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Government to fund clean-up of worst illegal waste sites as action plan launched<\/p>\n
The government has said it will directly fund the clean-up of some of the worst illegal waste sites in England, where thousands of tonnes of rubbish have been dumped, the Press Association says. PA reports:<\/p>\n
double quotation markThe move is part of a \u201czero-tolerance\u201d new action plan to tackle the \u00a31bn problem of waste crime, as officials warn around a fifth of all rubbish is illegally managed, with gangs behind it becoming increasingly sophisticated.<\/p>\n
It comes in the wake of figures showing fly-tipping on public land climbed 9% last year to new highs, while massive illegal waste sites such as a 150m-long mountain of rubbish near the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire have prompted public outcry.<\/p>\n
The government has committed to clearing up some of the worst sites, and says on-site feasibility assessments would take place as soon as possible at Bolton House Road in Wigan, where 18,000 tonnes of waste was dumped, and a stretch of land in Hyndburn, Lancashire, where 10,000 tonnes has been left.<\/p>\n
An assessment will also take place for clearing an industrial site in Sheffield where 20,000 tonnes of waste was dumped, officials said.<\/p>\n
The action plan will ramp up efforts to punish offenders, with proposals to force fly-tippers into \u201cclean-up squads\u201d doing up to 20 hours of unpaid work clearing up mess in public spaces and make them pay the cost of clearing the waste they dumped.<\/p>\n
The government will also introduce landfill tax rebates for local authorities that step up to clear sites.<\/p>\n
The plan also includes giving courts the power to award penalty points on driving licences for fly-tipping offences.<\/p>\n
Under the plans, the Environment Agency will step up enforcement and intervene earlier, backed by an additional \u00a345m from the Government over the next three years.<\/p>\n
The agency, which regulates waste \u2013 will make greater use of powers that can shut down an illegal waste operation immediately \u2013 with up to 51 weeks in prison for an operator who ignores the restriction.<\/p>\n
It will also suspend or revoke permits for rubbish handling where there is evidence of criminal activity, and create a new \u201cintelligence unit\u201d to hunt down criminals using tools ranging from aerial surveillance to financial data.<\/p>\n
And for the first time the Environment Agency will name and shame illegal waste operators.<\/p>\n
The government is also looking to give the agency \u201cpolice-style\u201d powers so that officers could search premises, seize assets and arrest people suspected of waste crime without a warrant.<\/p>\n
Here is the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affair\u2019s news release <\/a>about this. And here is the waste crime action plan<\/a>.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Zack Polanski says he wants Greens to hold balance of power after election, letting them push for PR and wealth tax<\/p>\n Earlier this week YouGov published a poll<\/a> showing the Green party in second place in general election voting intention. The Greens were on 19%, behind Reform UK (25%), but ahead of the Conservatives and Labour (both on 17%) and and the Liberal Democrats (both on 14%). Most other polls have not put the Greens quite this high but, as Politico\u2019s poll of polls<\/a> shows, they do show the Greens competitive with what until recently we used to call the two main parties in UK politics.<\/p>\n Poll of polls Photograph: Politico<\/p>\n All of this explains why Zack Polanski, the Green party leader, has said that he now starts to think about the possibility that he might one day become prime minister. He said this in an interview<\/a> with the BBC\u2019s Nick Robinson for his Political Thinking podcast.<\/p>\n When Robinson asked him if his party\u2019s recent success meant he thought there was a chance of becoming PM, Polanski replied:<\/p>\n double quotation markThat really isn\u2019t the target right now.<\/p>\n When Robinson suggested this prospect must be on Polanski\u2019s mind, Polanski replied:<\/p>\n double quotation markIt\u2019s definitely in my mind because I get asked about it all the time. But my burning ambition really is to have a wealth tax, action on the climate and proportional representation. I think a change to the voting system is a huge prize.<\/p>\n But Polanski said that his main goal was for the Green party<\/a> to be able to hold the balance of power at Westminster after the election. He said that, when he was campaigning to be leader last summer, he said that his ambition was for the party to have 30 to 40 MPs after the next election. (Currently they\u2019ve got five.) But he said that target now feels \u201cunder-ambitious\u201d.<\/p>\n He added:<\/p>\n double quotation markThe next step is to win a lot more MPs and potentially hold the balance of power and then I think that\u2019s really interesting because you\u2019re having conversations about proportional representation, a wealth tax, climate action and various other policies to reduce people\u2019s cost of living and make life better for everyone in this country.<\/p>\n I will post more from the interview later. The BBC write-up is here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Polanski speaking at a New Economics Foundation event on Wednesday. Photograph: James Manning\/PAShare<\/a>Reform UK brushes off concerns about extremism of some of its MSP candidates, with one saying Humza Yousaf ‘not British’ Severin Carrell is the Guardian\u2019s Scotland<\/a> editor.<\/p>\n Reform UK\u2019s Scottish leader, Malcolm Offord, has reportedly brushed off questions about the views of Holyrood candidates accused of spreading false rumours about asylum hotels, of describing Humza Yousaf<\/a> as an \u201cIslamist moron\u201d, and of backing Tommy Robinson.