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Meddling John Swinney’s five-year plan for Scottish Government blasted as a series of ‘gimmicks’
First Minister John Swinney has unveiled his first programme for government since the Holyrood election, setting out a five-year plan for major public sector reform alongside a bus fares cut and a controversial supermarket price cap. The plans include mass mergers of quangos, councils and NHS boards, which Swinney called the “most radical reshaping of…
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Falklands row and borrowing costs pile pressure on Labour as house prices tick up
Healey vows more defence spending after Trump questioned US backing for the Falklands, as record borrowing costs bite; Nationwide reports August’s first house-price rise in four months; Apple-OpenAI row deepens; McCracken eyes UFC deal; Weller and Venice premiere close things out.
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STEPHEN DAISLEY: Groundhog Day as SNP’s ‘reimagined’ policies are trotted out
Writing in the Daily Mail, columnist Stephen Daisley mocks Scottish First Minister John Swinney’s newly unveiled programme for government, arguing that many of its flagship pledges are recycled promises from previous SNP administrations rather than genuinely new policy. He highlights commitments such as a new Monklands Hospital, closing the poverty-related attainment gap, and a misogyny…
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One glaring issue goes unaddressed in UN chief’s high-stakes talks with Iran’s president
UN Secretary-General António Guterres met Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in Bishkek on Tuesday, but the official UN readout of the meeting omitted any mention of Iran’s ongoing crackdown on protesters detained since January’s nationwide demonstrations, including imprisonment, alleged torture and rising numbers of executions. When pressed by Fox News Digital, UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric declined…
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‘We’ll find way to save Jodrell Bank,’ Burnham says
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has pledged to find a way to save the Jodrell Bank Observatory in Cheshire after UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) said in July that the site would not be prioritised for further funding once its current agreement ends in March 2028. Speaking in the House of Commons after being pressed by…
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SNP and unions set to clash as John Swinney lays out plans for sweeping health board reforms
First Minister John Swinney has unveiled sweeping public sector reforms, including cutting Scotland’s 14 regional NHS boards down to just two, in what he called the most radical reshaping of public services since devolution began in 1999. The plans, part of a wider overhaul of councils and quangos, have triggered immediate anger from trade unions,…
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Swinney presses ahead with consultation on essential food price cap
The Scottish Government has launched a public consultation on its proposed cap on the price of essential food items, such as bread, milk and eggs, despite acknowledging the policy could lead to shortages and other unintended consequences. First Minister John Swinney remains “convinced” the plan is sound and insists it could still be implemented by…
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Ontario residents oppose Trump’s Lake America renaming
Residents of the town of Ontario, New York, have criticised President Donald Trump’s executive order renaming Lake Ontario as “Lake America”, with many describing the move as an unwelcome erosion of the region’s history. The decision, part of Trump’s ongoing trade dispute with Canada, has been adopted by Google Maps for US users but has…
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UK to almost triple funding to tackle DR Congo’s deadly Ebola outbreak
The UK government has announced £51.8 million in additional funding to combat the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), almost tripling its total commitment to £78.7 million. The move comes as the outbreak, the fastest-spreading Ebola epidemic ever recorded and the DRC’s deadliest on record, continues to outpace the international response, with…
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Rebellion in the ranks as officers reject police poll amid claims it fails to reveal what they really think about the force’s leadership
Senior officers in Scotland have refused to back Police Scotland’s annual staff survey, arguing it fails to reveal genuine confidence levels in the force’s leadership. The Association of Scottish Police Superintendents (ASPS) withdrew its backing because responses about local managers are grouped together with views on chief officers and the executive team, which it says…