This Conservative government has been so blown off-course by poor post-covid economic recovery, and the self-inflicted “Truss/Kwarteng Experiment”, that we have no idea what “mandated” policies will survive or are even deliverable. (Except lifting the cap on Bankers’ bonuses).
The prime minister’s press secretary has recently said ministers “need to look again” at a slew of promises made over the summer during Sunak’s losing battle with Liz Truss for the Tory leadership, but there was no end date to the review.
In September we were promised tax cuts and 2.5% economic growth! You, Simon, embraced this phantasy. We are now in a recession with record inflation and have been told to expect tax rises and spending cuts on November 17. Today, interest rates will increase again.
I supported Rishi Sunak in the recent leadership contest, as I did in the seemingly never-ending leadership election over the summer. I am delighted he is now our Prime Minister as I firmly believe he is the best person to lead our great country. He has experience of high office and of dealing with major crises. I joined Liz Truss’ government because I wanted it to work, sadly it didn’t.
We have a mandate from a landslide election win for the Conservative Party in 2019. My party must quickly unite under Rishi Sunak as Prime Minister, get a grip, and govern.
The aftermath of Covid still lingers. Putin’s war in Ukraine has destabilised energy markets and supply chains the world over. That is why the new Prime Minister set out his vision to place economic stability at the heart of his government and to deliver on the mandate we secured to deliver a stronger NHS, better schools, safer streets, and control of our borders.
Looking forward, the Chancellor will deliver an Autumn Statement on 17th November 2022 with an OBR forecast. It will contain the UK’s medium term fiscal plan to put public spending on a sustainable footing, get debt falling, and restore stability.
The government’s promise to support people and businesses with their energy bills remains in place. The Energy Price Guarantee is a huge intervention alongside bespoke support for pensioners, people with disabilities, and those who rely on heating oil.
Unfortunately, industrial action is planned on our railways this month. Once again, unions will stage yet more strikes which cut off the South West from the railways, disrupting lives and livelihoods. Strikes will take place on Saturday 5th November, Monday 7th November and Wednesday 9th November. Around one in five trains are likely to run with major disruption between Exmouth and Exeter on the Avocet Line and services between Exeter and London.
It’s time to put passengers first. That’s why the government’s forthcoming Minimum Service Levels Bill will require employers and striking unions to maintain services during strikes. The Bill will therefore ensure people can carry on their daily lives and make vital medical appointments.
I will continue to do everything I can to support the people I serve, including holding more surgeries across the constituency. Regular readers will know that, despite my constituency name, I am MP for parts of the district of Exeter. I proudly represent St Loyes and Topsham.
In recent weeks in and around our city, I took part in a litter-pick in Topsham, visited Jacobs at Pynes Hill Court, hosted a dinner at the Exeter Golf & Country Club, met with councillors at County Hall, and attend the memorial service to the Queen at Exeter Cathedral. I’ve got lots more planned too.
I’m also putting pressure on South West Water to invest in water treatment plants which serve Topsham and St Loyes, I’m also working with Exeter City Council on a variety of investments across the city using £1.4m allocated to Exeter by the government, and supported a successful bid for £3.7m funding to reduce rough sleeping in the city. As ever, if you have a problem or a local issue you think I can help you with, then please get in touch.
Finally, during this year’s Poppy Appeal, please give generously to honour our veterans – past and present – and those who continue to protect us today.
It will be “extremely difficult” for the Conservatives to win the next general election after presiding over a fiscal crisis, although a change of prime minister makes predictions more complex, the leading pollster Sir John Curtice has said.
It is possible the party could succumb to a 1997-style landslide defeat, or even worse, Curtice, a professor of politics at Strathclyde University and viewed as the UK’s foremost polling expert, said at a briefing.
While the replacement of Liz Truss with Rishi Sunak has slightly curbed Labour’s lead, Curtice said, a defining factor is likely to be the U-turns Truss was forced to make from her September mini-budget after a turbulent market reaction.
Asked if it was possible for the Conservatives to win the next election, Curtice said: “History suggests that it’s going to be extremely difficult, just simply because no government that has presided over a fiscal financial crisis has eventually survived – 1948, 1967, 1976, 1992. It’s not a happy litany of precedence.
“Voters don’t forget governments being forced to make U-turns by financial markets. So it’s going to be very, very difficult.”
He said one glimmer of hope for the Tories was that polling showed notably more support for Sunak personally than for his party, seemingly a sign that the legacy of his role as chancellor during the Covid pandemic was “still with him”.
The key to Sunak turning around his party’s fortunes would be the fate of the economy in the next two years, Curtice said.
“One of the problems the government faces is compared with 1992 and 2008 [after previous economic crises], there isn’t much fat in public services,” he said. “It’s pretty clear that at the moment, two years out [from an election], the Labour party are favourites to win the next election, and for the first time in this parliament it looks like they’ve got a half-decent chance of getting an overall majority, and that is a fundamental change in the political outlook.”
Some of the Truss-era polling, if extrapolated to constituency-level votes, showed the Conservatives slumping to as few as 60 seats. Asked if the party faced a wipeout on the scale of 1997 or worse, Curtice said: “It probably won’t be that bad. But there is a risk that the Conservative party will suffer severely.”
Focusing on particular sectors of voters, such as those in the “red wall”, or who voted leave, would not be a solution, he argued.
“The Conservative party has lost ground across the whole of the electorate. They have lost this not because they are in favour of a small state or they’re in favour of Brexit, or the many ideological issues we can think of,” he said.
“They have lost ground because the public in general have decided they cannot be trusted to run the country, and when a party loses ground on competence, it loses grounds among everybody. Forget targeting – that only matters when it’s close. We’re nothing like close.”
While Sunak appears to have escaped being overly tarnished with the fallout from No 10 parties under Boris Johnson, despite his own fine, voters are still damning about the Conservatives on the issue, Curtice said.
“If I were providing advice to the prime minister, I would say the one thing you have to do is to play by the rules, not just the legal rules, but the rules of convention,” he argued. “That’s why reappointing the home secretary within days of her having resigned for having broken ministerial code was, shall we say, a brave decision.”
The trees, mainly oaks and beeches, were felled in February 2021. They were not subject to a protection order, but it is an offence to fell a large volume of timber without a licence from the Forestry Commission.
The Forestry Commission visited the site after the trees had been cut down, and, following an investigation, issued the landowner with a ‘restocking notice’ last month. The notice requires the felled trees to be replaced with 945 new ones by the end of June 2024. The Commission will accept natural regrowth, but if this does not provide enough trees the landowner will have to plant them. He has been told that the newly planted trees must be a mix of field maple, willow, hazel, hawthorn, blackthorn, sycamore and elm.
The Commission also stipulates that, for 10 years after planting or regeneration, the new trees must be properly protected against damage and the site must be adequately weeded and maintained in accordance with good forestry practice.
The notice has been welcomed by one local resident who described the felling of the trees as ‘sheer environmental vandalism’. He said he had been shocked when he first saw the hundreds of sawn stumps on the land, and that the felling had caused ‘widespread public concern among residents of the village’. Not only had it destroyed some trees that could have been hundreds of years old; there was also the loss of a valuable habitat for wildlife, possibly including some protected species.
