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Chiltern Radio is designed to provide a 24 hour localised radio service for Bedfordshire.

08/10/2025

NEWS: Kemi Badenoch will close the Conservative Party conference with a promise to double the apprenticeship budget, paid for by slashing student numbers by 100,000.

The Tory leader will pledge to reintroduce caps on student numbers in every subject area, based on course quality and earnings prospects for graduates and aimed at shutting down “rip-off courses”.

At the same time, she will promise to double the apprenticeship budget from £3 billion to £6 billion.

The Conservatives pointed to a finding from the Institute for Fiscal Studies that around 30% of students saw a negative return from their degree, with their lifetime earnings increasing by less than the cost of going to university.

Mrs Badenoch will say: “Every year thousands of young people go off to university, but leave with crippling loans and no real prospects.

“Nearly one in three graduates see no economic return, and every year taxpayers are writing off over £7 billion in unpaid student loans.

“Wasted money, wasted talent, a rigged system propping up low-quality courses, while people can’t get high-quality apprenticeships that lead to real jobs.”

Mrs Badenoch is expected to lean on her personal experience as an apprentice, saying it “gave me self-confidence in a way my university degrees never did”.

She will add: “And unlike my subsequent university degree, I wasn’t still paying off my debts in my early 30s.

“So we will shut down these rip-off courses and use the money to double the apprenticeship budget.

“Giving thousands more young people the chance of a proper start in life.”

Student number caps were fully lifted in England in 2015, leading to a record number of students being accepted onto university courses that year.

By reintroducing and gradually lowering the caps, the Conservatives hope to limit loan repayment losses through a reduction in the number of people going to university.

The party said the policy would see 100,000 fewer people per year going to university by the end of the next parliament, saving £3 billion – enough to fund a doubling of the apprenticeship budget.

The announcement comes a week after Sir Keir Starmer used a speech at his own party conference to pledge an increase in apprenticeship numbers.

The Prime Minister said he would scrap the target of seeing 50% of young people go to university set by Sir Tony Blair, replacing it with an aim of two-thirds of young people doing either a degree or an apprenticeship.

A Labour spokesperson said the Conservatives’ plan “isn’t worth the paper it’s written on”.

“Under the Tories, apprenticeship starts and completions collapsed, and instead of supporting universities, they waged divisive culture wars – treating students as political pawns rather than investing in education for public good,” they said.

Radio NewsHub

08/10/2025

Good Morning! It's Wednesday 08 October 2025, birthdays for Aussie actor Paul Hogan (86), US actor Chevvy Chase (82), Procul Harum's Ray Rover (80), actress Sigourney Weaver (76), London Mayor Sadiq Khan (55), Irish comedian Ardal O'Hanolan & singer Bruno Mars (40).

Andy Lloyd's Morning Show is live every weekday from 09:00 with three hours of music, news & sport with The Retro Chart, Old Shaw's Almanac, The Bradshaws, a featured birthday artist & Nuts at Nine.

Support the programme: coff.ee/andylloyd, paypal.me/andrewlloyd or buy a cool morning show mug www.radiomugs.com

08/10/2025

NEWS: An African wildlife charity part run by the Duke of Sussex has seen its mandates to manage key animal reservations in Chad withdrawn by the country’s government.

African Parks managed 22 national parks and protected areas across 12 countries, including two wildlife reserves in Chad – the Ennedi Natural and Cultural Reserve and the Greater Zakouma Ecosystem, which includes the Zakouma and Siniaka-Minia national parks.

But the non-profit organisation, of which Harry is a board member and former president, said on Tuesday that the Chad government had ended its mandates to manage the wildlife reserves.

They were informed of the government’s “unilateral decision” on Monday in an official letter from environment minister Hassan Bakhit Djamous.

The charity added in a statement that it has “begun talks with the ministry to understand the government’s position and explore the best way forward to support the continued protection of these landscapes that are critical to conservation”.

Mr Djamous said in a statement that African Parks had showed “a recurring indelicate and disrespectful attitude toward the government”, the Associated Press reported.

