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Windsor and Maidenhead scraps cultural budget in wake of similar moves in Suffolk, Bristol, Nottingham and BirminghamThe chill blast of damaging cuts to provincial arts venues has returned to Berkshire this weekend as the cash-strapped local authority becomes the latest to scrap its cultural budget.Local MP and former prime minister Theresa May was among those to salute a reprieve back in February. But theatre...

Record number of female and ethnic minority MPs expected to sit in Commons according to study of candidate selectionsThe next general election is set to herald the most diverse parliament ever, with record numbers of ethnic minority and female MPs, according to a detailed analysis of candidate selections in winnable seats.The study, by the thinktank British Future, projects that the number of ethnic minority...

Chief executive says further industrial action by junior doctors will hamper progress to reduce health service waiting listsAn NHS boss has warned that his trust is now “stretching to the limit to provide safe care” in the face of continuing junior doctors’ strikes – and warned that further walkouts would halt efforts to cut long waiting times.Cutting waiting lists was one of Rishi Sunak’s...

Government had rejected campaigners’ demands for new safety measures on basis of outdated researchThe government is reviewing quad bike safety regulation in what campaigners described as “an embarrassing climbdown” after ministers repeatedly claimed that the introduction of roll bars could do more harm than good.Ministers had previously said that research by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) showed that roll bars could increase the...

Paul Maynard under investigation by MPs’ expenses watchdog over claims he charged taxpayers for political campaign servicesCalls have been made for the prime minister to suspend the whip from a minister while claims he used his taxpayer-funded constituency office to campaign for the Conservative party are reviewed.Paul Maynard, the pensions minister, has been referred to an investigator by the parliamentary expenses watchdog over reports...

Protesters also call for UK to stop arms sales to Israel and end to Israeli occupation of PalestineMiddle East crisis – live updatesHundreds of protesters in London have staged a sit-in on Westminster Bridge, calling for a ceasefire in Gaza in the first big demonstration of the year.Elsewhere on Saturday, there were protests in Belfast and Dublin. Continue reading...

Health Security Agency issues week-long alert for vulnerable and elderly people across EnglandA cold weather alert has been issued and almost 250 flood warnings are in place across England and Wales as conditions continue to cause travel problems across parts of the UK.The UK Health Security Agency has issued a yellow cold weather alert for vulnerable and elderly people from 9am on Saturday until...

Swearwords increasingly used for emphasis and to build social bonds, rather than to insult, say academicsSwearing has become more widely acceptable over the past two decades because it is increasingly used for other purposes than to insult people, linguistics experts have said.“Fuck” and “shit”, the two most commonly used swearwords in the UK, are frequently used to emphasise a point in conversation or to...

Metropolitan police interview two people under caution over scandal that led to wrongful conviction of 700 post office operatorsThe Post Office is under criminal investigation over “potential fraud offences” committed during the Horizon scandal, the Metropolitan police have confirmed for the first time.Officers are “investigating potential fraud offences arising out of these prosecutions”, for example “monies recovered from sub-postmasters [operators] as a result of...

Leslie Garrett was arrested by armed response officers after a stun gun was deployed and remains in custodyA man has been charged after shots were fired at three locations in Liverpool on Wednesday night, the Crown Prosecution Service has said.Leslie Garrett, 49, has been charged with one count of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life, two of possession of a firearm...

Swedish music stars profit from blockbuster year for Mamma Mia! production company Littlestar ServicesAbba stars Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus have shared in a dividend of nearly £1m after a surge in profits at the production company behind the Mamma Mia! stage musical and film adaptations.The Swedish music legends received the payout after a blockbuster year for Littlestar Services, the licensing and production company...

Labour leader says investing up to £28bn a year subject to fiscal rules but it is a ‘confident ambition’Starmer says junior doctors have a “good case” when they say they deserve a pay rise.But he says Victoria Atkins, the health secretary, should be negotiating with them now. Continue reading...