<\/p>\n Offord and Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, unveiled the party\u2019s slate of 73 Scottish parliament candidates<\/a> at a country club west of Glasgow on Thursday, claiming they were on course to become Holyrood\u2019s second largest party.<\/p>\n The Courier newspaper reported<\/a> on Friday that its candidate for North East Fife, Linda Holt, had described Yousaf, the UK\u2019s first Muslim first minister, as \u201cnot British\u201d and a \u201cgrandstanding Islamist moron\u201d in social media posts.<\/p>\n It said that Rachael Wright, its candidate for Stirling, shared a petition<\/a> which wrongly claimed a former private school in Perthshire was being \u201cturned into migrant accommodation\u201d. The school\u2019s owners said that claim was \u201cwholly unfounded\u201d, but Reform asserted that denial was a result of its intervention.<\/p>\n Offord told the Courier:<\/p>\n double quotation markI can\u2019t comment on individual cases. We\u2019ve only just announced the 73 candidates. What I\u2019m very clear about is we\u2019ve done a very, very thorough vetting of those. Inevitably there might be some comments people have made in the past, we\u2019ve all made those comments in the past.<\/p>\n The Record reported<\/a> that Senga Beresford, Reform\u2019s candidate for Galloway and West Dumfries, endorsed social media posts by Tommy Robison and Britain First, including tweets calling for mass deportations and a ban on burqas. The paper said a Reform spokesperson said they were aware of the remarks, which were \u201cnot criminal.\u201d<\/p>\n In January, Farage was pressed by the Guardian on whether Reform UK\u2019s vetting was robust enough in the wake of the conviction of Nathan Gill<\/a>, his former Ukip ally and Welsh Reform leader, for accepting Russian bribes. He replied:<\/p>\n double quotation markIt has been piss poor in the past and it won\u2019t be in the future …<\/p>\n I promise you, I promise you, we are doing everything we can to make sure these candidates for the Scottish parliament are vetted, and are fit and proper people to put before the electorate. Whether you agree with their views or not, is a separate matter but they\u2019re fit and proper people in every way.<\/p>\n Malcolm Offord at the launch of Reform UK\u2019s Scottish manifesto yesterday. Photograph: Jeff J Mitchell\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a006.20 EDT<\/p>\n Attorney general Richard Hermer asks if Kemi Badenoch would object to Jewish public prayer<\/p>\n Richard Hermer, the attorney general, has challenged Kemi Badenoch<\/a> to say whether she would object to Jewish prayer in public, after the Conservative leader backed one of her shadow ministers who said an Islamic prayer event was intimidating and un-British, Peter Walker reports.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Iran’s foreign minister tells Yvette Cooper UK letting US use bases is \u2018participation in aggression\u2019<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s foreign minister has warned the UK it sees its choice to let the US use British bases as \u201cparticipation in aggression\u201d in a phone call with Yvette Cooper, the foreign secretary, the Press Association reports. PA says:<\/p>\n double quotation markIranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi criticised the \u201cnegative and biased approach of Britain\u201d towards the US-Israeli military action against Iran, as well as the UK\u2019s decision to provide military bases for the US to use.<\/p>\n Keir Starmer has granted the US permission for \u201cdefensive\u201d action against Iranian missile sites from RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire and Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.<\/p>\n In a post in Farsi on Telegram, Araghchi said he told Cooper: \u201cThese actions will definitely be considered as participation in aggression and will be recorded in the history of relations between the two countries.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the same time, we reserve our inherent right to defend the country\u2019s sovereignty and independence.\u201d<\/p>\n The UK has faced repeated criticism from Donald Trump since the war began, and is among countries the US president has recently berated for failing to respond to his request for support in the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n Tehran\u2019s throttling of the key shipping route and attacks on energy facilities across the Gulf have heightened concerns about the security of the supply of fossil fuels.<\/p>\n This morning oil and gas prices retreated after painful cost spikes the previous day and financial markets calmed at the end of another turbulent week.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Rightwing narrative fuelling false belief UK public oppose net zero, study finds<\/p>\n Political elites are out of step with the public appetite for net zero, according to analysis that identifies rightwing media narratives as fuelling a false backlash against climate action. Damien Gayle has the story.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Reform UK’s record in local government shows it ‘doesn’t accept need for evidence-based policymaking’, report says<\/p>\n Here is an extract from the conclusion to the report<\/a> from the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment on Reform UK\u2019s approach to climate change in the councils it runs.<\/p>\n double quotation markThe key finding from this study is that councils led by Reform UK are largely delivering on the party\u2019s pledge to scrap net zero at the local level, and that \u201dscrapping net zero\u201d is not only a policy position but a signal of a broader retreat from taking climate change seriously. This takes the form of both climate change delay, where commitments are weakened or deferred, and outright climate change denial, where the anthropogenic origin of climate change is rejected. Voters should be aware that this is the case, despite the party\u2019s lack of an explicit position on climate change.