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    Fury as Labour minister claims Brexit was never properly debated by the public while defending Starmer’s EU reset

    Fury as Labour minister claims Brexit was never properly debated by the public while defending Starmer’s EU reset

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    We’ll stop at nothing to end small boat crisis, Nigel Farage says – as Reform unveils £2bn mass deportation blitz

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    Trump quietly slaps hundreds of UK products with tariffs up to 25% – from shampoo to washing machines

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    Record number of jobless young women pushes unemployment numbers for under-25s to almost a million

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      Saturday is the new Sunday for UK’s remaining paper boys and girls

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        Horrifying 6,000-year-old ‘victory graves’ where warriors tortured & mutilated enemies during war celebrations

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        New 125 million year-old dinosaur species discovered on the Isle of Wight with unusual feature to attract partners

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        Terrifying plague of ‘zombie squirrels’ erupts as critters covered in oozing pus-filled sores are seen swarming gardens

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        How to Choose the Ideal Baby Gift Set for Boys & Girls – A BabyWondersUK Guide

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        Fury as Labour minister claims Brexit was never properly debated by the public while defending Starmer’s EU reset

        Fury as Labour minister claims Brexit was never properly debated by the public while defending Starmer’s EU reset

        We’ll stop at nothing to end small boat crisis, Nigel Farage says – as Reform unveils £2bn mass deportation blitz

        We’ll stop at nothing to end small boat crisis, Nigel Farage says – as Reform unveils £2bn mass deportation blitz

        Trump quietly slaps hundreds of UK products with tariffs up to 25% – from shampoo to washing machines

        Trump quietly slaps hundreds of UK products with tariffs up to 25% – from shampoo to washing machines

        Record number of jobless young women pushes unemployment numbers for under-25s to almost a million

        Record number of jobless young women pushes unemployment numbers for under-25s to almost a million

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          Second mentions: What makes a good ‘knobbly monster’?

          Second mentions: What makes a good ‘knobbly monster’?

          Saturday is the new Sunday for UK’s remaining paper boys and girls

          Saturday is the new Sunday for UK’s remaining paper boys and girls

          Noel Clarke loses libel case against Guardian

          Noel Clarke loses libel case against Guardian

          Wired says ‘AI-written’ story did not have ‘proper fact-check process’

          Wired says ‘AI-written’ story did not have ‘proper fact-check process’

          Trending Tags

          • Tech
            ‘Punk’ dinosaur with metre-long neck spikes discovered to protect it from fearsome predators

            ‘Punk’ dinosaur with metre-long neck spikes discovered to protect it from fearsome predators

            Now mutant DEER spotted with gruesome pus-filled sores after plague of ‘zombie squirrels’ overruns gardens

            Now mutant DEER spotted with gruesome pus-filled sores after plague of ‘zombie squirrels’ overruns gardens

            Horrifying 6,000-year-old ‘victory graves’ where warriors tortured & mutilated enemies during war celebrations

            Horrifying 6,000-year-old ‘victory graves’ where warriors tortured & mutilated enemies during war celebrations

            New 125 million year-old dinosaur species discovered on the Isle of Wight with unusual feature to attract partners

            New 125 million year-old dinosaur species discovered on the Isle of Wight with unusual feature to attract partners

            Bright ORANGE shark with white eyes spotted for the ‘first time ever’ after being reeled in by fisherman

            Bright ORANGE shark with white eyes spotted for the ‘first time ever’ after being reeled in by fisherman

            Terrifying plague of ‘zombie squirrels’ erupts as critters covered in oozing pus-filled sores are seen swarming gardens

            Terrifying plague of ‘zombie squirrels’ erupts as critters covered in oozing pus-filled sores are seen swarming gardens

          • Health
          • Science

            We’ve probably already been discovered by aliens, but they have some pretty good reasons to hide.

            Almost everyone is said to benefit from a scientifically supported method for improving sleep.

            2,500-year-old rock engravings were found near Mosul, Iraq.

            Is the soul of a person eternal? the findings of scientists

            With its most recent move, is General Electric abandoning wind power?

          • Crypto
          • Entertainment
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            Tyson Fury and wife Paris sell £800k seaside property for knockdown price… but still make massive profit

            Tyson Fury and wife Paris sell £800k seaside property for knockdown price… but still make massive profit

            Meet little-known 6ft4in English golfer Harry Hall, who is on brink of shock Ryder Cup qualification

            Meet little-known 6ft4in English golfer Harry Hall, who is on brink of shock Ryder Cup qualification

            Conor McGregor breaks silence on UFC ‘REMOVAL’ to confirm major career decision as Dana White makes x-rated statement

            Conor McGregor breaks silence on UFC ‘REMOVAL’ to confirm major career decision as Dana White makes x-rated statement

            Piers Morgan releases statement about Jake Paul and ‘staged’ career after boxer hires lawyer to fight ‘fix’ claims

            Piers Morgan releases statement about Jake Paul and ‘staged’ career after boxer hires lawyer to fight ‘fix’ claims

            Tiger Woods’ son Charlie takes huge step towards sealing Junior Ryder Cup spot on Team USA

            Tiger Woods’ son Charlie takes huge step towards sealing Junior Ryder Cup spot on Team USA

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            How to Choose the Ideal Baby Gift Set for Boys & Girls – A BabyWondersUK Guide

            How to Choose the Ideal Baby Gift Set for Boys & Girls – A BabyWondersUK Guide

            A Site for Situated Practices: Mezzanine

            Exhibition: Substance & Recoding: The Narrative of Contemporary Objects in the Semantic Turn

            Discover Amsterdam’s beauty from the water

            An adventure on the canals of Amsterdam

            An adventure on the canals of Amsterdam

            Eromosele Gideon Eigbiremolen Unveils Sustainable Vision for SS24 with Burvain's Latest Collection.

            Eromosele Gideon Eigbiremolen Unveils Sustainable Vision for SS24 with Burvain’s Latest Collection.

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          From railways and roads to schools and hospitals… why does NOTHING in Britain work?

          by Anderson
          March 9, 2024
          in Opinion
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          THE punctuality of trains is taken ­seriously in Japan.

          In 2017, the company which manages the express line between the capital Tokyo and the city of Tsukuba issued a formal apology when one of its trains left 20 ­seconds early.

          From railways and roads to schools and hospitals… why does NOTHING in Britain work?
          Britain’s railways face delays with such frequent regularity that it has become expected
          PA

          Similarly, in 2021 a driver was fined for turning up one minute late at the platform to take an empty train to Okayama station.

          To most of us in Britain, immersed in a transport culture of chronic delays and institutionalised unreliability, these two incidents seem almost surreal.

          In parts of our network, restricting lateness to just one minute would be a cause for celebration rather than reprimand.

          If our operators had to apologise for every 20-second deviation from the ­scheduled timetable, the station loud-speakers would never be silent.

          The inadequacy of our railways was exposed again yesterday by official figures which revealed that more than 1,000 trains are being cancelled every day — a rise of 54 per cent on the middle months of 2023.

          Deeper malaise

          At Northern, one of the worst offenders, the average daily rate of withdrawn ­services is a shocking 170, compared to 140 between April and November last year.

          Even the most high-profile routes are gripped by the inability to fulfil their commitments.

          Avanti, the flagship operator of the West Coast mainline, is cancelling 31 trains a day on average, compared to 13 in the middle of last year.

          A host of different factors are held responsible for this breakdown in efficiency.

          Predictably, the unions, campaigners and left-wing politicians blame under-funding, even though massive subsidies continue to be poured into the network and fares have just risen by 4.9 per cent.

          Others point to ageing rolling stock — which means that around 2,600 trains will be at least 35 years old by 2030 — a huge backlog of repairs, and the ravenous appetite of the flawed HS2 project which has swallowed vast sums that could have been used for improvements elsewhere.

