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Burnham’s own allies warn plan for regional ‘boards’ to monitor water firms could be ‘worse than useless’… as he backs off nationalisation
Andy Burnham is facing criticism, including from his own allies, over proposals to set up regional “boards” to oversee England’s water industry, as the Government appears to be stepping back from full nationalisation. The quango-style bodies would bring together mayors, officials and other stakeholders to monitor water firms, but ministers are reportedly wary of the…
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Bristol becomes first British city to ban advertisements for fast fashion
Bristol has become the first British city to ban advertisements for fast fashion, with the Green-run council also imposing new restrictions on adverts for SUVs, airlines, cruises and fossil fuels. The policy, passed by the council’s strategy and resources committee on an eight-to-one vote, applies to all council-owned advertising space, including billboards, bus shelters, and…
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‘Every magazine cover needs to seduce’: designers pick their favourites
Ahead of a one-day event at the London Design Festival, Stack magazine founder Steve Watson has gathered editors, designers, historians and publishers to discuss the enduring appeal of magazine cover design. Watson argues that print magazines should no longer be judged against their mass-market heyday but valued instead for their ability to engage readers deeply,…
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Vintage Violence is an absurdist crime thriller for phone addicts
Cole Sprouse-led thriller Vintage Violence, from director Eugene Kotlyarenko, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival as an absurdist crime comedy that tries to mimic the experience of constant phone use by displaying characters’ screens alongside the main action. The film follows a disgraced influencer who travels to Tokyo to sell vintage denim, only to…
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Labour fury as Reform UK launches Space Invaders-style ‘small boat watch’ game with Royal Navy repelling Channel migrants
Labour and other critics have condemned Reform UK after Nigel Farage’s party launched a “Small Boat Watch” app featuring a Space Invaders-style game in which players command a Royal Navy vessel to intercept Channel migrant boats. The move has been branded a distraction from an ongoing Metropolitan Police investigation into Reform’s donations and a separate…
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Give Xfce a Mac or Unity-style makeover
The Register’s second instalment of its Xfce panel customisation guide addresses lingering flaws in the desktop environment’s Panel Profiles tool, which lets users mimic the look of macOS, Unity, MATE, GNOME 2 and various Windows layouts. While Part 1 covered installing the tool and its plugins, this follow-up tackles cosmetic and functional issues left behind,…
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Make NHS and MoD uniforms in UK, fashion firms urge Burnham
The thinktank Fashion Roundtable is delivering a letter to Downing Street urging the housing secretary Andy Burnham to commit to manufacturing NHS and Ministry of Defence uniforms in the UK, arguing that domestic public procurement contracts would help preserve Britain’s manufacturing industry. The letter, signed by more than 1,200 people including adventurer Ben Fogle and…
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Luxury florist hired by Victoria Beckham beats rival who set up firm with almost identical name in High Court trademark battle
A High Court judge has ruled in favour of Flowerbx Ltd, the luxury florist behind flower displays for Victoria Beckham and other high-profile clients, in a trademark dispute with a rival firm trading under a near-identical name. Whitney Bromberg Hawkings, who founded Flowerbx in 2015 after leaving senior roles at Gucci and Tom Ford, accused…
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Digital ID comes of age as pubs and bars get go-ahead for biometric scan tech
New laws taking effect this week in England and Wales will allow pubs, off-licences, nightclubs and restaurants to use biometric digital ID to check that customers buying alcohol are over 18. Instead of showing a passport or driving licence, customers will be able to scan their face using an app on their phone, generating a…
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Valve is still figuring out ‘how and when’ to do Steam Deck 2
Valve has confirmed that a successor to the Steam Deck is still in the works, but the company remains undecided on the specifics of “how and when” it will arrive, according to designer Pierre-Loup Griffais in an interview with IGN. Valve has long maintained that a Steam Deck 2 depends on finding a chip that…