Healey’s first budget to include big devolution package to boost growth
Posted on Saturday October 24, 2026

Chancellor will build on Burnham’s promise that local leaders in England will no longer have to ‘come cap in hand to Westminster’

Andy Burnham has promised that local leaders in England will no longer have to come “cap in hand to Westminster” ahead of a fresh drive to devolve spending power in next week’s budget.

In his statement on Wednesday, the chancellor, John Healey, will include plans for a new £1.5bn borrowing facility, to be drawn up in collaboration with mayors over the next two years.

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Bust companies revived in ‘phoenix’ deals more likely to fail again, study finds
Posted on Sunday October 25, 2026

Exclusive: research for the Guardian shows ‘pre-pack’ deals with former management also pay far less to creditors

• The boss whose twice-bust business appears to be back

Insolvent businesses reacquired by their previous management in “pre-pack” administrations are much more likely to fail again and tend to repay far less to creditors, research for the Guardian suggests.

The study is the latest to raise questions about the practice of “phoenixism” – accounting’s controversial art of liquidating companies to allow directors to return with a new entity, free of debts.

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Emirati-linked firms’ ownership of Manchester land ‘up 39%’ in ten years
Posted on Sunday October 25, 2026

Economic ties face scrutiny after scandal over Manchester City’s financial rules

• ‘That’s the way the city works’: how the UAE changed the face of Andy Burnham’s Manchester

Emirati-linked companies own almost 40% more land in Greater Manchester than a decade ago, Guardian analysis reveals, as the city’s economic ties face scrutiny after Manchester City’s financial rules scandal.

The number of land titles in Greater Manchester owned by United Arab Emirates-linked companies increased from 51 in 2016 to 168 in 2026, equivalent to a 39% rise in the total area owned in a decade, from 73 to 101 hectares (180 to 250 acres).

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‘You can’t bring in robots’: the leather firm handmaking everything from wallets to cigar cases
Posted on Sunday October 25, 2026

In the third article in a series on high-end British manufacturing, we visit the Ettinger factory in Walsall

• ‘Our town is making jeans again’: reviving jobs and skills in Wales

• From feathers to pet portraits, Rolls-Royce rides high on custom craze

“It is all down to attention to detail and everything we do is based around that.”

Gary Billingham is demonstrating how the 28 pieces which make up an Ettinger wallet are cut from leather using a hydraulic press by the small team at one of Walsall’s last remaining leather goods factories. The edges of the pieces are thinned down so they are ready to be turned, glued and stitched together by hand.

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The datacentre next door: on the frontline of tech’s latest David v Goliath battle
Posted on Saturday October 24, 2026

The AI boom is pitting local residents against corporate giants seeking to power their energy-hungry networks – but one Welsh city is fighting back

Dale Johnston opens the gate to his neat suburban garden on the western fringes of Newport in South Wales. There’s a trampoline and a slide on the lawn for his grandchildren, and chairs for him and his wife. He should be enjoying the light draining from the perfect autumnal sky – but almost his entire view is blotted out by a vast expanse of prefabricated panels.

The 23 metre-high grey hulk looming over him and his neighbours is a hyperscale datacentre. It is heralded by the area’s Labour politicians as a job creator, yet all Johnston can think about is what he has lost: “Before, the sun used to come around here and it was lovely.” The way residents have been treated is “disgusting”.

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AI firms say UK has a year to head off datacentre protests before construction is threatened
Posted on Thursday October 22, 2026

Exclusive: Nvidia, Microsoft and Cisco taskforce urges ministers to offer areas greater benefits from tech infrastructure amid fears of US-style opposition

AI companies have told ministers they have 12 months to head off public opposition to datacentres in the UK or risk US-style protests that could threaten their construction.

Successive dry summers and rising energy bills are increasing public scrutiny of plans for the huge computer warehouses that are used to train and run AI models, says a submission to the Labour government from a group including the AI infrastructure companies Nvidia, Microsoft and Cisco.

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Carrick denies Manchester United are ‘unmanageable’, clásico buildup and more – matchday live
Posted on Sunday October 25, 2026

⚽️ News before the 2pm GMT Premier League fixtures
⚽️ How they stand | Fixtures | Mail John

Aintree Racecourse has confirmed today’s race meeting has been cancelled due to high winds. Will that mean Liverpool v Brighton is called off?

The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for wind in Liverpool and Merseyside due to Storm Boelo, which remains active through today until 9:00 PM on Sunday, October 25, 2026

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England all out for 241 against Pakistan despite Duckett’s 105: tri-series one day international cricket – live
Posted on Sunday October 25, 2026

Live ODI cricket updates from 8am GMT
Sri Lanka stun England with second-highest ODI chase
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Mark Butcher is touching the surface now.

Looks a road. But what do I know? The last time England played here they failed to defend 352 against Australia.

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