He added there had been a resurgence in poaching and a lack of investment at the reserves managed by the conservation group, AP said.

The decision ends a 15-year partnership between African Parks and the Chad government to tackle poaching and protect elephant populations at the two reserves.

The charity, founded in 2000, aims to protect Africa’s national parks and advance conservation in the continent and around the world, particularly in countries that struggle to look after their wildlife due to poverty and conflict.

It manages more than 20 million hectares of protected area with the goal of making each park “ecologically, socially and financially sustainable for the long term”.

Earlier this year, the charity acknowledged its employees had perpetrated human rights abuses against indigenous people in the rainforests of the Republic of the Congo.

Its announcement followed an independent human rights investigation into allegations that guards managed and paid by the charity had beaten, r***d and tortured local people in the Odzala-Kokoua National Park.

The Chad government’s decision is a new blow to Harry’s charitable endeavours after he stepped down earlier this year from Sentebale, an organisation he founded to help children orphaned by Aids in Botswana and Lesotho.

His resignation as patron of the charity followed a highly publicised boardroom battle with chairwoman Dr Sophie Chandauka.

Dr Chandauka previously levelled accusations of bullying and harassment against the duke, which he denied.

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08/10/2025

NEWS: Deaths among homeless people in the UK have risen by 9% in a year and included 11 children, according to a group monitoring the issue.

The Museum of Homelessness said its research suggested at least 1,611 deaths in 2024 of people experiencing homelessness.

This was up from 1,474 deaths in 2023 and 1,313 deaths in 2022.

The Museum of Homelessness has been running the Dying Homeless Project since 2019 and gathers its data each year through freedom of information requests, coroner inquests and memorials submitted by bereaved family members.

While rough sleeping is most associated with homelessness, living in temporary accommodation such as bed and breakfasts, hostels or other short-term housing organised by a local authority is also a form of homelessness.

According to research by the Museum of Homelessness there were 11 children – those aged younger than 18 – included in the data for last year, of which four were babies who had not yet reached their first birthday.

Four others were aged between one and nine-years-old, and two children were aged between 15 and 17, while another’s age was unknown.

The researchers said it is likely these figures are lower than the true scale of child deaths and homelessness, as some local authorities might only record when the person who has applied to their local council for homelessness help dies in temporary accommodation, rather than all the members of their family.

The number of children who died in 2024 was up from four in 2023.

Homelessness minster Alison McGovern said such deaths must be seen as an “abject failure that cannot be tolerated”.

The most recent Government figures, published in July, showed the number of households in temporary accommodation in England had climbed to a new record high of 131,140 at the end of March 2025.

The number of children in temporary accommodation stood at 169,050 in March, up year on year from 151,540 and also the highest since records began in 1998.

In January a report by the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Households in Temporary Accommodation said a total of 74 children, mostly babies, had died in recent years in England with temporary accommodation recorded as a possible contributory factor.

Fifty-eight of those who died between April 2019 and March last year were aged under one, the APPG said.

Radio NewsHub

08/10/2025

NEWS: A £20 million fund will be distributed across museums in England to ensure they remain open, the Government has announced.

The Museum Renewal Fund will be shared among 75 local and regional museums with the aim of improving and protecting public access to collections, community and educational programmes, opening hours and job opportunities for millions of visitors and local communities.

The grants also aim to strengthen the museums’ ability to attract tourists and employers to regions across the country, ensuring they remain fit for the future.

Birmingham Museums Trust, Barnsley Museums and Discover Bucks Museum are among the 75 to receive a grant, which could range from £11,000 to more than £1 million.

Among those receiving the highest grants are York Museums Trust, which will receive £1 million, and Hampshire Cultural Trust, which is expected to get £1,177,430.

Museums minister Baroness Fiona Twycross said: “Museums offer a place where people from all backgrounds can learn, be inspired and delve into our rich history, helping to understand the stories that led us to where we are today.

“The Museum Renewal Fund is contributing to the delivery of our plan for change.

“It ensures much-loved civic museums can remain open and continue to provide opportunities for future generations to learn about our shared heritage and how their local community has played its part in our national story.”

