Housing Secretary Angela Rayner has sparked fears of a surge in traveller sites across England by softening planning rules to remove powers from local councils.
Ms Rayner, who unveiled the changes on Monday, made it harder for both residents and councils to oppose applications for retrospective permission for illegal camps.
The new guidance removes requirements for councils to consider “potential environmental damage” and “provide a settled base that limits the need for long-distance travelling” when assessing applications.
It is likely the changes will make it easier to set up new traveller sites, with officials admitting the new policy “may also mean that locations not well-related to existing settlements may be appropriate”.
However, there has already been a 73 per cent rise in the number of unauthorised traveller caravans across England since January 2020, with the number increasing from 2,860 to 4,950.
Ministers are expected to publish specific guidance on applications for traveller sites in “due course”.
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Tim Montgomerie ‘suspended from Reform UK’
Tim Montgomerie has reportedly been suspended
| PA
Tim Montgomerie has been suspended from Reform UK after he said the party is “not ready for Government.”
Mr Montgomerie, who founded Conservative Home in 2005 appeared on The Spectator’s podcast Coffee House where he accused the party’s home affairs spokesman Zia Yusuf of not being a “team player.”
He was informed of his suspension yesterday, prior to the broadcast of his interview with The Spectator, reports Guido Fawkes.
Senior Conservative says current welfare bill is ‘appalling’
Andrew Griffith has said he is “appalled” by the current state of the welfare system.
Long-term benefits claimants will be made to clean up their local high street or face being stripped of their benefits under new plans unveiled by Reform UK.
When asked about Reform’s announcement, the Shadow Business Secretary told GB News I’m delighted that there’s a growing consensus on this. It’s something that us Conservatives have been raising for a very long period of time.
“It is an adherent of sound public finances, I am appalled by the way in which the welfare bill has burgeoned.
“That’s put up cost of taxes on business, on ordinary people prevented us, in fact, cutting the taxes that we need to do so.”
Scotland’s state-owned shipyard to cut a quarter of its workforce as orders stall
Scotland’s state-owned shipyard to cut nearly a quarter of workforce as orders stall | GETTY
Scotland’s state-owned shipyard is preparing to cut almost a quarter of its workforce as it waits for ministers to confirm promised orders for new vessels.
Ferguson Marine has invited employees to apply for voluntary redundancy, with work nearing completion on the second of two heavily delayed CalMac ferries.
The Port Glasgow yard employs 283 people, including 34 apprentices, but expects around 70 roles to be lost through the voluntary scheme.
The Scottish Government has pledged to award Ferguson Marine contracts to build four smaller ships directly.
However, ministers have yet to finalise the orders while they carry out “due diligence” on the proposal.
Former leading judge says there is a way to prevent PC Harper’s killers from being freed early
PC Andrew Harper was killed in 2019 | PA
A former leading judge has suggested exempting a type of manslaughter from early release from prison could be a solution to prevent the release of Pc Andrew Harper’s killers.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham is seeking to stop Albert Bowers and Jessie Cole from being freed early under the Government’s early release scheme designed to tackle overcrowding in jails.
Options being examined by ministers reportedly include exempting prisoners who committed “unlawful act” manslaughter, with those guilty of other types of the offence eligible for early release.
Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd, who previously served as lord chief justice of England and Wales, said the rule change could be workable in practice.
The independent peer told the BBC: “People are found guilty of manslaughter in three different circumstances. One because they’ve been charged with murder and have a specific defence.
“Secondly, because they have committed an act which is grossly negligent that has resulted in death.
“Thirdly, involuntary manslaughter…where there’s been an unlawful act such as a punch, someone’s fallen over, hit his head on the curb, and died.
“That is the unlawful act manslaughter which they’re seeking to exempt. So it is quite possible to distinguish the three types of manslaughter.”
Free travel to be extended to all hours for disabled bus pass holders
Labour has announced plans for disabled bus pass holders will be able to travel for free at all hours from April next year.
At the moment, disabled bus passes are valid for travel only on weekdays from 9.30am to 11pm unless local authorities fund an extension, as Greater Manchester did earlier this year when Andy Burnham was mayor.
The £60million to fund the move comes from existing budgets, with £40million from the Department for Work and Pensions and £20million from the Department for Transport.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham said: “Buses are a lifeline for so many people, making it easier to get to work, education and healthcare.
“It’s simply not right that many disabled people cannot travel using their pass during certain times of the day. So we’re fixing that. Disabled people will now have unlimited free bus travel 24/7.
“I did it before in Greater Manchester and I’m proud to do it now for the whole country. This is part of our ongoing action to bring back hope and give people some much-needed breathing space on the cost of living.”
Andy Burnham’s £65million support package branded a ‘drop in the ocean’ as farmers face ‘grim’ outlook ‘until the spring’
Sir Robert Goodwill has declared Andy Burnham’s support package for farmers is a ‘drop in the ocean’ | GB NEWS / PA
Andy Burnham’s new support package for British farmers has been branded a “drop in the ocean” as the industry is set to suffer “well into the Spring”.
Speaking to GB News, farmer and former immigration minister Sir Robert Goodwill admitted that “things are looking pretty grim” after facing the driest July on record.
