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The total fertility rate across England and Wales dropped to a new record low last year, while the number of live births fell to the lowest in nearly five decades. While fertility rates across the two nations have been in overall decline since 2010, the rate in 2023 fell to 1.44 children per woman, which the Office for National Statistics said is the lowest value since records began in 1938. […]

The £2 bus fare cap will be replaced by a new £3 cap until the end of 2025 at this week’s Budget, the Prime Minister has confirmed. In a speech in Birmingham, Sir Keir Starmer said he knows “how much this matters”, particularly to people who live in rural communities. The increase will be announced at Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ first Budget on Wednesday, as the Government tries to bridge what […]

Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver has asked his followers on social media to be alert for “lorryloads of posh cheese” being sold “for cheap” after a London-based manufacturer had more than 22 tonnes of cheddar stolen by scammers. Neal’s Yard Dairy said it delivered more than 950 wheels of cheddar to the alleged fraudster posing as a wholesale distributor for a major French retailer before realising what had happened. In a […]

The Budget will embrace the “harsh light of fiscal reality” but “better days are ahead”, Sir Keir Starmer will say in a speech ahead of one of the most significant financial statements in recent history. The Prime Minister will warn of “unprecedented” economic challenges and invite the public to judge him on his ability to rise to them as he sets the tone for Wednesday’s announcement. He is expected to […]

Rachel Reeves will not announce any new freeports in the Budget, despite a Downing Street press release on Friday saying five more would unveiled, it is understood. The Chancellor will instead confirm funding for “next steps” for five of the existing sites, which will receive official clearance to have customs facilities within their boundaries. Ms Reeves will also approve plans for a separate “investment zone” in the East Midlands that […]

A 21-year-old hoping to become the first woman to row from mainland Europe to mainland South America solo has begun her record attempt. Zara Lachlan, 21, from Cambridge, set off from Lagos on the Portuguese Algarve on Sunday morning, aiming to row 3,600 nautical miles to French Guiana in a journey which it is estimated will take around 90 days. Ms Lachlan, who will join the Army in September as […]

Sir Chris Hoy has revealed his “selfless” wife kept her multiple sclerosis (MS) diagnosis a secret as they dealt with his cancer treatment. Sir Chris, one of Britain’s most successful Olympians, revealed his terminal prognosis last weekend, after announcing in February that he had been diagnosed with cancer. According to an extract from his memoir, All That Matters: My Toughest Race Yet, published in The Sunday Times, Sir Chris, 48, […]

Veterans, service personnel and families have marked the 10th anniversary of the end of UK combat operations in Afghanistan with a wreath-laying ceremony at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire. Organised by the Royal British Legion, it featured a service of remembrance and a wreath-laying ceremony at the Armed Forces Memorial. The 235 guests included the serving and veteran communities of Afghanistan, the families of those who served, and those […]

Michelle Obama has challenged men to support Kamala Harris’s bid to be America’s first female president, warning that women’s lives will be at risk if Donald Trump returns to the White House. During a rally in Michigan on Saturday, the former first lady described the assault on abortion rights as the harbinger of dangerous limitations on healthcare for women. Some men may be tempted to vote for Mr Trump because […]