As budget nears, faith in government ‘on a knife edge’ – even in Preston, a Labour stronghold
The dramatic iron canopy over Preston Market has been sheltering shoppers for nearly 150 years.
Even inside the stylish indoor market, which opened six years ago, the trading history of this Lancashire city is palpable.
Old posters remember the Christmas markets of 1902.
Derek Cheetham says the UK is ‘on a knife edge’
“A lot of people have been coming here for a long time,” says Derek Cheetham, owner of the market’s Cherry Pie Coffee & Co.
“It is a religious thing for them to do, to go to Preston Market.”
They have seen plenty of budgets come and go here but, in a seat that has been safe Labour territory since the end of the Second World War, the party’s first budget in recent memory is a significant moment.
“I think it’ll make or break them,” says Valerie Sergeant, owner of Wise Buys Hair and Beauty, adding, “they have to help the middle classes.”
For traders and shoppers alike, the government’s controversial decision to change the winter fuel allowance for pensioners has made many wary of what new economic pain might lie ahead.
“I think we’re on a bit of a knife edge,” Mr Cheetham said.
Preston Market
“They’ve obviously got issues to solve, I think everybody knew that. They’ve tried to make it sound worse than we all thought it might be, probably so that when they make tough decisions, they’ve got a good excuse for it. I don’t think everyone’s buying that, to be honest.”
Preston Market has been serving shoppers for nearly 150 years
Like many of the small business owners in the market, he is concerned about the prospect of an increase in national insurance contributions for employers and changes to pensions.
“Most small businesses are not making huge amounts of money. Every time the government puts another cost implication in there the only people it hurts generally is the workers.”
Salman Ahmed, who switched from selling fashion to joining his brother’s Indian food stall Chacha’s, agrees.
Valerie Sergeant says ministers ‘have to help the middle classes’
“We’re not struggling, we’re coping, we’re alright, we pay the bills and take some money out for us. This budget looks like it is going to be financially a burden on the employers and this is going to be more pressure and we’ll feel it.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Why are businesses nervous about the budget?
By the Halloween display, a queue forms for the nearby bakery.
Some people offer a brusque “no comment” when asked about what they want from the budget.
They are similarly dismissive of Labour’s first months in office.
“It is heartbreaking to see that old fella there saving up his 1p and 2p coins so he can buy his grandson something for Christmas. He’s going to get nowt in the budget,” says one frustrated woman.
👉 Listen to Electoral Dysfunction on your podcast app 👈
David Maudsley, owner of Sheridan’s Bags and Bags, said: “I think the country is in limbo at the moment.
“Can it be as bad as they have really portrayed? Hopefully not. But there’s no light at the end of the tunnel until after the budget.
“In a nutshell, people are saying, ‘this is not what we voted for’. A number of people have said exactly the same to me. We didn’t vote for this and I’m not sure what we were voting for exactly.”
At Bossy Boots shoe stall, Peter Walls is even more blunt. Since the election, he says, the country “has been a mess”.
As for the budget, he says, “there’s a lot of fear, there’s a lot of worry out there.”
Read more from Sky News:
Labour MP suspended over video of him punching man
‘Working people’ and Labour’s messaging muddle
Starmer: Those with assets are ‘not working people’
In this staunchly Labour area there are plenty who want to give the government time on the economy but, even here, the challenges of everyday life mean patience is short.
In his 70s, Adrian Livesey is still running the butchers he started four decades ago. I asked him if the people of Preston still have faith in the Labour government.
“They have but it is waning. We get people in here all the time saying ‘hey, it’s not took them long, has it? It’s not took them long to go back on their pledges’.”
Police have made a direct appeal to those involved in the murder of a teenager to finally bring her family closure, exactly 30 years after she disappeared.
Lindsay Rimer, 13, went out to buy a box of Corn Flakes late in the evening on 7 November 1994 and never returned home. Her body was found in a canal close to her home six months later.
Lindsay’s family have also marked this year’s anniversary with a renewed appeal for information from the public, particularly in the town of Hebden Bridge in West Yorkshire where Lindsay lived and died.
“This person should be in prison, not us because that’s where we feel we’ve been for the last 30 years,” her sister Kate Rimer told Sky News.
Juliet Rimer was just one when her sister was killed but has recently been reading letters and diaries to gain a better understanding of a life cut short.
“It’s just, it’s a bit of a horror film that we have to do this,” she said. “The fact that I had a sister that I never knew who was murdered, I just can’t wrap my head around that. It’s had a massive impact on me.”
Lindsay months before her death
Kate, who played the part of her sister in a police reconstruction a year after her disappearance, says the family believes someone has information that could lead to her killer’s arrest.
“It’s usually been my mum who does this but the emotional toll it’s taken on my parents means that they just can’t do this anymore.
“It’s incredibly emotional, it opens everything up, and it reflects back over 30 years ago and everything that we lived through then. And just the horror of a loved family member, a child being murdered, is a really bizarre situation. You live your normal life around that and then we’re opening up again to bring murder and death back into our family.”
In the years since Lindsay’s disappearance, police have spoken to more than 5,000 people and examined 1,200 vehicles. Two men were arrested and later released.
A new sighting of Lindsay after she left the convenience shop on the night she disappeared has been confirmed and police believe those in the community have vital information.
