Boris Johnson is facing another three potential fines for lockdown breaches, according to senior sources, as he suffered his first ministerial resignation over the Partygate scandal.

Jessica Elgot www.theguardian.com 

In a sign of the continued nervousness in government that the prime minister’s position could come under threat when MPs return to Westminster from recess next week, a Downing Street source admitted the apparent lull felt like “calm before the potential storm”.

Lords justice minister David Wolfson quit his role on Wednesday following the news that Johnson and Rishi Sunak had been given a fixed-penalty notice for breaking their own Covid laws by attending a party for the prime minister’s birthday in No 10.

Wolfson said he was resigning not only because of the prime minister’s “own conduct” but also “the official response to what took place”. He said the behaviour stood in stark contrast to many in society who “complied with the rules at great personal cost, and others were fined or prosecuted for similar, and sometimes apparently more trivial, offences”.

Johnson sought to rally senior ministers behind him by holding a virtual cabinet on Wednesday afternoon. The Welsh secretary, Simon Hart, said Johnson would not quit even if he received multiple fines. “I don’t necessarily see the difference between one or two,” he told Times Radio.

By Wednesday afternoon, before Wolfson’s resignation, momentum appeared to have stalled for MPs prepared to oust Johnson – just two Tory MPs added their voices to calls for the prime minister to resign, the Amber Valley MP Nigel Mills and Craig Whittaker, the MP for Calder Valley.

Mills said he would be writing a letter of no confidence to the chair of the 1922 Committee: “I think for a prime minister in office to be given a fine and accept it and pay it for breaking the laws that he introduced … is just an impossible position,” he said.

In the Halifax Courier, Whittaker called for the PM to resign and “do the right thing” – though said he would not write a letter of no confidence, predicting that Johnson would win any vote.

On social media, the majority of MPs rallied to Johnson’s defence. But a former No 10 adviser predicted the fines could still prove “fatal” for the prime minister’s career. “Conservatives, if they stand for anything, stand for the rule of law and the maintenance of order,” they said. “If they cannot abide their own rules, and do not show humility in the face of justice, it is impossible for them to maintain that mantle.”

Key insiders said they believed Johnson was likely to receive at least three more fines for events that have not yet been fully investigated by police.

The events that the Metropolitan police have yet to examine, which Johnson attended, include the May 2020 summer party, a November gathering in Johnson’s flat with his wife on the day of Dominic Cummings’ departure, and a leaving do for a senior aide in No 10 a day later. Sources said no attender had yet received a fine for those events.

Some Tories have expressed concern that Johnson’s strategy has been to downplay the significance of the event for which he was fined – a short birthday gathering in the cabinet room. “It’s been a terrible comms blunder for MPs to be briefed that the event only lasted 10 minutes and that the PM has been unfairly maligned,” one Tory source said.

Lord Frost, the former cabinet minister, also expressed concern that further damaging revelations were to come. “I think it’s not possible just to say, ‘That was then, this is now, let’s move on, the world is different,’ as the government is trying to this morning,” he told LBC. “We don’t yet know what other penalties may be issued, and to whom.”

No 10 sources said the prime minister had attended the birthday gathering in the cabinet room in June 2020 for less than 10 minutes, eating salad from a plastic bowl and declining any alcohol or party food.

But those who attended the birthday party for the prime minister say they have raised eyebrows at the description of the gathering, with one describing it as a “party atmosphere” with singing, attended by his wife, Carrie Johnson, and his interior designer Lulu Lytle.

Another said they believe photos taken of the event by Johnson’s personal photographer – which have been disclosed to the official Sue Gray investigation into lockdown parties – would leave it beyond doubt that it was an event that breached the rules.

One policing source said an assessment by Met detectives that the PM breached the rules more than once would increase future fines. The level of fine would go up each time Johnson was found to have, or accepted that he had, breached the rules he had introduced.

The source added that the defence Johnson and his supporters were making, that people did not realise they were at parties, was “specious” because the raft of rules were written to stop any indoor gathering of people: “The law never talked about parties, it talked about gatherings. It does not have to be music and dancing – you could not gather indoors.

“The whole reason was to stop the transmission of the disease. The disregard for public health is startling. Why would you not know you were breaching the rules?”

Though three MPs who have previously called for Johnson to go said the war in Ukraine meant they did not believe it was the right moment for a contest, others stood by their letters of no confidence on Thursday, including Gary Streeter, Caroline Nokes, Anthony Mangnall and Tobias Ellwood.

Another MP said they were deeply worried about further revelations and a “drip-drip” ahead of the local elections and the final Gray report. “Each one of these will come as a hammer into the nail of the Tory coffin and what the PM is doing is implicating all the MPs in this. We are in an a long, slow death march.”

The chancellor, Rishi Sunak, has also apologised for breaching the rules, having received a fixed-penalty notice for attending the gathering, after a seven-hour deliberation during which he is reported to have been considering his position.

Allies of Sunak said on Wednesday they believed it had been a missed opportunity for the chancellor not to resign on Tuesday after he receiving the fixed-penalty notice. “My view is he should have gone months ago and kept his integrity intact, but now he is at the mercy of potentially being sacked this summer,” one said.

The UK inflation rate rose to 7% in the year to March, the highest rate since 1992. Pensions for 2022/23 rise by 3.1%, nowhere near. Locally, Alison Henandez has also increased your bill for policing by 4.2%.

No doubt Boris Johnson and the richest man in government, Rishi Sunak, have the matter in hand.

Maybe we should all have a party to celebrate? – Owl

www.bbc.co.uk

Prices are rising at their fastest rate for 30 years, driven by a sharp increase in petrol and diesel prices.

The UK inflation rate rose to 7% in the year to March, the highest rate since 1992 and up from 6.2% in February.

Prices are rising faster than wages and there is pressure on the government to do more to help those struggling.

The cost of living is expected to rise even further after the energy price cap was increased, driving up gas and electricity bills for millions.

Inflation is the rate at which prices rise. If a bottle of milk costs £1 and that rises by 5p, then milk inflation is 5%.

Fuel had the biggest impact on the inflation rate with average petrol prices rising by 12.6p per litre between February and March, the largest monthly rise since records began in 1990, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.

This compares with a rise of 3.5p per litre between the same months of 2021.

Diesel prices also rose by 18.8p per litre this year, compared with a rise of 3.5p per litre a year ago.

The rise in the inflation rate was higher than the 6.7% expected by analysts and was also driven up by furniture, restaurant and food prices.

Since late last year, prices have been rising fast as pandemic restrictions have been eased and firms face higher energy and shipping costs which they have passed on to consumers.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is now adding to the pain, as the price of oil and other commodities climb higher.

Russia is one of the world’s largest oil exporters and demand for oil from other producers has increased since the invasion, leading to higher prices.

Although the UK imports just 6% of its crude oil from Russia, it is still affected when global prices rise.

Ukraine and Russia are also the world’s main suppliers of sunflower oil and the war has hit prices.

In the UK, the price of oils and fats for food increased by 7.2% in March, according to the ONS.

The inflation figures for March do not yet reflect the average 54% increase in energy bills that took place from 1 April when the energy price cap was raised.

‘I’m paying £120 more a month for petrol’

Sara Gerritsma, a student from Leicestershire with a partner and six year-old child, said she may have to give up her paramedic degree due to the rising cost of fuel.

The 32-year-old only started the three-year course in October but she has a 2.5 hour roundtrip each day to get to university in Northampton, and her petrol costs have shot up by about £120 a month.

“It would be really frustrating giving up my course. It was a big decision changing my career at 32,” Sara told the BBC.

“But recently we have sat down and gone through everything and thought, can I afford to be a full-time student?”

Sara said the family was also using less energy and has reworked its food budget to save money.

The sharp rise in prices is also putting pressure on businesses.

Paul White, who owns the pizzeria 6/CUT in Manchester, said the increase in the minimum wage, the end of VAT relief, and rising fuel and food prices have all hit his company. The restaurant is also spending £500 more a week on its energy bills.

“We need to find an extra £1,400 a week to cover the costs of everything that’s come on in the last few weeks,” he told the BBC .

He says he will have to put up prices, and is looking to charge each customer about 50p to £1 extra to cover his rising overheads.

But he is also worried people might start eating out less as their budgets are squeezed.

“Next six months there’ll be a lot of [restaurants] shutting down, they won’t be making enough money to cover the costs of everything,” he said.

This is no longer a cost of living squeeze, but a financial throttling for many people. Price rises are accelerating and their wages, benefits and pensions are failing to keep pace.

