Labour's shadow transport secretary described the decline in bus services as "nothing short of vandalism in our communities" and tweeted this morning: "Buses matter to millions. The government has described the figures as "misleading", and pointed to an investment since 2020 of £3.5bn into bus services. The figures, which are based on annual reports by traffic commissioners, show there were 8,781 bus services in the year to March 2023, compared to 17,394 in 2011.Īlmost 2,000 routes were cut since the 2021/22 period alone, the data suggests. Instead, Labour has spent today highlighting the number of bus services in the UK, which has halved since 2011. Sky News approached Labour HQ to see if they wanted to say anything on it at all, but they pointed us to shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper's comment yesterday, accusing the Tories of "flailing around chasing headlines rather than getting a grip". Justice Secretary Alex Chalk defended Mr Anderson's "salty" comments, and Downing Street said the minister was "speaking on behalf of the government".īut the Labour Party has seemingly not wanted to get involved in the row.Īlthough London mayor Sadiq Khan condemned Mr Anderson for "stoking up more division and hate", not one member of the shadow cabinet has commented on it at all today. The Conservative Party's deputy chairman Lee Anderson has dominated the political headlines so far today after saying that if illegal migrants don't like being housed on a barge, they should "f*** off back to France" (see post at 9.30am). Ms Parkes is crowdfunding her own legal costs. "We will be asking the court to declare that planning permission is required, and that the home secretary must follow the relevant procedures." "The home secretary's plans have caused widespread concern in our client's local community, and have deprived the council of its ability to exert relevant planning control. Her solicitors, Deighton Pierce Glynn, said: "The home secretary is circumventing planning permission procedures to use the Bibby Stockholm barge to accommodate vulnerable asylum seekers in conditions which are clearly inadequate. Local mayor Carralyn Parkes is fighting against this on the grounds the government didn't obtain the necessary planning permission, according to her solicitors.ĭorset Council has said it considered planning permission was not needed for the barge because it lies below the mean low water mark.īut Ms Parkes argues it is within the jurisdiction of the local planning authority. The Home Office is planning to house over 500 asylum seekers on the barge in Portland Harbour, Dorset. The mayor of Portland is set to challenge the home secretary over the government's use of the Bibby Stockholm barge to accommodate asylum seekers.
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