Markus Andrews

A Tory-run council has prompted a row by planning to spend £20,000 on changing the colours of its signage, logo and even bins.Darlington borough councillors are being accused of wasting money to turn its branding Tory blue, at a time when budgets are under pressure and council tax has been hiked by 5 per cent.The authority is undergoing a transformation project in an effort to “reconnect” with residents.In 2019, Labour lost control of Darlington borough council after decades in power, and the town voted in a Tory MP for the first time since 1992.The new project involves dropping the red, green and yellow of the existing signage.“We know that the relationship under previous administrations has been damaged,” according to deputy leader Jonathan Dulston.He confirmed the council wanted to distance itself from earlier administrations, but denied the intention was to align itself with Conservative Party blue.“That would be inappropriate, and we know that. Ultimately the council – although we are in control – has to be independent from any party politics, so we wouldn’t want to go down that road in any way, shape or form,” he told The Guardian.And he said the new colour being used was not blue, but teal – a blueish-green. “It’s a colour that has widely used by the council for a number of years now,” he said.He added that local MP Peter Gibson backed the transformation, writing an article in The Northern Echo last month headlined “The world is turning blue, and we’re only just getting started”.Funding for the redesign comes from £23m awarded to Darlington, in the Tees Valley, from the government’s towns fund, which is intended to boost struggling towns.But Labour councillor Nick Wallis said many residents were unhappy with the proposals, particularly, he said, “as we’re a local authority under the cosh, in terms of austerity and council tax has just been put up by 5 per cent”.He said the way the decision had been taken, without consultation or planning, and “the sheer political opportunism” was becoming a hallmark of the new Tory administration.“This doesn’t paint, dare I say it, Darlington council in a good light,” he told The Guardian. “We don’t want to be in the headlines for these reasons. It’s a misuse of the town’s fund money, and I’m sure it won’t be the last occasion.” More

The pro-Brexit boss of pub chain JD Wetherspoon has urged the government to increase migration from the EU to deal with a shortage of workers in the hospitality sector.Tim Martin, who campaigned for a hard Brexit, including leaving the single market and the end of freedom of movement which came with it, urged Boris Johnson to consider a new, “reasonably liberal” visa scheme to encourage foreign workers to relocate to the UK.He suggested countries close to Britain could be given preferential treatment – seemingly at odds with the argument laid out by Brexiteers that leaving the EU would allow the UK to treat all nationalities equally. Mr Martin told The Daily Telegraph: “The UK has a low birth rate. A reasonably liberal immigration system controlled by those we have elected, as distinct from the EU system, would be a plus for the economy and the country. > > To sign up to our free daily politics newsletters click here“America, Australia and Singapore have benefitted for many decades from this approach. Immigration combined with democracy works.”The Wetherspoon chairman had previously warned that remaining in the EU would lead to “significant adverse economic consequences” and labelled those warning of the economic damage that cutting ties with our biggest and closest trading partner would bring as “doomsters”.‘Question Time’ member accuses Tim Martin of supporting Brexit to ‘line his own pockets’Arguing for a no-deal Brexit in 2019, Mr Martin said: “I have argued that the UK – and therefore Wetherspoon – will benefit from a free-trade approach, by avoiding a ‘deal’ which involves the payment of £39bn to the EU.” He also cut the price of some drinks by 20p in a stunt to show how he believed Brexit would lower his costs.However, as a result of Brexit and the pandemic, much of the UK’s hospitality industry is now struggling to fill thousands of vacant roles.Mr Martin’s comments triggered an angry response from many of those who had argued against Brexit. Campaigner Femi Oluwole wrote: “I really hope Tim Martin never runs into Tim Martin. He’s gonna be so angry!”Former Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood said: “I remember disagreeing with Tim Martin on @bbcquestiontime about this, back in 2016. He was arguing the opposite position to this then. Too late mate.”The number of job postings in the bar, restaurant and pub sector has shot up by 46 per cent since indoor trading was allowed to resume in England on 17 May, according to the consulting services firm RSM.Michael Kill, chief executive of the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA), said both Brexit and the loss of staff during the long pandemic had left many firms struggling with their reopening plans.“There are severe staffing shortages,” said Mr Kill. “A lot of workers are from Europe, so Brexit has had an impact, and there is the furlough hangover, where a lot of people have now got other jobs to keep themselves going and are not coming back.”A report released at the end of April by Fitch Ratings, one of the Big Three credit rating agencies, said staff shortages were largely down to “EU nationals who have left the country following Brexit and employees who have switched sectors during the pandemic”.The agency said it also expected hospitality companies such as pubs, hotels and restaurants “to incur the additional costs of hiring and training new employees … putting pressure on their margins”.“Before Brexit, EU nationals made up between 12 per cent and 24 per cent of the total workforce in the UK hospitality industry, according to KPMG,” the report said. “Many of them left the country during the lockdowns. EU nationals now have to obtain a visa in order to enter the country to work, which entails securing a job offer that meets minimum salary levels, among other requirements.”The Fitch Ratings report added that hospitality businesses “may face increased salary requirements, for example in order to attract EU nationals, particularly during high summer and early autumn seasons, or to hire skilled employees to train workers with no prior experience.” More