So, at home, families will be discussing how best to cope with this situation, which is expected to last a while.

In the words of the ONS, there were “no large offsetting downward contributions” to the inflation rate. In other words, nothing is getting significantly cheaper.

So avoidance of price rises is impossible. Even if you do not have a car and are avoiding surging fuel costs, lots of other necessities are getting more expensive.

Experts say the only option is trying to budget as best we can, across every part of our lives. Most importantly, they also stress the importance of seeking early, and free, help before falling into unmanageable debt.

Jack Leslie, senior economist at the Resolution Foundation think tank, which focuses on those on lower incomes, warned the cost of living crisis would “continue to worsen before it starts to ease at some point next year”.

He said with wages not keeping pace with rising prices, people were facing “the biggest squeeze since the mid-70s.”

Chancellor Rishi Sunak said: “I know this is a worrying time for many families, which is why we are taking action to ease the burdens by providing support worth around £22bn in this financial year, including for the most vulnerable through our Household Support fund.”

But Labour called on the chancellor to “show the leadership the country needs”.

“Labour has a plan to cut energy bills through a one-off windfall tax on oil and gas producer profits. Meanwhile, the Chancellor has increased taxes for working people to their highest levels in 70 years,” shadow chief secretary to the Treasury Pat McFadden said.

Liberal Democrats leader Ed Davey called for “unfair tax hikes” to be immediately reversed and said people needed “urgent help” with energy bills.

One of Cornwall’s grandest estates is selling off a number of properties that some local tenants have called home for decades, leaving them devastated.

Lisa Letcher www.cornwalllive.com 

The four properties, located within the 6,000 acre Port Eliot estate, in St Germans, have been put on the market by the Estate trustees’ management team at Savills. All tenants were issued a Section 21 notice on March 24 – extended to three months instead of two.

One resident told CornwallLive that while people are not begrudging the Estate’s decision that it was “totally unexpected” and couldn’t have come at a worse time. It’s as a widespread housing crisis is impacting much of Cornwall. Some of the affected residents have lived in the homes for as many as 20 years.

At least one has stipulated that they believed they were “guaranteed” as long term rentals – having invested thousands into maintenance and renovation of the properties through the years. Savills has however confirmed that all those issued notice were on an assured shorthold tenancy – meaning it can issue notice at any point without giving a reason.

One of those affected said: “I have been a tenant at Port Eliot for many, many years, and I’ve lived in a couple of properties and our understanding at the time was that the trust wouldn’t be selling the properties on. As time has gone by we got a Section 21 notice just pushed through our letterbox a couple of weeks ago to say they are selling our home.

“it was a no fault eviction and basically we had three months to find somewhere else to live and move out so I’m quite aggrieved because we’ve ploughed a lot of money into the house. We spent an awful lot of time making it a nice place and the estate is going to benefit from it basically.”

She explained that she shared her story – believing it to be a single case – to a local Facebook page at which point things “ballooned”. She had numerous other people reach out explaining they too were being evicted.

“Myself and my next door neighbour are being evicted,” she said. “And I know another person who is moving on their own as they have purchased a house and I’m pretty sure they will sell that as well. It could be a whole street that’s going.”

She added that she knows it’s not ‘her property’ at the end of the day but that with the housing crisis it’s no doubt going to leave people without homes to go to. “We were hoping that maybe the Duchy of Cornwall might look into buying some more property here like it has in the past but really we don’t know what’s going to happen yet,” she continued.

The house is within an estate of 6,000-acre which extends into the neighbouring villages of Tideford, Trerulefoot and Polbathic. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the Eliot family invested substantially in the estate by building farmhouses, fishermen’s cottages and other homes throughout the land. Many of these properties remain part of the estate to this day and are rented out to local residents and friends of the family.

Some properties – like the ones mentioned here – have been sold over the years. The Duchy of Cornwall estate purchased the southern portion of the Port Eliot estate in 2014 as part of the most substantial purchase of farmland made in Cornwall since The Prince of Wales became Duke of Cornwall in 1952. The Duchy of Cornwall does not own any of the properties currently being sold.

Another affected tenant said they were being “turfed out” after 13 years and were “heartbroken” as a result. A third said they were struggling to find a property with the ongoing housing crisis, and having pets which makes finding a property even more challenging in the current climate.

Savills has now confirmed that four properties total have been impacted by the notice period served on March 25 as it was instructed by the trustees. Port Eliot is the ancestral seat of the Eliot family, whose present head is 17-year-old Albert Eliot, 11th Earl of St Germans. His father was found dead in the bath, aged 40, after an epileptic fit in 2006 and the estate is being managed by trustees until he comes of age.

A Savills spokesperson said: “The Port Eliot Estate has decided to sell a small number of its properties occupied on assured shorthold tenancies. The family is working to try and find alternative accommodation on the Estate.

“The tenants were served notice on 25^th March and the notice period has been extended to at least three months instead of the statutory two months. The proceeds from the sale of these properties will facilitate reinvestment into the remaining Estate.”

There were some questions over who was actually responsible to the decision with some claiming that Savills had full management responsibilities of the estate but that has been confirmed as untrue. Savills manages the Port Eliot Estate on behalf of its trustees. Savills is therefore the primary contact for estate management queries, however it takes instruction from the trustees.

Port Eliot Estate declined to comment saying that the sale of the properties is being dealt with by Savills.

The police investigations continue into gatherings, and then we can look forward to Sue Gray’s report.

Reminds Owl of the dog days of John Major’s scandal and sleaze riddled government in the 1990’s.

Right wing views of Plymouth Council’s new Tory Leader.

Philip Churm, local democracy reporter www.radioexe.co.uk 

A video has emerged of Plymouth City Council leader Councillor Richard Bingley saying the world should not worry about climate change and suggesting people should adapt to “living in barren, sandy landscapes.”

The comments, recorded in June 2020, were made on the YouTube channel of right-wing think tank New Culture Forum (NCF) and posted on the website of the climate science denial group, Net Zero Watch (NZW).

Also taking part in the debate was James Delingpole, London editor of the far-right Breitbart website, along with outspoken climate change denier Dr Benny Peiser.

Net Zero Watch was previously known as the ‘Global Warming Policy Foundation’ of which Dr Peiser is as a director.  

The prominent climate change denial organisation was rebranded as NZW last year.  

Plymouth City Council declared a climate emergency in 2019 and pledged to make the city carbon neutral by 2030.

But in the video, Cllr Richard Bingley says: “I’m not really feeling that we should worry too much about climate change in itself.”

He dismisses concerns about the extent of climate change and suggests countries should simply adapt to harsher environments.

“You get to sort of 30 or 40 years time where the world may be liveable; it may not be,” he says.

“I mean, for example, some countries, Pakistan, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia have adjusted for many years to living in barren, sandy landscapes.”

Recorded less than a year before being elected Conservative councillor for Plymouth’s Southway ward, Cllr Bingley describes himself as “a Londoner” and hits out at the increase in cyclists, many of whom are choosing to ditch cars in favour of greener transport. 

Speaking about his East London home, he says: “Now you try and walk the dogs by a canal path or something, you end up almost losing your legs or the dogs do. And it’s actually not very pleasant.

“You know, there’s too much cycling going on. So I think that needs addressing.” 

Green Party candidate for Plympton Chaddlewood, Ian Poyser, said: “There’s a clear scientific consensus on the facts about the climate crisis and ecological decline, which is happening right now in this country.

“The government’s own 2021 State of Nature report has shown that since the 1970s 41 per cent of all UK species surveyed have declined, while 15 per cent  of species within the UK are said to be threatened with extinction. 

“The population of the UK’s priority species, have declined by a shocking 60 per cent.

“Given the overwhelming scientific evidence and public support for climate action from across society, it’s irresponsible to politicise the issue and sow division, at a time we need to pull together as a nation.

“I’m tired of politicians that paint a simplistic view of the world.”

Later in the video discussion Cllr Bingley dismisses covid s as “a mildly severe flu pandemic” and says the reaction is “a social media mass crisis response.”

By late June 2020, the time of these comments, nearly nine million cases of the virus had been recoreded worldwide, leaving almost 490,000 dead. 

Cllr Bingley was approached about his comments on the Net Zero Watch site but has not responded. 

A link to the video is on this page of Net Zero Watch. Radio Exe is not responsible for the content of external websites: https://bit.ly/3KD5HPE

Ministers should reconsider England’s “living with Covid” plans, health leaders have said, while accusing the government of ignoring the ongoing threat for ideological reasons.

