This engineer remains on track despite issues on the line
A slow start to Network Rail's CP7 spending and planning cycle, which runs from 2024 to 2029, continues to catch a range of companies off guard. These include equipment hire specialists Speedy Hire and Vp, engineering services company Renew, and signalling expert Tracsis.
We were starting to worry that portfolio pick Costain, another infrastructure specialist, could be dragged off course given its exposure to Network Rail and HS2. But a second reassuring trading statement in the space of a month hopefully means we can rest easy.
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The Sun
24 minutes ago
- The Sun
Keir Starmer's end-of-term report card is in and it makes for grim reading – he has three big problems
IT is the end of the school year and Parliament is shutting down for the summer holidays. But if Sir Keir Starmer is hoping to spend August in his swimming trunks larking about by the pool, he should think again. 1 The PM's end-of-term report card is in — and it makes for grim reading. The economy is shrinking, his popularity is plummeting and his pesky backbenchers are busy rebelling. The only thing on the up in Britain is illegal immigration and crime. Across the board, Sir Keir and his chums in Labour's class of 2024 are at risk of scoring straight Fs — and failing the British public. In Opposition, Keir Starmer campaigned like a swotty prefect. Dull, yes, but a safe pair of hands who promised to fix broken Britain and restore integrity in politics. But in No10 he has been more Dunce than headboy. The PM has a big problem with his three Rs: Reeves, recession and rebellions. He must master each of these to turn things around. Let's start with Rachel Reeves. On the campaign trail she promised the most 'pro-business' government in British history, and cosplayed Margaret Thatcher by declaring herself the 'Iron Chancellor'. PM vows to drastically increase the numbers of channel migrants sent back to France But once safely tucked up in the Treasury, she dropped a £40billion tax bomb on us — clobbering businesses with that crippling NICs hike. The results were predictable. Britain's economy has gone from the fastest-growing in the G7 to one that is SHRINKING after the tax rises kicked in. Unemployment numbers are up and struggling businesses are thinking twice before hiring because of the eye- watering costs. You don't have to be a maths whizz to work out the numbers don't add up. If Keir Starmer is not careful he could end up with another big problem — a recession. Labour has always had a bad reputation with money. The problem is simple: They love spending money but are rubbish at making it. Now, Labour MPs are busy clamouring for a new wealth tax. ('What wealth?', I hear you cry.) This would be a grave mistake. Eye-watering costs If you squeeze people and businesses with higher and higher taxes they will stop spending, stop hiring, and stop investing. That is how we have ended up in this doom-loop where people feel poorer and cut back on treats like holidays and dinners out. It hacks away at people's happiness and optimism. If you work hard but life isn't getting better, your local pub or shop is closing down, and your kids have fewer opportunities than you had, then what's the point of the Government? If the Starmer regime plunges Britain into recession within its first 18 months in power then it is hard to see how Labour recovers. Which brings me to the third R — rebellions. Labour MPs won by a landslide a year ago, but they have already got a taste for mutiny. The recent welfare rebellion forced No10 into yet another humiliating U-turn and left a £5billion hole in the Budget. Last week Starmer hit back — suspending four rebel MPs for what one insider called 'persistent knobheadery'. I've seen the past four PMs torn down by bitter party feuding. Voters handed Labour a giant majority for a reason: They want change. If the Government fails to deliver it, voters will flock elsewhere. And Nigel Farage's Reform UK party is lurking on the horizon. But Keir Starmer CAN turn things around — it is not too late to turn those Fs into As. First he must stand by Rachel Reeves as Chancellor. Yes, she has made big mistakes, but she knows the importance of providing certainty and stability for the market. Another Labour Chancellor might bring in a wealth tax and go on an even bigger spending splurge. That would be a terrible mistake. Next, he must stop punishing businesses. No more big tax hikes. No more suffocating red tape. Having a wobble Restrictive licensing laws should be torn up. Incentives to take over empty shops should be brought in. Third, he must take on the rebels. No PM can be a hostage to his backbenchers. He must be free to lead. But, to do this, Keir must be braver and make the big arguments. He must stop trying to sneak in piecemeal reform by the back door. On welfare, he should come back with a package of measures that ends the scandal of teenagers and young adults being signed off work for anxiety, depression and bad nerves. It is killing their life chances with misplaced kindness. It is not too late for the Government to turn things around. As any parent of a spotty teenager will tell Keir, lots of people have a wobble in their first year. But the PM must pull his socks up, hit the books this summer and come back next term with bigger and better ideas. Otherwise, as one of my old teachers once told me, he risks slipping into obscurity. And he will have failed Britain. THERE is a long hot summer ahead of us and that can only mean one thing – more crime. Shoplifting, phone snatching, stabbings. Brits are sick to the back teeth with it all. A shocking poll in yesterday's Sun on Sunday revealed that half of voters think the country is becoming lawless. That is a stat to keep politicians and police chiefs awake at night. Nigel Farage and Reform UK will spend the summer shining a light on our crime-blighted streets and promising to restore law and order. Keir Starmer should be worried. People want their neighbourhoods cleaned up. If Labour can't do it, they will vote for a party that can.
