US puppeteer behind Sesame Street and Fraggle Rock honoured with plaque at former Hampstead homeJim Henson, the creator of the Muppets, has been honoured with a blue plaque at his former London home.The US puppeteer, acclaimed for his work on Sesame St…
Bupa is being a real pain over my dental claim
My wisdom tooth needs to come out but it says the policy only covers ‘active symptoms’I have a medical insurance policy with Bupa that doesn’t cover day-to-day dentistry, except for “surgical operations”. At a recent dental checkup, I was told I needed…
What has gone wrong with social care in England?
Boris Johnson is not the first to try to fix the problems that have made care costs unaffordable for manyWhether it is help with washing and dressing at home or long-term nursing support, most social care in England has never been automatically free at…
Election bill could cut millions from Labour campaign spending, say unions
Exclusive: proposed legislation described as deliberate attempt to undermine party’s financesElection spending by trade unions and other groups could potentially be cut by millions of pounds under the government’s elections bill, unions have said, call…
Public inquiry begins into plans for new coalmine in Cumbria
Campaigners say support for building UK’s first deep coalmine in 30 years is diminishingThere is dwindling support for proposals to build the UK’s first deep coalmine in 30 years in Cumbria, say campaigners, as a public inquiry into the mining plans ge…
Extreme views and conspiracism rising among England’s pupils, research finds
Teachers warn ideologies will fester if they are not equipped with training and resources to tackle themTeachers are reporting a rise in extremist views and conspiracy theories among pupils, which they warn will be left to fester unless schools equip t…
FirstGroup to launch budget London to Edinburgh rail service next month
The service, branded Lumo, says 60% of seats will cost £30 or less with a max fare of £69 one-wayFirstGroup is to launch a budget direct London-Edinburgh rail service next month, which it hopes will lure air passengers to the train as a cheaper and gre…
UK politics: Starmer says Labour will not back plan to raise national insurance to fund social care – live
Labour leader says increasing national insurance ‘hits low earners, young people and businesses’Keir Starmer rules out supporting national insurance rise 9.25am BST Good morning. I hope you all had a good summer.The first week in September always tends…
BA and Lufthansa resume flights from London City airport
Flights to Zurich, Frankfurt and Rotterdam show business travel returning despite Covid pandemicBritish Airways and Lufthansa have resumed flights from London City airport as pan-European business travel shows the first signs of picking up.Alison FitzG…
Mark Drakeford – the anti-Boris Johnson who surprised us all | Richard Wyn Jones
After his handling of Covid, even hard-nosed colleagues marvel at the Welsh first minister’s popularityThere is a strong argument that the British politician whose reputation has been most enhanced by the challenges of the past 18 months is Mark Drakef…