He added that, while he was pleased that the Forestry Commission had taken action, he was surprised that the landowner had been given such a long time to replant the site, and also that the new trees would not be oaks and beeches to replace those that had been cut down, but different, faster growing species that would not achieve the same height.
The Forestry Commission has been approached for comment on these issues, but at the time of writing has not given a response.
“A screeching U-turn” after “an embarrassing mis-step on the world stage”.
“Let this be a lesson to him – climate leadership matters,” – Caroline Lucas
“Caving in to criticism is not leadership. Real leadership is seizing your seat at the table. For UK jobs. For clean energy. For our environment,”– Sir Keir Starmer
“This whole debacle has shown the environment is simply not a priority for Rishi Sunak. He’s only going after being embarrassed by Boris Johnson’s attendance.” Wera Hobhouse – Lib Dem climate change spokesperson
The prime minister has reversed an earlier decision not to go to the COP27 climate summit in Egypt.
No 10 had said Rishi Sunak was too busy preparing for the 17 November budget to attend the event which opens on Sunday.
But this had been widely criticised by climate campaigners, opposition parties and climate adviser Alok Sharma.
Mr Sunak said there was “no long-term prosperity without action on climate change” or energy security without investment in renewables.
“That’s why I will attend COP27 next week – to deliver on Glasgow’s legacy of building a secure, clean and sustainable future,” he told MPs during Prime Minister’s Questions.
On Tuesday, former prime minister Boris Johnson said he would attend COP27 in Sharm El Sheikh.
The UK hosted last year’s COP (Conference Of The Parties) in Glasgow and it was chaired by Mr Sharma.
Green MP Caroline Lucas welcomed what she called a “screeching U-turn” after “an embarrassing mis-step on the world stage”.
“Let this be a lesson to him – climate leadership matters,” she said.
“We’ve lost a huge amount of credibility by the prime minister dragging his feet on this,” she added.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer accused the prime minister of acting “in the name of political management” rather than the national interest.
“Caving in to criticism is not leadership. Real leadership is seizing your seat at the table. For UK jobs. For clean energy. For our environment,” he tweeted.
Liberal Democrat climate change spokesperson Wera Hobhouse said: “This whole debacle has shown the environment is simply not a priority for Rishi Sunak. He’s only going after being embarrassed by Boris Johnson’s attendance.”
Downing Street rejected that, saying the prime minister had “always recognised the importance of this summit and indeed tackling climate change more generally”.
He “wanted to make sure we were making good progress on the government’s domestic agenda and the autumn statement in particular,” it said.
After discussions with Chancellor Jeremy Hunt this week, Mr Sunak felt there was “sufficient space to make this trip”, it added.
His official spokesman said the prime minister was hoping to make progress on the commitment to halt deforestation by 2030, and to agree new partnerships on clean and renewable energy.
Mr Sharma, who had said he was “disappointed” Mr Sunak would not be attending, tweeted that he was “delighted” the prime minister would now be going.
Many world leaders including US President Joe Biden and France’s Emmanuel Macron are due to attend the UN event.
Mr Sunak’s predecessor Liz Truss had been set to go and Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon will also be there.
A number of countries had also criticised Mr Sunak’s earlier decision not to go and questioned the UK’s commitment to tackle the climate crisis.
The Egyptian government, which is hosting COP27, voiced its “disappointment”. Carlos Fuller, Belize’s ambassador to the UN, told The Guardian it looked as if the UK was “washing their hands of leadership”.
Mohammed Nasheed, speaker of the Maldives parliament and a former president, said nothing was more serious than climate change.
King Charles – a long-time champion of environmental causes – will still not be going, despite speaking at COP26 in Glasgow.
No 10 said there was a “unanimous agreement” with Buckingham Palace that the King would not attend.
The annual climate summits are designed to help governments agree measures to limit rises in global temperatures.
This year’s conference takes place from 6 to 18 November, finishing the day after Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is due to set out the government’s tax and spending plans.
Dear Owl – My Tory County Council, after enduring four decades of privatisation and austerity cuts without resistance, has finally decided that there is no longer enough money to run a local authority legally. Bit late wouldn’t you say?
Our financial situation has never been so bleak as it is now
You may have heard or read in the news about the difficulty that Councils are facing financially; the increasing demand on services, especially within adults and children’s social care, and a dramatic rise in costs to deliver those services, and inflation.
We have prided ourselves with our prudent management of public finances, and until last year, went decades ending each financial year in the black.
But the financial conditions have changed, and we are now joining many councils and organisations that represent local authorities, to call on the government to intervene, to help support local public services.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, was expected to announce his tax and spending plan this week, but last week postponed his announcement for a fortnight.
Our Leader, Cllr John Hart, is urging the Chancellor and Prime Minister, to use the extra time they now have to produce an economic recovery plan that’s balanced, fair and equitable. And crucially, an economic plan that doesn’t single out local government for cuts.
He said:
“I have been a county councillor for more than 30 years and leader of Devon County Council for nearly 14 years during which time we have been through the austerity years and the pandemic, but our financial situation has never been so bleak as it is now.”
How extensive is the problem in Devon?
Before the summer, we revealed a black hole in our finances for this year, due to surging demand for help and support for vulnerable children and adults, the continuing costs of the pandemic, and the dramatic rise in costs and inflation.
We have to, by law, balance our books each year, which means when costs rise, we must find equivalent savings in our budget elsewhere.
We have to save about £73 million this financial year. We’re already making £36 million savings, but we still have to find a further £37 million savings before the end of March 2023.
And then our projections show that we will have to make another £75 million savings next financial year. Unless the Government intervenes.
What’s the impact on local services?
We’re not alone. We and many councils are lobbying the Government hard to protect local services. With the support of our Devon MPs, we want the Government to help by not cutting funding for public services.
There are other things that we’re asking the Government to do that will help our financial situation, such as to delay the introduction of new adult social care reforms, planned for next year.
But unless there is Government support or intervention, cuts to services are inevitable.
Some services we provide are statutory, we have to provide them, and some are discretionary. Clearly, services that support our most vulnerable children and adults are a priority, and those must be protected.
We know though that all of our services are important to those who receive them or benefit from them.
“We are here to do the very best for local people and to protect and support the most vulnerable and those in real need,” said Cllr Hart today. “We will do everything in our power to continue to do this and find new ways to do things better and more sustainably.”
What are we doing about it?
We are doing several things simultaneously. We’re lobbying the Government directly, and we’re adding our voice to national campaigns from the Local Government Association and the County Councils Network, calling for financial support.
Our Leader, Cllr Hart, has also written to the new Prime Minister setting out our position and requesting his support and the support of his Government.
But we can’t wait, so we’ve already put a freeze on staff recruitment in non-frontline areas, delayed planned investment in IT and infrastructure projects, and cut our heating and lighting bills.
We’re also squeezing all of our external contracts, we’ve stopped some routine road maintenance, and are reviewing our school transport contracts and public transport subsidies.
When will we know more?
We’ve already made a lot of savings this year, but we must find more before the end of March 2023.
We are continuing to review all of our services in light of our budget.
