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A Conservative former minister claimed she crammed herself into a luggage rack to sit down on a packed train journey between her constituency and London.

Tatton MP Esther McVey told the Commons that her local Avanti train service had gone “shockingly downhill” in the last few years.

Ms McVey said: “The train service between Wilmslow and London on that Manchester to London line used to be hourly, direct and took an hour and 50 minutes.

“Since the pandemic, the rise in industrial action and the start of Avanti operating the line, the service has gone shockingly downhill, ending now in the substandard service that we have today.”

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She claimed a rail traveller had recently “caused a Twitter storm by posting up a picture of her child she had stuffed in a luggage rack”, adding: “I sympathised, for I had done exactly the same thing, only it wasn’t a child I stuffed in the luggage rack. It was me for the full two-hour journey.”

Ms McVey added: “That was because several trains had had to crush into one, most people were standing but fortunately I managed to squeeze, and I say fortunately ironically, into the travel rack, and sat there for the full journey.”

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Rail travellers have faced months of disruption in the north of England and other areas of the UK which are served by the Avanti line.

In August, the train operator slashed its timetable and suspended advanced ticket operations due to a shortage of drivers agreeing to work overtime.

Some Tory MPs, as well as Labour, city mayors and the RMT union, have called on the government to withdraw Avanti’s contract.

Avanti runs routes connecting London to major cities including Manchester, Liverpool and Glasgow, but local leaders say the areas are being “cut off” due to its poor performance.

The rail operator’s contract was renewed by the government in the autumn, with a warning that the service must “dramatically” improve.

Ms McVey also called on the government to scrap HS2 – the multibillion-pound project aimed at improving connections – and to spend the money on restoring existing rail services.

The senior Tory said the travelling public “are being taken as fools” as she described frequent delays and random cancellations on her regular commute.

“We no longer have a rail service, it’s a rail sufferance,” she said.

‘Miserable experience’

Many Avanti workers are taking part in ongoing rail strikes to demand better pay and working conditions.

Several Tories described nightmare commutes as MPs debated the state of rail services on the West Coast Mainline.

Conservative MP for Milton Keynes North Ben Everitt described how his commute into London was usually a “pretty miserable experience”, adding: “Apart from actually a few weeks ago, where I was indeed sat in what is probably my usual spot just outside the toilet on the floor and I was joined by a bunch of lasses from Milton Keynes who were going to a Halloween party and they managed to strike up some conversation and they were good enough to share their cider.

“I had a nice journey down and I arrived in London with a temporary tattoo, which is gone now. But we shouldn’t rely on generosity and community spirit to take the misery out of these journeys.”

And Tory MP David Jones, who represents Clwyd West, told the Commons: “I think that the government at the earliest possible moment should remove the franchise from Avanti and seek a new operator for the West Coast Mainline.

“They have had their chance, they have failed, and there is no reason why passengers in north Wales or indeed in any other part of the country should be expected to continue to endure the consequences of Avanti’s sheer incompetence.”

Transport minister Huw Merriman acknowledged passengers on the West Coast Main Line have had a “torrid time”.

He went on: “We owe it to these passengers to deliver a vastly improved service. The additional drivers, the move away from voluntary working and the new timetable affords the opportunity to turn matters around.

“I am determined to play my part. I expect Avanti, the unions and everyone connected to join with me and ensure that this line delivers once again.”

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Financial markets were always going to respond to Trump tariffs but they’re also battling with another problem

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Financial markets were always going to respond to Trump tariffs but they're also battling with another problem

Global financial markets gave a clear vote of no-confidence in President Trump’s economic policy.

The damage it will do is obvious: costs for companies will rise, hitting their earnings.

The consequences will ripple throughout the global economy, with economists now raising their expectations for a recession, not only in the US, but across the world.

Tariffs latest: FTSE 100 suffers biggest daily drop since COVID

Financial investors had been gradually re-calibrating their expectations of Donald Trump over the past few months.

Hopes that his actions may not match his rhetoric were dashed on Wednesday as he imposed sweeping tariffs on the US’ trading partners, ratcheting up protectionism to a level not seen in more than a century.

Markets were always going to respond to that but they are also battling with another problem: the lack of certainty when it comes to Trump.

More on Donald Trump

He is a capricious figure and we can only guess his next move. Will he row back? How far is he willing to negotiate and offer concessions?

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These are massive unknowns, which are piled on to uncertainty about how countries will respond.

China has already retaliated and Europe has indicated it will go further.

That will compound the problems for the global economy and undoubtedly send shivers through the markets.

Much is yet to be determined, but if there’s one thing markets hate, it’s uncertainty.

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Court confirms sacking of South Korean president who declared martial law

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Court confirms sacking of South Korean president who declared martial law

South Korea’s constitutional court has confirmed the dismissal of President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was impeached in December after declaring martial law.

His decision to send troops onto the streets led to the country’s worst political crisis in decades.

The court ruled to uphold the impeachment saying the conservative leader “violated his duty as commander-in-chief by mobilising troops” when he declared martial law.

