Pay rent, eat or keep warm? Growing numbers face hard choices as housing benefit gap grows 23. September 2026 (01:01) Wirral mother among renters turning to food banks as gap between a two-bed and housing benefit hits £158 a month – rising to as much as £324 in LondonDo you prioritise paying the rent, putting food on the table or keeping the house warm in winter? In practice, says Laura Braddock, a single mum from Wirral, Merseyside, you always pay the rent first and improvise the rest. “If I’ve got a roof over our head, then everything else I can muddle through.”The pressing problem for Braddock, 39, is that muddling through is getting harder. The monthly rent for her two-bedroom flat far outstrips the local housing allowance (LHA) she receives – and the gap may widen. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
England’s mayors should face greater scrutiny as powers expand, thinktank says 23. September 2026 (01:01) IPPR North says one bad decision could derail devolution agenda as regions gain control of billions in fundingEngland’s mayors should face much greater official scrutiny to avoid Andy Burnham’s devolution agenda being “derailed by one bad decision”, a thinktank has said.Ministers will set out plans next month to give regional leaders control over potentially billions of pounds of additional funding under a “transformational” shift of power outside Whitehall. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Rare blue diamond could fetch up to £2 million at auction 23. September 2026 (01:01) Auctioneers Elmwood’s said the jewel will be only the third blue diamond weighing more than eight carats ever offered at auction in the UK.(London News)
US supreme court declines to intervene in custody fight over baby born via surrogate 23. September 2026 (00:38) Surrogate who rejected abortion request had asked justices to halt court order recognizing LA couple as legal parentsThe supreme court has refused to get involved with a custody dispute between an Alaska surrogate and a California couple whose child was born with a rare and serious heart defect.On Tuesday, Justice Elena Kagan denied an emergency request from McKenna West, an Alaska nurse and surrogate who had asked the US’s highest court to halt a California court order recognizing the couple, Omar Ahmed and Nausheen Gilkar, as the boy’s legal parents. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