We may have to wait to hear what’s in the Chancellor’s statement in a fortnight but we aren’t waiting to take action.
Plans to scrap a scheme to build 12 ‘genuinely affordable’ homes for local people in Brentor are on hold following concerns residents haven’t been consulted properly.
“This report, to put it mildly, is cobblers.” Indy Cllr Terry Pearce
West Devon Borough Council (WDBC) said the proposal for three open-market, four shared ownership and five affordable homes reflected a major development in the Dartmoor National Park which could not be justified by affordable housing demand.
The plan dates back five years when, in March 2017, the council was awarded £247,620 from the government’s community housing fund. WDBC used a portion of this for the feasibility and scheme design at Brentor.
Demand for the development was assessed by surveys including one in April this year which revealed only six households were deemed to be in need.
This equated to five one-bed properties and one two-bed home. A report to the council’s hub committee on Tuesday 1 November said no one under 55 had completed the survey and therefore there was no evidence of future housing need for family-sized accommodation.
But independent councillor for Mary Tavy, Terry Pearce, disagreed. He read extracts from an email he had received which said: “This report, to put it mildly, is cobblers.
“I filled one in, my son filled one in. None of us is over 55. What, with this and the questions that they asked, I can only conclude that the whole exercise was designed from the beginning to stitch us up and justify West Devon Borough Council walking away.”
Cllr Pearce suggested people were increasingly disappointed by the local authority on this issue.
“There’s a lot of lack of trust now and confidence in the authority after what’s happened over a period of 15, 16 years.
“You know, the question now being asked is why was the original housing development not to take place when all the plans were drawn up? The architect’s plans and everything detailed and we’re just sitting there.
“I’ve asked that question, the parish council have asked that question and we’ve not been given a proper answer at all.”
But director of place and enterprise for WDBC, Chris Brook, denied any deliberate attempt to scrap the project.
“I too would be really emotional about it and cross and frustrated,” said Mr Brook. “And I think that’s totally justifiable and understandable.
“But there is a big difference between being unhappy with the outcome, which is entirely as it says in the report, and considering that the outcome is in some way contrived to achieve an alternative motive or outcome, which isn’t the case.
As the council believed a case for affordable housing could not be justified on the site, it was recommended it did not progress the Brentor scheme further.
However, following questions and debate it was agreed a decision on whether to scrap the scheme or continue to pursue it would be made at another meeting.
HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services looked at 11,277 police officers and staff across eight forces, examined 725 vetting files, considered 264 complaint and misconduct investigations, and interviewed 42 people.
They found cases where criminal behaviour was dismissed as a “one off”; applicants with links to “extensive criminality” in their families were hired as police officers; warnings a prospective officer could present a risk to the public were ignored; officers transferring between forces despite a history of complaints or allegations of misconduct; and basic blunders that led to the wrong vetting decisions.
The report found that some staff had criminal records, some were alleged to have committed serious crime, some had substantial undischarged debt, and some had relatives linked to organised crime.
Some 131 cases were identified where inspectors said vetting decisions were “questionable at best” – and in 68 of those, the inspectors disagreed with the decision to grant vetting clearance.
Matt Parr, Inspector of Constabulary, said: “It is too easy for the wrong people to both join and stay in the police.
“If the police are to rebuild public trust and protect their own female officers and staff, vetting must be much more rigorous and sexual misconduct taken more seriously.
“It seems reasonable for me to say that over the last three or four years, the number of people recruited over whom we would raise significant questions is certainly in the hundreds, if not low thousands… it’s not in the tens, it’s at least in the hundreds.”
Mr Parr said that the pressure to meet the government’s target to hire 20,000 new officers by March next year “cannot be allowed to act as an excuse” for poor vetting.
“The marked decline in public trust for policing is undoubtedly linked to the prevalence of some of these dreadful incidents we’ve seen in recent years, and you should have a higher standard of who gets in and who stays in if you’re going to look to reduce those kinds of incidents,” he added.
The report was commissioned by Priti Patel when she was home secretary, following the murder of Sarah Everard.
Ms Everard was killed by serving Met Police officer Wayne Couzens, who used his police warrant card under the guise of an arrest to kidnap her in March 2021.
Female officers subject to ‘appalling behaviour by male colleagues’
The review did not look into the specifics of Couzens’ recruitment but its findings raise questions about whether improved security checks would have prevented him from getting a job with the Metropolitan Police.
The investigators also found an “alarming number” of female officers said they had been subject to “appalling behaviour by male colleagues”.
Among its 43 recommendations, HMICFRS said improvements were needed in the standards used for assessing and investigating misconduct allegations, as well as in the quality and consistency of vetting.
It also said that better guidance was needed on conduct in the workplace and definitions of misogynistic and predatory behaviour.
Home secretary ‘disappointed’
Home Secretary Suella Braverman said it was “disappointing that HMICFRS have found that, even in a small number of cases, forces are taking unnecessary risks with vetting”.
“I have been clear that culture and standards in the police need to change and the public’s trust in policing restored.
“Chief constables must learn these lessons and act on the findings of this report as a matter of urgency.”
National Police Chiefs’ Council chairman Martin Hewitt said: “Chief constables, supported by national bodies, will act on these recommendations and put the problems right because we cannot risk predatory or discriminatory individuals slipping through the net because of flawed processes and decision-making.
“The confidence of the public and our staff is dependent on us fixing these problems with urgency, fully and for the long term. Police chiefs are determined to do that.”
Peter Knight, who currently heads up the firm’s operation in north-east Scotland, will be in the driving seat from December – replacing Mike Watson after he resigned from the role.
He will be responsible for around 1,000 employees and over 300 bus services during a challenging time for the company, which has faced significant criticism for delayed and cancelled buses throughout Devon.
Earlier this year Exeter councillors called the city’s bus service ‘not fit for purpose,’ while Stagecoach was summoned to a public inquiry last week which will decide whether action should be taken against the company following a number of complaints from users.
The result of the traffic commissioner’s hearing will be known in the next few weeks. Sanctions could involve compensation for passengers in the form of free bus travel at weekends for a certain period of time, though the inquiry also heard that fares are likely to increase soon.
Stagecoach has blamed staff shortages for the problems, including a struggle to fill driver vacancies, and a drop in passenger numbers compared to before the pandemic leading to swathes of timetable alterations.
However, Mr Watson said in his final appearance at Exeter’s highways and traffic orders committee earlier in the month that the amount of ‘lost mileage’ on the Exeter bus network has “much improved” – falling to three per cent after previously being nine per cent a year ago.
Mr Watson added that further service changes which came into force yesterday [Sunday, 30 October] will mean “we eliminate our lost mileage.”
But the changes have been criticised by many, with some routes and services being cut, although the frequency of selected routes will go up. Stagecoach has said the changes are necessary to focus resources on the highest demand.
An ‘enhanced partnership’ is also being set up in the coming weeks so that Devon County Council and local bus operators can improve services.
On his appointment, Mr Knight said: “I’m looking forward to getting out and about and meeting our drivers and customers, as well as key stakeholders such as Devon County Council, and continuing our important work to re-build from some of the challenges we have faced coming out of the pandemic.