According to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s (DCMS), the fund aims to strengthen the nationwide network of museums and ensure that local communities have access to culture “for generations to come”.

It is part of the £270 million Arts Everywhere Fund and the Government’s wider Plan For Change to support economic growth and increase opportunities nationwide.

Sir Nicholas Serota, chairman of Arts Council England, said: “Travelling through cities, towns and villages across the UK, I have seen that museums and art galleries are often a proud focal point in communities, telling important stories about history, people and place.

“This funding will provide a crucial lifeline for local museums in stabilising their financial situation and building towards a sustainable future.”

Radio NewsHub

07/10/2025

Good Morning! It's Tuesday 07 October 2025, birthdays for ex-Olympic skater Jayne Torvill (68), X-Factor's Simon Cowell (66), comedian Micky Flanagan (63), singer Toni Braxton (58), Radiohead's Thom Yorke (57) & singer Alesha Dixon (46).

Andy Lloyd's Morning Show is live every weekday from 09:00 with three hours of music, news & sport with The Retro Chart, Old Shaw's Almanac, The Bradshaws, a featured birthday artist & Nuts at Nine.

Support the programme: coff.ee/andylloyd, paypal.me/andrewlloyd or buy a cool morning show mug www.radiomugs.com

07/10/2025

NEWS: The UK will “always stand tall” against those who wish harm and hatred upon Jewish communities, Sir Keir Starmer said as he marked the second anniversary of the October 7 attacks.

Around 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage in the deadly attacks on Israel by Hamas in 2023.

Every child of Israel should be able to live alongside their Palestinian neighbours in “safety and security”, the Prime Minister said.

He also welcomed US president Donald Trump’s efforts to secure peace in the Middle East.

The anniversary of the attacks comes less than a week after knife-wielding Jihad Al-Shamie, 35, launched a terror attack outside Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue, killing two men.

Adrian Daulby, 53, and Melvin Cravitz, 66, were both killed in the attack which unfolded on Yom Kippur, the most holy day in the Jewish calendar.

Greater Manchester Police (GMP) has pledged to put “every available resource into making sure that we understand precisely what has happened”.

Sir Keir said: “Today we mark two years since the horrifying attacks on Israel by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023.

“Time does not diminish the evil we saw that day. The worst attack on the Jewish people since the Holocaust. The brutal, cold-blooded torture and murder of Jews in their own homes. And the taking of hostages, including British citizens, some of whom remain in Gaza today.

“Since that awful day, so many have endured a living nightmare. When I spoke with some of the families of the British hostages, I promised them in person that we will not cease in our efforts to bring their loved ones home.

“But back here in the UK, our Jewish communities have also endured rising antisemitism on our streets, in our country. And last week, a horrifying terrorist attack on the holy day of Yom Kippur in Manchester.

“This is a stain on who we are, and this country will always stand tall and united against those who wish harm and hatred upon Jewish communities.

“Our priority in the Middle East remains the same – release the hostages. Surge aid into Gaza. And a ceasefire that can lead to a lasting and just peace as a step towards a two-state solution. A safe and secure Israel, alongside a viable Palestinian state.

“We welcome the US initiative towards peace in the Middle East, and this Government will do everything in our power to bring about the day where every child of Israel can live peacefully, alongside their Palestinian neighbours, in safety and security.”

Thousands of people attended an event in Trafalgar Square in central London on Sunday to mark the two-year anniversary.

Pro-Palestine protests also took place in the same location, with almost 500 people arrested.

Radio NewsHub

07/10/2025

NEWS: Scientists are to study the long-term impact on va**ng on former smokers.

Researchers hope their study could give insight into the safety of va**ng after quitting smoking and how long people should v**e for after using them as a quitting aid.

Some 200 people will take part in the study.

People will be recruited from University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust’s NHS staff smoking cessation clinic and community stop smoking services.

Half will be given ni****ne replacement therapy, such as patches or gum, while the other half will be given v**es.