Kevin Rawlinson www.theguardian.com 

The NHS Confederation, which represents organisations across the healthcare sector, has accused No 10 of having “abandoned any interest” in the pandemic, despite a new Omicron surge putting pressure on an already overstretched NHS.

“The brutal reality for staff and patients is that this Easter in the NHS is as bad as any winter,” said Matthew Taylor, the chief executive of the NHS Confederation.

“But instead of the understanding and support NHS staff received during 2020 and 2021, we have a government that seems to want to wash its hands of responsibility for what is occurring in plain sight in local services up and down the country. No 10 has seemingly abandoned any interest in Covid whatsoever.

“NHS leaders and their teams feel abandoned by the government and they deserve better.”

Taylor later told BBC Breakfast: “In our view, we do not have a ‘living with Covid’ plan, we have a ‘living without restrictions’ ideology, which is different. We need to put in place the measures that are necessary to try to alleviate the pressures on our health service while this virus continues to affect [it].”

He said ministers should restate advice promoting mask-wearing on public transport to try to cut the number of infections and, consequently, the demand on the NHS.

“We need to renew the call for people to have vaccinations and booster vaccinations – there are still a lot of people out there who are not up to date with the vaccinations that they could have,” he said.

“We need to resource the health service. At the moment, for example, the health service is providing free tests for its staff, which it needs to do because staff absences are really high in the NHS because of Covid. But the NHS has to pay for those tests. So, we need to put the resource in. Because we’re behaving as if this pandemic is over, but it is not over in relation to the challenges facing the health service.”

A new Omicron wave has been putting immense pressure on the NHS. Last week, health bosses in England issued an extraordinary plea for families to help them discharge loved ones – even if they were Covid-positive – saying the service faced a “perfect storm” fuelled by heavy demand, severe staff shortages and soaring cases.

“Our concern is that there is a lack of awareness and engagement with the pressures health service is under. And it’s particularly felt in hospitals [and] in the ambulance service – but it’s actually across the system as a whole,” Taylor said.

“Although, of course, we’re much better at dealing with Covid than we have been in the past – fewer people die, fewer people end up in intensive care – it is still a disease that puts immense pressure on the health service. It is … adding to the demand which already exists – partly to do with the number of people who are waiting for treatment, which built up during Covid.

“So we have a situation in our health service now which is as bad as any winter, even though we’re approaching Easter.”

Taylor said that to make matters worse, the Treasury had “taken bites out of the already very tight NHS budget”, while soaring inflation meant the NHS settlement was now worthless. “It is now unclear that anyone in the centre of government feels the unfolding NHS crisis is their responsibility,” the FT quoted him as saying.

A No 10 spokesperson said: “There is no change to our guidance and our living with Covid plan still stands. Thanks to a combination of vaccination and treatment and our better understanding of the virus, we are now able to manage it as we do with other respiratory infections, so that remains the case with our approach. But, obviously, we continue to monitor any changes in the behaviour of the virus.”

Asked about the confederation’s view that NHS leaders felt abandoned by the government, the spokesperson said: “We are incredibly grateful to NHS staff who worked flat out throughout the pandemic and continue to do so in the face of Covid backlogs.”

There have been so many denials about partygate that Owl’s advice is to bookmark this list for future reference. Even so, it doesn’t list them all, e.g semantic reference to “gatherings”, or the number of occasions the Police said “nothing to see here”.

Tom Ambrose www.theguardian.com 

Perhaps the most damaging aspect of Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak receiving fines for breaking lockdown laws is the fact the pair have publicly denied any wrongdoing.

Here is a look back at some of the denials made by the prime minister and his chancellor.

1 December 2021

After the Mirror’s first story about Christmas parties in Downing Street broke, Johnson responded to the Labour leader, Keir Starmer, who had asked if a party was held at No 10 on 18 December 2020.

Speaking at prime minister’s questions, he said:

What I can tell the right honourable and learned gentleman is that all guidance was followed completely in No 10.

2 December 2021

When asked on Sky News why he would not explain his account of the allegations, Johnson said:

Because I have told you and what I want to repeat … that the guidance is there and I am very, very keen that people understand this.

7 December 2021

When asked about alleged Downing Street parties held in December, the prime minister told BBC News:

All the guidelines were observed.

8 December 2021

After footage of Allegra Stratton joking about a Christmas party was released, Johnson told the Commons:

I repeat that I have been repeatedly assured since these allegations emerged that there was no party and that no Covid rules were broken.

13 December 2021

When asked again about alleged Downing Street parties by Sky News, Johnson replied:

I can tell you once again that I certainly broke no rules … all that is being looked into.

15 December 2021

At a No 10 press conference, the prime minister told journalists:

On your point about rules, I follow the rules.

20 December 2021

After the Guardian revealed pictures of people, including the prime minister, at drinks in the Downing Street garden on 15 May 2020, Johnson said:

Those were people at work, talking about work. I have said what I have to say about that.

12 January 2022

The prime minister apologised to parliament and admitted attending a gathering but at this point he continued to stress that he thought it was a “work event”.

He said:

I believed implicitly that this was a work event, but with hindsight, I should have sent everyone back inside.

11 February 2022

In an interview with Sky News, when asked if he broke lockdown rules, Sunak replied “no”, adding that Johnson had his “total support”.

Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak are to receive fixed-penalty notices for breaching Covid laws over lockdown, Downing Street has said.

Peter Walker www.theguardian.com 

A No 10 spokesperson said: “The prime minister and chancellor of the Exchequer have today received notification that the Metropolitan police intend to issue them with fixed penalty notices. We have no further details, but we will update you again when we do.”

The fines relate to parties held in Downing Street during lockdown and are likely to include a gathering in the cabinet room for Johnson’s birthday in June 2020, which was also attended by Sunak.

Keir Starmer has accused Rishi Sunak of “rank hypocrisy” and questioned the ability of super-rich politicians to relate to the public as No 10 came under pressure to reveal if any other ministers had used schemes to avoid tax.

And we still don’t have transparency over the extent of the use of non-dom status and other tax weases amongst cabinet members. – Owl

Jessica Elgot www.theguardian.com 

In an interview with the Guardian amid controversy over Rishi Sunak’s wife’s tax status, Starmer said having a spouse who was a non-dom would create a “very obvious conflict of interest” for any cabinet minister.

He called on the prime minister to make clear that no other cabinet ministers had taken advantage of non-dom status, used tax havens or benefited from offshore trusts.

Sunak has referred himself to the adviser on ministerial interests for an inquiry and his wife, Akshata Murty, last week said she would pay all UK tax on foreign earnings in future. Sajid Javid, the health secretary, also admitted on Sunday to having been a non-dom for six years while a banker, before he was an MP.

But despite the continuing public outcry, No 10 on Monday said it could not reveal whether any other ministers or their spouses held or had previously held non-dom tax status.

Starmer said the chancellor still had “basic” things to answer about how much tax his family had avoided with Murty’s non-dom status, with estimates she legally avoided paying UK taxes of £20m on overseas earnings.

Sunak’s own financial interests are also under scrutiny, as he resisted calls to reveal what assets he has put into a “blind” management arrangement, meaning they can be kept secret from the public.

The Lib Dems on Monday wrote to Kathryn Stone, the parliamentary commissioner for standards, asking her to launch an inquiry into why Sunak had declared no financial interests between 2015 and 2019 as an MP, but then revealed the existence of a blind trust in 2019 when he became a Treasury minister.

Sunak has never revealed his wife’s international interests on his list of ministerial interests, although he does declare her holding in the UK-based Catamaran Ventures. She is known to hold about £690m in shares in Infosys, the Indian IT company founded by her billionaire father.

The Guardian has also established that Murty has held US investments through a trust in her own name, Akshata Narayana Murty Trust, which is revealed in American filings. Her spokesperson had no comment, apart from that “all rules were followed”.

There are also continuing questions around Sunak’s possession of a US green card for permanent residents, including for six years as an MP and government minister. Sunak left his job in the US in 2013, but declared the same year in a UK company filing that he was resident in the UK, suggesting he was giving different information to the British and US authorities about his residency. The US states that green card holders should give up their status if they take up residence elsewhere.

Despite warnings that Sunak may have flouted US immigration rules, the chancellor is understood to be heading to Washington next week for International Monetary Fund spring meetings.

The row over the tax arrangements of Murty, who has said she has maintained her non-dom status in part because she hopes to return to her birth country of India, has reportedly led Sunak to question his future in UK politics.