“I believe there are some great opportunities ahead as we look to move more people out of their cars and onto public transport, and I am determined to deliver a good and reliable bus service for our communities in the south west.”
The MP was suspended by the Conservative Party after it emerged he will spend what could be weeks in the Australian jungle instead of in parliament.
Families of those who died during the pandemic have launched a petition demanding ITV remove him from the reality TV show.
The deputy chair of his local association also angrily attacked the MP’s decision, saying, in reference to the programme’s notorious “bushtucker trials”: “I’m looking forward to him eating a kangaroo’s penis. Quote me. You can quote me that.”
Mr Hancock has spent months trying to rehabilitate his reputation after he was forced to resign when it emerged he had broken his own social distancing rules to carry on an extramarital affair with his aide.
But he is now facing an extraordinary backlash over his decision to jet halfway around the world.
One former minister told The Independent that, in the wake of the controversy, he assumed Mr Hancock would not seek re-election.
Another accused him of “burning bridges behind him… I very much doubt he intends to stand [again].”
Tory MP and former children’s minister Tim Loughton went further and suggested his local party should deselect the “absolute prat”.
He said he was “disgusted” that Mr Hancock had “put himself and a so-called celebrity career” ahead of serving his constituents.
“The least he deserves is having the whip withdrawn from him, and if his local constituency have got any sense they might deselect him as well,” he added.
It was particularly wrong for Mr Hancock to be abroad at a time when MPs were working hard to help constituents through the cost of living crisis, he told Times Radio.
In a statement Mr Hancock’s local Tory association agreed, accusing him of a “serious error of judgement”.
Lobby Akinnola, from the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice Campaign, said: “Matt Hancock isn’t a ’celebrity’, he’s the former health secretary who oversaw the UK having one of the highest death tolls in the world from Covid-19 whilst breaking his own lockdown rules.
“The fact that he is trying to cash in on his terrible legacy, rather than showing some humility or seeking to reflect on the appalling consequences of his time in government, says it all about the sort of person he is.”
A spokesperson for Rishi Sunak, who declined to give Mr Hancock a ministerial role last week, said the prime minister “believes that at a challenging time for the country, MPs should be working hard for their constituents in the House or in their constituencies.”
Mr Sunak is unlikely to watch the programme, they added.
Allies of Mr Hancock said he would use his appearance to promote his work on dyslexia.
One said there were many ways to do the job of an MP and appearing on the most-watched programme on TV would “show the human side of those who make [political] decisions”.
He added that the show’s producers had agreed that Mr Hancock can communicate with his staff if there is an urgent matter in his constituency.
SNP MP Pete Wishart said: “It speaks volumes that Matt Hancock would rather be stranded in a remote jungle eating kangaroo testicles than spend a moment longer on the Tory benches at Westminster, as Rishi Sunak’s government lurches from one crisis to another.”
Shadow health minister Andrew Gwynne said: “To be fair to Matt Hancock, I’d sooner eat wallaby anus than be a Tory MP too.”
I’m A Celebrity... is not the only television show Mr Hancock is due to appear on in the next few months. He has also been signed up for Celebrity SAS Who Dares Wins, which is due to air on Channel 4 next year.
Tory MP David Simmonds: “I wish him luck, I hope it’s OK. But I don’t think it’s the best use of his time when his constituents in the UK have need of an MP to represent them.”
Verita Consulting Ltd have been appointed by East Devon District Council (EDDC) to carry out an independent investigation into the actions of the council following the allegations, criminal charges and subsequent conviction of John Humphreys.
This investigation has been commissioned following a decision by Council on 28 September 2022 to appoint an independent body to look at this. The aim of the investigation is to understand the actions of staff and Councillors in the handling of matters relating to former councillor John Humphreys, and to recommend any improvements required for the Council going forward.
The council have agreed a terms of reference for its investigation which can be viewed on this page.
Mr Humphreys was a former mayor of Exmouth and was an East Devon District Councillor from 2007 to 2019. He was imprisoned for 21 years after being convicted in August 2021 of sexually assaulting two teenage boys in the early 1990s and early 2000s. Mr Humphreys was made an Honorary Alderman by EDDC in December 2019. The Council voted to remove his honorary title following his conviction.
If anyone wishes to submit evidence, written statements or to request a meeting with the investigation team in the context of the terms of the reference of this investigation, please write to Verita through their confidential email channel at:SpeakToUs@verita.net (Owl emphasis)
If the contribution is outside of the scope of the investigation agreed by councillors at EDDC, please get in contact with Devon and Cornwall Police.
It is anticipated that a report on the investigation will be delivered to the council in early 2023.
10. This investigation will primarily focus on the actions of EDDC management and its officers and Councillors.
11. Relevant external stakeholders may contribute to the investigation on a voluntary basis strictly in relation to the issues set out below.
12. The aims of the investigation are to:
establish what information was known by EDDC Councillors and officers about Mr Humphreys and any investigations into the allegations against him
understand the EDDC decision-making processes in considering Mr Humphreys’ continued position as a Councillor after his arrest
determine the extent to which the EDDC considered whether Mr Humphreys presented any safeguarding risks to children in the context of his party political and Councillor roles
examine what, if any, safeguarding measures were put into place following the 2016 arrest and assess the effectiveness of their implementation and monitoring
describe the process by which the EDDC bestowed the honour of Honorary Alderman on Mr Humphreys
determine whether the EDDC complied with its own policies and procedures in making this decision
review the decision-making processes deployed by EDDC following Mr Humphrey’s conviction to remove his honorary title and to review its actions in the handling of this matter
determine whether any improvements could be made to EDCC’s safeguarding and governance arrangements in light of the findings of the investigation
report on any other significant issues that arise in the course of the investigation that bear on its terms of reference
When Suella Braverman resigned as home secretary just under two weeks ago for breaching the ministerial code, she made a series of claims to Liz Truss, the then prime minister, about her conduct.
A statement released on Monday to the home affairs select committee (HASC) appears to contradict some of those claims, leaving outstanding unanswered questions which could yet have a bearing on her political survival.
Did she mislead the public by claiming to have reported her mistake ‘rapidly’?
Last week, Braverman said that as soon as she realised the mistake she had made in sending a government document to a colleague, she reported it.
“As soon as l realised my mistake, I rapidly reported this on official channels, and informed the cabinet secretary,” she wrote.
Her new account casts doubt on the claim that she reported the mistake “rapidly”. Braverman said that she sent the email at 7.25am and realised at 10am that it had gone to the wrong person in error after reading their reply.
She says her first response was to reply to that person at 10.02am asking them to ignore the message and delete it – she did not inform anyone about the leak at that point.
She says she then attended a Home Office meeting for about an hour, and then went to the Commons to meet two constituents. At 11.50am in the Commons she met the then chief whip, Wendy Morton, who already knew about the mistake, and the Tory MP Andrew Percy, who said a member of his staff had received the email in error.
Percy told Morton about the Braverman email because he thought that potentially this was a serious breach of security. Braverman says at this point she decided not to attend PMQs as planned and to instead return to her office to report the error.
Did she mislead the public by claiming she resigned because she had sent the leaked document to an MP?
The original letter implies that she resigned because she passed a draft text of a written ministerial statement to Sir John Hayes, a Tory MP who is a close political ally of Braverman.
