Happy Easter to all our readers. We hope you’ve been enjoying a day of fun, laughter and lots of chocolate treats.
Let’s take this opportunity to reflect on the hope and renewal that Easter represents, and be thankful for all the blessings in our lives and positives in our country. Let’s not forget we live in the best country in the world (we’re not biased!) and even though most of the doom and gloom mainstream media aren’t interested in featuring positive British news stories, remember lots of great things are actually happening.
Here are our 20 best read and most shared positive news stories from just this week (3rd – 9th April 2023):
20. UK charges up ties with Australia in new critical minerals pledge
“Australia’s unmatched production capacity, combined with the UK’s mineral trading and finance expertise, will boost global supplies, help protect supply chains from future shocks, and support thousands of skilled, high-paying jobs.” The UK’s Indo-Pacific Minister, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, is in Western Australia this week focussed on working with Australia to futureproof supplies of minerals that will be central to delivering the world’s net zero pledges… click here
19. Revolutionary new digital map of UK’s underground pipes and cables launched
The government’s National Underground Asset Register will transform how the UK manages its buried infrastructure.” The Geospatial Commission, part of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, has this week launched a new digital map that will revolutionise the way we install, maintain, operate and repair the pipes and cables buried beneath our feet – the government’s National Underground Asset Register… click here
18. New specialist unit launched to lead the UK’s work on international crime
A specialist new unit has been launched to lead the UK’s work on international crime. The Joint International Crime Centre consolidates and enhances the UK’s capabilities around international law enforcement co-operation and co-ordination. It provides the UK an opportunity to perform a greater and more efficient role in responding to the growing threat from transnational criminality. The JICC will drive, co-ordinate, and support the response of UK policing and law enforcement to international crime… click here
17. Protecting England’s rare and threatened species with new multi-million pound conservation funding
A new multi-million pound grant scheme was launched this week by Natural England to help safeguard rare and threatened species from extinction. Species such as lady’s slipper orchid, water vole, natterjack toad, wartbiter cricket and curlew could benefit from a grant from the £18 million Species Recovery Programme Capital Grant Scheme. The scheme will support projects over two years delivering targeted conservation action through the creation and improvement of specific wildlife habitats, conservation translocations… click here
16. Crackdown on fly-tipping continues with new grants for councils
Grants totalling £775,000 will help councils roll out a range of projects to crack down on fly-tipping, Environment Minister Rebecca Pow announced this week. Twenty-one local authorities will benefit from the grants, with schemes such as roadside CCTV and social media campaigns in Plymouth and targeted surveillance at hotspot areas in Pendle. Other projects will include portable CCTV cameras to patrol and capture footage across Northumberland, anti-climb fencing to protect neighbourhood areas in Hyndburn, including community orchards and wildflower meadows and larger recycling bins… click here
15. England strikes landmark deal for drug to treat two most common cancers
Hundreds of patients with breast cancer and advanced prostate cancer could benefit from a breakthrough targeted therapy, after the NHS agreed a landmark commercial deal to roll-out the drug to treat forms of the two most common cancers in England. The drug, olaparib (Lynparza®), targets cancers with mutations in the BRCA genes, and works by stopping cancer cells from being able to repair their DNA by blocking a molecule called PARP, which causes the cancerous cells to die… click here
14. More funding for British farmers as new blueprint for water announced
£34 million will be made available to farmers through the first round of the Slurry Infrastructure Grant. Farmers will benefit from significant additional funding to better manage slurry storage and to store and use water more efficiently, as a key part of a new Plan for Water published by the government today. Better management of slurry from farming means less pollution washing off into our rivers when it rains. More investment into water supply will mean farmers are more prepared for climate change impacts – from reservoirs to better irrigation… click here
13. BRITISH MANUFACTURING: Wheely positive order for British Steel
Bull wheel profiles rolled in the UK are once again destined for the snow-capped mountains of the Alps where they’ll help skiers make the most of the slopes. The recent order for the specialist profile comes on the back of developments made by British Steel’s Special Profiles business in 2017 when they developed the bespoke profile for ski-lift systems. The profiles are used to manufacture bull wheels, which play an integral and vital part in the safe operation of ski-lifts… click here
12. Growth for Wales as UK government announces multi billion pound investment to boost UK energy independence
New jobs and investment are set to come to Wales as the UK Government has this week unveiled ambitious plans to scale up affordable, clean, homegrown power and build thriving green industries in Britain. After decades of reliance on importing expensive, foreign fossil fuels, the Government is delivering a radical shift in our energy system towards cleaner, more affordable energy sources to power more of Britain from Britain… click here
11. Rural communities across England set to benefit from funding to support rural business and create jobs
Communities across rural England are set to benefit from an extra £110 million in local authority funding to support rural business and community groups, it has been announced this week. Eligible local authorities in England will receive the funding, which they can invest in initiatives such as farm diversification, projects to boost rural tourism, and community infrastructure projects including electric vehicle charging stations… click here