Asked if there were issues with politicians from a super-wealthy elite becoming prime minister, Starmer said it would be likely to pose problems. “There’s much more likely to be a conflict of interest. I don’t know many people who have signed up to a non-dom scheme in order to increase their tax. It is pretty obvious why people do it.” But he also said there was a “broader issue” about politicians’ disconnection from ordinary people’s lives.

“I think that even before we got to the non-dom issue, the chancellor’s response to the spring statement, to the real pressures on people, showed that he just doesn’t get it.”

Starmer highlighted Sunak’s own personal wealth – his four homes – and his reference to having four different types of bread in his house, as well as his decision to borrow a Sainsbury’s worker’s ordinary car for a photoshoot, as evidence he was “completely out of touch”.

“You know, whether that’s picking up somebody else’s car, whether it’s four loaves of bread in his own family, whether it’s a number of houses, it’s about whether he gets it. It’s about whether you understand, whether you can relate to the very real struggles that people have and the cost of living crisis, and it dominates every discussion we have around the country.”

Starmer has so far refused to commit to Labour’s longstanding policy to abolish non-dom status, first announced by Ed Miliband in 2015, but said the party was undertaking an extensive review of the tax system.

Speaking to the Guardian on a campaign visit to Sunderland, he hinted that he was uncomfortable with the system of overseas tax status. “Most people don’t get that choice … it’s only a very small minority of people. This has been portrayed as some complex tax situation. It’s not.”

Starmer also expressed some hesitation at the idea politicians should publish their own tax returns, saying it was “overcomplicated” and that all proper declarations should be made.

But he added: “There is nothing to reveal in my tax returns, [but] I can tell you if I was prime minister, I wouldn’t be going to the country saying I want more tax from you, but secretly I’m reducing my own tax burden through schemes. It’s rank hypocrisy.”

Starmer said that he had been hearing deeply worrying stories from voters on the campaign trail about the way that rising energy bills and inflation were affecting their lives.

“They are really worried about paying the bills. The most repeated thing said to me, particularly from older people, is that they are not putting the heating on, or sitting in their dressing gown all day, because [they are] too scared to turn up the heating.

“Somebody said to me: ‘I don’t put our central heating up higher than 12 degrees.’ Someone last week said to me in the supermarket: ‘Now, I pick things up and then put them back down again and try to get something cheaper.’”

He said Labour had a message about “practical ways to deal with the problems” and said people were receptive to his party’s message on taxing the extra profits of oil and gas companies to reduce energy bills. “Of course, we’ve got to show that we are the party to be trusted with the economy, but I think we are doing that.”

Plymouth is no exception – Owl

Crispin Blunt Told “Not Fit to Hold Public Office” By Councillor in Constituency Conservative Association

order-order.com

Just when the Tories hoped their expulsion of Imran Ahmad Khan from the party following his guilty sentencing this afternoon would end this latest chapter in party scandal, along came fellow MP Crispin Blunt. A few hours ago Blunt published a jaw-dropping statement in defence of Khan, in which he claimed elements of the proceedings were homophobic and said he hopes “for the return of Imran Ahmad Khan to the public service that has exemplified his life to date.” His statement has already resulted in three of Blunt’s colleagues on the APPG for LGBT+ rights resigning.

This evening Guido can reveal Blunt’s statement has outraged his local party, sparking a furious row in a local WhatsApp chat which Blunt has now quit. Crispin pre-announced his statement, which was greeted by demands for further clarity over his claim the result was a “miscarriage of justice”. Another chimed in asking their MP, “Do we really want to defend someone like this?? I agree with you completely [first incredulous responder]”. 

With his back against the wall, Blunt came out with the following two messages:

”As one detail you might like to reflect on the investigating officer in 2008 noted “this was not a sexual assault” There is so much more , that will hopefully ensure his appeal succeeds”

“I am deliberately giving a counter narrative to ask people to allow the appeal to take place before his reputation is wholly beyond recall, as everyone has rushed to judgement. I am adamant he should not have been charged, far less convicted 14 years after an event that was minor or any scale. 

I’m Sorry but this was a rotten day for British justice and I will stand up for truth as I see it before me.”

A councillor replied that while he didn’t doubt Blunt’s “sincere intentions”, “please think of your local association and Council colleagues who will have to answer to your actions on the doorstep – even more so if any appeal is quashed”.

When an irritated Blunt retorted with, “please don’t presume to lecture me on my competing responsibilities, I am well aware of them”, the councillor shot back with this devastating response:

Blue on blue just before the local elections – no doubt exactly what CCHQ wanted to see this evening…

UPDATE: Tory source tells Guido “Crispin’s views are wholly unacceptable. Following exchanges late last night we expect the statement to be retracted first thing this morning.” Tick tock…

The number of GPs in England has fallen every year since the government first pledged to increase the family doctor workforce by 5,000, a minister has admitted.

Denis Campbell www.theguardian.com

There were 29,364 full-time-equivalent GPs in post in September 2015, when the then health secretary, Jeremy Hunt, first promised to increase the total by 5,000 by 2020.

However, by September 2020 the number of family doctors had dropped to 27,939, a fall of 1,425, the health minister Maria Caulfield disclosed in a parliamentary answer. And it has fallen even further since then, to 27,920, she confirmed, citing NHS workforce data.

In the 2019 general election campaign, Boris Johnson replaced Hunt’s pledge with a new commitment to increase the number of GPs in England by 6,000 by 2024. However, Sajid Javid, the health secretary, admitted last November that this pledge was unlikely to be met because so many family doctors were retiring early.

Organisations representing GPs say their heavy workloads, rising expectations among patients, excess bureaucracy, a lack of other health professionals working alongside them in surgeries, and concern that overwork may lead to them making mistakes are prompting experienced family doctors to quit in order to improve their mental health and work-life balance.

The British Medical Association (BMA) said the figures Caulfield cited showed that the lack of doctors in general practice was “going from bad to worse for both GPs and patients”, and it warned that patients were paying the price in the form of long waits for an appointment.

“Despite repeated pledges from government to boost the workforce by thousands, it’s going completely the wrong way,” said Dr Kieran Sharrock, the deputy chair of the BMA’s GP committee. “As numbers fall, remaining GPs are forced to stretch themselves even more thinly, and this of course impacts access for patients and the safety of care provided.”

Dr Dan Poulter, the Conservative MP who tabled the question, said: “These figures are hugely worrying because they show that GP numbers in England have been falling, despite ministerial pledges to increase them.

“GPs’ relentless workloads are clearly a major factor here. Patients and the entire NHS desperately need more family doctors, in order to reduce waiting times and ensure people who are ill get care, and referral on to hospital if needed, as soon as possible.”

Although record numbers of young doctors are choosing to train as GPs, the persistently high rate of early retirement means moves to increase the workforce are faltering. Hunt has cited that as the key reason his pledge of 5,000 more family doctors was not fulfilled.

Poulter, a former health minister who works part-time as a psychiatrist in the NHS, urged the government to push through changes to help ease the pressure on GPs.

“As an immediate step, the pension penalties that see many GPs, hospital doctors and other healthcare professionals penalised simply for working should be scrapped to avoid many deciding that early retirement is the best option.

“In addition, as has been done successfully in Australia, incentives and relocation support packages need to be put in place to attract GPs to work in parts of the country where there are acute shortages.”

Prof Martin Marshall, the chair of the Royal College of GPs, said the Covid pandemic had exacerbated the existing “intense workloads and workforce pressures” that GPs face.

“GPs and our teams make the vast majority of NHS patient contacts, in turn alleviating pressures across the health service. But with the service buckling under staffing and resource pressures, workload is unsustainable, and this is leading to GPs burning out and leaving the profession earlier than planned,” he said.

“Good progress is being made recruiting more doctors into general practice but, if more GPs are leaving the profession than entering it, we’re fighting a losing battle.”

Marshall urged Javid to deliver as soon as possible on a separate government pledge to increase the number of pharmacists, physiotherapists, mental health therapists and other health professionals working in GP practices by 26,000 by 2024.

Sharrock said the growing population and workforce shortages meant that each GP in England was responsible for 300 (15%) more patients than they were in 2015.

The Department of Health and Social Care said Caulfield’s figures only related to fully qualified GPs, and that once trainees were included there were 1,672 more full-time-equivalent family doctors in December 2021 than December 2019.

A spokesperson said: “We are committed to growing the general practice workforce to ensure everyone receives the care they need and there has been an increase of more than 1,600 doctors in general practice over the past two years.