“Earlier today, l sent an official document from my personal email to a trusted parliamentary colleague as part of policy engagement, and with the aim of garnering support for government policy on migration.”
As Braverman admitted on Monday, she was only found out because of a second mistake; she copied in the wrong person, with the result the email went to another MP, not Hayes’s secretary.
Was the information within the briefing market-sensitive?
Braverman says in her letter the document that she passed on to Hayes “did not contain any market-sensitive data as all the data contained in the document was already in the public domain”.
At a lobby briefing on Monday the prime minister’s spokesperson backed the Braverman version. He said his understanding was that the document “wasn’t in any way market-sensitive”.
But on the day she was sacked as home secretary, lobby journalists were briefed by No 10 that she had leaked market-sensitive information.
Sources who have seen the document insist it did contain market-sensitive information because it related to visa quotas in particular industries which could affect share prices of specific companies in specific markets.
Has she discussed with Rishi Sunak all six occasions when she forwarded information from her official email address to her personal email address?
Monday’s letter says that on six occasions between 15 September and 16 October she sent documents from her government email account to her personal email account, each of which is alleged to be a breach of the ministerial code. The seventh occasion, on 19 October, was the incident that led to her resignation.
An appendix to her HASC letter says when she breached the rules on these six occasions but gives varying detail about the actual material within the emails.
One was a briefing on “recent protest activity and public disorder”; another says it was for a “virtual meeting that was subsequently cancelled”.
The Labour party has said it remains unclear whether she discussed any or all of the six breaches with Sunak and if not, why not?
Liberal Democrat MP for Tiverton & Honiton Richard Foord has called on the Government to bring forward an urgent plan to improve cancer care in the light of new revelations.
1,281 local people had to wait more than two weeks to see a cancer specialist after a GP referral, new analysis of NHS data by the Liberal Democrats has found. While the NHS target is for 93 per cent of patients to see a cancer specialist after a referral, patients at Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust this was the case for just 59.84 per cent of patients.
Liberal Democrat MP for Tiverton & Honiton Richard Foord has called on the Government to bring forward an urgent plan to improve cancer care in the light of these revelations. Nationwide, 108 NHS trusts missed the two-week cancer referral target. 62,360 people had to wait more than two weeks to see a cancer specialist after a GP referral in August alone.
Commenting Richard Foord MP said: “It is deeply upsetting that so many people across our part of Devon are being let down. Early cancer diagnosis is crucial, and yet too few are able to see a specialist in good time. The government has failed to come up with a proper plan to help people as targets for waiting times are missed month after month. This is not the fault of our hardworking NHS staff, but instead of central Government.
“From ballooning ambulance waits to understaffed hospitals, this Conservative government been running the NHS into the ground. It’s just not good enough and people here deserve better. We need an urgent plan to improve cancer care and save our local health services. More inaction is not an option.”
More than a third of UK hospitality businesses, including pubs, restaurants and hotels, could go bust by early next year as energy bills surge and bookings fall, according to a new survey.
Sadly an acute example of the economic mismanagement by the government. – Owl
With nearly all businesses saying they face higher energy costs and food price inflation, 35% of respondents to a quarterly hospitality industry survey said they expected to be operating at a loss or to be unable to continue trading by the end of the year.
More than three-quarters of operators, 77%, reported a decrease in diners and drinkers, and 85% expected the situation to worsen, according to a joint report by UK Hospitality, the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA), the British Institute of Innkeeping (BII) and Hospitality Ulster.
The trade bodies said the survey revealed the “stark situation facing hospitality businesses, with many on the brink due to the cost of doing business crisis.
“The vulnerability of the sector due to soaring energy costs, crippling rises in the cost of goods and dampening consumer confidence is on full display in this survey and, if urgent action isn’t taken, it is looking incredibly likely that we will lose a significant chunk of Britain’s iconic hospitality sector in the coming weeks and months.”
Hospitality businesses, many of which were hit by months of enforced closure under government pandemic lockdowns, experienced a bounceback in trading this summer as people enjoyed the ability to socialise more freely.
However, the recovery has been limited by the surging cost of food and shortages of labour, particularly for skilled roles such as chefs, which have led to hefty pay inflation.
Some pubs and hotels have already closed or said they are shutting down for the winter because they cannot deal with the high costs.
The hospitality sector is still recovering from Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns and is being hit by rising inflation directly – through increased staff, energy, food and drink costs – and indirectly, as consumers have less money to spend on going out.
More than half of Britons have said they plan to cut down on non-essential spending, according to the latest survey by the credit and debit card operator Barclaycard, as the key Christmas trading period when most businesses make their profits nears.
Three fifths of those cutting back say they will reduce meals out. Almost a third of Britons are taking packed lunches into work instead of buying food on the go.
A ‘second Cranbrook’ as a new town on the edge of Exeter is among the plans for new homes as part of the East Devon Local Plan. The new development could include up to 8,000 new homes along with a range of community facilities and amenities.
As part of the new draft Local Plan for East Devon, a new community has been identified as the best way to meet the required targets for housing growth, Housing provision will be made for at least 18,920 dwellings to be delivered in the plan area in the plan period by 2040, with at least 4,070 new homes should be affordable.
Councillors on Tuesday are set to recommend endorsement of the draft local plan which outlines plans for further housing growth across the district over the next 20 years. The Strategic Planning Committee are recommended to approval the plan for consultation.
The preferred site for the new town would span land north of the A3052 near Crealy Adventure Park to the A30 near Exeter Airport. The indicative boundary would see it spread towards Farringdon in the east, and out towards Westpoint to the west. To the north, it would run towards the junction between the A30 and Exeter Airport, and across the farmland between the sites.
Option 1 – the preferred option – for a new town in East Devon
An alternative location to be consulted on, but the second favourite, is a site which spans from the edge of Clyst St George to the west, to Woodbury Salterton to the east. The boundary of the site would head towards the edge of Woodbury to the south, while to the north, would run as far as land next to Crealy Adventure Park and the Cliff Hill Training Ground.
The plan would focus new development on the western side of the district, including a new settlement and other major strategic development close to Exeter, as well as promote significant development at the Principal Centre of Exmouth and the Main Centres of Axminster, Honiton, Ottery St Mary, Seaton, and Sidmouth to serve their own needs and that of the wider surrounding areas.
It would plan to support development at the Local Centres of Broadclyst, Budleigh Salterton, Colyton, Lympstone, and Woodbury that meets local needs and those in the immediate surroundings, and allow limited development to meet local needs at the Service Villages of Beer, Branscombe, Broadhembury, Chardstock, Clyst St Mary, Dunkeswell, East Budleigh, Exton, Feniton, Hawkchurch, Kilmington, Musbury, Newton Poppleford, Otterton, Payhembury, Plymtree, Sidbury, Stoke Canon, Tipton St John, Uplyme, Westclyst, West Hill and Whimple.
Cranbrook is not addressed in this local plan as a Cranbrook specific plan was adopted in autumn 2022 and the Cranbrook Plan will oversee its development until this local plan and the Cranbrook Plan are superseded by a new plan or plans that will be produced, probably in the late 2020s or early 2030s. A further 5,514 homes are already allocated in that document.
