The Liberal Democrats have kicked off their annual conference with a call for people to vote tactically in the general election to remove Conservative MPs, until proportional representation makes this unnecessary.
Gathering in Bournemouth for their first autumn get-together since 2019, a conference rally heard video addresses from Carol Vorderman and Steve Coogan. Neither are party members but they said people should vote in a way to ensure Tory candidates lost.
The Lib Dems have benefited significantly from traditional Labour voters and even disenchanted Conservatives switching their support to overturn big Tory majorities in a string of recent byelections.
Coogan, the actor and comedian, told the rally that while he normally voted Labour, he would switch to the Lib Dems in the marginal Lewes constituency where he lives to try to oust the incumbent Tory, health minister Maria Caulfield.
“I’m not a member of the Lib Dems, and despite the beard and the fleece I generally vote Labour,” Coogan’s video said. “But where I live in Lewes, the candidate best placed to kick the Tories out is the Lib Dem candidate, so I vote for them.”
He backed proportional voting rather than the current method of first past the post, which Coogan called “an electoral system that robs millions of people of their vote”.
Vorderman, the former Countdown co-presenter, already works with a tactical voting website called Stop the Tories.
She told the rally: “We desperately need to end a system where only marginal seats matter, end a system which delivers parliaments that fail to accurately reflect votes cast and end a system where only the winner’s votes count.
“It doesn’t deliver parliaments that properly reflect the will of the nation. It has to change. But how do we get there? Well, in my opinion, the first step is tactical voting.”
The introduction of proportional representation (PR) is a longstanding Lib Dem aim, and one the party is closely associated with. It hopes to use the conference – following three years in which it was scuppered first by Covid and then the Queen’s funeral – to set out more policies before an election very likely next year.
One policy formally adopted on Saturday commits to a doubling of statutory shared parental pay from just over £172 a week to £350, and increasing the amount of time it can be claimed from 37 weeks to 46 weeks.
However, as well as the videos about PR, the conference-opening rally included other trusted Lib Dem favourites, such as criticism of the government’s record on sewage discharged into rivers and the sea.
In another crowd-pleaser, Davey posed with one of the party’s ubiquitous election props – a giant clock with the slogan “Time’s up for Rishi Sunak”, used after the local elections in May.
After nearly 40 years of Thatcherite deregulation and privatisation, the buses in Manchester are back under public control. On Sunday, 50 Bee Network electric buses will take their first journey across Bolton, Wigan and parts of Salford and Bury, with the full rollout across Greater Manchester scheduled to be complete by January 2025.
Andy Burnham, the mayor of Manchester, should be proud. He faced down his critics, and stood firm against the immense pressure of the private bus operators who challenged his decision but failed to overturn it in the courts. The role of local campaigners Better Buses for Greater Manchester in this result must also be recognised; they clearly made the case for why public control would improve services and put pressure on Burnham to go through with his campaign promise. Thanks to them, the chaos of bus deregulation in the city will finally come to an end.
Greater Manchester was the home of the first ever horse-drawn “omnibus” service. Set up by a tollkeeper in 1824, the service ferried passengers to and from Pendleton and Manchester. The city has seen public ownership and control before. From 1930, there was a patchwork of services across the city, with every council owning a different coloured bus fleet. In 1969 these were streamlined, with the creation of a new transport authority, Selnec, which covered the whole of Greater Manchester with its trademark orange buses.
Then along came Margaret Thatcher. Her 1985 Transport Act led to a mass sale of council-owned bus companies and the start of a free-for-all in how services ran in the city. The quality of vehicles dramatically declined. In the “bus wars” that followed, private companies fought for custom, even racing each other down the street to pick up passengers. One observer described it as “gangster warfare”. Most travellers unsurprisingly simply got the first bus that came along, rather than picking and choosing their favourite bus company, which left competition authorities scratching their heads.