“To boost recruitment, we have increased the number of GP training places and in 2021/22 we saw the highest ever number of doctors accepting a place on GP training – a record-breaking 4,000 trainees, up from 2,671 in 2014.”

Natural England’s advice, issued last month, says new developments in the River Axe catchment area should be ‘nutrient neutral,’ effectively putting the brakes on any new properties in the area.

Do the right thing and stop killing the river or carry on with the Old Guard  “Build, build, build” philosophy? Owl thinks it’s a “no brainer” for those with brains. See what Old Guard and New Guard councillors say below.

Will East Devon MPs Neil Parish and Simon Jupp cooperate with EDDC and lobby to ensure the Environment Agency has sufficient funds to enforce environment protection? Remember both voted against the Lords recent proposals to toughen legal duties on sewage discharges. – Owl

www.midweekherald.co.uk

Developers have a ‘moral obligation not to ravage and rape East Devon, kill our rivers, kill our fields and our environment,’ says the deputy leader of East Devon District Council (EDDC).

Councillor Paul Hayward (Independent East Devon Alliance and Democratic Alliance Group, Yarty) made the statement at a meeting of EDDC’s strategic planning committee following stringent new advice from Natural England to clean up the River Axe.   

Natural England’s advice, issued last month, says new developments in the River Axe catchment area should be ‘nutrient neutral,’ effectively putting the brakes on any new properties in the area.

Though nutrients may not sound bad, they include nitrogen and phosphate which are used to speed plant growth. The term also refers to waste from septic tanks, livestock, arable farming and industrial processes.

These nutrients are being dumped into rivers across the country, including the River Axe, which is  a ‘Special Area of Conservation.’

Now 70 local authorities around the county have been issued with advice from Natural England to clean up their rivers and waterways, including EDDC.

Though only advice, the announcement effectively halts development near the River Axe until the council puts a plan in place to mitigate nutrients going into the river as a result of any new building. It will take time to put such mitigation in place.

“Our understanding is that it’s nigh-on impossible to provide adequate mitigation on the sites themselves,” said Ed Freeman, the council’s service lead for planning strategy and development management.

According to senior officers, the creation of a mitigation strategy will take around two years. They say it should be compatible with the council’s local plan, in which EDDC outlines its strategy to meet housing targets, including affordable housing, over more than a decade.

Mitigation efforts need to be long term and will probably involve natural solutions such as planting forests and reed bed systems, alongside new wetland areas. 

It could be that EDDC puts these systems in place and then charges developers to help pay for them, similar to strategies used previously to help improve River Exe and the Pebblebed Heaths near Budleigh Salterton. 

Mitigating the nutrient problem could also mean improving sewage networks. This would require further discussion with private water company South West Water, which was responsible for 42,000 sewage discharges into Devon’s rivers and waterways in 2020 alone.

It may also require changes to land use, including changing farming practices and taking land out of intensive livestock production – a move likely to be unpopular with farmers.

Up to 70 per cent of nutrient waste going into UK rivers comes from farming. The rest is from wastewater and sewage from residential buildings and businesses.

Councillor Philip Skinner (Conservative, Tale Vale), who is a  farmer himself, is wary of the plans.  At the council’s strategic planning committee, he argued that if Natural England’s advice was followed on other rivers around East Devon, it would ‘more or less shut us down from developing anything at all anywhere’.

He added: “It’s a balancing act. Farmers are the biggest part of this. We are going to have to work with farmers, but at the same time we are going to have to do something.”

Conservative councillor Andrew Moulding, who represents Axminster, added: “This could potentially lead to the stagnation of all my town’s future and I am desperately concerned about this.”

Cllr Paul Hayward issued a stark counter, he said: “Ultimately what we’re faced with is killing a river. This is a wake-up call.

“It’s an opportunity for us to do the right thing for the environment. 

“Yes, you can’t expect the farming community to change overnight – but we’re not expecting them to. We’re asking them to work with us, work with other districts and other planning authorities to come up with a solution to stop us from destroying watercourses. 

“Ultimately if we don’t the rivers will die and there won’t be any trout or salmon.”

There is a possibility that planning applications that already have outline planning permission may have to be reassessed under habitat regulations at the ‘reserved matters’ stage. Twenty-eight current planning applications may be affected. 

The council will contact those who may need to do more to reach the new ‘nutrient neutral’ requirements. It is not thought that house extensions will be affected by the change. 

The advice from Natural England isn’t entirely new. An EDDC report concludes that what is new ‘is the abruptness and directness of the advice that has been issued by Natural England and that we need to more fully understand’.

Some people wonder if the advice is worth the hassle of following if it is, after all, only advice. 

East Devon District Council technically has the right to make its own planning decisions. However, in making decisions, the council must also pay a ‘strong regard’ to environmental issues and the advice of Natural England. 

Commenting on the idea of rejecting Natural England’s advice, Ed Freeman, the council’s planning lead said: “I don’t think that’s a route we want to go down and obviously we want to ensure that we’re not having a detrimental impact in terms of phosphates on the river so I think we have to strongly follow the advice we’ve been given.”

Cllr Hayward added: “I don’t think we can ignore Natural England because I’m sure there absolutely would be legal challenges if we ask for their advice and then blatantly ignore it.”

Leader of the council Paul Arnott (Independent East Devon Alliance and Democratic Alliance Group, Yarty) said that members needed to think of the positive impact of the new proposals on the environment.

He blamed the weakness of the Environment Agency for the river’s current predicament and said it was not being funded enough by the government to deal with blatant breaches of environmental law.

The leader said he would be writing to East Devon’s Conservative MPs, Neil Parish and Simon Jupp, asking them to make sure immediately the agency has sufficient funding to enforce environmental protections. 

It is up to one of the local authorities in the River Axe catchment area to come up with a mitigation strategy. The government will pay £100,000 to help fund the development of such a plan to the local authority which takes on the responsibility.

Though the River Axe also runs through Somerset and the river rises in Dorset, most of it flows through East Devon. As a result, councillors at EDDC voted to request that the council comes up with the strategy. 

Senior officers will now meet with Dorset Council, South Somerset District Council and West Somerset and Taunton Council to formally agree to EDDC to become the leading authority.

Councillor Geoff Jung, portfolio holder for coast, country and environment said: “I certainly support the idea that we take the lead in this because we have the most to lose [due to] the lack of development in our area and also the effects of the pollution on the river.” 

Councillor Olly Davey (Green Party and Democratic Alliance Group, Exmouth Town) was keen to see Natural England’s advice as positive, adding: “This is a wake-up call, but we can also look at it as an opportunity. We should be developing low impact housing and low impact farming methods.

“It’s absolutely essential that we get on with the work and if we don’t take on these measures then other rivers could well follow.”

The council says it will be looking into how to reduce and mitigate phosphate pollution and will be publishing reports on the subject in the future.

The Environment Agency has produced a new film showing how it is working with farmers in the River Axe catchment in East Devon to improve water quality and compliance with environmental legislation. The film ‘Future farming in the Axe catchment’ is available now. [see below]

Lewis Clarke www.devonlive.com 

The River Axe is of national significance as a designated Special Area of Conservation. It is in poor condition due to degraded ecology, siltation and nutrient enrichment in the form of elevated phosphate. Since 2016 the Enviroinment Agency have been carrying out a regulatory project working with farmers in the catchment to achieve compliance with the aim to bring the river back to good condition.

Land management has changed dramatically in the Axe catchment over recent decades. The intensification of farming means that heavy agricultural machinery is on the land a lot more than it used to be, often at inappropriate times when the soil is wet. As many of the soils in the catchment have a high clay content, they are vulnerable to compaction, which generates run-off as little rainfall is able percolate through the soil.

Richard Smith, soils technical specialist for the Environment Agency said: “Because of the state of the land we have run off, and soil, phosphates, nutrients and dung are all washed into the backwaters of the river and deposited on the gravels. They then behave like an enriched field – certain things thrive, but sensitive plants don’t – so we end up with what is a muddy pond”.

Where farms are found not to be compliant with regulations – the Silage, Slurry and Agricultural Fuel Oil (SSAFO) regulations and Farming Rules for Water (FRfW) – the Environment Agency works with the farmer to draw up a plan to move them into compliance and offers advice on how they may be eligible for grants from Catchment Sensitive Farming.

Stuart Hunter, senior advisor for the Environment Agency, said: “We work with farmers to find the most efficient way of making them compliant and protect the environment. It’s made clear to the farmer that they need to be compliant, and that we expect progress to be made, if not we would look to regulation and enforcing the necessary improvements”.

