prime minister has said his was a “personal decision, I am not saying others should do the same”.Sir Keir Starmer announced he would pay back £6,000 for hospitality and gifts he had received since entering No 10 More

Minister says accepting freebies is different in governmentYour support helps us to tell the storyFind out moreCloseMy recent work focusing on Latino voters in Arizona has shown me how crucial independent journalism is in giving voice to underrepresented communities.Your support is what allows us to tell these stories, bringing attention to the issues that are often overlooked. Without your contributions, these voices might not be heard.Every dollar you give helps us continue to shine a light on these critical issues in the run up to the election and beyondEric GarciaWashington Bureau ChiefA group of indigenous Chagossians plans to stage a protest in Westminster claiming they have been sidelined from discussions surrounding the handover of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, The Independent understands. Chagossian Voices insists the UK government has “consistently and deliberately ignored” their perspectives throughout the negotiation process, calling for full inclusion in the treaty drafting. As tensions mount, Sir Keir Starmer has defended the government’s decision, claiming that the UK-Mauritius deal ensures continued security of the US-UK Diego Garcia military base.However, the move has drawn significant backlash, particularly from Argentina who capitalised on the situation by vowing to secure “full sovereignty” over the Falklands. The geopolitical fallout followed the prime minister to Cheshire, where Labour ministers pledged nearly £22 billion to develop carbon capture projects in Merseyside and Teesside.Sir Keir promised workers that the new investment would create thousands of jobs and attract private investment while helping the UK meet its net-zero targets.He described today’s investment announcement as a demonstration of “the politics of renewal in action” and declared the new political divide between Labour and the Tories is ‘investment or decline’.Show latest update 1728050232EXCLUSIVE | Indigenous Chagossians plan protest after being ‘excluded’ from talksA group of indigenous Chagossians are planning to stage a protest in Westminster on Monday over the decision to hand the archipelago over to Mauritius, The Independent understands, accusing the government of excluding them from talks, Millie Cooke reports. Chagossian Voices, a group representing indigenous people from the Chagos Islands, has claimed their views have been “consistently and deliberately ignored”, demanding full inclusion in the drafting of the treaty.The group claimed to have learned the outcome of the negotiations through the media, saying indigenous Chagossians feel “powerless and voiceless in determining our own future”.The protest has been organised for Monday at 11.30 am. Salma Ouaguira4 October 2024 14:571728052815Euston station’s controversial advertising board axed Transport secretary Louise Haigh has ordered the shutdown of a large advertising board at London’s Euston station. The decision comes as Network Rail responds to mounting criticism over its decision to replace the traditional departure board with a massive advertising display, leaving travellers with smaller train information screens. A frustrated Ms Haigh said: “For too long, Euston station simply hasn’t been good enough for passengers.“That’s why I’ve tasked Network Rail with coming up with a clear plan to immediately improve conditions for passengers.“This includes a shutdown of the advertising boards from today to review their use.”( More

Your support helps us to tell the storyFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorThe official government history of Boris Johnson’s time as prime minister must include “sleaze and scandal” critics have said – after it emerged it is still blank two years on. The UK government has commissioned pen portraits of ex-PMs dating back to Robert Walpole. But Mr Johnson’s entry remains empty, even though he was ousted from office in the summer of 2022. Critics said the disgraced politician’s biography would be “impossible to write” as it would have to include “sleaze and scandal”.Former prime minister Boris Johnson has made a series of claims in his ‘Unleashed’ memoir (Jonathan Brady/PA) More

Your support helps us to tell the storyFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorGender equality in the workplace has stalled as women report experiencing many of the same challenges as they did nearly 30 years ago, a new survey of high-flyers suggests.The group is calling for higher salaries and more effort to tear down the ‘glass ceiling’, the invisible barriers that hold women back, saying it was “deeply concerning” that many felt too little had changed since the Nineties.Significantly, nearly half of those asked, 47 per cent, said more needed to be done to promote women into senior positions – mirroring results from a similar survey carried out in 1996.Women want more to be done to pull down the ‘glass ceiling’ More