Labour has demanded an “urgent investigation” into Tory finances after Boris Johnson’s party recorded tens of thousands of pounds in donations from companies that no longer exist.In a letter to the Electoral Commission opposition party chair Anneliese Dodds warned of “potential breaches of electoral law” by the Conservatives.Three donations totalling £20,000 were recorded to Mr Johnson’s party from two companies, Stridewell Estates and Unionist Building, according to an investigation by the news website Insider.But in both cases Companies House records appear to show the firms had been dissolved by the time the donations were made.A spokesperson for Stridewell Estates Limited told the website: “There must be a mistake… It is very possible that the company that donated has been recorded incorrectly.”Electoral law says only a firm that “carries on business in the United Kingdom” is eligible to make political donations. In a letter to Electoral Commission, Labour Chair Anneliese Dodds wrote: “Parties are advised by the Electoral Commission to check the Companies House website to see if the company is in liquidation, dormant, or about to be struck off – or if the company’s accounts are overdue.”While a company may still be carrying on business if it is in liquidation, dormant or late in filing documents, parties are advised to make extra checks to ensure this is the case.”She added: “I trust you will agree that these cases require urgent investigation to understand why companies that have been officially registered as dissolved by Companies House made thousands of pounds in donations to the Conservative Party and a sitting Conservative Member of Parliament.“I trust that any breach of the rules will be immediately subject to your Enforcement Policy, as part of the vital work to uphold public trust and confidence in the rules upholding electoral finance.”A spokesperson for the Commission, the UK’s elections watchdog, said they had received the letter from Ms Dodds and would “respond shortly”.The Conservatives are yet to comment on the affair, but a spokesperson for the party previously said: “Donations to the Conservative Party are properly and transparently declared to the Electoral Commission and are published by them.” More

The Education Secretary has defended the government’s Covid catch-up plans for schools amid criticism from headteachers that it is not properly funded.Ministers want pupils to catch up on lessons missed due to Covid-19, which has widened the pupil attainment gap and seen some students fall behind.A catch-up plan unveiled on Wednesday promised tuition and more training for teachers, but both headteachers and the governments’ Education Recovery Commissioner say the cash provided by the Treasury is not sufficient.Chancellor Rishi Sunak is understood to have withheld the recommended £15 billion to fund the scheme and given just £1.4 billion – leaving ministers searching for other options.Asked about the funding shortfall on Wednesday morning, Gavin Williamson said: “It is quite unprecedented to be getting this quantum of money outside of a spending review.”But what we decided we needed to do was deliver interventions and support and invest in children immediately – that’s why we’ve… over the last few months announced a total of over £3 billion in terms of targeted help for children.”But he added: “I have no doubt that in order to deliver everything we have ambitions for, for our children, there will be more that is required.”Pressed on whether he had asked for more money, Mr Williamson also told LBC radio: “It is incredibly tempting to get involved in divulging to you private conversations with the Chancellor and the Prime Minister, but I’m going to possibly sidestep this one, if that’s OK?”But Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), described the government’s approach to funding as “pretty dispiriting” and “pitiful”.”Today’s announcement essentially equates to £50 per head, you compare that with the USA which is putting £1,600 per head, per young person, or the Netherlands, £2,500 per head,” he said.”So what is it about those children in the Netherlands or the USA that makes them worth more than our Government seems to say?”It’s time to stop the rhetoric I think and start the action on behalf of children and young people.”The government’s own education recovery commissioner Sir Kevan Collins said overnight that while “the investments in teaching quality and tutoring announced today offer evidence-based support to a significant number of our children and teachers”, he was of the view that “more will be needed to meet the scale of the challenge”.Under the government’s plan 6 million, 15-hour tutoring courses would be offered to disadvantaged pupils over the next three years, while 500,000 teachers will be given “world class training”.But earlier leaks suggest the funding required for the full proposals would amount to £15 billion – while the Treasury has only released £1.4 billion in new funding, following an earlier injection of £1.7 billion.Labour’s shadow education secretary Kate Green told Sky News that the government’s approach “badly lets down our children and young people”.”It’s going to bring in some extra tutoring, it’s going to bring in some training for teachers. But we know that parents say that the most worrying concern that they have following the pandemic is their children’s emotional wellbeing, their ability to socialise with other children and their mental wellbeing,” she said.”So it’s a very limited announcement, I’m afraid, that the Government is making and children and young people can’t really afford to wait for this Government to get a sensible package that will properly address children’s educational recovery and their wellbeing.”This article was amended on the day of publication. It originally said that school lunch breaks could be cut by half an hour, however the DfE have told us that Mr Williamson in fact intended to imply that the government could consider enforcing a one-hour lunch break in schools. More

Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross is self-isolating after being in close contact with a person who has tested positive for coronavirus.The politician was in the Scottish parliament on Wednesday morning when he was told that someone he had been close to on Monday was infected with Covid-19.Mr Ross left the Holyrood building soon after finding out about his close contact’s test result at around 8.40am, and is now self-isolating in a hotel in Edinburgh.The MP and MSP – who lives in his Westminster constituency of Moray – will be getting tested for Covid as soon as possible, a statement from his party said.Four other Scottish Conservative MSPs and five members of staff will take Covid tests as a precaution, while two MSPs from another party have also been advised to do so.Mr Ross and his team consulted with parliamentary staff about the options available to him, since he had not been contacted by Scotland’s Test and Protect system.A Scottish Conservative spokesperson said Mr Ross “has decided that the safest approach is to immediately self-isolate in the Edinburgh hotel he has been staying in.“He will be getting a test as soon as possible. The hotel were informed that he would be arriving to self-isolate.”The Tory spokesperson said a further two MSPs from another political party have also been “informed” that may want to take a test – but did not reveal which party.The self-isolation could rule Mr Ross out of Thursday’s First Ministers Questions session in Holyrood, either because he records a positive test or because he may still be waiting for results.First minister Nicola Sturgeon announced on Tuesday that 13 local authorities – including Edinburgh – would remain under level 2 curbs longer than expected due to third wave fears.Health secretary Humza Yousaf said the government was still “very concerned” about the risk of “overwhelming the NHS” if cases surge again.Scotland’s national clinical director Professor Jason Leitch said Scotland was in “the foothills of a third wave” of coronavirus. More

Sir Keir Starmer should set up a forum for Labour leaders across the UK to give the party a better chance of winning power, the Scottish Labour leader has said.Anas Sarwar suggested a new group be created, meeting four times a year and bringing together senior party figures from all over the country.The Labour Leaders’ Forum, if established, would include UK chief Sir Keir, Mr Sarwar and Welsh Labour boss Mark Drakeford, as well as each of their deputy leaders.It would also include Labour’s regional mayors – such as Sadiq Khan in London and Andy Burnham in Greater Manchester – so national leaders can “learn” from their success.Mr Sarwar claimed setting up such a group would show Labour’s commitment to “rejecting divisive nationalism and Tory ideology that wants to pull communities apart”.Writing to each of the key figures, he stressed Labour’s belief in “solidarity between every community in the UK,” adding: “People in Sheffield have the same aspirations for their families as those in Glasgow, Swansea or London.”The Scottish leader, who failed to increase Labour’s seat share at the recent Holyrood election, added: “By coming together we can learn from Mark Drakeford on how Welsh Labour delivered that sensational result to keep us in power in Cardiff Bay.“We can learn from Andy Burnham’s bid to end rough sleeping on the streets of Manchester. We can learn from Sadiq Khan on how to bring our diverse communities together.”Sir Keir said he would listen to Tony Blair’s advice – that Labour needs “total deconstruction and reconstruction” to win power again – during Tuesday night’s Life Stories interview on ITV.The Labour leader also revealed he would soon tour the country to meet former Labour voters who have drifted away from the party. More