<\/p>\n The promotion of climate change denial by both its national leadership and many of its local councillors indicates that Reform UK is failing to recognise the growing risks the British public face from climate change impacts, including rising sea levels, heavier rainfall and more intense heatwaves. It also demonstrates that the party does not accept the need for evidence-based policymaking.<\/p>\n If Reform UK expands its council base in the upcoming local elections, further climate target rollback, the dismantling of scrutiny structures and the withdrawal of voluntary emissions reporting should be expected. Given the vital role local authorities need to play in helping the UK reach its statutory target of net zero emissions by 2050, the government should consider strategic options including incentives to promote progress, rather than assuming voluntary action, and making standardised emissions reporting mandatory, to track progress of programmes that reduce emissions.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Reform UK success in local elections could endanger national climate targets, report says<\/p>\n Good morning. Seven weeks from today, counting will be taking place for the English local elections and, unless the polls are more wrong than they have ever been before, Reform UK<\/a> will be celebrating record wins. The commentary will focus on the implications for national politics. But councils have significant powers, and a report today says Reform wins in local government could have a significant impact on climate policy.<\/p>\n We know that Reform UK are opposed to net zero, and they have pledged to cut green subsidies, but there is still some lack of clarity as to exactly what they would do on climate policy more generally. Some Reform UK figures refuse point-blank to acknowledge that human-made global heating is a reality. Others claim they are just opposed to the pace of transition to renewables. But Nigel Farage, the party leader, has a long history of climate change scepticism.<\/a><\/p>\n To explore this in more detail, the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the LSE has invesgtigated what Reform UK has been doing in the councils it has been running since it won them last May, and it has published its report this morning<\/a>. Here are the key findings.<\/p>\n double quotation mark\u2022 Seven Reform UK-led councils have \u201cscrapped\u201d their climate targets and climate change denial has been expressed by Reform UK councillors in five councils. Some of these councils have removed content about climate change from strategy documents.<\/p>\n \u2022 While work related to reducing greenhouse gas emissions continues in these councils, mitigating climate change is no longer explicitly cited as the motivation.<\/p>\n \u2022 However, there is variation in how \u201cscrapping net zero\u201d is being implemented, reflecting an apparent divergence of views within the party.<\/p>\n \u2022 There is also a lack of clarity in the party\u2019s claims of how \u201cscrapping net zero\u201d has achieved financial savings and how the party defines expenditure on net zero.<\/p>\n \u2022 Reform UK is likely to win control of more local authorities in May 2026, including further unitary authorities with responsibilities for planning applications and housing, policy areas of importance to national climate targets.<\/p>\n \u2022 National government will face greater challenges in ensuring that local authorities contribute to the delivery of legislative and policy climate goals if Reform UK wins more seats.<\/p>\n This chart sets out what has been happening in the 10 councils where Reform UK has full control.<\/p>\n Photograph: Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment<\/p>\n Edward de Quay, one of the analysts who wrote the report, said:<\/p>\n double quotation markIn our study we found that \u2018scrapping net zero\u2019 is not only a policy position but a signal of a broader retreat from treating climate change as urgent. This takes the form of both delaying action and outright climate change denial. Voters should be aware that this is the case.<\/p>\n In the upcoming local elections in May, should Reform UK expand its council base, we can expect further retreat from climate action. The government must be alert to this challenge, given the importance of local authorities to the delivery of national climate goals.<\/p>\n Here is the agenda for the day.<\/p>\n Morning: Steve Reed<\/a>, the housing secretary, is on a visit.<\/p>\n 10am: Peers resume their debate on the assisted dying bill.<\/p>\n 11.30am: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.<\/p>\n Afternoon: Kemi Badenoch<\/a> is on a visit in the south of England.<\/p>\n If you want to contact me, please post a message below the line when comments are open (between 10am and 3pm), or message me on social media. I can\u2019t read all the messages BTL, but if you put \u201cAndrew\u201d in a message aimed at me, I am more likely to see it because I search for posts containing that word.<\/p>\n If you want to flag something up urgently, it is best to use social media. You can reach me on Bluesky at @andrewsparrowgdn.bsky.social. The Guardian has given up posting from its official accounts on X<\/a>, but individual Guardian journalists are there, I still have my account, and if you message me there at @AndrewSparrow, I will see it and respond if necessary.<\/p>\n I find it very helpful when readers point out mistakes, even minor typos. No error is too small to correct. And I find your questions very interesting too. I can\u2019t promise to reply to them all, but I will try to reply to as many as I can, either BTL or sometimes in the blog.<\/p>\n![\"Severin](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1774006329_769_severin_carrell_140x140.jpg\")
Severin Carrell<\/p>\n