As his government scrambles to get a grip on the crisis consuming the NHS, it has been revealed that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak kicked off the week by taking a taxpayer-funded private plane to Leeds for an NHS visit on Monday.
The UK PM was pictured boarding an RAF plane on Monday morning, despite train journeys between London and Leeds taking just 2 hours 15 minutes.
The decision to take the luxury private plane was defended by Number 10 Downing Street as being the ‘most efficient use of his limited time’, according to reports by Pippa Crearer, Political Editor at The Guardian.
A return train ticket between London and Leeds typically costs between £100 and £155, whereas the prices of chartering private planes in the UK start at around £4,504 per hour according to the website PrivateFly.com, reports The Hoot.
With a flight between London and Leeds estimated at roughly 1 hour and 12 minutes, the PM’s decision to fly by luxury private plane may well have shaved just over an hour off his travelling time each way.
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However, if the Tories had not scrapped their proposed high-speed rail line then the rail journey from London to Leeds would have been one hour and 21 minutes.
29/05/2020. London, United Kingdom. Rishi Sunak Covid-19 Press Conference 29/05. Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak chairs the daily Covid-19 Press Conference inside No10 Downing Street with NHS Medical Director Professor Stephen Powis. Picture by Andrew Parsons / No 10 Downing Street
The PM’s official spokesman said: “The transport the Prime Minister takes will vary and always be done with any interests of what’s the most effective use of his time, allowing him to get around the entirety of the UK when there is a great deal of pressure on his time.
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“It will vary on what is the most appropriate.”
Mr Sunak visited Leeds’ Rutland Lodge Medical Practice on Monday to meet with patients and carers focused on providing care outside of the hospital after hosting rare emergency talks with NHS and care leaders over the weekend.
Discharge rates have fallen to a new low in England in recent weeks, with just a third of patients ready to be released from hospital actually leaving.
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In response, the government has just announced plans to buy up thousands of care home beds in a bid to free up room in NHS hospitals, as well as ease pressure on A&E and ambulances.
Health Secretary Steve Barclay announced to parliament this week that the move would be funded by a £200 million pot, that has been found within existing Department of Health and Social Care budgets.
Meanwhile, striking nurses and ambulance workers are still reporting that there is no movement from the government on talks surrounding their working conditions and wages – with the government instead moving today to introduce new anti-strike legislation in parliament.
Feature image – Flickr
UK News
Former Manchester City player Joey Barton found guilty of assaulting his wife
Danny Jones
Ex-footballer Joey Barton has officially been found guilty of assaulting his wife following his two-day trial in the capital this week.
Barton, who played for Manchester City, Newcastle United, Queens Park Rangers and a number of other clubs, was convicted at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, 25 March, following an incident back in June 2021.
The former midfielder left his wife, 37-year-old Georgia Barton (McNeil), with a bleeding nose and a bruise on her forehead following a drunken row at their home in London.
Barton is said to have grabbed and pushed her to the floor before kicking her in the head. Married in 2019, the two have four children and are thought to still be together.
The 42-year-old was still employed in professional football as the manager of Bristol Rovers at the time, but he was ultimately sacked in October 2023.
His wife called 999 at the time, telling police that he had hit her, but later retracted her statement.
Born in Huyton, Merseyside, the chief magistrate Paul Goldspring recognised that the one-time England has a history of violence.
He was given a 12-week suspended prison sentence, meaning he won’t serve time unless he commits another offence and has been ordered to pay £2,138.
Since dropping out of mainstream football, in particular, Barton has come under heavy criticism for allegations of racism, sexism and controversial right-wing politics; he even started an ‘anti-woke’ podcast called Common Sense with Joey Barton.
Back in June of last year, he was ordered to pay £35,000 in damages to settle a libel claim with presenter Jeremy Vine after a series of inflammatory comments made online.
The Radio 2 presenter sued Mr Barton earlier this year, after the former footballer wrote a series of posts suggesting Mr Vine had a sexual interest in children.
He also accused of threatening fellow former pro, Eni Aluko, after a torrent of abuse regarding her punditry online – the ex-England international even went so far as to say she no longer felt safe staying in the country.
Blackpool Pleasure Beach to close five iconic rides after £2.7m loss
Daisy Jackson
Blackpool Pleasure Beach has announced it’s closing five of its rides for the season, as well as reducing its opening hours, after reporting a pre-tax loss of £2.8m.
The beloved North West attraction has been pulling in families and thrill-seekers since it opened in 1896, famed for rides like the Big Dipper – a classic wooden rollercoaster – and The Big One.
Despite being such a popular tourist attraction, finances are biting for Blackpool Pleasure Beach, and it’s reported that five rides will close for the 2025 season.
The news comes almost exactly a year after it announced the heartbreaking closure of Grand Prix after 64 years.
The theme park has said that visitor numbers still haven’t fully recovered from the pandemic, leading to altered opening times to ‘maximise efficiency and cost’.
Five ‘less popular’ rides will be closed this year – Red Arrows Skyforce, Eddie Stobart Convoy, Alpine Rallye, Thompson Carousel, and Gallopers.
Blackpool Pleasure Beach said that 2025 is an ‘exciting but transformational’ year for the theme park.
In a statement, they said: “This year we’ve made the decision to close some of our smaller, less popular rides during the 2025 season: Eddie Stobart Convoy, Alpine Rallye, Thompson Carousel, Gallopers and Red Arrows Skyforce.
“The smaller rides were already being run on reduced opening times and our rider data showed that they have some of our lowest throughput, while Skyforce is 10 years old this year.
“After a great deal of thought, it was clear to us that the right decision is to make changes which will allow us to reinvest into a bigger and better future.”
Blackpool Pleasure Beach recently announced where some of that reinvestment is heading – and it’ll see an exciting new £8.72M ride opening.
The Gyro Swing will be the largest of its kind in the UK, leaving riders ‘completely weightless’ as they dangle from a spinning pendulum that swings 120 degrees and reaches 138 feet at its highest point.
Recent accounts show that Blackpool Pleasure Beach made a loss of £2.8m in the last financial year, compared to a £789k loss the year prior.
Georgina Pellant -
10th January 2023 