Ministers’ plans to help pupils catch up on learning lost due to the Covid-19 crisis is likely to “fall at the first hurdle” because of a lack of funding, headteachers have warned.The Department for Education has pledged £1.5bn for proposals that include 100 million extra tutoring hours for children in England and more funding for teacher training.But school leaders said that the money would fall far short of the help needed for children who have faced two school years of disruption.Other proposals to extend the school day – under review by Whitehall – could do “more harm than good” with pupils left exhausted and burnt out, they said.Teaching unions were also joined by the government’s own education recovery commissioner, who said the amount of funding provided so far would not “meet the scale of the challenge”.Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT said: “The government must be mindful of the trade-offs and unintended consequences of any recovery idea being proposed.“The marginal gains that might be possible through extending the school day must be weighed against the costs of such a strategy, including the impact on pupils’ mental health, reduced family time and less time for extra-curricular activities.“The government could end up doing more harm than good by adding more classroom hours to children’s school day. The government must also realise that the success of any big ideas about recovery, including additional school hours, relies on equally ambitious funding from the Treasury.”Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said there was “much to welcome” in the plan around tuition and training, adding that “the devil will be in the detail of any extended day proposals”.But he said: “What is most concerning is reports that the Treasury is thought to be offering only one-tenth of the money that is said to be needed for the recovery package. “Frankly, if that is the case, then the plan is likely to fall at the first hurdle. It is hard to see how £1.5bn spread over three years could possibly deliver the proposals that have been outlined.”Labour meanwhile said children needed to be given opportunities to “play, learn and develop” as part of any roadmap.Boris Johnson said young people had “sacrificed so much over the last year” and said the plan would “support children who have fallen behind and that every child will have the skills and knowledge they need to fulfil their potential”.Education secretary Gavin Williamson said the government was “taking a long-term, evidence-based approach to help children of all ages”.“I am incredibly proud it recognises the efforts and dedication of our teachers who are at the forefront of children’s recovery – making sure every teacher has the opportunity to access world-leading training, giving them the skills and tools to help every child they work with to fulfil their potential,” he said in a statement. “The package will not just go a long way to boost children’s learning in the wake of the disruption caused by the pandemic but also help bring back down the attainment gap that we’ve been working to eradicate.”The government’s plan also includes the option for some year 13 students to repeat their final year if they missed. Teachers and ministers agree a boost is necessary because of lost and disrupted school time due to Covid.But Labour shadow education secretary Kate Green accused the Conservatives of “showing no ambition for children’s futures” as the party called for schools to be given additional resources to deliver the recovery support needed.Under an alternative two-year £14.7bn plan outlined by Labour extra-curricular activities and breakfast clubs would be expanded to boost time for children to play and socialise after months away from their friends.“Children are excited to be back in the classroom with their friends and hungry to learn. After such disruption, we owe it to them to match their energy and motivation with the support and resources they need to thrive, not just whilst they catch up, but for their school careers and beyond,” said Ms Green.Responding to the government’s plan, she said: “This announcement makes a mockery of the prime minister’s claim that education is a priority. “His own education recovery commissioner has all but said this plan is insufficient. Sir Kevan Collins told ministers that 10 times this level of investment was needed to help children recover.“Labour has set out a bold plan that will provide new opportunities for all children to play, learn and develop post-pandemic. The government has let down children and families over the last year and the last decade and is set to do so again.”Education recovery commissioner Sir Kevan Collins said: “The pandemic has caused a huge disruption to the lives of England’s children.“Supporting every child to get back on track will require a sustained and comprehensive programme of support. “The investments in teaching quality and tutoring announced today offer evidence-based support to a significant number of our children and teachers. But more will be needed to meet the scale of the challenge.”Sir Peter Lampl, founder of the Sutton Trust and chairman of the Education Endowment Foundation, said: “Creating an ambitious, sustainable recovery plan to support every pupil is a considerable challenge. The extension of tutoring for the most disadvantaged young people is crucial as it’s a highly cost-effective method of making up for lost learning. The focus on quality teaching, investing in the teaching profession and early years practitioners is also much needed. “However, the proposed funding is only a fraction of what is required. Low-income students who have already been most heavily impacted by Covid-19 will be disadvantaged even more and overall standards, which have fallen dramatically, will be very slow to recover. “Sir Kevan Collins is right that much more will be needed if we are to mitigate the long-term impact of the pandemic.” More

If Keir Starmer wanted to prove he wasn’t dull, that he was an emotional man with the power to move others, then telling his life story to Piers Morgan was a great success. The story of the life and, most poignantly, the death of his parents almost brought a tear to his eye, and that of the viewer, and possibly even to Morgan. On the other hand, the fairly friendly exchanges between the two men also confirmed what must be obvious to anyone who has had the slightest acquaintance with Starmer, which is that he is a clever, cautious lawyer. When Morgan, a bit clumsily, tried to put words into the mouth of his “witness” by suggesting that he’d taken drugs at university but not enjoyed them, Sir Keir Starmer QC, former director of public prosecutions, was well able to dodge it. “We had a good time at university” was the formula of choice. It must have been, for Morgan if not the audience, a bit of a let down.Do back stories matter? Sometimes. Having a solid working class, trade-union background is a pretty substantial asset if you want to be elected deputy leader of the Labour Party, as Angela Rayner and John Prescott showed to their advantage. It doesn’t work so well for the leadership itself, which tends to go solidly to the lower middle, middle and upper middle class types, covering every leader from Attlee and Gaitskell through to Tony Blair and Jeremy Corbyn. Only Neil Kinnock serves as the exception, son of a coal miner and a nurse. Starmer is very much in that line of middle-class Labour leaders. His father was a highly skilled toolmaker, though as Starmer pointed out, he was rather looked down upon because he worked on the factory floor. Starmer didn’t drag himself up from crushing poverty, and doesn’t pretend to, and has obviously done well for himself and made his parents extremely proud. However, rising up through the ranks of the law just doesn’t quite have the same romantic appeal as a start in life as a care worker (Rayner) or a merchant seaman (Prescott). More