I know people are worried about fuel prices. And I get it. You get to the pump, watch the numbers climb, and wonder why it's costing so much more than it used to.   The reality is that global events are pushing up costs, and families here at home are feeling the impact.   But I won't accept that there's nothing I can do to help.   That's why from today, you'll be able to see petrol and diesel prices on Google Maps, compare nearby stations and find the cheapest option before you fill up.   It's a small change, but if there's a practical way to help people keep more money in their pocket, I'll do it.

Rapper Macklemore announces 'Free Palestine' tour after Ed Sheeran fallout bbc.in/3Vtnlzt

.@macklemore has announced the FREE PALESTINE Tour, a series of live performances beginning in Europe, that includes a stop at @3ArenaDublin on 26 October 2026. The concerts will bring Macklemore together with artists and friends, with proceeds going to organizations providing humanitarian aid and support. 🎫 Tickets on sale Wednesday 30 September at 10am bit.ly/4jmdfu8

A very approximate list of the average monthly essential expenditure a British state pensioner has: Food £260 Council tax £200 Water rates £60 Gas/electric £300 Contents and building insurance £30 Window cleaner £15 TV licence £20 Phone and broadband £40 Petrol £30 Car tax/insurance/MOT £50 Garden waste bin £5 Boiler service £8 Hair cuts £10 Dentist £20 Total: 1,048. While the state pension is £965. And God knows what you do if you have ground rent and management fees to pay. And for heaven's sake don't enjoy yourselves by buying a plant for the garden, a lipstick, a pair of socks, or a birthday present for a grandchild because you can't actually afford it. And be very careful with your glasses because a new pair at Specsavers isn't cheap. What a thoroughly disgusting country we live in when old people have to live like this.

Tomorrow we’ll be updating planning rules to give stronger protection for pubs. We’re drawing a line so developers have to prove there’s genuinely no way to save a pub before they can even think about knocking it down. Building the homes we desperately need shouldn’t come at the cost of the pubs we love. thetimes.com/article/1ad9d82…

This is huge, and will help thousands across our region with the cost-of-living!

🚨The UK will scrap some older weapons and kit, including Storm Shadow cruise missiles and a range of military helicopters, under a major investment plan which falls billions of pounds short of what military chiefs say they need. But it could have been worse. The Treasury agreed to give the Ministry of Defence an extra £1.5bn in the wake of John Healey resigning as defence secretary earlier in the month in protest at a lack of cash. This has pushed the total amount of extra money for the defence investment plan to £15bn in “spending power” over four years, but only £11.6 bn of that amount is new money, with the rest comprising a reallocation of existing resources. In a further sign that Sir Keir Starmer belatedly believes even more money is needed to rearm, his investment blueprint does say “funding and plans” behind a goal to push defence spending to 3% of GDP in the next parliament from around 2.3% now would be revealed in the next spending review, expected in 2027, where defence will be the “number one priority”. However, this commitment will only carry weight if endorsed by the next prime minister. The government finally unveiled its defence investment plan on Tuesday following months of delays because of wrangling over money. Dan Jarvis, the new defence secretary, warned in the document that “tough choices” have had to be made “to stop doing things which were designed for another age”. This includes phasing out Storm Shadow cruise missiles, which have been a vital weapon for RAF fighter jets as well as Ukrainian forces in their war with Russia. “We are now pivoting to the next generation of low-cost cruise missiles,” the plan said. More than 30 Wildcat helicopters and Chinook helicopters will also be axed along with plans to upgrade a satellite communications system. In another bid to save money, an ambition to increase the size of the military cadet force by 30% by 2030 - key for rebuilding national resilience – has been slowed to 2035. The timeline had been set out in a sweeping review of defence, published a year ago, which the investment plan is meant to fund. Mr Jarvis stressed the need to focus more on autonomous weapons and artificial intelligence to ensure the army, navy and air force is “fit for the next war, not the last one”. Across 80 pages, the investment plan set out how a total of £298 billion in funding – which includes the £15bn uplift – would be invested across the whole of defence over the next four years. It included: •More than £20bn as part of a programme to renew a fleet of four nuclear-armed submarines, the cornerstone of the UK’s ability to deter threats •£11.1bn on munitions and weapons to boost stockpiles to enable the army, navy and air force sustain a fight beyond a few short days. This includes low-cost cruise missiles as well as six new weapons factories •£790m to bolster air defences to protect the UK and its overseas bases from enemy missiles and drones – a fraction of the sums of money that experts say would be required for a credible air defence system, like Israel’s “Iron Dome” •£330m over an unspecified timespan to improve security around critical underwater oil and gas pipelines and communication cables that are crucial for the economy but are vulnerable to hostile attack from Russia •£1.6bn earmarked for investment in innovative technology, which is changing the way that militaries fight with artificial intelligence significantly accelerating how decisions by the chain of command are made in planning operations and conducting strikes The plan claimed the additional funding would push up total defence spending to 2.7% of GDP by 2030, a rise of 0.1 percentage points from a previous level. Yet this figure also includes expenditure on the intelligence agencies, as opposed to only hard military power, and it is well short of the target of 3% that John Healey, the previous defence secretary, had been pushing for. 1/2

📈 3,008 more teachers in secondaries & special schools 📈1,646 more teachers in colleges 📈Trainee teachers up 13% 📈 Teacher pay up 9.5% 📈 Record investment in schools If standing up for state schools makes me a spiteful class warrior, I’ll wear it with pride. #PMQs

Gut wrenching to see four young people jailed for direct action against an arms supplier to Israel. Years in prison for protesting to save lives in Gaza, with 'terrorism' used despite no jury convicting them of it. A truly dangerous attack on the right to protest.