Latest news with #ChrisBryant
The Herald Scotland
4 days ago
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
This is the row that could derail the UK-wide 5G rollout
A long-running dispute between landowners, telecommunication companies and government appears to be here to stay. The UK Government, then run by the Conservatives, updated the Electronic Communications Code (ECC) in 2017 in an attempt to accelerate action on 5G. But the government has acknowledged these changes were controversial. Rent dispute The ECC simplifies the process for network operators to access land and install infrastructure like phone masts and cables, while also balancing the rights of landowners. It allowed many telecoms companies to vastly reduce the rents they paid to landowners. Some landowners have reported rent reductions of up to 90%, which has led to many considering whether to continue as a hosting site. Read more: The proposals were described as "well intentioned" but in some areas have had the opposite impact, with landowners refusing to host the infrastructure. There has also been an explosion in legal disputes, with cases reaching over 1,000 since 2017, compared with just three in the previous three decades, from 1984. New changes? The row has escalated as the Labour-led government launched a consultation in May, which looks to extend the changes in the valuation mechanism to rental agreements entered into before 2017 as they come up for renewal. That would mean around 15,000 existing telecoms sites would be added, with landowner representatives arguing it would exacerbate the problem they face. Industry experts want the UK Government to pause the implementation to consider the consequences for landowners. Interestingly, Labour in opposition approved the changes, which would be made by amending the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure (PTSI) Act, which then updates the ECC. In 2022, shadow digital secretary Lucy Powell warned that the PSTI changes would "slow down, rather than speed up, the broadband and 5G rollout". But now, telecoms minister Chris Bryant confirmed the government wants to implement the provisions "as soon as possible". Connectivity stalled Broadband and 5G accessibility remains poor in many parts of the UK. In Scotland, Argyll and Bute and the Highlands and Islands are amongst he worst. However, in Scotland's largest urban hub - Glasgow - fibre coverage is now amongst the five worst cities in the UK. Just 57.8% of premises have access to full fibre broadband. The UK is also now ranked 30th out of 39 countries in terms of availability of 5G.
Daily Mirror
7 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mirror
Everyone using O2, EE, Vodafone and Three must check their postcode immediately
A new service launched by Ofcom is showing just how good (or bad) your mobile signal really is. Anyone with a smartphone in their pocket would be wise to head to a new service from Ofcom - called Map Your Mobile - and punch in their postcode. This latest update from the UK telecoms regulator is aimed at showing consumers which UK networks have the best signal in their local area. According to Ofcom, millions could be missing out on better data and call performance by not using the best mobile firm for the location where they spend the most time. Map Your Mobile is now the most comprehensive tool for comparing mobile coverage and performance across Britain. Once a postcode is entered, a map appears showing which operator's network gives the best performance. Explaining more, Natalie Black, Ofcom's Group Director for Networks and Communications, said: 'Map Your Mobile shows detailed coverage and performance based on what smartphones need today. Put in your postcode and find out which mobile network is right for you.' Along with showing how things are performing at home, Ofcom hopes people will also check their work address and route to the office. If a rival network appears to be better then it could be time to switch. Ofcom says its new checker includes crowdsourced data from Opensignal that is based on people's real experiences, as well as predictive data from the UK's mobile operators. People increasingly need a highly reliable service for data-hungry activities such as gaming, streaming videos and working on the move. This means the new checker gives different results than the previous tool, but more accurately reflects users' modern needs. "Access to fast and reliable mobile coverage is essential for delivering the change our country needs to thrive and boost economic growth," said Telecoms Minister Sir Chris Bryant. "For too long there has been a frustrating gap between coverage reports and the real signal people experience in their daily lives. 'This new tool provides consumers with accurate, postcode-level information so they have the power to choose the network that works where they need it most - whether at home, work or on their commute. It is fantastic to see this practical step being implemented to improve connectivity for everybody across the nation."