The president was also said to have taken actions “beyond the powers provided in the constitution”.

Demonstrators who stayed overnight near the constitutional court wait for the start of a rally calling for the president to step down. Pic: AP
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Demonstrators stayed overnight near the constitutional court. Pic: AP

Supporters and opponents of the president gathered in their thousands in central Seoul as they awaited the ruling.

The 64-year-old shocked MPs, the public and international allies in early December when he declared martial law, meaning all existing laws regarding civilians were suspended in place of military law.

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The Constitutional Court is under heavy police security guard ahead of the announcement of the impeachment trial. Pic: AP
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The court was under heavy police security guard ahead of the announcement. Pic: AP

After suddenly declaring martial law, Mr Yoon sent hundreds of soldiers and police officers to the National Assembly.

He has argued that he sought to maintain order, but some senior military and police officers sent there have told hearings and investigators that Mr Yoon ordered them to drag out politicians to prevent an assembly vote on his decree.

His presidential powers were suspended when the opposition-dominated assembly voted to impeach him on 14 December, accusing him of rebellion.

The unanimous verdict to uphold parliament’s impeachment and remove Mr Yoon from office required the support of at least six of the court’s eight justices.

South Korea must hold a national election within two months to find a new leader.

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the main liberal opposition Democratic Party, is the early favourite to become the country’s next president, according to surveys.

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Stock markets suffer sharp drops after Donald Trump announces sweeping tariffs

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Stock markets suffer sharp drops after Donald Trump announces sweeping tariffs

Stock markets around the world fell on Thursday after Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs – with some economists now fearing a recession.

The US president announced tariffs for almost every country – including 10% rates on imports from the UK – on Wednesday evening, sending financial markets reeling.

While the UK’s FTSE 100 closed down 1.55% and the continent’s STOXX Europe 600 index was down 2.67% as of 5.30pm, it was American traders who were hit the most.

Trump tariffs latest: US stock markets tumble

All three of the US’s major markets opened to sharp losses on Thursday morning.

A person works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Monday, March 31, 2025. Pic: AP
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The S&P 500 is set for its worst day of trading since the COVID-19 pandemic. File pic: AP

By 8.30pm UK time (3.30pm EST), The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 3.7%, the S&P 500 opened with a drop of 4.4%, and the Nasdaq composite was down 5.6%.

Compared to their values when Donald Trump was inaugurated, the three markets were down around 5.6%, 8.7% and 14.4%, respectively, according to LSEG.

More on Donald Trump

Worst one-day losses since COVID

As Wall Street trading ended at 9pm in the UK, two indexes had suffered their worst one-day losses since the COVID-19 pandemic.

The S&P 500 fell 4.85%, the Nasdaq dropped 6%, and the Dow Jones fell 4%.

It marks Nasdaq’s biggest daily percentage drop since March 2020 at the start of COVID, and the largest drop for the Dow Jones since June 2020.

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The latest numbers on tariffs

‘Trust in President Trump’

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told CNN earlier in the day that Mr Trump was “doubling down on his proven economic formula from his first term”.

“To anyone on Wall Street this morning, I would say trust in President Trump,” she told the broadcaster, adding: “This is indeed a national emergency… and it’s about time we have a president who actually does something about it.”

Later, the US president told reporters as he left the White House that “I think it’s going very well,” adding: “The markets are going to boom, the stock is going to boom, the country is going to boom.”

He later said on Air Force One that the UK is “happy” with its tariff – the lowest possible levy of 10% – and added he would be open to negotiations if other countries “offer something phenomenal”.

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How is the world reacting to Trump’s tariffs?

Economist warns of ‘spiral of doom’

The turbulence in the markets from Mr Trump’s tariffs “just left everybody in shock”, Garrett Melson, portfolio strategist at Natixis Investment Managers Solutions in Boston, told Reuters.

He added that the economy could go into recession as a result, saying that “a lot of the pain, will probably most acutely be felt in the US and that certainly would weigh on broader global growth as well”.

Meanwhile, chief investment officer at St James’s Place Justin Onuekwusi said that international retaliation is likely, even as “it’s clear countries will think about how to retaliate in a politically astute way”.

He warned: “Significant retaliation could lead to a tariff ‘spiral of doom’ that could be the growth shock that drags us into recession.”

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Tariffs about something more than economics: power

It comes as the UK government published a long list of US products that could be subject to reciprocal tariffs – including golf clubs and golf balls.

Running to more than 400 pages, the list is part of a four-week-long consultation with British businesses and suggests whiskey, jeans, livestock, and chemical components.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said on Thursday that the US president had launched a “new era” for global trade and that the UK will respond with “cool and calm heads”.

It also comes as Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced a 25% tariff on all American-imported vehicles that are not compliant with the US-Mexico-Canada trade deal.

He added: “The 80-year period when the United States embraced the mantle of global economic leadership, when it forged alliances rooted in trust and mutual respect and championed the free and open exchange of goods and services, is over. This is a tragedy.”

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