Day: May 11, 2025

Exclusive: David Lammy asks BBC bosses to draw up tightened budget amid criticism move could harm UK’s global influence

David Lammy is asking BBC bosses to draw up tens of millions of pounds’ worth of cuts to the World Service as part of the spending review, as the fallout continues from Keir Starmer’s decision to slash the aid budget.

Sources have told the Guardian the Foreign Office has asked the BBC to draw up a budget of up to £70m a year lower than bosses say it needs over the next few years, and well below inflation.

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The rapid rise in advertised rents grabs headlines but it’s only a small part of the market, an expert says, and for most renting households there is no crisis

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Footage of long queues at the doors of properties for lease has become a regular feature of property reporting over the past few years.

Landlords have upped their asking rents by double digits. Ahead of last weekend’s election, the Greens campaigned hard for rent freezes to stop the “unlimited rent increases” they claimed the major parties tacitly supported.

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