Rishi Sunak is officially set to take up the position of Prime Minister today after a meeting with King Charles III, Downing Street has announced.
It was confirmed yesterday that Sunak – who was most-notably the former Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2020 to 2022, and largely held the role throughout the COVID-19 pandemic – was elected unopposed as leader of the Conservative Party, and is subsequently to become the UK’s first British Asian Prime Minister.
Sunak was announced as Tory leader after Penny Mordaunt – who was the only other contender in the race – announced yesterday afternoon that she would be dropping out.
It comes after Boris Johnson also withdrew his bid to regain his former position as party leader.
Sunak’s appointment follows Liz Truss stepping down from her role as leader of the Conservative Party last week in what was a history-making move that officially made her the shortest-serving Prime Minister in the history of the UK after only being in office for just 44 days.
Labour has reacted furiously to the news for former Chancellor’s appointment to leader, saying it’s “disgraceful” that Sunak – the “the richest MP in history” – has been elected with no votes cast, and no mandate.
But despite the outrage expressed by opposition parties at the appointment, and regardless of the fact a petition calling for a general election to be held immediately to “end the chaos” now has over 800,000 signatures, the Prime Minister’s press office has confirmed that Rishi Sunak will officially become UK PM by midday today.
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Mr Sunak is expected to meet with King Charles III at around 10:15am.
Although subject to chance throughout the morning, the timings for proceedings today as released by Downing Street are as follows:
9am – The outgoing PM Liz Truss will chair a cabinet meeting
10:15am – Truss will make a statement outside Number 10 before travelling to Buckingham Palace for her final audience with King Charles III, where she will formally resign from her position as PM.
Sunak, the new Conservative Party leader, will then travel to Buckingham Palace for his first audience with the monarch, and there he will be invited to form a government.
11:35am – Sunak – who will at this point, officially be Prime Minister – will then travel to Downing Street and make his own statement.
Once all of these steps have been taken, Rishi Sunak will then officially enter Number 10 as the UK’s 57th Prime Minister.
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Rishi Sunak is officially set to become Prime Minister today after a meeting with King Charles III / Credit: Number 10 Downing Street
Sunak is also being urged by Conservative Party members to have an immediate cabinet reshuffle once he takes up position as PM.
Reports suggest he is planning to build a cabinet of “all the talents” that will see the political return of the “adults”, with many long-time backers tipped to be in there, and most senior posts expected to go to those who have consistently supported him.
Featured Image – No 10 Downing Street
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Full list of road closures set to be in place for Manchester Day 2024
Emily Sergeant
Manchester Day is back for 2024 this weekend, and the full list of road closures set to be in place has been confirmed.
Now that schools are officially out across Greater Manchester, and the summer holidays are well and truly here, the hugely-popular Manchester Day is making a return once again this Saturday 27 July, and as always, it’s set to be “the day summer officially starts” in the city centre – with a massive celebration of “all things Mancunian” on the cards.
The theme of this year’s annual event is ‘Let The Games Begin’, and it’s inspired by the international summer of sport, just 2024 Olympics kicks off over in Paris.
The day will be packed full of free events and activities to get involved with.
Some city centre roads will be closed on Friday 26 and Saturday 27 July for Manchester Day.
These will include:
🛣️Deansgate 🛣️St Ann Street 🛣️St Mary’s Gate 🛣️Market Street 🛣️King Street
— Manchester City Council (@ManCityCouncil) July 21, 2024
But of course, in order for the all the fun to go ahead as safely as possible, and as tends to be the case for events like these, Manchester City Council says it will need to make some temporary road closures to facilitate it.
The full list of road closures has now been confirmed by the Council, and there’s some major city centre thoroughfares set to be out of action.
Here’s everything you need to know.
Manchester Day is back for 2024 to celebrate the international summer of sport / Credit: Manchester City Council
Manchester Day 2024 – Road Closures
Saturday 27 July
From 6am to 11:59pm, Manchester City Council has confirmed that the following roads will be closed:
Deansgate (Manchester Cathedral to John Dalton Street) – access will be maintained to Marks and Spencer’s car park and Number One Deansgate.
