Of course most of the doom and gloom mainstream media may not be interested in featuring any positive British news stories, but we certainly are.
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 (14th – 20th August 2023):
20. UK opens more opportunities for sustainable Atlantic bluefin tuna fisheries outside the EU
The government has opened up more opportunities for sustainable Atlantic bluefin tuna fisheries outside the EU through commercial and recreational fishing which will support the sustainable management of the species whilst also delivering social and economic benefits to coastal communities. This week’s announcement is another step in the government’s work to deliver thriving, sustainable fisheries outside the EU. It will see economic benefits to industry and coastal communities, both through increased catching opportunities and income from tourism, and ensure that… click here
19. UK Trade Minister in Indonesia and Vietnam to turbocharge trade with Southeast Asia
International Trade Minister Nigel Huddleston has today set off on a visit to two Southeast Asian countries to kickstart new discussions aimed at ramping up UK trade with the region. Southeast Asia’s economy is expected to become equivalent to the third largest economy in the world by 2027, worth over £4 trillion. UK-ASEAN trade increased by over 20% last year – worth £47 billion – but there is huge opportunity for more businesses across the UK to tap into this massive economy. As the first new Dialogue Partner to ASEAN in 25 years, the UK is well positioned to boost… click here
18. Bringing an end to the 8am scramble for appointments as all GP surgeries in England to get digital phonelines
Patients at all general practices across England will soon benefit from new digital phonelines designed to make booking GP appointments easier. Backed by a £240 million investment, more than one thousand practices have signed up to make the switch from analogue systems which can leave patients on hold and struggling to book an appointment – to modern, easy-to-use digital telephones designed to make sure people can receive the care they need when they need it. It is expected every practice in the country will have the new system in place by the end of this financial year helping put an end to the 8am rush… click here
17. Buckets and spades at the ready: FOUR of England’s beaches are ranked in Europe’s TOP 25
It’s official, England is home to four of the top beaches in Europe according to the Tripadvisor’s Travellers’ Choice ‘Best of the Beach’ report. Gorleston-on-Sea beach in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk was the highest-ranked UK beach and came 12th across Europe. Weymouth beach in Dorset came in at number 14. Fistral beach in Newquay, Cornwall ranked number 22 and Bournemouth beach took the number 24 spot. So next time you’re looking for some sand, sea and (hopefully) sunshine why not stay closer to home? It’s official England is home to four of the top beaches in Europe.. click here
16. Legal & General beat market expectations posting profits of £941 million
Legal & General have beaten market expectations today posting profits of £941 million for the first six months of the year despite new accounting rules putting a dent in the insurance giant’s accounts. In its half year results, L&G said it had delivered operating profits ahead of the £834 million analysts had been expecting but down from £958 million in the same period last year. Sir Nigel Wilson, Group Chief Executive: “We remain on track to achieve our five-year ambitions and deliver attractive returns for our shareholders”… click here
15. Future is GOLDEN as young Brits win 24 medals at 2023 European Youth Olympic Festival
Thirty-nine young Brits across five sports (artistic gymnastics, judo, mountain bike, road cycling, swimming) have been in action in a six-day multi-sport event in Slovenia. After a very successful week, the young Brits came away with 24 medals from the Maribor 2023 European Youth Olympic Festival winning golds in four of the five sports. British golds were achieved in gymnastics, judo, cycling and swimming… click here
14. Health Secretary announces £210 million to tackle deadly antimicrobial resistance
State-of-the-art laboratories, cutting-edge disease surveillance systems, and a bigger global workforce to tackle deadly antimicrobial resistance will be backed by up to £210 million of funding, the government has announced this week. The funding – from the government’s UK aid budget – will support the Fleming Fund’s activities to tackle AMR in countries across Asia and Africa over the next three years, helping to reduce the threat it poses to the UK and globally. It will bolster the surveillance capacity in up to 25 countries where the threat and burden of AMR is highest… click here
13. British luxury sports car company LOTUS achieves record breaking first half of 2023
Norfolk based Lotus has announced it had a record-breaking first half of 2023. Feng Qingfeng, CEO of Lotus Group said: “We set an ambitious goal in 2018, with the launch of our Vision80 strategy to transform the business from a traditional automotive brand to become an all-electric, luxury, mobility provider in ten years. We have spent the last few years laying the foundations for success and today’s announcement demonstrates that Lotus is no longer the same business that it has been in previous years. We are firmly on track to becoming a global performance brand by 2028″… click here
12. Marks and Spencer raise profit outlook after strong trading and continued growth so far this year
Marks and Spencer have raised their profit outlook after fresh a boost from their clothing and food sales so far this year. The first 19 weeks of the year has seen continued market share growth in both the Clothing & Home and Food businesses, and good progress on the programme to reshape M&S. Like-for-like Food sales grew over 11% after they made further investment in quality and trusted value, sharpening prices on over 80 ‘Remarksable Value’ lines. Like-for-like Clothing & Home sales also grew over 6%, with strong growth in stores, and more subdued growth in online… click here
11. £90 million boost to Ukraine’s air defence capability as new contracts signed
Three contracts to deliver air defence equipment to Ukraine worth more than £90 million have been signed by the Ministry of Defence on behalf of the International Fund for Ukraine (IFU). These include a £56 million counter-uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) contract with Norwegian defence company Kongsberg and two further contracts to provide further air defence capabilities. The contract with Kongsberg will purchase vehicle-mounted counter-drone systems to detect, track, destroy or disrupt UAS. The CORTEX Typhon system is designed to be operated by as few as two users… click here
10. Clean up of Sellafield takes significant step forward with first removal of waste from site’s oldest store
