Once again there’s been plenty of positive British news this week. You might not hear about it on the BBC or most other news outlets, but remember positive things are happening across our great nation.
Keep checking in with the Conservative Post to see good news every day – the resurgence of British manufacturing, how our military is flying the flag across the world, positive policy making, global trade deals, our wonderful royals and many other things to be proud of.
Here are our 20 best read and most shared positive news stories from just this week (24th – 30th April 2023):
20. UK and Croatia bolster trade and security cooperation
The UK is reinforcing its partnership with Croatia with a renewed vision for cooperation across defence and security, trade, migration and climate change. Foreign Secretary James Cleverly signed a Joint Declaration on bilateral cooperation with his Croatian counterpart Gordan Grlić Radman in London this week. The declaration will also step up cooperation in the fight against climate change and deliver on the Prime Minister’s priorities of tackling illegal migration and growing the UK’s economy… click here
19. Snow leopards, elephants and pangolins to be better protected thanks to United Kingdom
Threatened plants and animals, including elephants and pangolins are set to be protected thanks to new UK government funding announced this week. Over 80 conservation projects across the globe will benefit from nearly £40 million funding aimed at boosting international biodiversity, supporting the communities that live alongside nature and tackling illegal wildlife trade… click here
18. UK is leading the world in rolling out new cutting-edge immunotherapies
Pharmaceutical industry data published this month shows the UK is one of fastest three of the G20 countries to roll-out new cutting-edge immunotherapies. The NHS continues to be a world leader when it comes to diagnosing cancer earlier and providing the latest treatments to patients at a price affordable to taxpayers” says NHS National Director for Cancer Professor Peter Johnson. Hundreds more people in the UK with cancer are now set to receive personalised CAR-T therapies… click here
17. £100 million for expert taskforce to help build UK’s next generation of safe AI
£100 million to kickstart the delivery of the government’s major ambitions for the UK’s capability in safe and reliable foundation models has been announced this week. The Taskforce, modelled on the success of the COVID-19 Vaccines Taskforce, will develop the safe and reliable use of this pivotal artificial intelligence (AI) across the economy and ensure the UK is globally competitive in this strategic technology. Foundation models – including large language models like ChatGPT and Google Bard… click here
16. Boost for UK Overseas Territories as new multi-million-pound grant scheme opens to protect nature
The UK Overseas Territories, including the Falkland Islands and Montserrat, are some of the most nature-rich and biodiverse areas in the world. Thick forests, shimmering oceans and vast grasslands thrive with wildlife, many of which are under threat from climate change and habitat loss. Efforts to boost biodiversity recovery in the UK Overseas Territories have been bolstered with large-scale projects funded… click here
15. UK takes over leadership of International Space Charter
The UK is taking over the leadership of the International Charter Space and Major Disasters (The Charter), which provides data from satellites to aid disaster response around the world. The UK Space Agency’s six-month leadership will begin with the 49th Board Meeting of the Charter in Edinburgh this week), attended by space agencies and organisations from across the globe. The Charter has 17 members and 270 contributing satellites, supporting people in need in 131 countries… click here
14. UK completes longest and largest evacuation effort of any Western country from Sudan
Following the longest and largest evacuation effort of any Western country, the successful UK evacuation flights from Wadi Saeedna airfield near Khartoum have evacuated more than 1888 people on 21 flights, the vast majority of them British nationals and their dependents. The government say they will continue to press all diplomatic levers to secure a long term ceasefire and end to the bloodshed in Sudan… click here
13. New legislation launched to crack down on online rip-offs and fake reviews
New legislation introduced this week will ensure businesses and consumers are protected from rip-offs and can reap the full benefits of the digital economy with confidence. Fake reviews that cheat customers, subscription traps that cost more than a billion pounds a year and new powers for the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to tackle businesses that breach consumer rights law are all elements of this week’s far-reaching Bill… click here
12. World leading UK to pilot use of innovative Earth Observation technology for public services
A UK Geospatial Commission pilot will see public sector bodies able to access and test high resolution Earth Observation (EO) data and services. The Geospatial Commission, part of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), has this week launched a commercial Earth Observation (EO) pilot for a number of UK public sector bodies that will help to unlock the value of EO technology in priority policy areas, from emergency incident response to land use… click here
11. More people across the UK to receive early lung cancer diagnosis thanks to NHS trucks
People in deprived areas are now more likely to be diagnosed with lung cancer at an earlier stage, thanks to the success of NHS lung trucks. For the first time ever, new data shows more than a third of people diagnosed with lung cancer from the most deprived fifth of England were diagnosed at stage one or two in 2022 (34.5%) – up from 30% in 2019. Lung MOTs, located in mobile trucks in supermarket carparks… click here
10. Welsh Export Champion is flying high with products on £11 billion worth of aircraft around the world