Read more UK news:
Queen pulls out of engagements this week
Suspicious parcel in UK warehouse was ‘test run’ by Russian spies
Labour confirms U-turn on proposed smoking ban
Juliet, left, and Kate Rimer speak to Sky News this month
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
Detective Chief Inspector James Entwistle of West Yorkshire Police made a direct appeal to those who were involved in killing and disposing of her body.
“Has this been on your conscience for thirty years?” he said.
“It’s perfectly possible there’s more than one person involved, its perfectly possible there’s a vehicle involved. Maybe you didn’t murder Lindsay but you know exactly who did because you were there and that’s sat on your conscience for 30 years.
“Now is the time to come and talk to us, now is the time to draw a line under this and bring that closure for Lindsay’s family.”
New posters featuring Lindsay’s picture have gone up around Hebden Bridge as part of the appeal for information and an increased police presence will be in the town.
Juliet said: “It has been 30 years but Lindsey didn’t deserve this and we owe it to her as her family to keep doing this.”
Lucy Letby suggested she could give “tips” to a colleague on how to get away with murder, a public inquiry has heard.
The child serial killer exchanged WhatsApp messages in 2017 with union rep Hayley Griffiths about the US legal drama How To Get Away With Murder.
The discussion took place a year after the neonatal nurse was moved to clerical duties at the Countess of Chester Hospital following concerns she may have been deliberately harming babies.
In a message to Letby, Ms Griffiths wrote: “I’m currently watching a programme called how to get away with murder. I’m learning some good tips.”
Letby replied: “I could have given you some tips x”
Ms Griffiths said: “I need someone to practice on to see if I can get away with it.”
Letby wrote: “I can think of two people you could practice on and will help you cover it up x”
Ms Griffiths replied: “Deal. I will get thinking of a plan. Get the cruise booked as our getaway.”
The pair were working in the hospital’s risk and patient safety department a year before Letby was arrested on suspicion of multiple murders by Cheshire Police.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
How the police caught Lucy Letby
Ms Griffiths said she was aware of the concerns of foul play and the connection to Letby by September 2016.
Shahram Sharghy, representing some of the families of Letby’s victims, asked: “Given the severity of the allegations that were made, and would you agree they are possibly the most serious allegations that anybody could make against a healthcare professional, were you making light of those allegations when you were referring to potentially committing a crime?”
Ms Griffiths answered: “No.”
Mr Sharghy asked: “Can you even begin to imagine and put yourself in the position of the families of the babies who were harmed when they see those messages?”
Ms Griffiths said: “I know… I am so remorseful. As soon as I saw them myself I was upset and I can’t begin to imagine… I can only apologise and say I have learned. I can’t go back in time but I have reflected absolutely on it.”
Read more from the inquiry:
‘Cold’ Lucy Letby failed final year student nurse placement
‘Breathing tubes dislodged’ during Letby shifts
Nurses who worked with Letby ‘were thinking the unthinkable’
Earlier, Ms Griffiths told counsel to the inquiry Rachel Langdale KC: “It was nothing more than a conversation. However, I truly and deeply regret having started that conservation… this is completely unprofessional, poor judgement on my behalf and completely insensitive. And for that, I can only apologise from the bottom of my heart.”
Letby, 34, from Hereford, is currently serving 15 whole-life orders.
She was convicted at Manchester Crown Court of murdering seven infants and attempting to murder six others between June 2015 and June 2016.
The Thirlwall Inquiry into the events surrounding her crimes is expected to sit until early 2015. The findings are expected by late autumn that year.
UK
Newcastle: Three men arrested in connection with deadly house explosion and on suspicion of cannabis production
Three men have been arrested in connection with a deadly house explosion in Newcastle.
Seven-year-old Archie York and Jason Laws, who was in his 30s, were killed following the blast in Violet Close, in the Benwell and Elswick area of the city in October.
Police said at the time that six others were taken to hospital “with varying injuries” after the blast and subsequent fire.
Three men – two in their 30s and one in his 50s – have been arrested on suspicion of two counts of manslaughter, and the production of a Class B drug, namely cannabis, Northumbria Police said.
They all remain in police custody.
Detective Chief Inspector Katie Smith said: “This has been a truly tragic incident which resulted in the loss of two lives.
“As a result of our ongoing enquiries, three men have today been arrested in connection with the explosion.
“Our investigation will remain ongoing as we seek to provide answers to what has happened.
“We would continue to ask people to avoid speculation surrounding this incident both online and in the community.”
Read more UK news:
Disguised MP jailed for trying to kill mother’s partner
Bonfire Night disorder across Edinburgh
Starmer and Badenoch lead British congratulations as Trump wins
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
From October: Deadly blast destroys Newcastle house
The blast tore through a row of six properties divided into two flats each.
Drone footage showed how six flats in the middle of the building appeared to have been completely destroyed by the explosion and fire, while piles of debris could be seen in the street outside.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
Superintendent Darren Adams, from Northumbria Police, said on the day of the fire: “As a result of the incident in the early hours of this morning, a seven-year-old boy has sadly passed away.
“Despite the efforts of the emergency services, he tragically died at the scene.
“This is a truly devastating outcome.”
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports7 months agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Environment1 year agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Sports3 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business2 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway