[ This traditional seaside town dates to 1792 and, by the early 1800s, it was a fashionable resort. There are reminders of its 19th century heyday, including its iron pier (which has been closed since 2022, following extreme weather), the second-longest in Britain, the Grade II listed Wayfarers Arcade and the Victoria Baths building on … Read more
[ Is the mortgage market turbulence getting you down? Have you got a mortgage-related question you need answering? Email in and we’ll get one of our experts to reply. Nick Mendes, mortgage technical manager at John Charcol, has given his advice to a reader below. If you have a question for our experts, email us at [email protected]. Question: My 2-year … Read more
[ Ministers are considering replacing Personal Independence Payments (PIPs) with a new six-tier system of disability benefits that would see many recipients receiving less money than now. A Government green paper on replacing PIPs proposes offering benefits to people according to their individual condition and specific needs. The tier system would be based on a … Read more
[ Pro-Palestinian activists have staged a protest outside the BBC’s headquarters in London to call for a boycott of the Eurovision Song Contest. The rally, which was called by the LGTBQ+ solidarity group Queers For Palestine, as well as Fossil Free Pride, Palestine Solidarity Campaign and London For A Free Palestine, included drag performances, speeches … Read more
[ Fewer than 5,000 homes have been insulated under the Government’s flagship £1bn scheme designed to protect 300,000 households from volatile energy prices. Since the “great British insulation scheme” was launched a year ago, less than 2 per cent of the target households have had homes made warmer. This is despite plans for hundreds of … Read more
[ The Government has paid out £571.6m in underpaid state pension payments, after nearly 100,000 pensioners were left short-changed. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) identified 97,016 state pension underpayments between January 2021 and February 2024, with each underpayment worth £5,900 on average, new data shows. However, estimates suggest the scale of the issue … Read more
[ With its aged-white façade and wrought-iron sign, it looks like many other old café-bars in Brussels – but the black-and-white photo of seven men and two women in the next-door shop window is a clue to this watering hole’s interesting past. The soberly-dressed gang in the shot are Brussels Surrealists and the traditional estaminet … Read more
[ The framework for a deal that would establish a six-week ceasefire in Gaza is in place and Israel has agreed to it, a senior US official has said. What would be the first pause in fighting since November depends on militant group Hamas agreeing to release hostages considered to be vulnerable, including the sick, … Read more
[ Granting asylum to people from Rwanda “undermines” the Government’s claims the country is safe, the former attorney general has said. i revealed on Thursday that a further 15 Rwandans were granted asylum in the UK in the final three months of 2023, taking the total number to 21 since the Government signed its controversial … Read more
[ A new mortgage for buyers purchasing new-build properties will offer rates of below one per cent – however, there are several important factors those considering the product need to be aware of. Own New’s rate reducer mortgage will launch from next week for customers buying houses from Barratt Developments, with further homebuilders joining from … Read more
