Deputy PM insists housing target can be met as extra £350m pledged for affordable homes
Tuesday, 11 February 2025 Angela Rayner has insisted the government can meet its target to build 1.5m homes over the next five years as ministers pledged an extra £350m for housebuilding.
The government has announced it will invest £350 million in changes to affordable housing. Up to 2,800 extra homes will be built through a £300 million boost to the Affordable Homes Programme, with half of the homes for social rent, and more than 250 additional council homes through a £50 million...
In a historic and politically charged moment at the Vatican, Pope Leo XIV, the first American pontiff, shook hands with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and First Lady Olena Zelenska as his inaugural Mass drew to a close.
But the gesture was more than ceremonial. In his first global address, Pope Leo XIV vowed to make “every effort” to help end the war in Ukraine and later condemned the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, saying people had been “reduced to famine.”
World leaders—including U.S. Vice President JD Vance, UK Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney—looked on as faith and geopolitics collided in St. Peter’s Square.
Is the new pope signaling a bold new era of Vatican diplomacy? Can faith intervene where politics has failed?
#PopeLeoXIV #Zelensky #Vatican2025 #PapalInauguration #UkraineWar #GazaCrisis #CatholicChurch #FaithAndPolitics #FirstAmericanPope #JDVance #StPetersSquare #VaticanNews #WorldLeaders #PopeAndPeace #HumanitarianCrisis #ReligionAndGeopolitics
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Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner confirmed that the government has secured the raw materials needed to keep Scunthorpe steel plant going. It comes as the government stepped in over the weekend to take it over from Chinese company Jingye after it threatened to shut down one of the furnaces today. "We've got the raw materials, they've been paid for and we're confident that the furnaces will continue to fire," Ms Rayner said. Report by Kennedyl. Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/itn and follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/itn
The Prime Minister has claimed that people in the North of England have "long been underestimated", as he and Angela Rayner visited South Yorkshire to ramp up Labour's campaign ahead of next month's local elections in England. Report by Chahalb. Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/itn and follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/itn
Ministers arrive at Downing Street for a cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer before the House of Commons pauses for Easter recess. Arriving at Number 10 were Jonathan Reynolds, Yvette Cooper, John Healey, Angela Rayner, Ed Miliband and other members of the cabinet. Report by Faragt. Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/itn and follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/itn
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, Chancellor Rachel Reeves, and Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan visited Ronnie Scott's jazz bar in London after the government announced new steps in collaboration with business leaders to boost the UK's hospitality sector. The move could see bars open later and more al fresco dining. Report by Covellm. Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/itn and follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/itn