First it was Post Offices, now it’s Job Centres for the axe

As rural communities reel from the closures of many of their Post Offices, they have been dealt a new blow with the threat of closure hanging over Job Centres.
Around 26 Job Centres in rural areas are earmarked for closure, meaning that those looking for work will have to travel “unacceptable” distances to access a Job [...]

The MP who wants FOI restricted

The MP who has introduced a Private Member’s Bill to restrict the Freedom of Information Act so that it does not apply to MPs, has claimed for a quad bike bought out of MP’s expenses.
The MP has also had a string of affairs, including one with a Tory official whom he helped to secure two [...]

Henry’s bird breeds in Britain once again

A bird famous for its place in medieval manuscripts, and as a feast dish for King Henry III, is breeding in Britain again for the first time in 400 years.
The cranes are breeding in an area of wetland in Suffolk, which had previously been a carrot field until the RSPB turned it into a nature [...]

Criminals employed to maintain railways

Convicts, some of whom have been convicted of violent crimes such as attempted murder, are being employed to maintain Britain’s railways.
The West Coast Main Line, linking London with Glasgow, is one line where the criminals are working night shifts on various maintenance tasks. This is the same line where a Virgin Pendolino train derailed in [...]

Historic Yorkshire battlefield to become housing estate

The site of a battle, fought on the outskirts of York in 1066, is to be turned into a housing estate.
The Battle of Fulford took place a few weeks before the Battle of Hastings, between the English army, commanded by Ealdormen Edwin and Morca, and the Vikings led by Harald Hardrada and Tostig.
Historical campaigners [...]

Jobs axed at biscuit factory

Burton’s Foods has announced it is ending production at its site in Moreton, Wirral.
The company, which makes Cadbury’s chocolate biscuits, will continue making other products. Up to 660 jobs will be lost, a decision the company described as “regrettable”.
The job cuts are blamed on the highly-competitive UK biscuit market. Around 330 jobs [...]

Over 100 jobs threatened in York

The Land Registry has announced it plans to close its York office with the loss of more than 100 jobs. The office will close in 2010.
This is the first time in the 145 year long history of the Land Registry that it has decided to close one of its offices. The move has [...]

American food giant backs down to England’s highest pub

England’s highest pub, the Tan Hill Inn in North Yorkshire, has won its battle with American fast food giant KFC over the use of the term “family feast”.
The pub had offered a “family feast” meal at Christmas, and KFC had discovered the wording during an internet search. The Americans claimed copyright on the wording and [...]

Special shop for Poles in Cumbria

A shop in Whitehaven has started stocking Polish groceries to cater for the ever-increasing Polish population of Cumbria.
The shop stocks Polish food as well as Polish beers to suit the many Poles who work in the factories in the west of the county.
Cumbria County Council estimates that more than 1000 Poles are now in the [...]