Here are all the proposed allocations for housing sites across East Devon as part of the Local Plan.
THE NEW TOWN
Local plan policy will provide for a second new town in East Devon on land in close proximity to the City of Exeter. This scale of proposed development will help ensure that a wide range of services and facilities will be provided at the new town with sufficient monies generated to support substantive infrastructure provision.
Amongst other key facilities this scale of development will be appropriate to ensure that a secondary school is planned and built to serve the new town with potential capacity to also support needs generated from surrounding areas. A new town will be a long time in the planning and it is unlikely that any new homes will be completed until around 2030. The second new town will, therefore, see most of its development happening outside of the life of this local plan and potentially running beyond the mid-point of the 21st Century.
TOPSHAM
Land at/close to Exeter, to the south of Junction 30 of the M5 offers an exciting opportunity for new mixed use development. This land lies to the east of the M5 Motorway and offers scope to accommodate a suggestion of approximately 580 new homes.
This land suggested for development abuts, to the south, land in the City of Exeter that is currently being built out for housing development. There are a range of sites and land parcels in the city itself between the city boundary with East Devon and Topsham that are being developed or have planning permission. Any development in East Devon should be seen within, and planned within, the context of city development as well.
AXMINSTER
The currently adopted local plan allocates a strategic site to the east of the town as an urban extension and this includes provision for an Axminster relief road. A masterplan envisaged the delivery of up to 850 houses, a school, employment land and a distributor road. However, there are very significant viability issues concerning the delivery of the relief road which would require in the region of £15million of public money to deliver. It is very unlikely that such funding will become available, and it is not recommended that the new local plan includes policy for a relief road to the east of Axminster because we cannot demonstrate that it could be implemented.
· Land east of Lyme Road and Pestaller Farm, Beavor Lane – This site is allocated for 293 dwellings and 1 hectare of employment land. This is a preferred allocation
· Land east of Chard Road – It is allocated for 2 hectares of employment land. It is a preferred allocation for employment use only.
· Land west of Chard Road. This land is proposed for 150 dwellings and 0.6 hectares of employment land. This is a preferred allocation.
· Land east of Musbury Road. This land is proposed for 168 dwellings and 0.6 hectares of employment land. This is a preferred allocation
· Land at Axminster Carpets. This land is allocated for mixed use redevelopment to retain the existing employment use and accommodate 50 dwellings plus additional employment uses.
· Scott Rowe Building, Axminster Hospital, Chard Road. This land is allocated for 10 dwellings. This is a preferred allocation.
· Land at Lea Combe, Field End. This land is allocated for 9 dwellings. It is a preferred allocation
· Great Jackleigh Farm. This land is allocated for 270 dwellings and 1 hectare of employment land. This is a ‘second choice’ site.
· Land east of Lyme Close. This land is allocated for 100 dwellings and 0.4 hectares of employment land. This is a ‘second choice’ site.
EXMOUTH
Exmouth is by some way the largest town in East Devon and it contains the greatest number and range of services and facilities, it has been categorised as the only Tier 1 settlement. There are strategically positive reasons why Exmouth could be a good future location for growth and development but it is also greatly constrained by areas of environmental importance and sensitivity.
· Land on the north-eastern side of Exmouth – this land on the north-eastern side of Exmouth is proposed for a mixed-use development to provide around 258 new homes and 1 hectare of employment land.
· Land at Douglas Gardens will form a small-scale residential extension on the southern side of Exmouth to accommodate around 44 new homes.
· Land close to Littleham will form a small-scale residential extension on the southern side of Exmouth to accommodate around 45 new homes
· This land south of Courtlands Lane will form a small-scale development on the northern side of Exmouth to accommodate around 12 new homes
· Land on the northern eastern side of Exmouth is proposed for a mixed-use development to provide 410 new homes and 1.6 hectares of employment and community uses land
· Land east of Liverton Business Park is allocated for employment uses and will form an extension to the existing business park and extends to around 3 hectares in size.
· Land to south of St John’s on the eastern side of Exmouth is proposed for proposed for 150 new homes and 0.6 hectares of employment land.
· Land at Courtlands Cross is proposed for 100 new homes and 0.4 hectares of employment land
HONITON
The well connected and central to East Devon location of Honiton, and the fact that the town has a good range of existing facilities and services supporting a large surrounding hinterland, points to it being a good location in principle for further development. However, the town is heavily constrained by the AONBs and its outstanding landscape setting.
Whilst Honiton has many attributes that would point to it being a good location to look for a higher level of growth, particularly for new housing development, there are significant constraints on the outward expansion of the town
· Land on the western side of Hayne Lane, Gittisham, Honiton. The site is proposed for 5.5 ha of employment land and will form an extension to the existing Heathpark Industrial Estate
· Land to the West of Combe Garden Centre, Gittisham, Honiton. The site is proposed for 9.1 ha of employment land and will form an extension to the existing Heathpark Industrial Estate
· Land at Heathfield, East of Hayne Lane, will form a smallscale residential extension on the West of Honiton to accommodate around 79 new homes.
· Land to the north and south of King Street, will form a small-scale development in the centre of Honiton to accommodate around 40 new homes.
· This land is the Former Millwater School at Bottom Road, Littletown, which will form a small-scale development in the south part of Honiton to accommodate around 30 new homes
· Land adjacent to St Michaels Church, will form a smallscale residential extension on the southern side of Honiton to accommodate around 30 new homes.
· Land at Ottery Moor Lane, will form a small-scale residential extension on the northern side of Honiton to accommodate around 21 new homes.
· Land at Middle Hill, Church Hill, will form a small-scale residential extension on the southern side of Honiton to accommodate around 10 new homes.
· Land at Hurlakes, Northcote Hill, will form a small-scale residential extension on the eastern side of Honiton to accommodate around 30 new homes.
· Land south of Northcote Hill, will form a medium-scale residential extension on the eastern side of Honiton to accommodate around 100 new homes.
– Land to the west of Hayne Lane for around 100 homes
– land at Hayne Farm at Hayne Lane for around 31 homes.
OTTERY ST MARY
Ottery St Mary is located fairly centrally in the District, with good transport links to Exeter. It is outside of the AONB’s, and, whilst it doesn’t have a train station, it does have good bus links and access to the strategic road network Expansion to the north, south and east is heavily constrained by the narrow approach roads to the town, the extensive Conservation Area and settings of Grade 1 and 2* listed buildings, and the floodplain of The River Otter. Land to the west of the town is relatively unconstrained and there is potential for westward expansion.
· Land at Barrack Farm, on the western side of Ottery St Mary, is proposed for a mixed-use development to provide around 70 new homes and 1.25 hectare of employment land.
· Land, which lies west of the town, adjacent to the sports centre and school, will provide 90 new homes
· Land which lies north and south of Salston Barton, is proposed for 20 houses
· Garden site on the eastern side of the town at Slade Road is proposed for 8 houses.
· Land lies south of Strawberry Lane and is proposed for 60 houses.