Detailing the £65million boost for farmers, Mr Burnham said he has got “a long way to go” to “build back trust” with the farming community.
He said: “Within my first month of office, I wanted to be on a farm, hearing about the reality and how difficult it’s been, particularly this summer.
Labour minister says PM is looking for ‘solution’ to try to block early release of PC Andrew Harper’s killers
A Labour minister has insisted Andy Burnham is coming up with a “solution” to try to block early release of PC Andrew Harper’s killers.
Work and Pensions Minister Lillian Greenwood told GB News: “We absolutely understand the public sentiment as well as the sentiment of the families.
“That’s why Andy said, ‘Look, we have to try to we have to come up with a solution that deals with this situation.'”
Andy Burnham to delay North Sea decision for months as PM faces Net Zero revolt
The Prime Minister is set to push back the announcement | PA
Andy Burnham is expected to delay the announcement on whether Labour will go ahead with two North Sea oil and gas projects.
Sources within Whitehall have flagged concerns about the “optics” of approving new drilling during a summer of heatwaves and devastating wildfires.
Consultations on the Rosebank oilfield and the Jackdaw gasfield have both closed within the last week.
A decision is expected to be made next month, resting on both the Prime Minister and Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh.
New report warns of ‘closed doors and dead ends’ for violence-fixated young people
The Children’s Commissioner has warned of “closed doors and dead ends” for many education providers when they refer young people to the Government’s anti-terror programme.
In a new report, published on Tuesday, Children’s Commissioner for England Dame Rachel de Souza said the current process “risks missing opportunities”.
It called for a “stronger safeguarding response particularly for children who are fixated with violence but have no identified extremist ideology
Her office’s analysis suggested seven in 10 (71 per cent) referrals to Prevent involved children who did not have a clear ideology, with many linked to exposure to harmful content online such as videos of violence, discussion of weapons and sharing of extreme pornography.
Of the total Prevent referrals for children between April 2024 and March 2025, 79 per cent were closed without progressing through the programme.
In this time period, almost 60 per cent of Prevent referrals came from education, while police accounted for 20 per cent and local authorities 11 per cent.
But the commissioner’s office found that at least 65 per cent of referrals from education providers were referred back to education on closing, the vast majority of which (93 per cent) had not progressed any further through the Prevent programme.
UK unemployment sits at 4.9 per cent as Britain’s jobs market stagnates
Youth unemployment presents a particularly acute challenge, with around 735,000 people aged 16 to 24 out of work | GETTY
Britain’s unemployment rate remained stuck at 4.9 per cent in the three months to June as businesses continued to hold back on hiring.
The figure was unchanged from the previous period and came in above some economists’ expectations of 4.8 per cent, presenting an early challenge for Andy Burnham during his first month as Prime Minister.
Figures from the Office for National Statistics showed the number of payrolled employees fell by 13,000 between May and June and by 78,000 compared with a year earlier.
A provisional estimate for July pointed to a further decline, with 94,000 fewer employees on company payrolls than a year earlier.
Payroll employment also fell by 13,000 on the month to 30.3 million, although the ONS warned that the early figure could be revised.
Conservatives pledge ‘crackdown on illegal traveller sites’ by leaving ECHR
The Conservative Party has pledged to launch a “crackdown on illegal traveller sites”.
The party said that by leaving the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) and scrapping the Human Rights Act police would be empowered to ban travellers from encampments.
The Conservatives argued communities were being “forced to tolerate illegal encampments and breaches of planning laws” and “antisocial behaviour and petty crime, by a small minority of travellers”.
House of Commons research commissioned by the party revealed that in the two years to January 2026, the number of caravans on unauthorised sites rose by 1,080 across England.
MAPPED: The five traveller hotspots where unauthorised caravans have staged ‘military operation’ takeovers
The number of traveller sites has skyrocketed as locals continue fear their village could be next in line to fall victim to a “land grab”.
Led by caravans, bulldozers and a lack of council action, towns across Kent, Surrey, Hertfordshire, Essex, Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire have been targeted.
The unauthorised developments, in turn, have triggered frenzied legal battles as well as wider local furore, while residents have been left feeling helpless at the lack of support from officials.
In January, the number of traveller caravans lacking planning permission across England was 4,950, marking a staggering 73 per cent jump on 2020’s figure of 2,860.
Angela Rayner opens door to more traveller sites near you as councils lose power to stop encampments
Housing Secretary Angela Rayner has sparked fears of a surge in traveller sites across England by softening planning rules to remove powers from local councils.
Ms Rayner, who unveiled the changes on Monday, made it harder for both residents and councils to oppose applications for retrospective permission for illegal camps.
The new guidance removes requirements for councils to consider “potential environmental damage” and “provide a settled base that limits the need for long-distance travelling” when assessing applications.
It is likely the changes will make it easier to set up new traveller sites, with officials admitting the new policy “may also mean that locations not well-related to existing settlements may be appropriate”.
However, there has already been a 73 per cent rise in the number of unauthorised traveller caravans across England since January 2020, with the number increasing from 2,860 to 4,950.
Ministers are expected to publish specific guidance on applications for traveller sites in “due course”.