Daily Mail
24 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Marcus Rashford pictured arriving in Barcelona as it emerges Man United exile is taking a pay cut to complete dream move
Marcus Rashford's willingness to take a 15 per cent pay cut paved the way for his loan move to Barcelona. The Spanish champions made the Manchester United outcast - who was seen arriving in Barcelona on Sunday night - their top target this summer despite flirtations with Liverpool 's Luis Diaz and Spain winger Nico Williams. But Barcelona, who have had major financial issues for years, have so far been unable to register new signings and Rashford might have to wait until after the club's tour of Asia, which starts this week, to be officially added to their squad. His salary sacrifice — a 15 per cent reduction on his £315,000-a-week wages — makes that more likely. Barcelona had problems registering players last summer with new arrival Dani Olmo having to sit out the first three matches of the campaign before eventually getting La Liga clearance. Rashford almost signed for Barcelona in January but La Liga insisted the club sell before they buy and when they failed to offload Ansu Fati, who has since moved to Monaco, the deal had to be put on hold. Marcus Rashford in Barcelona! 👀 — UtdXclusive (@UtdXclusive) July 20, 2025 Rashford arrives with no obligatory buy-clause and already publicly declared desire to link up with Yamal. He flew into Barcelona on Sunday night and will train for the first time with his new team-mates on Tuesday subject to a medical on Monday.
Telegraph
24 minutes ago
- Telegraph
There must be a way forward for our water industry
On one thing everyone is agreed: the water industry is in a mess. The finances are shot to pieces, charges to consumers have risen rapidly and the record on pollution is a disgrace. A review to be published today will try to chart a way forward for the country's water companies though without any great expectations that it will bring about the fundamental reforms that are needed. The political parties are unable to agree about what should happen next. With businesses like Thames Water heavily in debt, is renationalisation the answer? Labour ministers, who are not normally shy about praising state ownership, are not keen since the costs would be enormous, probably around £100 billion. Moreover, since the industry struggled to raise money for investment when it was run by the state, why would reverting to the days before privatisation make any difference? The Water Commission chaired by Sir Jon Cunliffe, former deputy governor of the Bank of England, was specifically told not to consider renationalisation as an option in its review. Nonetheless, it has been looking at alternative models such as mixed public-private arrangements. The Government would retain a golden share and control while the private sector would still be expected to drum up the investment rather than the taxpayer. Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform UK, says this is an approach he would favour if in office and it may be something the review recommends. On the other hand, in his preliminary findings Sir Jon said it was by means clear that any particular model equated to better outcomes. 'The Commission's Call for Evidence set out preliminary analysis that suggested no clear, consistent causal link between ownership models and water company performance on a range of metrics and called, specifically, for more evidence on this issue'. There is one thing that unites everyone and that is the uselessness of Ofwat as a regulator and the need to replace it with something that works. On its watch the industry has come close to bankruptcy and vast sums have been paid out in dividends while pollution of rivers, lakes and seas has risen dramatically. Serious incidents have risen 60 per cent in a year, according to the Environment Agency. Will today's review usher in the fundamental changes that are needed or merely see the mess continue? It would help if the politicians could agree on a way forward for dealing with our most precious commodity.
