News
Rishi Sunak set to announce 5% deposit mortgage scheme to help first-time buyers
“I want generation rent to become generation buy”
Chancellor Rishi Sunak is set to announce a 5% deposit scheme to help first-time buyers get on the property ladder.
Sunak has revealed plans to incentivise lenders to provide mortgages to first-time buyers and current homeowners with just 5% deposits on properties worth up to £600,000.
He is set to provide details on how the government will offer lenders the guarantee they require to provide mortgages covering the remaining 95% this Wednesday.
Due to the economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic low-deposit mortgages have ‘virtually disappeared’ explains The Treasury.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “I want generation rent to become generation buy and these 95% mortgage guarantees help to deliver this promise.
“Young people shouldn’t feel excluded from the chance of owning their own home and now it will be easier than ever to get onto the property ladder.”
The scheme is set to be subject to the usual affordability checks and will be available from April.
It’s based on David Cameron and George Osborne’s 2013 Help to Buy scheme that ended in June 2017. The scheme reportedly helped over 100,000 households but concerns were raised that it artificially inflated prices and housebuilder’s profits.
Shadow Housing Secretary Thangam Debbonaire raised concerns regarding the plans saying: “What young people need to get on is the secure future that comes with a decent job and genuinely affordable new houses to be built for them to make homes of, not going back to the days of sky-high mortgages.”
The Chancellor warns he is set to ‘level with people about the challenge’ and the damages of the pandemic spending.
He said: “We went big, we went early, but there is more to come and there will be more to come in the Budget. But there is a challenge and I want to level with people about the challenge.”
The government is reportedly braced for the possibility of rebellion from Tory MPs over tax rises. One member of the Northern Research Group Carlisle MP John Stevenson, suggested the Chancellor should wait until autumn before winding up support packages.
Speaking on BBC’s Radio 4 Today programme he said: “We’re not through the pandemic yet, we’ve still got a few months to go, so we want to see continuing support and we’ll probably have a much better idea of where the economy is come the autumn.
“As soon as we can get back to that levelling-up agenda which we were all elected on in 2019, we believe that in the north we have a major contribution to make to the recovery.”
However, former Chancellor Lord Ken Clarke said Mr Sunak ‘must look at’ raising such things as VAT, national insurance and income tax.
Lord Clarke told Today: “Sensible people know in their bones that all this emergency government spending is going to have to be paid for and is going to be a burden on them.
“The manifesto you refer to was written by a couple of apparatchiks in the office halfway through the campaign.”
He said it would be ‘quite sensible’ to look at raising corporation tax with it being at ‘quite unnaturally low levels’.
News
Oasis announce huge reunion tour as Liam and Noel Gallagher ‘make peace’
The news we’ve all been waiting for!
After years of will-they-won’t-they speculation, Oasis are officially BACK together for a reunion tour.
The Gallagher brothers have put aside their differences in the name of music, making thousands of fans extremely happy in the process.
The band teased the news on their socials over the weekend, posting a video on Sunday morning with today’s date (Tuesday, August 27th) and the time 8am.
And now shows have been announced for multiple dates in the UK and Ireland, with tickets going live this Saturday, August 31st.
The legendary Mancunian rockers will take to the stage next summer, with gigs in Cardiff, London, Edinburgh, Dublin and, of course, Manchester.
15 years after splitting, the band confirmed they would be back for 14 shows, saying: “The guns have fallen silent. The stars have aligned. The great wait is over. Come see. It will not be televised”.
The gigs will be Oasis’s ‘only shows in Europe next year’, with tickets on sale this Saturday at 8am in Ireland and 9am in the UK.
The Oasis 2025 tour dates in full:
July
4th – Cardiff, Principality Stadium
5th – Cardiff, Principality Stadium
11th – Manchester, Heaton Park
12th – Manchester, Heaton Park
19th – Manchester, Heaton Park
20th – Manchester, Heaton Park
25th – London, Wembley Stadium
26th – London, Wembley Stadium
August
2nd – London, Wembley Stadium
3rd – London, Wembley Stadium
8th – Edinburgh, Scottish Gas Murrayfield Stadium
9th – Edinburgh, Scottish Gas Murrayfield Stadium
16th – Dublin, Croke Park
17th – Dublin, Croke Park
You can grab your tickets HERE.
News
Stagecoach hiring over 100 new bus drivers for Bee Network with £31k salaries
Fancy a career change?
Stagecoach Manchester is hiring over 100 new bus drivers to work from its Oldham depot, following the second phase of the Bee Network launch in March.
You can apply for a range of roles, from positions with no experience required to fully qualified bus drivers.
Successful applicants will receive full training as part of the job, and trainees will get paid to train. Then after only 12 months’ service at Stagecoach, drivers can expect to earn up to £16 per hour, which equates to £31.6K per year, before overtime.
As well as that, drivers that already hold a PCV licence may be eligible to receive a £1,200 joining bonus.
Stagecoach
There’s also a host of other benefits available to all Stagecoach employees, like 28 days paid holiday, generous pension and free Stagecoach bus travel for successful applicants and a companion.
Rob Jones, Managing Director at Stagecoach Manchester said: “Expanding our offering in Oldham means we’ll be investing more in the economy and supporting our local community, as well as strengthening our workforce.
“Whether you’re looking for a career change or you’re a fully qualified, experienced bus driver, there’s a role for everyone here in Oldham.
“We’re looking for personable and dedicated drivers who are ready to help us build on the success of the Bee Network and connect the people of Oldham and Greater Manchester with the places and people that are important to them.”
Stagecoach
Phil Cornwall, bus driver at Stagecoach Manchester, said: “I’ve been a driver at Stagecoach for 25 years and I couldn’t recommend it more.
“From the perks to the people to the passengers, it really is a great place to work.”
To apply, head to the Stagecoach website HERE.
Two men have now been charged with murder, following the discovery of a human torso in Kersal Dale.
As well as that, more suspected human remains were also discovered this morning, Monday April 29th, in an alleyway close to the railway lines off Worsley Road, Eccles.
This follows earlier discoveries of human remains over the past three weeks, at Kersal Dale, Blackleach Reservoir and Colliery Wood, all in Salford.
Greater Manchester Police
Michal Jaroslaw Polchowski (25/04/1956) and Marcin Majerkiewicz (10/04/1982) both of Worsley Road, Eccles, have been charged with murder.
They are set to appear at Tameside Magistrates Court this afternoon.
While formal identification is still ongoing, the remains found at Kersal Dale are believed to be of a local man in his 60s. The remains found at the other three locations are still to be tested, but police are confident they belong to the same victim.
ACC Sarah Jackson said: “We have had large numbers of officers, staff and specialists working diligently on this investigation over the last three weeks. It has been very much a large, collective effort, with the victim and family at the heart of it from the outset.
“We have specially trained officers deployed to support the family as they come to terms with this tragic news. They are aware of this morning’s further discovery and will continue to be kept up to date with how we are progressing.
“Despite the charges brought today, our work is far from over.
“The scenes we already have established in Bury and Salford will remain in place for much of this week whilst our searches and enquiries continue. Local officers will continue to patrol the impacted areas to provide reassurance.
“We will continue following every line of enquiry to recover and reunite the victim with his family, bringing a dignified end to this terrible scenario.
“I’d like to thank the communities of Salford and beyond for their cooperation throughout this investigation. I know this incident has come as a shock, and the support we’ve had from those in the area is very much appreciated.”
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