· Land at Gerway Farm, off Sidmouth Road, is proposed for 40 houses
SEATON
The population and range of community facilities and services in Seaton make it an appropriate place to locate a relatively large amount of housing and employment development. The amount of development should be limited to an extent, as new residents will need to travel elsewhere to access some strategic facilities which are lacking in Seaton (train station, secondary school, swimming pool).
· Land at Barnards Hill Lane is allocated for around 40 dwellings. In order to ensure no adverse effect on the integrity of the Beer Quarry and Caves SAC, suitable avoidance/mitigation/compensation measures will need to be identified.
· Land off Harepath Road is allocated for around 100 dwellings and 2.2 hectares of employment land. The employment land is located in the field immediately north of the existing Harepath Road Industrial Estate.
· Land at Clay Common is allocated for around 7 dwellings.
SIDMOUTH
Social and economic factors make Sidmouth a suitable place to locate a relatively large amount of development, with a reasonably large population and a range of jobs, community facilities and services in the town. However, the outstanding natural environment – AONB to the west, north, and east, and the sea to south – presents a major constraint to the amount and location of new development.
· Land south west of Woolbrook Road, to the north west of Sidmouth, is proposed for 127 new homes and 0.51 hectare of employment land.
· Land west of Two Bridges Road, Sidford. The proposed allocation is land to the east of the site only with a reduced site area at a much lower capacity than the original submitted site. The site would form a small-scale development to the north of Sidford to accommodate around 30 new homes.
· Peak Coach House, (Numbers 1-3 Belfry Cottages), Cotmaton Road, to the south west coastal fringe of Sidmouth, is proposed for 11 new homes.
BROADCLYST
Whilst an allocation of around 175 dwellings would represent a sizeable expansion to the village, this is not considered unreasonable to accommodate given the village’s strategically attractive location and relative insensitivity of the sites proposed.
· Land at Heathfield (Southeast of Woodbury View), Broadclyst, is proposed for 15 new homes.
· Land west of Whimple Road, Broadclyst, is proposed for 136 new homes and 0.54 hectare of employment land.
· Land to east of Town End, Broadclyst, is proposed for 24 new homes and 0.1 hectare of employment land (Site is adjacent to Brcl_12).
BUDLEIGH SALTERTON
The exceptional landscape quality and coastal location of Budleigh Salterton constrains its potential for development. Furthermore, there is limited potential for employment growth to address the existing lack of opportunities for local employment, although it is close to Exmouth with good bus links.
· Land adjacent to Clyst Hayes Farmhouse – Small parts of this site are a ‘second choice’ site for 50 new homes and 0.2 hectares of employment land.
· Land at Barn Lane are proposed as a ‘second choice’ allocation for 82 new homes and 0.3 hectares of employment land.
· Budleigh Salterton Community Hospital is allocated for 20 new homes. This is a preferred allocation.
COLYTON
The good level of services and facilities in Colyton suggest that it would be a good location in principle for some growth, although the majority of sites currently available for development are considered to be unsuitable. There is an outline planning permission for up to 72 new homes on previously developed land to the north west of the town (the Ceramtec site).
· Land at Hillhead is proposed for 25 new homes on the northern part of the site as a preferred choice with a further 24 on the southern part of the site being considered as a 2nd choice site.
LYMPSTONE
Taking into account the opportunities and constraints, the village is considered a suitable location for a low to moderate level of growth in the Local Plan.
· Little Paddocks, 22 Underhill Crescent, Lympstone, is proposed for 14 new homes.
· Land at Meeting Lane, Lympstone, is proposed for 131 new homes and 0.52 hectare of employment land.
· Land north west of Strawberry Hill, Lympstone, is proposed for 46 new homes and 0.18 hectare of employment land.
· Land off Grange Close, Lympstone, is proposed for 6 new homes
WOODBURY
The wide range of local facilities and services in Woodbury make it an appropriate place for development to meet local needs and those of immediate surrounds. The current relative lack of jobs in Woodbury provides justification for employment land to be delivered alongside housing.
· Land at Gilbrook (Wood_10) is allocated for around 60 dwellings and 0.24 hectares of employment land.
· Land south of Broadway (Wood_16) is allocated for around 67 dwellings and 0.27 hectares of employment land.
· Land east of Town Lane (Wood_20) is allocated for around 28 dwellings and 0.11 hectares of employment land.
BEER
· No allocation sites have been identified in Beer
BRANSCOMBE
· No allocation sites have been identified in Branscombe.
BROADHEMBURY
· Land opposite the Village Hall, is a ‘second choice’ allocation for 10 homes.
CHARDSTOCK
· – Land off Green Land, Chardstock, is proposed for 30 new homes and 0.12 hectare of employment land.
CLYST ST MARY
· Land north of Sidmouth Road, Clyst St Mary, is proposed for 37 new homes and 0.15 hectare of employment land.
· Land at Bishops Court Lane, Clyst St Mary, is proposed for 35 new homes and 0.14 hectare of employment land.
· – Land at Bishops Court Lane, Clyst St Mary, is proposed for 30 new homes and 0.12 hectare of employment land.
DUNKESWELL
· Broomfields, Dunkeswell, is proposed for 43 new homes and 0.17 hectare of employment land.
EAST BUDLEIGH
· No allocation sites have been identified in East Budleigh
EXTON
· Land west of Oaklands is allocated for around 17 dwellings.
· Land north and east of Exton Farm (Wood_28) is allocated for around 33 dwellings and 0.13 hectares of employment land
FENITON
· Land and buildings at Burland Mead in Feniton is allocated for around 42 dwellings
HAWKCHURCH
· Norton Store, Hawkchurch, Axminster, is proposed for 38 new homes and 0.15 hectare of employment land.
KILMINGTON
· Land east of George Lane, is a preferred allocation for 37 homes.
· Land to the west and south west of the Old Inn, is a ‘second choice’ site for 5 new homes.
· Land to the east of and off Whitford Road, between Ashes Farm and The Beacon Chapel, is a preferred allocation for 10 homes.
MUSBURY
· Part of this site is allocated for 15 new homes with employment uses on a small part of the site fronting the A358, as provided for in the Baxter’s Farm Development Brief. This is a preferred allocation
NEWTON POPPLEFORD
· No allocation sites have been identified in Newton Poppleford.
OTTERTON
· Land east of Hayes Close – is a ‘second choice’ allocation for 10 homes.
· Land adjacent to the North Star – is a ‘second choice’ allocation for 8 new homes
· Land at Hayes Lane – part of this site is a ‘second choice’ allocation for 5 new homes.
PAYHEMBURY
· No allocations are proposed for Payhembury
PLYMTREE
· No allocations are proposed for Plymtree
SIDBURY
· Land South of Furzehill, Sidbury, is proposed for 38 new homes.
STOKE CANON
· No allocations are proposed for Stoke Canon
TIPTON ST JOHN
· Land South of Otter Close Tipton St John is a ‘second choice’ allocation for 45 homes. But in the event that land is allocated in Ottery St Mary for the relocation of the primary school in Tipton St John, then this potential allocation would not be taken forward.
UPLYME
· No allocations are proposed for Uplyme
WESTCLYST
· No allocation sites have been identified in Westclyst
WEST HILL
· Land adjoining Wind Mill Lane is allocated for around 26 dwellings and 0.1 hectares of employment land.
