Scotland’s public spending deficit falls as tax take rises
Scotland’s public spending deficit fell by £600m last year to £25.3bn after an increase in the amount raised in taxes, figures show. The annual Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland (Gers)…
Fragile ‘Excalibur’ sword found in lake after water levels drop amid heatwave
The blade was found by volunteers in the lake at Chiddingstone Castle, Kent An ‘Excalibur’-esque sword has been discovered poking out of a castle lake after scorching weather caused water…
What are the proposed driving licence changes and when would they happen?
People aged 70 and over won’t have to retake their driving tests under new government rules Claims made on social media have suggested prime minister Andy Burnham is proposing to…
The tiny village of Piddington that’s voted to leave the UK
Andy Burnham has said that wealthy areas of Britain must ‘play their part’ in housing asylum seekers A quaint village in Oxfordshire has staged a referendum where they have voted…
Great Britain faces electricity supply shortfall during solar eclipse
Great Britain faces a shortfall of electricity supplies on Wednesday evening as the near total solar eclipse is expected to wipe out solar power generation. The government’s electricity grid operator…
Interview: Count Binface on Farage, Flakes, Ferraris and Clacton
With the Clacton by-election just days away, In The Room welcomes perhaps Nigel Farage’s most unusual opponent: Count Binface. The intergalactic candidate joins Helen MacNamara and Cleo Watson to defend…
Oxford Street shoppers to have faces scanned by controversial technology
LFR has been widely criticised by human rights groups, with one organisation describing the rollout as an escalation in routine public surveillance Oxford Street is set to be monitored by…
Don’t use electricity during the solar eclipse, Octopus Energy warns
A shutdown in solar energy generation will coincide with a usual surge in electricity demand in the UK Britain’s largest energy supplier is asking households not to use electrical appliances…
UK weather latest: Burnham to chair Cobra meeting on extreme heat amid warning of wildfire ‘national emergency’
Southern Water pushes for rare drought order banning filling of non-domestic swimming pools Prime minister Andy Burnham will chair a meeting of the government’s Cobra emergency committee this afternoon in…
Nigel Farage and Count Binface: a visual guide to their electoral careers
Nigel Farage has been standing in British elections since 1994, when he narrowly beat Screaming Lord Sutch of the Monster Raving Loony party into fourth place in a Commons byelection.…