Are you ready? 👇Time to think the unthinkable. And plan ahead.

Are you ready? 👇Time to think the unthinkable. And plan ahead.

A total of 20 arrests have so far been made during today’s protest: Six for criminal damage after climbing onto the Battle of Britain memorial Seven for breach of conditions, two of those for also refusing to remove their face coverings when asked by police Two for displaying placards supporting proscribed organisation Palestine Action Two for a Section 5 Public Order offence – one racially aggravated, after a woman was seen earlier in the day making a Nazi salute One for assault on police as officers made arrests on Victoria Embankment One for breach of the peace One for threats to kill in relation to an incident on 1 October.

I know this isn’t a silver bullet. It might help some people find cheaper fuel, but it doesn’t mean that’s all we’re doing to help people with the cost of living. We’re cutting VAT on electricity bills. Capping bus fares at £2 in England. Giving disabled people 24/7 free bus travel. Making it easier to cancel subscriptions. Cutting business rates for pubs, clubs and music venues. Stopping schools from demanding endless expensive branded uniforms. Ensuring if your train is cancelled, you can use your ticket on other operators free of charge. Fuel duty is staying frozen to the end of the year. Yes, on their own, I accept that these things don’t seem like much when people’s lives have gotten harder. There’s a lot still to do. But I won’t shy away from the big issues either. It’s why I made announcements last week on more public control of water, energy, and housing, to make the basics better for people long-term. Together, these changes add up, and no matter how small it may seem, I will pull every single lever I can to help people, whenever I can.

Lisa Nandy has said that the social media ban for under-16s is just the starting point. She praised Keir Starmer and Liz Kendall for beginning the process of increasing online censorship, and welcomed Andy Burnham’s decision to accelerate it. At Labour Party conference, Nandy said the ban was “a staging post to what must be a very interventionist state, policing and regulating the online space so that people are safe”. We should recognise that this is no longer just about protecting children online. It is about giving the state greater control over what we can and cannot say online. We are living in Orwell’s 1984.

Happy to explain. Rejoining the EU gives the regions more funding, greater markets and a say at the European level. The regions would get access back to Cohesion Fund which gives cash to the regions. Your seat in Blackburn would class as a less developed region and be eligible to greater funding from the EU level. Had we stayed EU funding for South Yorkshire would have risen from about £100 per person to over £420. That would be coming back and heading, in your case, to Blackburn council. Then there’s the markets. What our regions desperately need is a chance to reindustrialise and get goods flowing to markets. The goods trade has been so badly hit by Brexit that our goods trade with the EU by as much as a fifth and resulted in UK goods exports running 12 per cent lower than if we had stayed in the single market. Without access to the Single Market, we have no chance of giving people what they want which is manufacturing driven growth. Then there is a say at the European level. In practice, Britain has had to keep European standards because we mostly export to Europe to be able to sell our goods. Having a say and a veto in Europe is the real taking back control with the Regions getting their own MEPs and being able to join the EU Committee of the Regions. And let’s not forget all the extensive funding the EU has available for cross border and inter-regional projects not to mention industrial policy. Manchesterism in Europe means. Maximum power at local level. Maximum funding to the regions. Maximum open market for goods. Maximum voice at the European level.

Nobody should wait years for a home while houses sit empty down the road. Last year I asked ministers to give councils stronger powers on empty homes. Today we've announced it. This government is reversing Tory red tape and give these homes to local families in need.