· Land north and east of Eastfield is allocated for around 25 dwellings and 0.1 hectares of employment land
WHIMPLE
· Land at Station Road in Whimple is proposed for 33 new homes.
A co-host of a popular podcast describes the government as:
“A pile of old sh*t” and a “load of f*cking w*nkers.”
“They are just rich, entitled little pr*cks, all of them. And I don’t think they have any idea — especially the current one — of how anybody lives …”
Owl has the link to listen below.
From Politico London Newsletter: Sunak has his work cut out if he wants to convince struggling Brits he’s in touch with their concerns when his new economic plan is revealed. On the latest episode of the “Shagged, Married, Annoyed” podcast (one of the top 10 most popular podcasts in Britain), co-host Rosie Ramsey laid into Sunak and said the government was “a pile of old sh*t” and a “load of f*cking w*nkers.”
On Sunak himself, she said: “They are just rich, entitled little pr*cks, all of them. And I don’t think they have any idea — especially the current one — of how anybody lives … Don’t get me wrong, they’re always going to be of a different ilk — politics and MPs and whoever is prime minister — they’re always going to have been middle class or upper class. Currently it’s another level.” Listen here from around 36 minutes.
Suella Braverman, the home secretary, has said she “never ignored legal advice” on keeping asylum seekers at an overcrowded immigration centre. In a Commons statement, she claimed she never blocked proposals for asylum seekers to be housed in hotels (despite reports quoting multiple sources claiming she did). But Braverman also seemed to accept that the overcrowding at the Manston immigration centre was partly her responsibility, because she said she refused to “prematurely release thousands of people into local communities without having anywhere for them to stay”. (See 5.27pm.) She also outraged charities representing refugees by saying that asylum seekers were staging an “invasion” of the south coast of England. (See 6.43pm.) Some Tory MPs strongly backed her stance in the Commons, and while others are privately alarmed at what she is doing at the Home Office, they did not speak out in the chamber this afternoon. Braverman’s performance may boost her standing in her party in the short term, but it is unlikely to quell allegations that she mishandled the situation. These are from ITV’s Robert Peston.
“South West Water admitted they had allowed sewage to be pumped into the sea, saying it was a ‘controlled release’ and they had to do this because of heavy rainfall, to stop sewage backing up into people’s homes.”
The picturesque view of a popular Cornish cove turned to something much more disgusting this weekend when raw sewage was released into the ocean.
Trevaunance Cove in St Agnes usually boasts turquoise – or at least greeny blue – seas, but on Sunday the vista became almost entirely brown.
Some blue could still be seen towards the edge of the sewage slick, however, demonstrating that the colour change was not down to the sky being overcast but due to contamination of the water.
A local surfer shared footage of the grim sight with surfing magazine Carve, who posted footage online saying it was ‘Unbelievable. A dad just got out this arvo and said to his three-year-old “Best wash the sewage off…”
‘It is still stinking. No way am I surfing in that.’
Another video posted online showed brown liquid pouring out of a pipe at St Agnes, captioned ‘sh*t pouring into the sea’.
South West Water admitted they had allowed sewage to be pumped into the sea, saying it was a ‘controlled release’ and they had to do this because of heavy rainfall, to stop sewage backing up into people’s homes.
But they denied the brown colour was entirely due to sewage, saying they believe it was also due to ‘mud in the water dislodged by the heavy rain flowing into the area from a nearby stream and runoff from agricultural land’.
Many responded to say how saddened they were by the images, tagging in South West Water to demand they stop the practice.
One woman wrote: ‘This breaks my heart. I’ve played with my kids on this beach.’
Another said: ‘@SouthWestWater how DARE you. Can you imagine what this does to our marine life, let alone humans who choose to swim at this time of year. Shame on you. What have you got to say for yourselves?’
Water companies are banned from dumping raw, untreated sewage into our seas and rivers, but they get around it with an exception.
After heavy rainfall, they are legally allowed to release wastewater in order to stop the sewer system becoming overwhelmed.
These ‘storm overflows’ are only supposed to happen in ‘exceptional circumstances’.
But Surfers Against Sewage reports that they are occuring at an ‘alarming rate’.
Writing in Metro.co.uk in August, former Green Party leader Caroline Lucas blamed a lack of investment in the water network, lax regulation and cuts to funding for the Environment Agency, claiming that privatised water companies had ‘utterly failed’.
She said data suggests the amount of sewage pumped into UK waterways has increased by 2,553% in the past five years.
Surfers Against Sewage, an environmental group who monitor the waste dumping, warned that there were eight locations where sewage had been released at beaches in Cornwall this week alone: Gwithian Towans, Godrevy Towans, Trevaunance Cove, Crantock, Fistral North and Fistral South in Newquay, Mawgan Porth, and Widemouth Bay near Bude.
Their warning for Trevaunance Cove at St Agnes reads: ‘Pollution Alert: Storm sewage has been discharged from a sewer overflow in this location within the past 48 hours.
‘Trevaunance Cove is a small sand and rock beach set in a picturesque cove surrounded by high cliffs, also home to SAS HQ! A reasonable amount of sand is exposed at low tide and it is possible to walk over the rocks to the neighbouring Trevellas, while at high tide the whole beach is covered.
‘Two sewer overflows discharge into the Trevaunance Stream, 70m and 750m upstream from the beach. Other discharges from the surrounding urban area may also affect bathing water quality especially after heavy rainfall.’
A South West Water spokesperson told Cornwall Live: ‘This year the South West has seen the dramatic changes in weather patterns presented by climate change, as demonstrated in August when the region was declared in drought. Through these changes we are now experiencing more extreme weather patterns than ever before and this year the South West saw one of the driest and hottest years on record.
‘As well as prolonged periods of extremely hot weather, we have seen heavy localised rainfall which hasn’t been able to permeate into the dry ground, meaning significant volumes run into our network, which can cause our storm overflows to trigger.
‘Following heavy, localised rainfall this morning (October 30), a permitted storm overflow triggered at Trevaunance Cove in St Agnes, Cornwall. Storm overflows are designed to release excess storm water into rivers and seas when a prolonged rainfall occurs to prevent the risk of sewage backing up and flooding homes and public spaces by allowing a controlled release.
‘We continue to increase investment in the region’s infrastructure as part of our continued commitment to protecting and enhancing the natural environment.’
But a spokesperson later told Metro.co.uk: ‘While the storm overflow at St Agnes triggered briefly on Sunday following heavy rain, this was a short duration spill and is unlikely to have caused the level of discolouration shown in the video.
‘On this occasion, we believe there were other factors which contributed to the discolouration, such as mud in the water dislodged by the heavy rain flowing into the area from a nearby stream and runoff from agricultural land.
‘We continue to increase investment in the region’s infrastructure as part of our ongoing commitment to protecting and enhancing the natural environment.’
Construction of a garden building Rydon Chase Rydon Lane Woodbury Devon EX5 1LBRef. No: 22/2308/FUL | Validated: Thu 20 Oct 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
28 The Signals Feniton Devon EX14 3UPRef. No: 22/2357/FUL | Validated: Fri 21 Oct 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
East Devon Watch 