Author: Loveworld UK

First passengers travel on Elizabeth line train ahead of Crossrail launch Passengers have travelled on a train built for London’s Elizabeth line for the first time. The inaugural service went from London Liverpool Street to Shenfield, Essex, travelling on the existing TfL Rail route. The Elizabeth line, also known as Crossrail, opens in stages from December next year. The fleet of 66 trains have walk-through carriages, air conditioning and free wifi. The trains will be up to 656ft (200m) long, which enables them to carry as many as 1,500 passengers. The £14.8bn Elizabeth line project features 26 miles of tunnels…

The Government has purchased apartments at an upmarket development to rehouse survivors of the Grenfell Tower blaze. Sixty-eight new social housing units at the Kensington Row development in Kensington High Street have been acquired, Communities Secretary Sajid Javid said. Prices for homes on the site – which includes a private cinema and a 24-hour concierge service – range from £1.5m to £8.5m. Developer St Edward, a joint venture between the Berkeley Group and Prudential, has committed extra construction staff and relaxed working time restrictions to complete the project by the end of July. Tony Pidgley, chairman of the Berkeley Group,…

The initial response to the Grenfell Tower fire was “not good enough”, Theresa May has said, blaming “a failure of the state, local and national”. “As Prime Minister, I apologise for that failure,” she told MPs. Speaking after the Queen had laid out the new Government’s legislative programme, Mrs May said: “The whole country was heartbroken by the horrific loss of life and the utter devastation that we have seen. “One lady I had met ran from the fire wearing no more than a t-shirt and a pair of knickers. She had lost absolutely everything.” The Prime Minister continued: “So…

The Queen announced 27 bills as she revealed the Government’s legislative agenda to Parliament on Wednesday. The majority of the legislation planned for the next two years is dominated by Brexit measures, but there are also details on counter-terrorism plans, infrastructure projects and the economy. After the Tories’ failure to win a majority at this month’s snap General Election, there are also notable absences from the Government’s plans. :: BREXIT :: Great Repeal Bill – A huge piece of planned legislation that aims to replicate all existing EU law into British law by the time of Britain’s departure from the…

The Queen and Prince William have met victims of the Grenfell Tower fire and members of the emergency services at a refuge centre in west London. Her Majesty and the Duke of Cambridge visited the Westway Sports Centre, where people left homeless are being looked after, close to the charred remains of the tower block. As the Queen heard how the local community had provided support following the tragedy, she said their response had “come over very strongly”. Prince William said to a volunteer that “things like that you never want to see.” He told another volunteer: “That’s one of…

Jeremy Corbyn has called for empty luxury properties in Kensington to be requisitioned to house victims of the Grenfell inferno. The Labour leader claimed the tragedy had exposed a “tale of two cities”, with some of the wealthiest homes in the country located alongside the poorest. He spent about 40 minutes on Thursday consoling victims at St Clements Church, which is being used as a refuge for those who have lost their homes. His visit provided a sharp contrast with Theresa May, who made a private visit to the site to meet the emergency services, but failed to speak to…

It was not the maiden speech in Parliament that Emma Dent Coad, the new MP for Kensington, would have wanted to make. On Tuesday, after MPs had re-elected John Bercow as Speaker, I interviewed her for Sky News about her first impressions of the House of Commons. She said – as many new MPs do – that even though she’d visited Parliament many times, she couldn’t believe how noisy and raucous it was inside the chamber. Yet now, two days later, she was making her first speech to MPs in a hushed, sombre atmosphere of shock – and at times…

Tesco has reported its best quarterly sales growth in seven years as it said it was holding back inflation pressures to keep prices down. Chief executive Dave Lewis said the business, Britain’s biggest supermarket, had done well in the first quarter despite “tough market conditions”. Tesco reported a 2.3% rise in UK like-for-like sales for the 13 weeks to 27 May – the latest sign of the turnaround under Mr Lewis after he became boss in 2014. It was the sixth consecutive quarter of growth and the best performance since the third quarter of the 2009-10 period, beating City expectations.…

France President Emmanuel Macron’s party is on course for a landslide victory after Sunday’s first round of voting for the National Assembly. Projections showed Mr Macron’s Republique en Marche party and its ally MoDem expected to win between 400 and 445 seats in the 577-member assembly in next Sunday’s second round. That would give Mr Macron one of the biggest parliamentary majorities for 60 years. Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said: “France is back. For the past month, the president has shown confidence, willingness and daring in France and on the international stage.” He added the result will be a vindication…

Business confidence has plunged because of the political uncertainty gripping the nation following the election, a lobby group has said. The hung parliament has triggered a “dramatic drop” in confidence, according to a survey by the Institute of Directors (IoD). A snap poll of its 700 members found a negative swing of 34 points in confidence in the UK economy since its last survey in May. The majority cited Brexit and growing concerns about the country’s immigration system once Britain leaves the European Union as a priority issue for Theresa May’s minority government to address. In particular, employers voiced worries…