In Birmingham, I saw the green belt turning into Labour's Nimby hell

Labour is facing a crisis it didn't see coming over its green belt reforms – and Reform is looking to capitalise where she breaks down the big issues shaping the country. You can sign up to get it sent straight to your inbox, every single week,struggled to get out of the starting blocks of its own conference because it was, once again, bogged down incan reveal, as the Prime Minister tries to connect with audiences on TikTok and Instagram. EXCLUSIVE | Andy Burnham is spending up to £1m a year on expanding No 10's social media operation, The i Paper can reveal, as the Prime Minister tries to connect with audiences on TikTok and Instagram. The Cabinet Office advertised 13 roles in July focused on social video and online content, ranging from a social videographer on £37,922 to a head of social creative and production on £80,342. Combined, the salaries for these roles range from £617,246 to £731,933 a year, depending on where in each pay band successful candidates are appointed. Burnham's dedication to promoting the Government's work on social media has been celebrated by Labour colleagues, after his predecessor, Sir Keir Starmer, was criticised for a lack of communication skills while prime minister. : 'Burnham's just got that touch when it comes to communication. … We're getting way more cut-through already. ' Caption: LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – SEPTEMBER 02, 2026: British Prime Minister Andy Burnham departs 10 Downing Street for the House of Commons to attend the Prime Minister's Questions in London, United Kingdom on September 02, 2026. Sir Keir Starmer is to stand down as an MP months after quitting as Prime Minister France artwork heist – multiple pieces stolen from Renoir Museum Two thieves tried to steal four artworks from a museum dedicated to the impressionist Pierre-Auguste Renoir in southern France on Tuesday, dropping two paintings as they fled the scene. Caption: A police officer stands in front of the entrance of the Musee Renoir after four paintings, valued at nine million euros, were stolen from the museum in an early-morning break-in, with two suspects still at large, in Cagnes-sur-Mer on September 8, 2026. Cagnes-sur-Mer's mayor, Bryan Masson, described the perpetrators as'well equipped' and 'well informed' when speaking to the media on Tuesday. In comments translated from French, he said the thieves 'were wearing helmets, gloves, and combat gear' and carried 'an electric knife and hacksaw' to cut the fence and gain access to the garden. Video footage then showed the group cutting through structures holding the paintings' frames in place before they began their escape, Masson said. Caption: Rassemblement National Mayor of Cagnes-sur-Mer Bryan Masson makes a statement outside the Musee Renoir after four paintings, together valued at nine million euros, were stolen in an early-morning break-in, with one recovered nearby and two suspects still at large, in Cagnes-sur-Mer on September 8, 2026. Caption: A camera of the forensic police is seen during an investigation near a hole in the outer fence of the Renoir Museum after four paintings were stolen by thieves in an early-morning break-in, with two recovered nearby, in Cagnes-sur-Mer, on the French Riviera, France, September 8, 2026. REUTERS/Manon Cruz https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Renoir_-_Portrait_de_Madame_Colonna_Romano,_non_dat%C3%A9.jpg According to an update from the local mayor's office later on Tuesday morning, the two pieces the thieves made it out with were:The museum was opened in 1960, in Renoir's last home before his death. This heist comes less than a year after eight items valued at about £76m were stolen in a daylight robbery from the Louvre in Paris. France is loaning the Bayeux Tapestry to the British Museum for the first time since it was made almost 1,000 years ago – so how can you get tickets? The 70 metre long artwork tells the story of the Norman conquest of England and the Battle of Hastings in 1066. A whopping 80,000 people waited in the online queue for tickets, leaving many disappointed. But for those who missed out, the museum will soon be releasing another batch. Caption: LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – JUNE 09: Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, Prince Charles, Prince of Wales and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex stand on the balcony of Buckingham Palace during Trooping The Colour 2018 on June 9, 2018 in London, England. The annual ceremony involving over 1400 guardsmen and cavalry, is believed to have first been performed during the reign of King Charles II. The parade marks the official birthday of the Sovereign, even though the Queen's actual birthday is on April 21st. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were 'surprised' by the release of a letter on behalf of King Charles, which clarified their status as 'akin to private citizens', a spokesperson for the couple has said. No chance for clarification The Sussexes did not have enough time to clarify any points before the guidance was issued to the media, it is understood. Team Sussex replied to Buckingham Palace at 2:19pm, seeking clarification on one or two points. Harry was in a meeting and could not be contacted until 3:09pm. The reference to the HRH title was seen as an attempt to slap the Sussexes down amid concerns that the couple may want to monetise their royal status, including via Meghan's lifestyle products brand, As Ever. The letter clarified that 'in short, their position is akin to private citizens with commercial and charitable interests'. 