The film illustrates how many farmers have taken on-board the Environment Agency’s advice and guidance. There are simple improvements, such as covering silage clamps to avoid rainwater draining into a slurry store. And other more long-term changes, such as changing to a completely grass-based system of feed or reducing the density of their dairy herd.

Stuart added: “With climate change, impacts are going to be more extreme – intense rainfall, drier periods – farming needs to adapt and change on the Axe, to become more sustainable as a business and to protect the environment We hope the film shows how we work with the people we regulate in order to improve the environment.

“People are often aware when they are not doing something right, which means they are not complying with the regulations. It’s not a surprise when we discuss what is required in order to comply. Most farmers react well to advice and take the right actions to become compliant, however with the minority who don’t engage and remain non-compliant we will not hesitate to use our enforcement powers – we want to work with farmers, supporting them to make changes and in doing so protect and enhance this precious river”.

• Single storey front extension, single storey side extension, single storey rear extension and two storey rear extension to replace existing garage, plant room and utility. 1 Sidlands Sidmouth EX10 8UERef. No: 22/0735/FUL | Validated: Fri 01 Apr 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Single storey rear extension. 23 Featherbed Lane Exmouth EX8 3NERef. No: 22/0733/FUL | Validated: Thu 31 Mar 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Erection of a detached single garage with studio space above. 5 Cliff Road Budleigh Salterton Devon EX9 6JRRef. No: 22/0725/FUL | Validated: Thu 31 Mar 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Certificate of Lawful Development for a single storey rear extension.4 Parsons Close Newton Poppleford Devon EX10 0DQRef. No: 22/0727/CPL | Validated: Thu 31 Mar 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Two storey side extension. 10 Feniton Gardens Feniton Devon EX14 3DGRef. No: 22/0729/FUL | Validated: Thu 31 Mar 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Sycamore (T1) : selectively reduce and thin cluster of secondary branches on east side of main stem to provide clearance of neighbouring roof and guttering; reduction cuts no longer than 2 metres with a maximum diameter of 50mm; thinning cuts no greater than 75mm diameter with a maximum length of 3 metres. Works will balance lower canopy. 11 Cranford Sidmouth EX10 8UTRef. No: 22/0719/TCA | Validated: Thu 31 Mar 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• T1 Reduce top of Scots Pine by approx 3 metres. max diameter 20cm; Bbranches on eastern stem reduce back to boundary Reason – neighbour is concerned the top of the tree twists in high winds, the tree has low vigour possibly from previous works carried out. Long Reach Boughmore Road Sidmouth EX10 8SHRef. No: 22/0713/TCA | Validated: Thu 31 Mar 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Certificate of Lawful Development for a garage conversion and loft conversion with internal alterations.16A Stevens Lane Sidmouth Devon EX10 9ULRef. No: 22/0715/CPL | Validated: Wed 30 Mar 2022 | Status: Refused
• Proposed single storey extension and installation of Air Source Heat Pump and 16 solar panels. 5 Old Home Farm Rousdon Devon DT7 3YLRef. No: 22/0697/LBC | Validated: Tue 29 Mar 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Two storey rear extension, alterations to fenestration and demolition of existing single storey rear extension. 55 Albion Street Exmouth Devon EX8 1JHRef. No: 22/0698/FUL | Validated: Tue 29 Mar 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision

• Proposed single storey extension and installation of Air Source Heat Pump and 16 solar panels. 5 Old Home Farm Rousdon Devon DT7 3YLRef. No: 22/0696/FUL | Validated: Tue 29 Mar 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• G1, Sycamore : crown lift to 5m above ground level over access driveway only. Maximum diameter of cut (MDC) 100mm G2, Bay : coppice remaining stems following recent stem failure over driveway. G3, Cypress : reduce height by approximately 3m and trim both sides to contain. T4, Sycamore : dismantle in sections to near ground level. Reason for works: G1 – Access has become difficult for larger vehicles using the driveway to access the other properties. G2 – Safety, recent stem failure has left the remaining stems compromised G3 – Overgrown Cypress boundary hedge, reducing the entire line of trees to contain the height and spread, to encourage thickening for a screen. T4 – Weak union at base of the tree, compression fork with elements of decay on southern side. 1 Camden Elysian Fields Sidmouth EX10 8UHRef. No: 22/0705/TCA | Validated: Tue 29 Mar 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Two storey side extension to include revised porch, change of roof material to slate and alterations to fenestration. Farthings Woodbury EX5 1JXRef. No: 22/0704/FUL | Validated: Tue 29 Mar 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Single storey side extension with glazed link, external alterations and demolition of existing outhouse Upper Cottage Rocombe DT7 3RRRef. No: 22/0701/FUL | Validated: Tue 29 Mar 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Battery energy storage scheme and associated development Axe View Solar Farm Wadbrook EX13 7ASRef. No: 22/0693/FUL | Validated: Thu 31 Mar 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Conversion of detached garage to habitable use with alteration to fenestration. Strete House Whimple EX5 2PLRef. No: 22/0706/FUL | Validated: Fri 01 Apr 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Creation of hardstanding area for forage storage Rydon Farm Rydon Lane Woodbury Exeter EX5 1LBRef. No: 22/0707/FUL | Validated: Tue 29 Mar 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• T1, Yew : Crown lift over road ensuring clearance of 5.2m T2, Holm Oak : Crown reduce by no more than 1/1.5 m or back to previous points is lesser and reshape tree ensuring a balanced and uniformed shape is retained. T3, Hormbeam : Reduce height down to approx 1m above current hedge line, as shown on attached picture. T4, Holm Oak : Crown reduce by no more than 1/1.5 m or back to previous points if lesser and reshape ensuring the tree retains balanced and uniform shape. T5, Yew : Fell to ground level. replacement with either Hawthorn/Crab apple or Judas Tree (preferred choice) Holm Oak Clyst St George Exeter EX3 0RERef. No: 22/0692/TRE | Validated: Wed 30 Mar 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Demolition of garage and proposed carport with store, front verandah with bays, front roof light and solar panels, two storey rear extension, two storey side extension, single storey rear extension and alteration to fenestration. 7 Copp Hill Lane Budleigh Salterton EX9 6DTRef. No: 22/0703/FUL | Validated: Fri 01 Apr 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Construction of single storey rear extension, loft conversion including the increase of existing roof pitch, raising of existing ridge, rear dormer and front roof window and demolition of existing side extension. 20 New Street Ottery St Mary EX11 1EARef. No: 22/0689/FUL | Validated: Mon 28 Mar 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision

• Scots Pine 1 : remove large limb; cut back two smaller limbs; crown thin 20% as indicated in planning statement Reason : to reduce overhang, needle accumulation and reduce fire risk fire (see planning statement) Fair View 1 Brackendown West Hill Ottery St Mary EX11 1NTRef. No: 22/0683/TRE | Validated: Mon 28 Mar 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Proposed heifer cubicle building. Courtneys Farm Clyst Hydon Cullompton EX15 2NHRef. No: 22/0684/FUL | Validated: Thu 31 Mar 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Alterations to fenestration 2 Parsons Paddock Exeter Road Newton Poppleford EX10 0FDRef. No: 22/0687/FUL | Validated: Wed 30 Mar 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Replacement of shopfront. Salcombe House Fore Street Seaton Devon EX12 2LERef. No: 22/0675/FUL | Validated: Wed 30 Mar 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Construction of sun room to the rear Brampford House Brampford Speke Exeter EX5 5DWRef. No: 22/0676/FUL | Validated: Wed 30 Mar 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Proposed small balcony to existing first floor bedroom Russetts Oakhayes Road Woodbury Devon EX5 1JTRef. No: 22/0671/FUL | Validated: Wed 30 Mar 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Two storey side extension, two storey rear tenement extension with alteration to fenestration and conversion of roof space to habitable use to include a rear dormer, front rooflights and demolition of double garage. 5 Dagmar Road Exmouth EX8 2ANRef. No: 22/0666/FUL | Validated: Thu 31 Mar 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Construction of sun room to the rear Brampford House Brampford Speke Exeter EX5 5DWRef. No: 22/0677/LBC | Validated: Wed 30 Mar 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Installation of 11 x solar panels on roof. Rivermead Cottage Whitford Axminster EX13 7NRRef. No: 22/0662/FUL | Validated: Wed 30 Mar 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Erection of agricultural building. Courtneys Farm Clyst Hydon Devon EX15 2NHRef. No: 22/0668/FUL | Validated: Tue 29 Mar 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision

• Proposed covered feed building 1. Courtneys Farm Clyst Hydon Devon EX15 2NHRef. No: 22/0667/FUL | Validated: Thu 31 Mar 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Two storey rear extension. 27 Hale Lane Honiton Devon EX14 1HNRef. No: 22/0652/FUL | Validated: Tue 29 Mar 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Two storey side extension, first floor rear extension with alteration to fenestration. Riverside Cottage Dunkeswell Honiton EX14 4RHRef. No: 22/0656/FUL | Validated: Thu 31 Mar 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Change of use from Office (Use Class E(g)(i)) and alteration of Willoughby House to create 2no. dwellinghouses (Use Class C3). Erection of 3no. dwellinghouses with integral garages, plus formation and layout of internal access road and parking. Creation of pedestrian access to Underfleet including construction of steps. Willoughby House Fore Street Seaton EX12 2ADRef. No: 22/0653/FUL | Validated: Thu 31 Mar 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Proposed dwelling and removal of timber structures and a summerhouseIron Gate Gardens Nr Feniton EX11 1LURef. No: 22/0648/FUL | Validated: Fri 01 Apr 2022 | Status: Withdrawn
• Erection of a building to accommodate 5 stables and associated private equestrian storage spaces. Huxham Wood Farm Poltimore Devon EX4 0AARef. No: 22/0637/FUL | Validated: Tue 29 Mar 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Installation of air source heat pump and removal of external oil boiler. 3 Talaton Farm Barns Talaton Devon EX5 2SARef. No: 22/0623/FUL | Validated: Wed 30 Mar 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Retrospective application for the replacement of access gate to applicant’s land. Ashfield Vicarage Road East Budleigh Budleigh Salterton EX9 7EFRef. No: 22/0647/FUL | Validated: Thu 31 Mar 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Installation of a medipoint machine sign with vinyl wrap to the front 70 Exeter Road Exmouth EX8 1PYRef. No: 22/0610/FUL | Validated: Mon 28 Mar 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Installation of a medipoint machine sign with vinyl wrap to the front 70 Exeter Road Exmouth EX8 1PYRef. No: 22/0631/ADV | Validated: Mon 28 Mar 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision

• Demolition of existing annexe dwelling and construction of four bedroom annexe dwelling Newcourt Barton Clyst Road Topsham Exeter EX3 0DBRef. No: 22/0570/FUL | Validated: Tue 29 Mar 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Re-construct and replace mono-pitch roof on rear elevation facing onto Silver Street; replacement rainwater goods on rear elevation and replace gable verge board 79 High Street Honiton EX14 1PGRef. No: 22/0493/LBC | Validated: Tue 29 Mar 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Re-slate roof, Including battens and felting, replace rainwater goods and timber fascias Godfreys Farm Payhembury Honiton EX14 3HZRef. No: 22/0415/LBC | Validated: Tue 29 Mar 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Outline application for an exception site comprising of 4 affordable houses and 2 open market houses Kilmore House Poltimore Exeter EX4 0ATRef. No: 22/0349/OUT | Validated: Tue 29 Mar 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Outline application for the erection of a two storey 4-bed detached dwelling with all matters reserved Bussells Farm HuxhamRef. No: 22/0271/OUT | Validated: Wed 30 Mar 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Erection of a semi-detached dwelling 18 Minifie Road Honiton EX14 1NFRef. No: 22/0276/FUL | Validated: Wed 30 Mar 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Proposed kitchen and restaurant extensions Bernaville Nurseries Three Horse Shoes Cowley Exeter EX5 5EURef. No: 22/0250/FUL | Validated: Mon 28 Mar 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision

Simon, you used your press articles last week to promote tourism under the headline ‘Tourism is one of the things we do best!’.

1. Did you know that in all the years the Conservatives controlled EDDC they never bothered to have a Tourism strategy?
2. Will you, therefore, be giving the “New Guard” East Devon District Council your full support as they rectify this deficit by developing such a strategy?

If your answer to this question is “yes” then do you think it was wise to be quite so partisan as in the latest edition of the Tory leaflet, “In Touch”? 

As the elected Member of Parliament, you are supposed to be representing everyone in your constituency, whether they voted for you or not. That also implies working constructively with those they elected as their councillors.

In this leaflet you wrote: “East Devon deserves better than a district council which puts up council tax, doubles the price of parking and closes public toilets“. Isn’t this a little disingenuous?

All the local authorities have put their taxes up, and within limited options raised revenue for services, including the Conservative Devon County and the Conservative Devon and Cornwall Police Commissioner.

 Why?

Because of the austerity cuts imposed by George Osborne.

Central government grants – including retained business rates – were cut 37% in real-terms between 2009/10 and 2019/20, from £41.0bn to £26.0bn in 2019/20 prices.

Under current government policies this is only going to get worse.

In terms of value for money, readers might contemplate what they get for their Council taxes.

The biggest percentage rise was introduced by Alison Hernandez for policing this year, a “whopping” 4.2% (above the increase in pensions).

For every pound that Council Tax payer in East Devon pays for things like recycling, street cleaning and, yes, cleaning the loos and emptying bins three times a day for tourists, they pay an additional 60p for policing. (60% more) [For clarity for every £1 that goes to EDDC, £1.60 goes to policing]

Owl bets most residents see refuse collection and street cleaning more often than they see a “Bobby on the Beat”. How’s that for value for money?

Residents and visitors can enjoy cheaper trips around the far south-west of England after the launch of a cut-price bus fare pilot in Cornwall.

Steven Morris www.theguardian.com 

Ticket prices across the county have been reduced by between 20% and 40% in an attempt to encourage more people out of their cars and on to public transport.

The four-year scheme, which is backed by the government, will measure what impact lower fares have on the number of cars on the road. It is hoped it will make it easier for Cornish people to get around and also tempt visitors to visit the county’s beaches, moors, towns and attractions by bus rather than car.

Louis Gardner, the mayor of Newquay, was among those who welcomed the scheme. He said: “The bus fares pilot is a hugely positive step for the people of Cornwall. This will make it easier for young people to access jobs, education and training in towns such as Newquay.

“It’s important for rural communities to have access to affordable alternatives to the car. It will also benefit tourists this summer and could encourage them to use public transport, rather than going everywhere by car.”

Transport for Cornwall has set a goal of increasing bus usage by 10% and is using a £23.5m grant from the Department for Transport to fund the initiative.

The new fares will include:

• £2.50 a day or £10 a week for adults within Cornish towns.
• £5 a day or £20 a week for adults for travel across Cornwall.
• Adult singles from £1.60, and returns from £2.40.
• Family tickets for £10 a day (up to two adults and unlimited children under 16).

The transport minister Charlotte Vere said: “The launch of this excellent scheme across Cornwall is a significant moment in our ambition to level up transport links across the country. We want to place Cornwall at the leading edge of a national bus revolution.”

The largest bus operator in Cornwall, Go-Ahead Group, is leading the scheme, but under an initiative called “any ticket, any bus” the cheaper prices will mean benefits for customers of all the main companies.

While the scheme is scheduled to last four years, it cannot be guaranteed that the prices will stay at the levels set and they may be tweaked depending on how the services are used.

David Sidebottom, the director of the watchdog Transport Focus, said: “Cheaper fares are vital in winning passengers back and attracting new ones. Our research has shown that Cornwall’s bus passengers wanted better value for money fares. These plans should drive up passenger satisfaction and encourage more people to give bus a go. We will monitor the impact this has on passengers.”

8.9m People live in places that our index identifies as most vulnerable to the cost of living crisis

52% Are former Red Wall areas, with the North, Midlands, and London all highly vulnerable

78% Of the places that benefit the most from the council tax rebate are not those that are most vulnerable to the cost of living

A new index measuring the cost of living crisis

www.progressive-policy.net

The cost of living crisis poses a significant and immediate threat to the defining mission of this government, threatening to worsen living standards in the poorest places and further entrench unacceptably high place-based inequalities. In this edition of the levelling up outlook, CPP presents the results of a new index highlighting spatial patterns of vulnerability to this crisis to gain a greater understanding of which places will be worst hit without further government support.

To our knowledge it is the first index of this sort – and while closely related to existing measures of deprivation – it takes a broader view by incorporating a range of economic factors to determine:

1) a place’s relative risk of more people being pulled into poverty; and

2) the relative risk of those who were already hard up being pushed into destitution.