As companies consolidated, Manchester’s privatised buses developed a terrible reputation for being expensive, unreliable and slow. The theory was that deregulation would lead to “new and better services”, but the opposite had happened. Buses became more expensive and more unreliable. Since privatisation, bus fares in the UK as a whole have nearly doubled in real terms since 1987, while 3,000 bus routes were cut in the decade to 2019.
We are all propping up the private operators in this broken system. Public money makes up 40% of bus company revenue, but the public has no control over fares, nor the vast majority of routes and timetables. And 10% of that public money is paid as dividends to bus company shareholders, instead of being reinvested in better services.
The contrast between the capital and the rest of the country is stark. While journeys in London, where bus services are regulated by Transport for London, doubled over the two decades before the pandemic, bus trips outside London halved. The UK lags behind other countries on productivity, and terrible urban transport in major cities outside London is a significant factor.
None of this is inevitable.The public want a better bus system, with one study showing that 57% of motorists would use their car less if bus fares were lower and services more reliable. Other countries show it is possible. Local public transport is 88% publicly owned in Germany, and in Switzerland, every village gets an hourly service thanks to proper funding, public ownership and planning.
And now Manchester is also showing the way. Using new powers from the Bus Services Act 2017, Burnham has introduced London-style regulation with private bus companies now bidding for contracts in a planned network.
Ultimately, we need full public ownership, but public control is still a gamechanger. It means Transport for Greater Manchester has the power to properly plan its Bee Network, with affordable area-wide fares, simple ticketing and a coordinated timetable.
It means that it will be able to redirect surplus profit from busy routes to subsidise less busy but essential buses. Overall cost savings due to lower profit margins can be used to expand the network, or provide better evening and weekend services. Public transport will be cheaper, more frequent, reliable and easy to understand.
A 2021 report on buses by a former UN special rapporteur on human rights found that the UK had “provided a masterclass in how not to run an essential public service”. But the tide is now turning. Thanks to Burnham and the campaigners who made the case, Greater Manchester could provide a blueprint for turning around our broken bus system.
With further campaigns being organised in cities and regions across England to take buses back under public control, and with Wales already planning to regulate its entire bus network, the reversal of Thatcherite deregulation and privatisation is in motion.
Cat Hobbs is the founder of We Own It, an organisation that campaigns for public ownership of public services
The East Devon parish of West Hill is looking to ‘breakaway’ and stand on its own two feet. At present, a joint Neighbourhood Plan exists which covers both the town of Ottery St Mary and the village of West Hill.
But an application has been made to create a new neighbourhood area for the parish area of West Hill only. If approved, it would remove the village from the current joint neighbourhood area.
Documents with the application which has been made to East Devon District Council say that it has been agreed between the two councils that each parish has its own needs and priorities, but that there are areas of mutual interest where it would be advantageous to have some joint working and discussion, e.g. a potential green wedge between Ottery & West Hill.
A statement says: “A joint Ottery St Mary + West Hill Neighbourhood Plan is currently in place. But West Hill Parish Council considers it appropriate to designate a neighbourhood area, focussed on the West Hill Parish Boundary, for the following reasons.
“As it is now over four years since the NP was made, it is timely to consider a review, which can also be in conformity with the emerging Local Plan 2020-2040. A review of the Neighbourhood Plan by West Hill Parish Council has shown that the interests and priorities of the two councils (Ottery St Mary and West Hill) have diverged.
“There are some policies in the NP which are working well and others which could be strengthened and made more specific for West Hill, and some new policies are needed. For these reasons, West Hill Parish Council’s decision is that they wish to re-define the Neighbourhood Plan Area and work on a separate Neighbourhood Plan for West Hill.
“As established during the process of creating the new parish of West Hill, the two settlements have separate and distinct identities and demographics. The priorities for a revised NP are different for the two settlements. It is agreed between the two councils that there will be joint discussions over matters of mutual interest, e.g. the green wedge, and that there may be a need for mirror policies in the two new NPs.
“The proposal to proceed with an NP review was discussed with residents during the consultation event for the Local Plan Review organised by WHPC. Residents were supportive of the proposal to proceed with a separate new NP for West Hill.”