'Some people will say, 'But they're private citizens. ' Nonsense. Utter nonsense. They are two of the most high-profile people in the world,' the friend added. Not a quiet word in your ear, not a private memo; no, this was a formal, blunt statement of fact sent to Harry on his father's orders. Ouch! There is to be no doubt: the King is not going to be bounced into accepting any change in the Sussexes' status just because they have chosen to return to the UK. Charles and Prince William are said to be worried that family members doing business deals alongside official duties for the state opens themselves up to the sort of abuse of position accusations facing the King's brother, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry attend a Commonwealth Day service with King Charles and Prince William at Westminster Abbey. The Sussexes' return to the UK last month came as a surprise The couple returned to the country for what they called an extended period on 26 August, after quitting royal duties in 2020. Their children have reportedly been enrolled in English schools. Caption: Screen grab taken from PA Video of a general view during the hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice, central London, of the Duke of Sussex's appeal against a High Court ruling on his legal claim against the Home Office over the level of security he receives while he is in the UK. Picture date: Tuesday April 8, 2025. PA Photo. Harry took legal action against the Home Office over the February 2020 decision of the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures that he should receive a different degree of taxpayer-funded protection when in the country. See PA story COURTS Sussex. Photo credit should read: PA Video/PA WireFive police officers have been suspended after a member of public found the bag of guns The row over who will pay for their security is ongoing, with the couple currently paying for it but lobbying the Royal and VIP Executive Committee – which is set to meet this week – for taxpayer-funded police protection. Opinion | 'It's time to press the reset button and start again with Harry and Meghan,' says Jennie Bond. 'If they really are coming back to the UK to stay, then everyone, including the Royals, will have to find a way of making it work. ' 'In the end, bitterness just eats you up and everyone loses out. ' harryandmeghan thesussexes kingcharlesKirsty Bartholomew, 46, is not alone, as new research has found that one in four renters struggle to get their full deposit back at the end of their tenancy Andy Burnham's Government is looking at a 'new and improved product' to replace the existing Lifetime ISA , for savers who want to get on the property ladder. Caption: File photo dated 05/10/15 of letting and estate agents signs outside flats on the Old Kent Road in London. The Conservatives have said Labour not matching their commitments on housing will amount to a 'first-time buyer tax' for those trying to get on the property ladder, and that a Labour government would increase stamp duty for first-time buyers from next April. Issue date: Thursday June 20, 2024. PA Photo. In their manifesto the Tories promise to deliver 1.6 million homes and permanently abolish stamp duty for homes up to ?425,000 for first-time buyers. See PA story POLITICS ElectionHousing. Photo credit should read: Anthony Devlin/PA WireNo upper age limit or penalties The current LISA only allows savers to withdraw their money when they reach 60 or when buying their first home. You can only open an account before you are 40 and must stop paying in at 50. These restrictions would be abolished under Labour's plans, with no withdrawal penalties for using the money for alternative means. Consultations on a new LISA closed last month, with Burnham's team confirming interest in launching the accounts. It couldCoventry Building Society is the latest to offer such a product Any changes to savings limit, the top-up amount and the price cap on properties you can spend your savings LISA on are yet to be confirmed. The Chancellor has refused to rule out tax rises in his first major speech on the economy. Speaking at the Manufacturing Technology Centre in Coventry, John Healey highlighted the need to 'control borrowing to bear down on inflation' and to 'reduce the long-term pressure on public finances'. Asked about taxes in the budget, Healey refused to comment on speculation, saying it will only 'fuel more speculation'. Follow the story on our liveblog. Andy Burnham is facing growing pressure to scrap the triple lock on state pensions to help repair the nations' finances. The British Chamber of Commerce has, for the first time, called on Chancellor John Healey to abandon the policy, under which the state pension rises by whichever is highest of inflation, wage growth or 2.5 per cent each year. The longer those in power blindly commit to the triple lock, the more likely it is that a future government will be forced to accelerate state pension age rises From next April, most unused pension funds will be brought into the inheritance tax net – thus the reader cannot rest assured Caption: This photo taken on November 9, 2018 shows workers preparing items ahead of the 'Singles Day' shopping festival at a Suning storage facility in Shenyang in China's northeastern Liaoning province. / China OUTSTR/AFP/Getty ImagesLabour ministers have been urged to find the courage to scrap the triple lock The Labour Party committed to keeping the triple lock in its 2024 manifesto. Going back on this would likely alienate older voters, who are generally more likely to go to the polls in an election than younger generations. Backbenchers have become increasingly outspoken on ending the triple lock and focusing on help for younger voters, though, putting Burnham in a tricky position. There is no longer a financial or moral justification for keeping the triple lock, but scrapping it represents a political risk that no prime minister has felt like taking. It was only introduced to rebuild the value of the state pension after decades in which it had fallen relative to earnings – not necessarily as a permanent settlement. The inescapable