One of Wales’s first UK Government Export Champions, Air Covers, has received a special visit from Welsh Office Minister James Davies to hear about how they sell their products across the world. The British design and engineering company makes protective covers for aircraft, vehicles and marine equipment from their design office and workshop in Wrexham in Wales. The company, which was founded by John and Sasha Pattinson in 2006 is a Queen’s Award-winning… click here
9. World’s largest-of-its-kind power line to deliver clean power to 1.8 million UK homes and boost energy security
The world’s largest multi-use electricity power line will be built under the North Sea, boosting UK energy supplies with enough to power 1.8 million homes – more than Birmingham and Manchester combined. The new LionLink will connect the UK and the Netherlands with offshore wind farms, providing clean affordable and secure energy to Britain which will help cut household bills and drive Putin’s Russia further out of the energy market. The cross-border electricity line will be only the second of its kind in the world, with the first having been built… click here
8. NHS set to save £7 billion thanks to world-leading medicine pricing scheme
The NHS will save £7 billion by the end of 2023 thanks to a 5-year agreement with the pharmaceutical industry, which ensures the NHS can continue to be one of the fastest health systems in the world to roll out innovative medicines. VPAS, the voluntary scheme for branded medicines pricing and access, was introduced in 2019 to keep the branded medicine bill affordable for the NHS by capping the growth of sales, while improving patient access to medicines by getting new medicines into use more quickly, and supporting our life sciences sector… click here
7. UK and India sign landmark research agreement
The UK and India have this week signed a landmark agreement to collaborate on science and innovation, following a meeting between UK Science Minister George Freeman and Indian Minister of State for Science and Technology Dr Jitendra Singh. The memorandum of understanding on research between the two countries will be signed at the in Parliament this afternoon, enabling quicker, deeper collaboration on science between the two science powerhouses… click here
6. Over 8 million UK families to receive £301 Cost of Living Payment from today
Over eight million households across the UK will receive a £301 Cost of Living Payment from the Government, with payments rolled out from this week. As the cost of living continues to affect people across the world, the Government say they are making these payments to target support towards the most vulnerable in UK society and provide them with a financial boost. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will send payments automatically and directly… click here
5. Record number of doctors and nurses in England helping to cut waiting lists
There are record numbers of doctors and nurses working in the NHS helping to deliver extra appointments, speed up diagnoses and tackle the Covid backlog, according to data published today by NHS England. There are over 1.27 million full-time equivalent staff working in NHS trusts and commissioning bodies in England – over 51,500 more people compared to a year ago which is an increase of 4.2%. Elsewhere, additional data shows there are more than 25,000 additional primary care staff… click here
4. Tech Superpower UK promoted to American entrepreneurs and investors across Silicon Valley
In 2022, the UK became only the third country in the world to have its tech sector valued at one trillion dollars, making it a tech superpower alongside the US and China. A campaign designed to promote the UK’s thriving tech sector to American entrepreneurs and investors has been launched in Silicon Valley. To date, 162 ‘tech Unicorns’ – private start-ups which are valued at more than $1bn – have been started in the UK, more than the total number in Germany, France and Sweden combined… click here
3. Migration bill is ‘robust and humane’ insists Home Secretary
Home Secretary Suella Braverman has insisted that the Government’s Illegal Migration Bill is “robust and humane”. She told GB news: “We disagree with the assessment put out by the equalities watchdog. We consider our proposals to be a combination of being robust and humane.” The Minister added: “It’s important that we design a scheme whereby if you arrive here illegally, you will be detained and swiftly removed and we have to also be honest about some of the facts of the people coming here. The vast majority are adult young men… click here
2. English whisky witnessing unprecedented growth with 49 active distilleries now across England
From zero two decades ago, there are now 49 active whisky distilleries in England which are winning a host of internationally recognised awards. English whisky is witnessing unprecedented growth, with a tsunami of drinkers across the world discovering and experiencing a spirit produced with incredible flavour diversity and to the highest standards. Having raked in huge profits from a boom in gin drinking in recent years, English distilleries have been turning their hands to whisky making… click here
1. Boris Johnson’s manifesto commitment met as 20,000 additional police officers now recruited
There are more police officers in England and Wales than ever before, new figures published by the government today confirm. The government has delivered on its 2019 manifesto commitment to recruit 20,000 additional police officers by March 2023. This brings the total number to nearly 150,000 officers, more than 3,500 higher than the previous peak in 2010. Police forces are now more representative of the diverse communities they serve, with over 53,000 female officers (35.5%) and over 12,000 (8.3%) from an ethnic minority background – both also at record highs… click here
For last week’s Top 20 Great British news stories (17th – 23rd April 2023) click here.
By Claire Bullivant
Conservative Post, Founder and Editor
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