Prof Stephen Cushion stated that news reporting failing to differentiate between the UK's devolved governments neglects audiences' constitutional needs. He emphasized that issues like housing and healthcare are governed differently in Wales, which is often invisible in UK-wide news.
Labour said Kathy Gibbon should stand down after she left Reform UK and joined the Tories on Buckinghamshire Council. Gibbon, who represents the Kingsbrook, Bierton and Wing ward, was elected for Reform last year, but announced her defection this week claiming the move would "allow me to work more effectively as part of a strong, experienced team". Reform UK councillor Cameron Anderson said voters would "now feel a great sense of dissatisfaction and injustice", while Labour called for a by-election.
The Conservatives are calling for a proposed renovation of the Houses of Parliament to be paused and "refocused" over concerns about costs potentially running into the tens of billions. MPs have been presented with proposals to refurbish the ailing Palace of Westminster, including a plan that could cost almost 40bn and take 61 years to complete. The project team has warned delaying the restoration of the historic building, which costs 1.5m a week to maintain, would lead to "an expensive managed decline of the Palace".
James Evans has been removed from the shadow cabinet and had the whip withdrawn making him an independent, Tory Senedd leader Darren Millar has said. Millar said he did so on Tuesday morning "after being informed by James that he was continuing to engage with Reform representatives about the possibility of defecting to the party in spite of his personal assurances on Friday that he had rejected an approach they initiated last week".
Political U-turns come in various forms, and as news of the latest government reversal drifted out, this one connected to the plight of the pub trade, Labour MPs could take comfort in one thing: at least it happened quickly. While last summer's change of stance on benefit reforms was forced on Downing Street by open rebellion, and those for pensioners' winter fuel payments and inheritance tax for farmers followed months of dissent, the decision to revisit decisions on business rates took a matter of weeks.