Suspects aged 16 and 17 detained in connection with New Year’s Eve murder in north LondonA 16-year-old boy and a 17-year-old boy have been arrested on suspicion of murder over the death of 16-year-old Harry Pitman in north London on New Year’s Eve, the Metropolitan police said.DCI Geoff Grogan said: “This is a fast-paced investigation, and my team is working around the clock to...

Environment agency says ‘significant surface water and river flooding impacts are possible’ on FridayIn Gloucestershire, police warned of road closures due to rising water levels around Tewkesbury.An evacuation centre was set up in the nearby village Walton Cardiff while people living on Alney Island, between two branches of the River Severn, in nearby Gloucester were urged to leave their homes overnight for a nearby...

Warning of ‘significant’ impact of surface water and river flooding across England, as showers forecast for FridayUK floods – live updatesHundreds of flood warnings are in place after widespread heavy rainfall across the UK.Homes across the Midlands were inundated on Thursday while parts of southern England including Gloucestershire were also submerged. On Friday morning, 302 flood warnings were in place in England, as well...

Independent French auditors say UK information on people crossing Channel is ‘very patchy’The UK is not coordinating sufficiently with France to reduce the number of people crossing the Channel in small boats or providing enough detailed information, French state auditors have said.The cour des comptes, an independent French body that examines the use of public funds, has published a report on the efficiency of...

Labour leader will say Tories have governed so badly people no longer believe a change of party will make a differenceIn his speech this morning Keir Starmer will also promise that Labour will clean up politics. He will say:To change Britain, we must change ourselves. We need to clean up politics. No more VIP fast lanes, no more kickbacks for colleague, no more revolving...

Fashion and homeware chain raises profit forecast again after bagging £38m more than expectedNext has upgraded profit hopes for the year after ringing up £38m more in sales than expected in the run-up to Christmas.The fashion and homeware chain said that full-price sales stepped up dramatically, rising by 10% in the last two weeks before Christmas. As a result, sales rose by 5.7% in...

Man, 49, in custody after reports of shots at shop, outside a cinema and at a nearby propertyA man has been arrested after shots were fired at three locations in Liverpool on Wednesday night, Merseyside police have said.The 49-year-old was arrested by armed response officers in Fazakerley after a Taser was deployed. Continue reading...

Second year of falling prices expected though recovery is likely in the second half as interest rates come downBritain’s housing market is “past peak pain”, the upmarket estate agent Savills has said. The big mortgage lenders Halifax and Nationwide building society have recorded monthly house price gains in recent months, which have taken some by surprise. But that does not mean the annual declines...

In today’s newsletter: Guardian experts assess the government’s progress on the prime minister’s key promisesSign up here for our daily newsletter, First EditionGood morning. After Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa and New Year, the last great festival of the season: Rishi Sunak’s five pledges anniversary day. The prime minister is marking the occasion with a trip to the east Midlands, while Keir Starmer is making a...

Chief strategist uses examples from around world to urge against complacency, warning ‘polls do not predict the future’Labour’s poll lead could collapse in the weeks before the general election, the party’s chief campaign strategist has told shadow ministers, as he warned them not to be complacent going into the election year.Morgan McSweeney, Labour’s director of campaigns, recently gave a presentation to the shadow cabinet...

Co-chair says members would be ‘very happy to look over deals that would span a number of years’While junior doctors are on strike, some of their work will be covered in hospitals by consultants. But Dr Layla McCay, director of policy at the NHS Confederation, which represents NHS trusts, told LBC this morning that contingency plans at individual hospitals would be in “jeopardy” if...

Train operators say services face delays and cancellations after rain and strong winds batter UKMore than 300 flood warnings are in place across England as travellers face transport delays, with train services struggling to get back on track after rain and strong winds from Storm Henk lashed large parts of the UK.The Environment Agency said on Wednesday there were 368 active alerts in England...