West Hill Parish Council has applied for the whole of the parish to be designated as a new Neighbourhood Area. East Devon District Council is now consulting on this proposal. The closing date for comments is 9am Monday 30th October 2023.
West Hill is currently included in the Ottery St Mary and West Hill joint Neighbourhood Area, which is covered by the ‘made’ Ottery St Mary and West Hill Neighbourhood Plan. If the application is approved, a new Neighbourhood Area would be designated to cover West Hill parish, and the existing Neighbourhood Area would be amended to remove West Hill parish from it. This amended Neighbourhood Area would cover the parished area of Ottery St Mary only. The existing joint Neighbourhood Plan will remain in force across both areas until such time as it is replaced in either or each parish by a new Neighbourhood Plan.
Research by pollsters Survation found support for climate action particularly high in Tory-held constituencies in the southeast of England, where the Tories are facing a series of challenges by the Lib Dems and Labour.
The Tories are predicted to hold just 29 out of 52 seats in the southeast, according to analysis of over 20,000 voters by the firm.
It comes as Mr Sunak jettisoned a long list of net zero pledges, including delaying a ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars until 2035, and introducing diluted targets for the phasing out of gas boilers.
He was also widely mocked for axing policies that did not exist – such as theoretical new taxes on meat or “compulsory” car sharing – topics which are often fodder for online disinformation.
In a blow for Mr Sunak, Survation found that the most marginal constituencies in Tory heartland seats overwhelmingly support almost all specific climate policies polled.
In addition, almost three in four of these constituents (72 per cent) said those policies would influence how they voted.
Georgia Whitaker, a climate campaigner at Greenpeace, which commissioned the polling, said: “Voters in the most hotly contested seats are saying that climate change matters to them, and they want bold policies to tackle it.
“But in a desperate attempt to play politics with the climate, Sunak risks haemorrhaging his party’s support in Tory strongholds and key marginals.
“This endless flip-flopping on such vital issues will not only leave people with higher bills and a damaged economy, but it could badly backfire against Sunak’s party at the next election unless the government changes tack.”
Some 85 per cent of voters in the blue wall want the government to provide more financial support to insulate homes, while almost four in five (73 per cent) want more government funding for heat pumps.
And 88 per cent want to see more investment in renewable power, while 79 per cent want rail travel subsidised to ensure it is always cheaper than driving.
Greenpeace has launched a campaign to encourage people to become “climate voters” at the next general election, expected next year.
They want voters to choose candidates who are committed to reducing the UK’s emissions in line with scientific advice and improving nature.
Activists said they were aiming to recruit at least 1 million climate voters and would be knocking on doors across the country but especially in marginal and blue wall areas.
The campaign has received support from high-profile celebrities including Stephen Fry, Olivia Colman, Mel B, Will Poulter and Joe Lycett, who have also put their signature to an open letter alongside 100,000 other people demanding politicians take stronger action on climate.
Actor Peter Capaldi, who is also backing the campaign, said: “It can feel overwhelming when you look at all the crises we are facing, like the cost of living, extreme weather, and pollution choking our rivers and seas.
“But none of this is inevitable and, although we’re clearly already suffering the effects of extreme weather, there’s still time to change direction.
“I stand with people all over the country who are demanding climate action for our NHS, our economy and our planet. A safer, healthier future for all is within our grasp if politicians can be bold and brave enough to deliver it.
“It’s up to us to demand that our political leaders listen, and deliver on what the country and our children deserve.”
The number of people in hospital has gone up. Google searches have doubled in a month and booster vaccines have been brought forward because of a new variant. It might all feel a bit 2021. But – these days – how much do we really need to worry about Covid?
Marjorie from Pembrokeshire had gone through the whole pandemic without catching the virus – until this month.
“I thought I had natural immunity,” she says.
“But I caught it from my granddaughter who had the same symptoms as mine.”
In her case, that meant a headache, muscle pain and a loss of smell and taste.
“I just didn’t realise I would feel so weak and lethargic,” she adds.