Times
25-06-2025
- Politics
- Times
MPs learn Wagatha lessons from Coleen Rooney
MPs take inspiration from anyone: Margaret Thatcher, Nelson Mandela and, it seems, Coleen Rooney. A group of LGBT MPs have followed the example of the footballer's wife as they sought to eliminate colleagues from a WhatsApp group that leaked to The Mail on Sunday. The leak, which took place after the Supreme Court's trans decision, caused embarrassment to ministers Angela Eagle and Chris Bryant, but the group's admins haven't taken it lying down. They have set up a new group, methodically leaving out suspects, and now believe the culprits have been excluded. This echoes Rooney's method for finding the person who leaked stories about her to the tabloids but, unlike when she identified Rebekah Vardy, with no naming and shaming. This is a classier operation: less Wagatha Christie, more MPD James. If leaks come from the government, they may be unintentional. A PPS has been repeatedly heard loudly dictating voice notes on his phone, thereby sharing sensitive details. Journalists are among those in earshot and they know this MP's voice well. He is so ambitious that he's usually loudly asking them if they know when the reshuffle is. A worrying sign for Sir Keir Starmer ahead of a big backbench revolt. At lunch yesterday, diners in parliament discovered a shortage of knives. Rare in Westminster for the demand for backstabbing to exceed supply. One of Westminster's most quietly influential groups celebrated its half-century on Tuesday night. The Debating Group has helped to launch the careers of future PMs and chancellors, including the young Tony Blair, Theresa May and Jeremy Hunt. 'Speaking at one of these debates is a surefire route to Downing Street,' said one of those attending the birthday party in Westminster. The group even helped the careers of those who failed to speak for it. In 1998, one future PM missed the debate on 'Modern politics is more concerned with image than reality' but did come to eat the dinner afterwards. That was Boris Johnson, never missing a chance to have his cake and eat it too. The New York Democrats' election of a socialist as their candidate for mayor alarmed chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov, an avowed critic of Vladimir Putin and former citizen of the USSR. After the result from his sometime home in the US, he wrote: 'Socialism is like polio. It comes back when people forget about the horrible damage it did last time.' After Donald Trump swapped real bombs for the f-bomb, it should be noted that other presidents turned the air blue (albeit in private). Nixon taped himself doing it, while LBJ was notoriously coarse, but Andrew Jackson's vulgarity was revealed in unorthodox style. A witness to his funeral in 1845 said it was interrupted by someone 'swearing so loud and long as to disturb the people'. The profane mourner 'had to be carried from the house'. The culprit was Poll, the deceased president's parrot.
Daily Mail
25-06-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
QUENTIN LETTS: With Keir missing, Rayner flub-dubbed her way through the gig, spluttering insults and deflecting blame
Disillusionment rather than mutiny. That was the mood on the Labour side at PMQs. They watched, fidgeted, winced a bit and reprised weary attacks on the long-defunct Sunak government. Culture minister Chris Bryant, in pole position on the frontbench, twisted his lanyard round his security pass and licked his lips. Terriers do that when in pain. Lucy Powell, leader of the Commons, sat with mouth agape, catching flies. Portrait of a gobdaw. Rachel Reeves, chic in powder blue, could have been the sedated victim of some dreadful shock. She did not seem to be altogether there. At the centre of it all stood Angela Rayner, flub-dubbing her way through the gig, spluttering insults, deflecting blame. She rotated her jaw bucket and threw arms here and there, incoherent frustration encased in chintz. Mrs Rayner was again deputising for Sir Keir Starmer. It was the second Wednesday in succession he had missed. Even popular prime ministers should beware prolonged absences. Mrs Thatcher could have told him that. With the revolt against welfare cuts in full spate, plenty of the Government's supporters were absent. Maybe it was the warm weather. Maybe they did not trust their ability to remain poker-faced when, as inevitably happened, the opposition taunted Labour disunity and, infuriatingly, offered to help the Government push through the cuts that are needed to balance the Treasury's books. Kemi Badenoch had this week chosen her shadow Chancellor, Sir Mel Stride, to lead Conservative attacks. Sir Mel is a dab old hand. He announced that he and Mrs Rayner had at least one thing in common: they both thought Ms Reeves' tax policies were dreadful. Mrs Rayner laughed. Ms Reeves looked as if she might start sobbing. Labour's majority is so big that it can pretty much fill its green benches twice. Yet there were gaps. Ministers were deployed to fill the holes. Children's minister Janet Daby and energy minister Miatta Fahnbulleh were in the top corner