Author: britishbulletin.com

Labour’s Bev Craig will succeed Andy Burnham as the new Mayor of Greater Manchester.After no candidate secured outright victory in the first round by winning more than half of the vote, Craig beat Reform UK’s Sian Astley by 309,525 to 157,178 after second-preference votes were added. The by-election for a new mayor was called after Burnham was elected as MP for Makerfield in Greater Manchester in June, paving the way for him to become Prime Minister earlier this month.As well as having led Manchester City Council since 2021, Craig is Greater Manchester Combined Authority’s deputy mayor for economy, business and…

AC Milan make Ethan Nwaneri contact, Inter Milan increase Curtis Jones bid and Cristian Romero explores Spanish move.AC Milan have been in contact with Arsenal over a potential deal for English winger Ethan Nwaneri, 19. (Corriere dello Sport – in Italian), externalInter Milan are willing to pay £30m for England midfielder Curtis Jones, but Liverpool value the 25 year-old at £35m. (Mail), externalInter Milan’s move for Tottenham’s Cristian Romero has stalled over his personal terms and the Argentina defender’s representatives are now exploring a move to Spain, with Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid all interested in the 28-year-old. (Teamtalk),…

Labour’s Bev Craig has won the election to succeed Andy Burnham as Mayor of Greater Manchester.Ms Craig wins the seat by a margin of 152,147 over Reform UK’s Sian Astley after a count which took nearly 24 hours.The first mayoral election under the supplementary vote (SV) system after reforms earlier this year and the first test of Mr Burnham’s premiership.Turnout for the by-election was the lowest ever – just 25.14 per cent – with 538,659 votes cast from an electorate of 2,142,779.Under SV, voters mark their ballot papers with a first and second choice. If any candidate wins more than…

The prime minister can wax lyrical about this system all he likes, but devolution means he only oversees this area of policy in England.And the Scottish government doesn’t want to shake up councils north of the border.This week Burnham announced plans to give English mayors a share of income tax revenue for the first time.Responding to this move, the SNP MSP David Linden told Scotland News that another level of elected politician in Scotland would not “be warmly received” by his constituents.”We do believe in giving powers to local people, but I certainly remain to be convinced that giving someone…

Britain’s only all-female chess team have slammed the “extremely disappointing” requirement to add a man to their squad to comply with league regulations after earning promotion to the top tier of the game.She Plays to Win Lionesses A Team, who secured their place in the Four Nations Chess League’s first division, have run into a gender diversity requirement that mandates every team include at least one player of each sex on its roster. Ironically, the rule was originally introduced to encourage greater female representation in the sport, yet it now forces the only all-female side in the UK to accommodate…

Leigh head coach Adrian Lam told Radio Merseyside:”There were three tries from poor skill and a fourth one where we fell asleep at the wheel. It’s not a whole team issue, it’s just three or four moments that really hurt us.”It was individuals that didn’t nail skill at really big moments for us.”I’m not going to get angry at the team. For 40 minutes I thought we were unbelievably good. I think we’re very close to being very, very good and I’ll hold onto that fact.”I thought we dominated in most areas in that first half; we just have to…

A Welsh rugby player and father of two has died after being subjected to a “brutal and unprovoked” attack while on holiday in Turkey.Scot James, 34, suffered severe head injuries, including a fractured skull and bleeding on the brain, according to a family friend.He spent 13 days in a Turkish hospital before being declared brain-dead on July 11.Mr James, who played for Maesteg Celtic RFC near Bridgend in South Wales, was described as fit and healthy before the incident.The rugby player was transported back to the UK by air ambulance, accompanied by his mother, and admitted to the ICU at…

British-Iranians have urged Andy Burnham to overhaul Britain’s visa system over fears the Islamic Republic is using immigration routes to wage “psychological warfare” on the United Kingdom.Speaking to GB News, they warned fellow countrymen arriving in Britain on student and work permits are creating a reign of self-censorship and fear in their communities. Sources said Labour must enact tighter restrictions on visa applications from Iran, bringing standards in line with other countries such as the United States, to help combat a “culture of fear” that has arisen.In one of the last acts of Sir Keir Starmer’s administration, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary…

Some state pensioners earning more than £35,000 a year will see around £33 deducted from their monthly tax payments as HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) recovers Winter Fuel Payments through changes to their tax codes.The tax authority confirmed it will automatically claw back the benefit from pensioners whose annual income exceeds £35,000 and who do not opt out of receiving the payment.The recovery applies to Winter Fuel Payments worth between £100 and £300 made during the 2026 to 2027 and 2027 to 2028 tax years.For pensioners who receive a standard £200 payment, HMRC will increase their monthly tax deductions until…

Ms Mullan said her husband was about to turn 50 three weeks after the tragedy, adding some of his presents remain unopened in their home.”He made me feel safe and whole. I was a single parent when I met John.”I thought I had found my happily ever after and I had, but I didn’t get to keep it,” she said.”I miss everything about him – I miss hearing his voice, his music, our holidays, our date nights and the way we could still feel like teenagers together. I miss how he made my heart skip a beat, I miss being…