Reform-led Lancashire county council could quit refugee resettlement scheme
The Reform-led Lancashire county council will withdraw from the government’s refugee resettlement scheme, one of its cabinet members has said.Joshua Roberts announced plans for Lancashire to leave the scheme, which would make it the first local authority to do so.It would mean Lancashire would no longer participate in the UK Resettlement Scheme (UKRS) and the Afghan Resettlement Programme (ARP).The authority coordinates participation in these schemes on behalf of 14 unitary and district councils in Lancashire that have responsibilities for housing.Roberts, the cabinet member for rural affairs, environment and communities, said money spent on resettling refugees would be diverted to help support vulnerable residents and veterans in Lancashire.
While the schemes are funded by central government, Reform UK has said they affect “council resources” and put “significant pressure” on the local housing market.Roberts said: “This proposal is about fairness.Reform UK was elected last May to make sure that the people who live, work and contribute to Lancashire are put at the front of the queue and are not disadvantaged.“We are calling on the Labour government to stop placing refugees in Lancashire and instead redirect public funds to better support our vulnerable residents and veterans.These people have been deprioritised by successive Labour and Conservative governments for far too long.
”Opposition councillors dismissed Reform’s plans as a “political stunt”.Azhar Ali, a councillor and leader of the opposition group Progressive Lancashire, told the Lancashire Telegraph: “These are central government schemes, which Lancashire county council is paid to administer.If they decide that they no longer want to be paid for that work, the government will find other [councils] that do – it won’t stop the schemes.”The Conservative group leader, Aidy Riggott, said: “I await the cabinet paper with interest and do hope that this isn’t another bungled, ill-thought-through announcement from Reform just days before local elections in Lancashire.”The Green party group leader, Gina Dowding, said: “This is Reform UK trying to pull a political stunt, for publicity, the week of local elections – but which will actually stop government funding coming into Lancashire to support refugees who are already here.
”According to government statistics, 190,000 people were granted leave to come to or remain in the UK through safe and legal humanitarian routes in 2025, an increase on the previous year, which was largely down to extensions granted to people on Ukraine schemes,A council spokesperson said: “We are aware of a statement issued by the Reform party regarding the government’s refugee resettlement scheme in Lancashire,Any changes to policy would require a decision by the cabinet,”Imran Hussain, the director of external affairs at the Refugee Council, said: “Resettlement is a lifeline for many refugees, as we have seen with recent schemes for men, women and children from Ukraine, Afghanistan and Syria,We have a very proud tradition in the UK of giving people a safe journey out of countries devastated by war, helping them to rebuild their lives here through resettlement services around the country.
“We know from our decades of running such services that when refugees get the support they need, like English lessons and job search, they can go on to make a huge contribution to their communities and our prosperity.Research shows that this help to integrate refugees is backed by a majority of the British public.”
‘We got a drive-by egging in Baltimore’: Super Furry Animals on making The Man Don’t Give a Fuck
Gruff was the first person I ever met who could just churn out songs – good, catchy ones. I joined his band Ffa Coffi Pawb, but by 1992 they’d split and Gruff and I were living in Cardiff, as were Bunf, Guto and my brother Cian, the other future Furries. We started out doing techno sets, and I had a little home studio where we demoed ideas for songs. Our first singer, the actor Rhys Ifans, slept on a mattress in the corner.I had this Steely Dan album, Countdown to Ecstasy
Arts Council England is focused on investment outside London | Letter
In response to recent letters (26 April) about the Arts Everywhere Fund, it is important to note that this programme was heavily oversubscribed, reflecting the acute need for capital investment across the cultural sector. We are pleased that there will be further rounds of the fund, with details to be published in the coming months.While we are always mindful of the geographic spread of the investment we make, this fund had a clear purpose: to prioritise organisations facing critical capital need. On that basis, the north received more than £40m – approximately 31% of the £128m awarded in total – supporting 45 museums, libraries and cultural organisations, the highest number of awards made to any area.Arts Council England recognises the historic imbalance in cultural funding and has been working to invest more outside London, increasing investment beyond the capital to approximately 70% of our total investment since 2022
Ittai Gradel obituary
With a doctorate in Roman religion and a university chair, Ittai Gradel, who has died of cancer aged 61, might have confined his achievements to a successful scholarly career. However, in 2008, bored with routine bureaucracy, he left his post at Reading University, and returned to his native Denmark to deal in antiquities.His disillusionment with academia was reinforced when, a few years later, he discovered that large-scale thefts had been taking place from the British Museum’s collections. At first reluctant to believe the accumulating evidence, Gradel contacted the museum in 2021 only when it became impossible to deny – and was told nothing was missing.Ill and increasingly impatient, he took his cause to the museum’s trustees, and at last the police were called
Man charged over bomb hoax after Peter Kay show evacuated
A man has been charged over a bomb hoax after a live show by comedian Peter Kay in Birmingham was stopped when a “potentially suspicious bag” was found around the venue.The Utilita Arena Birmingham was evacuated and a 19-year-old man was taken into custody, West Midlands police said on Friday evening.On Saturday, the force said: “A man has been charged in connection with the events which led to the evacuation of the Utilita Arena in Birmingham last night.“Omar Majed, 19, has been charged with false communications relating to a bomb hoax,” a police spokesperson said. “Majed, of Washwood Heath, Birmingham, has been remanded to appear before magistrates in Birmingham on 4 May
Guy Montgomery: ‘One fan took us back to his house and showed us all his guns’
Have you ever won a spelling bee?No! I don’t think I’ve entered any formalised spelling competition. When I was eight or nine, there was a guy who I used to copy during tests. We were doing a spelling test and the word was “vehicle” and he made an absolutely terrible attempt at it. I knew he’d spelled it wrong and was like, wait – have I been copying someone who’s more stupid than me this whole time?Which word do you hate the most?None! That’s crazy! I love all words. They’re just out there, doing their best
‘We have to mock the site’s insanity’: comedian Tim Heidecker on the allure of becoming Infowars’ new boss
If you’ve tuned in to Infowars over the years, you might have heard a very angry man screaming about the 2020 election being stolen for “reanimated corpse” Joe Biden, or chemicals in the water turning frogs gay, or the Sandy Hook school shooting, which killed 20 children and six staff members, being faked. Founded in 1999, Alex Jones’s Infowars has long been a platform for toxic conspiracy theories with real-life consequences, in addition to weird dietary supplements. But if the Onion has its way, the InfoWars of the future will have a very different impact.The satirical newspaper has been working for several years to take over the site, amid legal battles over Jones’s false claims about the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting. Pending a Texas court’s approval, the platform could soon be in the hands of the Onion and a newly installed creative director, comedian Tim Heidecker, known for his surreal sketches and mockery of the far right
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