St Ann Street (Deansgate to Cross Street)
St Mary’s Gate (Exchange Street to Deansgate)
St Mary’s Street (Southbridge Street to Deansgate)
Market Street (Exchange Street to Cross Street)
Fennel Street (Corporation Street to Cathedral Street) – access will be maintained for morning deliveries only.
Cathedral Street (Fennel Street to Exchange Square) – access will be maintained for morning deliveries only.
Cateaton Street (Exchange Square to Deansgate)
Barton Square (St Ann’s Square to St Ann Street)
King Street (Cross Street to Deansgate) – no access for deliveries.
All accessible bays, bus lanes, and taxi ranks within the closed areas will also be suspended during from 6pm on Friday 26 July to 11:59pm on Saturday 27 July.
The parking suspensions set to be in place are:
Deansgate (Manchester Cathedral to John Dalton Street)
St Ann Street – including the bays outside St Ann’s Church (Deansgate to Cross Street)
St Mary’s Gate (Exchange Street to Deansgate)
St Mary’s Street (Southbridge Street to Deansgate)
Southgate (St Mary’s Street to King Street West)
Market Street (Exchange Street to Cross Street)
Fennel Street (Corporation Street to Cathedral Street) – access will be maintained for morning deliveries only.
Cathedral Street (Fennel Street to Exchange Square) – access will be maintained for morning deliveries only.
Cateaton Street (Exchange Square to Deansgate)
Victoria Street (Cathedral Approach to Deansgate)
Todd Street (Corporation Street to Station Approach)
King Street (Spring Gardens to Southgate)
South King Street (Ridgefield to Deansgate)
Barton Square (St Ann’s Square to St Ann Street)
King Street West (Deansgate to St Mary’s Parsonage)
St James’s Square (John Dalton Street to South King Street)
Cross Street (King Street to Corporation Street)
Museum Street (Peter Street to Windmill Street)
Marsden Street (Cheapside to Brown Street)
Manchester Day 2024: Let The Games Begin! will take over the city centre on Saturday 27 July from 12pm-6pm.
Check out everything you need to know ahead of the event here.
‘Complex’ Metrolink repairs to the Rochdale via Oldham line could take weeks to complete
Emily Sergeant
Work currently underway on the Rochdale via Oldham line is expected to take several weeks to complete.
Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has confirmed that land movement affecting the Metrolink network near Derker has now “slowed”, and this means that detailed ground investigations and temporary repair works have been able to get underway.
In order for trams to run again on the crucial line from the city centre to the two major Greater Manchester towns, TfGM says that a small section of track has to be moved back – also known as ‘slewed’ – into its original position.
The overhead line poles also need to be repaired too, the transport operator revealed.
Rochdale line update
Land movement affecting the Metrolink network near Derker has slowed, enabling detailed ground investigations and temporary repair works to get underway.
To get trams running again, a small section of track has to be moved back into its original position… pic.twitter.com/byERjitdi1
Unfortunately though, due to the “complex” nature of these works, and despite the fact that TfGM says it’s actively looking to “accelerate” the repairs, the project is expected to take up to five weeks to complete in full.
On top of this, the detailed ground investigations will also establish whether any further work to strengthen foundations beneath the track will be needed at a later date.
TfGM has apologised for the inconvenience caused to passengers.
‘Complex’ Metrolink repairs to the Rochdale via Oldham line could take weeks to complete / Credit: TfGM
Speaking on the scale of works currently underway, and how long he expects them to continue for, Pete Sommers, who is TfGM’s Network Director for Metrolink, said: “I’m sorry for the impact this is having, and will continue to have, on people’s journeys.
“We are working to get trams running through the area again, but this remains a complex and challenging issue and it could still be a few weeks before this happens.
“We will of course keep passengers updated, and I’d encourage people to check our social media channels and website for the latest information and advice.”