where the Corbynite rump normally sits. They sat either side of Oldham's Debbie Abrahams, perhaps to make sure she didn't say anything unhelpful. Ms Abrahams has been one of the leaders of the welfare rebellion. She behaved herself. The gambit worked. Little Keir Mather, a Whip, was perched among his backbench flock, tapping his mobile telephone against his left knee. At the far end of the chamber Hamish Falconer from the Foreign Office was mixing with the lower decks. Handsome Hamish struck angular, bendy-necked, pained-grimace poses. An unusual boy. Kenny Stevenson (Lab, Airdrie and Shotts) slumped, shrivelled, beside Pammy Nash (Motherwell). Could have been her lunch. Calvin Bailey (Lab, Leyton and Wanstead) claimed to be outraged by opposition criticism of the RAF boss at Brize Norton after that embarrassing break-in. 'Shame!' cried his supportive neighbour Adam Thompson (Erewash). Mr Bailey, possibly less clever than he thinks he is, betrayed the shallowness of his attack by winking at Mr Thompson the moment the cameras were off him. Matt Bishop (Lab, Forest of Dean) gazed at his wristwatch. A more feline Damien Egan (Lab, Bristol NE) surveyed the scene with crossed arms, slender fingers splayed. Mrs Rayner spluttered and fluffed away, imprecision chasing non-sequitur. Gibberish geysered out of her. 'I don't know if he sort of listened to what I said because I was reading it off the script but I don't need a script!' she roared at Sir Mel, eyes glinting behind green designer spectacles. She accused the Tories of 'having no shames'. Fylde's Andrew Snowden (Con) unleashed a long spiel about the next ministerial shuffle. A jeery Mrs Rayner, leaning on the despatch box with theatrical insouciance, uttered something about Mr Snowden's own aspirations. At least I think that was the gist of it. Re-listening to it on parliamentary television is little assistance. The thrust of her self-confident delivery won this mumbo-jumbo some half-hearted hurrahs from Labour. But quite what they were cheering, they can't have known. It is all going wrong and they haven't a clue how to react.
Times
25-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Times
Cliché is close but no cigar in Commons gay banter
After the Supreme Court's trans ruling, many Pride events have banned political parties this year, so some MPs made do with a Monday night debate on the subject. Cue a bravura performance from the arts minister Sir Chris Bryant, below, who was in his element as he began: 'The Daily Mail once referred to me as an 'ex-gay vicar'. I am an ex-vicar, but the other stuff is coming along quite nicely.' He marked both progress made and the need for more, challenging stereotypes as he went. 'Not all gay men like musicals — I don't understand this, but I've met a few — and apparently not all lesbians enjoy tennis or smoke cigars,' he said. At which, the LGBT MP Rachel Taylor, an ex-line judge at Wimbledon, felt compelled to intervene. In a moment of pure Carry On Commons, she said: 'I would like to put on record that I have never enjoyed a cigar.' An at-first disappointing and then disconcerting sign appeared on Monday at parliament's Jubilee Cafe, which was spotted by Sidney Baginsky. It notified diners of an early closure for a Westminster Hall event, but then added 'we apologies for the incontinence this may cause' (sic). Better not ask what it is in the food that would normally prevent this. With innumerable challenges facing the nation, readers will be reassured to know that our representatives are keeping their eyes on the important things. Politico reports that MPs are obsessively sharing the new Westminster Spotlight League table — a measure of how often they are being mentioned in major publications. Reform are punching above their weight, with two MPs and an ex-MP in the top ten. Kemi Badenoch is the only Tory in that group, while the PM comes third behind Nigel Farage and the chancellor Rachel Reeves. A reminder that not all publicity is good publicity. Shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick came 11th in that list, but he deserves a mention for his completion of the Three Peaks Challenge last weekend, in which he climbed Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon in 24 hours (he completed it with ten minutes to spare). Speaking to PopCon UK on Monday night, he said he was 'a little achy and had eaten a lot of Kendal mint cake'. He may be a climber, but will he get another chance to make a final assault on the summit of the Tory greasy pole? The novelist Tracy Chevalier doesn't often have the pleasure of her husband's company when she researches her novels, which, of late, have been set in places such as Dorset and suburban Washington. She told the Oldie literary lunch that, in a rare exception, he agreed to join her for a jaunt to Winchester, but it seems that Mr Chevalier is hard to please. As they left the ancient and beautiful English city, he said to her: 'Do you think you could set a book some place we actually want to go to?' Happy to report that all is well with the couple, and that Chevalier's latest book is set in Venice.