          But there is a deeper malaise at work here, for the railways are hardly unique in their failings.

          The truth is that so much of the civic infrastructure no longer works in modern Britain.

          Our roads have become hopelessly congested, unable to cope with demand and riddled with potholes.

          Yesterday, a new study indicated that average traffic speeds on our streets are at their slowest for a decade, partly because of the disruption caused by repairs.

          Between 2022 and 2023, no fewer than 2.2million street and roadworks were ­carried out in England, while the time spent by motorists in traffic jams has risen by five per cent already this year.
          It is the same story on so many other fronts.

          It is outrageous that half of our young people now go to university yet there are such skills shortages in engineering, manufacturing and transport.


          Leo McKinstry

          We once had among the best-equipped armed forces in the world, but that ­reputation has been shattered by fiascos such as the failure of the Ajax armoured ­vehicle and the endless breakdowns in our two new aircraft carriers, built at a cost of £7billion.

          Too many of our schools are crumbling because of poor build quality, our water companies pump sewage into our rivers, our airports lag behind Asia in quality and innovation, while technology in the NHS and the immigration service is ­hopelessly outdated — a prime reason why we have long hospital waiting lists and porous borders.

          Britain used to be the workshop of the world.

          We pioneered the industrial revolution and led the creation of the railways.

          It was the British genius for invention that helped create the telephone, the ­television and the jet engine.

          From railways and roads to schools and hospitals… why does NOTHING in Britain work?
          Regular roadworks represent Britain’s creaking infrastructure with streets littered with potholes
          Getty

          Yet that dynamism seems to have ­evaporated completely as we sink into a quagmire of ineptitude and inertia. So what has gone wrong?

          One problem is the crippling absence of firm political and democratic leadership.

          Anxious to avoid blame, our politicians have shuffled off the responsibility for running much of the country to unelected quangos, such as the Highways Agency for our roads and Network Rail for trains.

          Devoid of any commercial pressures or accountability at the ballot box, the senior staff at these bodies have proved adept at feathering their own nests, but far less successful at meeting the needs of the long-suffering public.

          Andrew Haines, the chief executive of Network Rail was, according to its annual report, earning £589,000 last year, while Nick Harris, the head of the Highways Agency, was on £384,649, up from £355,000 — though it is hard to see what justified this huge rise.

          Like so much of the public sector, these outfits are obsessed with promoting the fashionable woke creed.

          Culture of division

          “We’ve introduced inclusive leadership training for all our line managers” and are “growing our network of diversity and inclusion champions across all our teams,” boasts the Highways Agency.

          It is a pity the same energy was not focused on presiding effectively over the road network.

          The fixation with the inclusion dogma, far from building a harmonious, innovative workforce, actually feeds a culture of ­division, resentment and grievance, which helps to explain why so much of the ­public sector has low productivity, reflected in endless strikes and excessive sick leave.

          In addition, our education system does not place anything like enough emphasis on practical and technical skills.

          It is outrageous that half of our young people now go to university yet there are such skills shortages in engineering, manufacturing and transport.

          Modern corporate Britain prizes the right opinions above creativity and innovation.

          Feather-bedded by welfare, constantly told we are in the midst of a mental health crisis, we are also losing the work ethic that once built our civilisation.

          Only if we change such attitudes, and rediscover our resilience and ambition, will our nation move out of the slow lane.

          From railways and roads to schools and hospitals… why does NOTHING in Britain work?
          The NHS is struggling with long waiting lists and striking staff
          Alamy
          From railways and roads to schools and hospitals… why does NOTHING in Britain work?
          The military has also been embarrassed by the breakdown of expensive new equipment
          Alamy
          From railways and roads to schools and hospitals… why does NOTHING in Britain work?
          High streets are suffering across the country with many banks now boarded up
          Shutterstock

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