How many people – like Marjorie – are catching Covid this autumn is impossible to know for sure.
All those drive-in testing sites are long closed and those free boxes of lateral flow tests probably dried up months ago.
The Office for National Statistics infection survey, which used to test a random sample of the population, was scrapped back in March.
But we do still record the number of people who test positive in hospital across the whole UK, and that figure has been creeping up since the summer.
“What does it tell me about the virus? It tells me it’s spreading and it tells me it still has the ability to make people very unwell,” says Stuart McDonald, an actuary at the consultants LCP, who has studied the data closely since the start of the pandemic.
On 17 September, 3,019 hospital beds in England were taken up by someone with Covid. That number has tripled since July, but dipped last week, and is just a fraction of the 33,000 seen at the peak of the second wave in 2021.
About a third of those patients were being treated mainly for the disease, with most testing positive after they were admitted for another reason.
Why do some people get infected?
Hospital trends give us a very rough idea of how much virus is around and whether infection levels are rising or falling.
How likely we are to catch it, and how sick we get, then depends on a mix of complex factors – from genetics and age, to lifestyle and the environment in which we live.
Research published in the journal Nature this year suggests about 10% of the population carry a gene which allows them to identify and eliminate the virus before they even start to develop tell-tale symptoms like a cough, sore throat or fever.
Covid immunity in the UK
93%aged 12+ have received at least one vaccine
82%infected at least once by Nov 2022
Source: NHS Digital, ONS
We have all built up different levels of immunity over the last four years depending on our vaccine record and contact with the disease.
“There’s probably no two people in the country whose history of vaccinations and Covid exposure are alike,” says Mr McDonald.
“So I think it’s more difficult to predict what will come next than it has been at any previous point.”
That immunity starts to fall soon after an infection or a vaccine. This is where the virus differs from measles or polio, for example, where jabs in childhood can protect you for life.
Protection against catching Covid is likely to last just a few months – at best – although data shows protection against severe disease is more long-lasting.
In part that is because the virus itself is constantly changing.
Previous waves have been driven by different forms – or variants – which have undergone multiple genetic changes.
Those mutations can alter the virus’s behaviour – making it spread faster, for example.
But crucially they might also make it harder for our immune systems, which have been primed to respond to those older versions, to recognise and fight off.
In late 2021, the Omicron variant did just that and infected millions, although that wave did not lead to a huge spike in hospitalisations and deaths.
“Being exposed to the virus, either through vaccination, infection or a combination of both, is undoubtedly reducing the severity of disease when we get it,” says Alex Richter, a professor of clinical immunology at the University of Birmingham.
More recently we have seen a series of smaller waves driven by close relatives – or subvariants – of Omicron.
BA.2.86 Covid variant
18countries with confirmed cases
54cases detected in the UK
28infections at Norfolk case home
0residents needed hospital treatment for Covid
Source: GISAID, UKHSA, PHS
In August 2023, scientists around the world started tracking the spread of yet another version with a large number of mutations.
But the new jabs are only available to people over 65 years old – it was the over-50s last year – and those with certain health conditions. That is a tactical decision, says Dr Adam Finn, professor of paediatrics at the University of Bristol.
He explained: “When younger people who’ve already had infections and vaccines get Covid [again], they get a cold and a cough and might be off work for a few days.
“There’s no real value in investing a lot of time and effort immunising them again when there are so many other things for the health service to be doing.”
The reality is then that most under-65s will now end up boosting their immunity not through vaccination, but through catching Covid many times.
How worried should we be?
Prof Richter says it is now time to start thinking of Covid more like flu, where new forms of the disease, some worse than others, appear every year and new vaccines are rolled out for the latest winter strain.
Covid will still be a problem for the most vulnerable, she adds, and hospitals, which will still need to deal with new infection waves.
“We have bad flu years and good flu years,” she says.
“There’s a good chance that once every four or five years, we’re going to have a bad dose [of Covid] and we are going to need to go to bed for a few days, otherwise most of the time, for most of us, I think it will be OK.”