The clean up of the Sellafield site has taken a significant step forward this week with the first removal of waste from the Pile Fuel Cladding Silo. It’s a plan that’s been decades in the making but this week saw the achievement of a momentous milestone in the decommissioning story at Sellafield as the first batch of waste was successfully retrieved from the site’s oldest waste store. After weeks of preparation and checks, the Pile Fuel Cladding Silo retrievals team gathered around the monitors in the control room of the 70-year-old plant to witness the moment a state-of-the-art robotic arm reached into the silo to remove and repackage waste for the first time… click here
9. Jaguar Land Rover announces 300 new jobs in the Midlands to support growing Range Rover production
JLR is recruiting 300 new technician roles at its Solihull, Gaydon and Whitley facilities to support increased Range Rover production and the testing and maintenance of new BEVs. Investment in people and facilities is part of JLR’s commitment to invest £15 billion over the next five years across the company JLR has this week announced it is recruiting 300 new technicians and test engineers in the West Midlands. The roles will support the continued growth of Range Rover production and development of next generation electric models… click here
8. Conservative Ministers back GB News campaign to protect cash
Ministers have vowed to protect access in a major victory for those fighting back against a cashless society. The Treasury announced measures to protect free cash access services across the United Kingdom, just hours after GB News presenters handed a petition in at Downing Street. They also heaped praise on the channel’s campaign and stressed vulnerable cash users will be protected by the Financial Conduct Authority. The FCA will build on laws set out in the Financial Services & Markets Act to make sure banks and building societies maintain standards and enforce fines when standards are not met… click here
7. £250 million to boost NHS capacity with 900 new beds
Nine hundred new hospital beds will be delivered across the NHS as part of £250 million government funding to help treat patients more quickly this winter, the Health and Social Care Secretary, Steve Barclay, has announced this week. The funding has been awarded to NHS trusts to relieve pressures and help cut waiting lists, one of the government’s top five priorities. Thirty NHS organisations across England will benefit from the investment in urgent and emergency care services. This includes developing or expanding urgent treatment centres and same day emergency care services which will help patients to be seen more quickly, without being admitted to hospital… click here
6. Thousands of pupils secure place at their first-choice university
University acceptances are up on 2019, with 79% getting their first-choice as results return to pre-pandemic levels in an important step back to normal. Young people across England celebrated exam results this week – with thousands of them moving on to university, apprenticeships and the world of work. Overall, 79% of 18-year-old pupils in the UK receiving a decision today have gained a place at their first choice university. 16,530 students who received free school meals (FSM) have also gained a place at university which is a 60% increase from 2019. In a sign that grading is returning to normal, this year, 27.2% of UK entries for A levels achieved a grade A and above… click here
5. NHS delivers another record year of lifesaving cancer checks for patients
The number of people receiving lifesaving checks for cancer in the last year has hit nearly three million (2.92m) – more than any other year on record. In June alone, over a quarter of a million people (261,000) were seen for urgent cancer checks by the NHS, which is well over double the number of people checked in the same month a decade ago (101,592). A record 335,000 people have also started treatment for cancer in the last year (July 2022 – June 2023), up by over 20,000 on same period before the pandemic (July 2018 – June 2019)… click here
4. England is home to FOUR of the Top 10 universities in the world
England is home to four of the Top 10 universities in the world according to this year’s prestigious QS World University Rankings. The 20th edition of the QS World University Rankings features 1,500 institutions across 104 locations and is the only ranking of its kind to emphasise employability and sustainability. Enjoying four of the top ten spots are British Universities. The University of Cambridge comes in second place just behind MIT, the University of Oxford takes third place, Imperial College London is fourth and University College London is 9th. The results draw on the analysis of 17.5 million academic papers and the expert opinions of over 240,000 academic faculty and employers… click here
3. BAE Systems agrees to buy NASA supplier Ball Aerospace for £4.4 billion
BAE Systems, the major British manufacturer of aircraft, missiles, avionics, and other aerospace and defence products has agreed to buy NASA supplier Ball Aerospace for £4.4 billion ($5.5 billion). As the British aerospace defence giant ventures further into space warfare, BAE Systems has entered into a definitive Stock Purchase Agreement to acquire the Ball Aerospace business from Ball Corporation subject to customary closing adjustments. BAE Systems say purchasing Ball Aerospace is a unique opportunity to strengthen their world class multi-domain portfolio… click here
2. A generation of new British soldiers step off into their careers
Lifelong dreams were fulfilled as hundreds of junior soldiers graduated from Army Foundation College (AFC) Harrogate this week. More than 400 marched onto the parade square to mark the successful completion of their Phase One training. The prestigious ceremony is the culmination of months of intensive training, nurturing and education that is tailored exclusively to junior soldiers. Their final exercise is an intense, seven-day battle camp encompassing all they have learnt during their time at AFC Harrogate. The 17 and 18-year-olds will now go on to complete their trade training before joining regiments across the UK… click here
1. Health Minister confirms Conservatives will be delivering on commitment of 40 new hospitals by 2030
“In the long term, our new standardised design means we can rapidly replicate new hospitals across the country, helping to speed up construction and deliver on our commitment of 40 new hospitals by 2030.” Health Minister visits New Hospital Programme schemes across the North West to mark progress, as part of commitment to building 40 new hospitals by 2030. Patients and staff in the North West will benefit from modern, standardised hospital designs and state of the art technology which will help to improve patient experience. The New Hospital Programme is now expected to be backed by over £20 billion of investment in hospital infrastructure… click here
For last week’s Top 20 Great British news stories (7th – 13th August 2023) click here.
By Claire Bullivant
Conservative Post, Founder and Editor
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Main photo: Blast from the past this week as Navy Wings take the Swordfish for a spin. Photographer: AS1 Emily Muir RAF Photographer – UK MOD © Crown copyright 2023
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