fact is that most of us are living longer and collecting pensions for longer. Someone has to pay for that, and the bill goes to people of working age. The films men 'secretly enjoy' watching with their partner More than a quarter of men enjoy watching romance films with their partner but view it as a 'guilty pleasure' they wouldn't tell anyone about, a new survey shows.of men see this as a guilty pleasure and would never tell their friends. How worried should you be about what's happening with house prices?sting which appeared to show Farage celebrating with an American donor in an alleged breach of electoral law. So, let's focus on the policy that Farage & co. had hoped would dominate headlines instead for a moment. At a panel talk attended by think-tankers from Westminster and Reform members, party councillors sat alongside a representative of the Land, Planning and Development Federation to discussReform's planning reforms, announced at the start of the conference by deputy leader Richard Tice, were top of the agenda – specifically, the party's view on the impact of migration on the housing crisis. which mean regional planning can be more joined up and restoring top-down mandatory targets for local authorities to boost housing supply. The most controversial element, however, is the fact that Labour's reforms are intended to make building on the green belt easier. They've done this by making it possible toas so-called 'grey belt' – this can include disused car parks and old petrol stations. But also, as I saw inIt is a myth that all of the green belt is, well, green, and many experts think Labour's changes are long overdue. The bar for applying 'grey belt' is also high; proposed development on green belt must include a high proportion of social housing, contribute significant new local infrastructure and create new green spaces. And yet, the idea that Labour would condone any building on the green belt at all has become a major political problem which, perhaps, is stalking Andy Burnham's government more than they realise. Reform UK want, in the words of Jaymey McIvor, the party's first Essex councillor, to 'kill all greenfield development'. As he uttered these words, Reform members and councillors listening in the audience nodded profusely. McIvor then went on to speak emotionally about how he wanted to see his friends able to buy homes and start families, but that he didn't think concreting over the green belt was the answer. Tice's other proposals include ditching affordable housing requirements for developers for every brownfield site outside five of England's largest cities, scrapping Community Infrastructure Levy payments and biodiversity net gain rules on brownfield projects across the whole country and dropping housing targets for councils. But it is the green belt which, like the idea that migration is the only reason for the housing crisis, really gets people – regardless of whether they are Reform members or not – going. 'We are passionate about the green belt,' McIvor said again to emphasise his point. 'We want new houses; just build on brownfield. ' Even more nodding in agreement. The truth is that the green belt, which was designed in the 1930s, is out of date and, frankly, not entirely green. ItNonetheless, Reform is now the latest party to pledge its allegiance to the idea of protecting our green and pleasant land from development. The Tories have also opposed Labour's 'grey belt' policy and pledged to axe it if the party ever returns to government. It is not a secret that the Lib Dems also regularly campaign against housing developments on greenfield sites at a local level. Labour may have created a huge problem for themselves, not by daring to address the green belt, which has long been something of an emotive third rail that nobody wanted to touch in British politics, but in how they've communicated it. When I visited Crews Hill earlier this year, local people told me that they had voted Conservative or Green 'for the first time' in their lives after decades of being staunch Labour supporters. Why? Because of the way former Labour Housing Secretary Steve Reed chanted 'build, baby, build' and seemed to be unthinking in his pro-development position. Those Labour defectors, one of whom was a former Labour councillor, also told me that they were distressed by how Labour councillors in Enfield had 'dismissed' concerns about building on the green belt and even appeared to celebrate it in social media videos. Labour has not yet reckoned with the very real impact that its policies may have had on the level of goodwill with local people in areas where it wants to build new homes, towns and infrastucture. It's easy to dismiss concerns about building as NIMBYism, but concerns are always emotional. People understandably fear change and worry about losing green spaces and wildlife in their areas. What is harder and requires more political skill is making the emotional case for housebuilding and explaining that the green belt is not quite what it seems. The housing market remains in the doldrums. New data, this time from major mortgage lender Lloyds, shows that house prices suffered an annual fall of 0.4 per cent between August 2025 and 2026. This is the first time Lloyds' data has recorded a year-on-year decrease in three years. As I've reported, since the interest rate hikes that were applied to fight inflation from 2022 onwards, as well as Liz Truss's 'mini-budget' crisis, Britain's housing market has been in a state of 'stall'. That seems to be continuing, and it will have serious implications for what Labour can actually build, even with their planning reforms. Aside from Reform's 'first 100 days' policy document… I've been enjoying a novel by former journalist Robert Harris called. It is rumoured to be based on Tony Blair and it follows a ghost writer who is trying to pen the memoirs of a problematic former prime minister.