Every dose of the virus is not completely without danger, even for the healthy, with some research suggesting an increased risk of long-Covid symptoms like fatigue, shortness of breathe and brain fog.
But – in general – Prof Finn says each new infection should feel milder with the length of time you are sick reduced.
“Each time you catch it, your immunity gets stronger and broader,” he adds.
Sam, an IT worker from north London, managed to pick up infection number three on a trip to Turkey with her family this month.
“The first time was really horrible, the second time it felt like flu, but by the third time I didn’t really think about it,” she says.
“I just had a stinker of a cold and was all bunged up.”
This is maybe what scientists meant when, at the very start of the pandemic, we were told that, one day, we would have to learn to live with Covid.
The virus is not going away.
But perhaps it is starting to become part of the background to our everyday lives.
It comes after Rishi Sunak scrapped energy efficiency regulations for landlords in an overhaul of green policies.
The taskforce was set up in March to speed up home insulation and boiler upgrades.
Improving energy efficiency is seen as a key way to get household bills down and reduce reliance on fossil fuels.
The UK is often described as having some of the oldest and least energy efficient housing in Europe.
In 2020, BBC research found 12 million UK homes were rated D or below on their Energy Performance Certificates, which means they do not meet long-term energy efficiency targets.
This year a BBC investigation found six out of 10 recently inspected UK rental homes failed to meet a proposed new standard for energy efficiency.
The prime minister has now pledged to scrap policies that would force landlords to upgrade energy efficiency in their homes, after pressure from landlords about the costs of doing so, but said the government would “encourage” households to carry out the work.
‘Accelerating insulation’
The old policy was that from 2025, new tenancies would only be possible on properties with an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) of C or higher – from 2028, this would apply to existing tenancies as well. Both have been scrapped.
The government’s energy efficiency taskforce was first announced by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt at his last Autumn statement.
It was asked by ministers to come up with a plan to reduce energy demand by 15% from 2021 levels by 2030 across domestic and commercial buildings.
When it was announced, the government said this would cut bills and help push down inflation and would include “accelerating household insulation and boiler upgrades.”
It was chaired by Alison Rose, who was chief executive of Nat West bank at the time (she was forced out of the bank in July after a row over Nigel Farage’s bank account).
‘Another U-turn’
The taskforce’s membership included: the chair of the National Infrastructure Commission Sir John Armitt; head of leading housebuilder Barratt Developments, David Thomas; and leading experts from the University of Salford, the UK Green Building Council and National Energy Action.
Energy efficiency minister Lord Callanan wrote to members of the group on Friday saying co-chair Dame Alison Rose would not be replaced and the group would be dissolved.
In the letter, seen by the BBC, Lord Callanan says the group’s work would be “streamlined” into ongoing government activity.
The minister writes that the ideas and discussions that had come from the group had been “hugely valuable in supporting the ambition to reduce total UK energy demand by 15% from 2021 levels by 2030.”
He adds that the work to date had not been “wasted” and that “draft recommendations will be instrumental in driving forward this important agenda.”
In response, energy analyst Jess Ralston at the non-profit organisation, the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, told the BBC: “This appears to be yet another U-turn that could lead to higher bills, just like the prime minister’s decision last week to roll back landlord insulation standards that could leave renters paying an additional £8bn on energy bills.
“The gas boiler and petrol car phase-out weren’t set to have any impact on cost of living for struggling families for more than a decade, but insulation programmes could have a more immediate impact, yet the prime minister ditched that policy last week and now the government seems to be turning its back on experts and ideas that could help boost energy efficiency.”
She added: “Is government giving up on energy efficiency and those living in leaky homes unable to make the improvements that would keep them warmer?
“Experts like Citizen’s Advice are clear if you want to bring down bills you do energy efficiency, you help people to stop wasting heat through rooves, windows and walls.”
The group also said the government “could have easily replaced Alison Rose, there are lots of business people who feel they have a stake in how homes can be improved.”
East Devon Watch 