10. £161 million contract for F-35 jet maintenance supports 140 UK jobs
The UK’s fleet of F-35 Lightning stealth jets will be maintained and supported in a new £161 million contract, keeping them ready for global combat operations. Based at RAF Marham, home of the UK Lightning Force, the investment sustains around 140 UK jobs – 130 directly at the Norfolk base, with around 10 more through the supply chain – delivering on the Prime Minister’s priority to grow the economy creating better-paid jobs and opportunities right across the UK… click here
9. Funding announced for 53 new electricity and gas network projects across the UK
“Great Britain has a long history of being in the vanguard of innovation.“ Fifty-three innovative electricity and gas projects that could help reduce both bills and emissions receive funding through the Strategic Innovation Fund. A bumper crop of cutting-edge projects have received funding. The projects aim to help deliver a future power grid that is both more secure and cleaner while also turning Great Britain into a growth hub for energy entrepreneurs… click here
8. Duchess of Edinburgh opens the UK’s first dedicated veterans’ orthopaedic centre
The UK’s first dedicated Veterans’ Orthopaedic Centre at Shropshire’s specialist orthopaedic hospital has officially been opened The Duchess of Edinburgh this week. Her Royal Highness visited The Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital for an official visit, where she unveiled a plaque marking the official opening of the pioneering Headley Court Veterans’ Orthopaedic Centre. Lieutenant Colonel Carl Meyer, Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon, launched the Veterans’ Orthopaedic Service back in 2014… click here
7. CPTPP trade deal is great news for Wales with over 450 companies set to benefit says Welsh Secretary
There are numerous opportunities for Welsh businesses to benefit from joining CPTPP, with more than 450 businesses in Wales exporting over £900 million worth of goods to CPTPP countries in 2021. Key Welsh exports such as machinery and power generators are set to benefit from the removal of tariffs as a result of the agreement. Last week the UK government announced the conclusion of trade talks with the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), a vast free trade area spanning the Indo-Pacific… click here
6. Steel cut on UK’s latest £840 million warship HMS Birmingham supporting thousands of British jobs
Steel has been cut for HMS Birmingham, formally marking the start of the build of the second batch of Type 26 frigates. The Minister for Defence Procurement, Alex Chalk KC, marked the occasion at the steel cutting ceremony, with HMS Birmingham becoming the fourth of eight anti-submarine warships being constructed for the Royal Navy at BAE Systems shipyard in Govan, Glasgow. Work today got under way on the latest of the Royal Navy’s next-generation submarine hunters, a £840 million warship which will carry the name and motto – Forward… click here
5. £1.6 billion investment brought forward to speed up England’s vital water infrastructure projects
Over £1.6 billion of new investment will be directed into vital infrastructure to improve the water quality of our rivers, lakes and coastal waters and secure future water supplies, the government and Ofwat announced this week. It follows a request from Defra to English water companies to accelerate investments between now and 2025 to tackle storm overflow discharges, reduce nutrient pollution from treatment works and address water resilience challenges… click here
4. 18,000 young people in Lancashire to benefit from BAE Systems digital skills investment
Around 18,000 young people from across Lancashire will benefit from a £500,000 investment from British aerospace manufacturer, BAE Systems over the next three years. BAE Systems will be supporting Chorley based CREATE Education to expand its digital skills education programme in the region. Each school which takes part in the programme gets access to the very latest industry-standard equipment and expertise… click here
3. Buckingham Palace release invitation for the Coronation of Their Majesties
Buckingham Palace have shared the invitation for the Coronation, which will be issued in due course to over 2,000 guests who will form the congregation in Westminster Abbey. It has also been announced that eight Pages of Honour have been chosen to attend Their Majesties during the Coronation Service. The invitation for the Coronation has been designed by Andrew Jamieson, a heraldic artist and manuscript illuminator whose work is inspired by the chivalric themes of Arthurian legend. Mr Jamieson is a Brother of the Art Workers’ Guild, of which The King is an Honorary Member… click here
2. Record number of doctors and over 41,000 more nurses working in NHS
There are record number of doctors and nurses working in the NHS in England helping to deliver extra appointments, speed up diagnoses and cut waiting lists, according to the latest stats. Data published this week by NHS Digital shows in January 2023 there were almost 1.27 million full-time equivalent staff working in NHS trusts and commissioning bodies in England – over 48,700 more people compared to a year ago, an increase of 4%. The latest data also shows there were over 5,100 more doctors and over 11,800 more nurses working in the NHS compared to January 2022… click here
1. Grooming gangs who target children and young women will be stamped out under new plans
A new Grooming Gangs Taskforce will see specialist officers parachuted in to assist police forces with live child sexual exploitation and grooming investigations to bring more of these despicable criminals to justice. Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary, Dominic Raab, said: “Grooming gangs are a scourge on our society and I want to send a clear message to anyone who exploits vulnerable children that they will face the full weight of the law…” Click here
For last week’s Top 20 Great British news stories (27th March – 2nd April 2023) click here.
By Claire Bullivant
Conservative Post, Founder and Editor
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