It finds that the North of England will be particularly hard hit by rising living costs with many local areas such as Kingston upon Hull and Blackpool doing badly on all of our indictors.

The prevalence of low pay and working age economic inactivity in coastal and rural communities in the South and the East of England also puts areas such as Hastings, Thanet and Dover at high risk. Meanwhile, very high rates of child poverty and food insecurity account for much of the vulnerability in several London boroughs.

Government support measures are insufficient and poorly targeted at vulnerable places

The Council Tax Rebate announced in February disproportionately benefits wealthier households in places like Rushmore, with low vulnerability, at the expense of highly vulnerable places like Redbridge. Covering the cost of April’s energy price cap rise (£693) for those in receipt of Universal Credit would cost £2.4bn – £600m less than the current Council Tax Rebate – and would result in more spending on the most vulnerable people and places.

Greater immediate spending on Universal Credit is necessary but not sufficient to support vulnerable people and places. Our index points to broader vulnerabilities including a high prevalence of low wages or

people have left the workforce early. Further interventions must be appropriately targeted to alleviate the threat of rising poverty, while aligning with the principles to reduce spatial inequalities as set out in the Levelling Up White Paper.

The Cost of Living Vulnerability Index

Survey suggests even Tory voters are unlikely to support Conservatives’ nuclear-first energy policy.

Toby Helm www.theguardian.com 

More than three-quarters of the public are in favour of windfarms being built in the UK. That is the key result of an Opinium poll carried out for the Observer in the wake of publication of the government’s controversial energy security plans last week.

Ministers backed nuclear power but shunned new onshore wind plants as the main means for protecting the UK against future energy crises. But the new poll indicates Tory voters’ backing for wind turbines almost matches that of Labour and Lib Dem supporters – suggesting the move against onshore wind, a result of backbench Conservative pressure, runs counter to the views of the party’s own voters.

In the Opinium poll, 79% of Tory voters said they were strongly or somewhat in favour of windfarms being installed in the UK, compared with 83% of Labour voters and 88% of Lib Dems. Two-thirds of all voters said they would be happy for a windfarm to be built near them.

By contrast, only 46% of all voters favoured new nuclear power stations in principle, while a mere 32% favoured gas power plants. Less than a third of voters would be happy with a nuclear power station being built near them, while less than a quarter would approve of having a gas power station in their neighbourhood.

Polling data for UK approval of windfarms

These findings suggest that government thinking is at some distance from the public’s perception of the need to ensure energy security while still working to achieve net zero emissions. It is also at odds with warnings from experts who say reliance on atomic power raises key concerns for the nation. They point out that the country’s next nuclear plant, Hinkley Point C, currently under construction in Somerset, was supposed to start generating electricity in 2017 but will not do so until 2026 because of delays that have raised the station’s cost from £16bn to £23bn.

“Instead of this wasteful nuclear plan, the government should invest in onshore wind to help lower people’s bills now,” said the Liberal Democrat leader, Ed Davey. “Safely storing nuclear waste is also expensive, complicated and controversial.”

However, former Tory energy minister Charles Hendry – who now advises the energy industry – said he was pleased the government had committed to more nuclear but doubted whether the funding model for building new plants would attract enough private sector interest. The government needed to address whether it should take on the entire funding of the building of the plants, he said. “That happens in almost every other country in the world. Then if it chooses to, when they are built, it can sell them off to the private sector. That is the most assured way of getting the investment which is necessary and the partnerships which are necessary.”

But scientists are warning that heavy reliance on atomic energy is premature when the critical issue of nuclear waste disposal has yet to be tackled. The UK has still not selected a site to build an underground store for the spent fuel rods and radioactive cladding it has accumulated over the past seven decades of operating nuclear plants. Most of the nation’s nuclear waste is still stored above ground, at Sellafield in Cumbria.

“We need to build an underground store that is acceptable to local people, that is geologically stable, and which is big enough to store the 750,000 cubic metres of nuclear waste that we will have accumulated once all our current reactors are in operation,” said Prof Claire Corkhill of Sheffield University. “That will take another decade at best. Only then would I be happy to know another eight nuclear power plants were going to be built in the UK.”

In 2019, the UK relaunched its efforts to get agreement to build an underground nuclear waste facility. So far residents in four areas – three in Cumbria and one in Lincolnshire – have entered the voluntary process to explore whether it would be possible to have the store built in their neighbourhood. Drilling to test how subterranean water flow might damage a facility in each area will be carried out in the near future. Then, if the rocks there are found to be suitable, geologists will have to estimate if a sufficiently large underground store could be built in that location.

“We could find an area has good rocks but … not sufficient space to store all the waste we need to bury,” added Corkhill. “Then we might have to try to find a second, or entirely new site. This is not an issue we can rush.”

Sajid Javid: I was a non-dom for six years but now pay my full share.

(Between 2000 and 2006, before he began his political career.)

The governor of the Bank of England, Andrew Bailey, has warned that Britons are facing a “historic shock to real incomes”, with energy price rises this year larger than any single year in the 1970s. The disastrous impact this crisis will have on people’s livelihoods is clear: 600,000 could fall into poverty and millions will be unable to afford essentials. But so far the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, has only introduced halfhearted half measures.

Carsten Jung, senior economist at the Institute for Public Policy Research www.theguardian.com 

As we face an epochal challenge to living standards and energy supply, there are policies already in place elsewhere that Sunak could learn from: countries such as Germany and Ireland are doing more to protect the most vulnerable, doing more to switch to energy-saving measures and doing more to wean themselves off fossil fuels.

This year, the German government has provided a €200 boost for people on benefits, as well as a €100 topping up of child support and at least €270 for people on housing assistance, next to a €300 lump sum payment (pre-tax) to all employees. A low-income family with two children could receive at least €657, plus a possible heating subsidy of €490. With other measures this could fill more than two-thirds of the cash shortfall caused by increased energy prices. By comparison, the average low-earning UK family would receive less than half of that amount (£270, or about €325) plus bills support that will have to be paid back.

Elsewhere, France and Italy have moved much more decisively than the UK to limit energy price increases facing households. This has been done through measures including requiring the state energy company to sell electricity at well below market price and tax cuts on electricity.

Equally eye-catching are examples of innovative policies to encourage lower energy use. As petrol prices surge, public transport is one of the most effective ways of keeping costs for the economy down. For three months, Germany is offering all citizens the use of regional transport for only €9 a month. Some US cities have also shown that reduced or free public transport fares can increase use. And New Zealand is halving public transport fares for three months in response to high fuel prices. France has been experimenting with free public transport since 2018 and Paris just slashed its ticket prices.

This comes on top of European countries’ support schemes for home insulation. Ireland, for example, has just passed a grant policy that provides up to 50% of the costs of a deep retrofit. In contrast, the UK has nowhere near the same ambition.

All these international examples contrast with Sunak’s spring statement in which he announced almost no targeted support for lower earners. Analysis by the Institute for Public Policy Research thinktank, where I work, shows that low-income households still face an average cash shortfall of £320 this year, with some facing up to a £700 hit. This would leave many of the UK’s poorest in poverty with no option but to miss out on essentials, such as food or home heating. As millions of households are having to cut back on spending, this will also drag down economic growth.

Staggeringly, what the chancellor did announce was heavily skewed towards higher earners. We estimate that, on average, high-income households received four times the support of lower-income households.

These were Sunak’s policy choices, but it’s not too late to change tack. His first priority should be to establish a livelihood guarantee for low earners. This means ensuring that their living standards do not fall below what they were last year.

The government could have achieved this by increasing benefits in line with inflation, to ensure people’s income stays in line with the price of products and services they need. This could be combined with an increase in child benefits and additional measures to alleviate pressure from household bills. With this, the chancellor would virtually fully maintain living standards for low and medium earners at a cost of £9bn – just £1.5bn more than what he spent on his poorly targeted policy package.

He could also learn from other countries’ energy saving measures. IPPR has proposed large-scale investment in home insulation, allocated via an easy-to-use “GreenGo” system. This would provide a one-stop shop for people to transition to cleaner transport, housing and consumption, with an initial focus on energy-poor homes, which require support the most.

All of this is eminently feasible and affordable. For instance, our proposed package to almost fully protect low and middle earners could largely be paid for by a windfall tax on energy companies – a type of tax that the EU is set to endorse soon.

So don’t let the government convince you that its hands are tied, because this is a crisis with global dimensions. In fact, it is precisely by looking overseas that we can see that better policy choices are possible.