Samples will be taken over a year to assess lung health and will be compared to samples taken of 40 people who have never smoked or v**ed.

Other studies into va**ng have assessed lung health at a single time point.

Researchers, led by academics from the University of Birmingham, hope that by tracking people for a year they will gain further insights into the longer term impacts of va**ng when used as a quit aid.

The experts, who received £1.55 million from the Medical Research Council, part of UK Research and Innovation, said they hope the study will answer questions about the biological effects of va**ng on lung cells, immune cells, inflammatory markers and the airway.

They will also examine genes and proteins over time as well as the accumulation of toxicants within the airways after va**ng.

“We will study how va**ng affects important airway immune cells and the epithelial cells which line the insides of the lung,” said chief investigator of the study, Dr Aaron Scott.

“Since these cell types play a critical role in the development of smoking-related lung diseases, these changes will provide clear insight into va**ng on lung health.”

David Thickett, professor of respiratory medicine at the University of Birmingham and clinical lead for the study, added: “This study will provide critical data needed to understand the safety of va**ng as a short-term smoking cessation strategy and the potential for harm in longer-term usage so people can make an informed personal choice about whether to quit with e-cigarettes and how long to use them after swapping to stop.”

England’s chief medical officer, Professor Sir Chris Whitty, has previously said: “If you smoke, va**ng is much safer; if you don’t smoke, don’t v**e.”

Radio NewsHub

07/10/2025

NEWS: A blockage estimated to be around 100 tonnes has been cleared from a west London sewer, Thames Water has revealed.

The utility firm said a specialist team took more than a month to remove the so-called “fatberg” that was more than 10 metres below street level in Feltham.

The solid mass consisted mainly of wet wipes held together by fat, oil and grease, and was equivalent weight of eight double-decker buses, the company said.

The team had to access the sewer through a large manhole chamber, equipped with gas monitors for safety, before blasting, chiselling and sucking the blockage out from along 125 metres of pipes.

The waste was then craned into skips and taken to landfill, Thames Water said.

Alexander Dudfield, engagement lead for network protection at Thames Water, said: “The clearance of this fatberg was hugely complex for our team of engineers and shows some of the challenges we face.

“But while some blockages in our biggest sewers can weigh as much as 25 elephants, we must not forget most blockages occur in local pipes – often narrower than a mobile phone and usually caused by a few households.

“When these pipes get blocked, we can’t simply switch off the sewage. It backs up and must come out somewhere, whether that’s roads, rivers or even people’s homes. The consequences can be devastating.”

It comes weeks after the Port of London Authority, local environment group Thames21 and Thames Water collaborated to remove a bank of wet wipes that had settled and congealed into sludge on a curve of the River Thames by Hammersmith Bridge in West London.

The utility company continues to call on members of the public to avoid flushing wet wipes and waste other than toilet paper.

Wet wipes are often the cause of blockages across Thames Water’s sewer network, with the company saying it clears 75,000 blockages a year, often caused by wipes, and removes some 3.8 million annually in operations that cost £18 million.

So far this year, Thames Water said it has cleared 28,899 rag blockages, which were primarily made up of wet wipes, 14,810 fat, oil and grease blockages and 686 third party blockages, made up of concrete and other sewer-blocking materials.

Radio NewsHub

06/10/2025

Good Morning! It's Monday 06 October 2025, birthdays for broadcaster Melvyn Bragg (86), actress Britt Ekland (83), ex-goalkeeper Bruce Gobbelaar (68), ex-footballer Niall Quinn (59) & actor Ioan Grffudd (52).

Andy Lloyd's Morning Show is live every weekday from 09:00 with three hours of music, news & sport with The Retro Chart, Old Shaw's Almanac, The Bradshaws, a featured birthday artist & Nuts at Nine.

Support the programme: coff.ee/andylloyd, paypal.me/andrewlloyd or buy a cool morning show mug www.radiomugs.com

06/10/2025

NEWS: The biggest shake-up to the homebuying system in history could slash costs for buyers and cut the time it takes to move, the Government claimed.

Changes could include requiring property sellers and estate agents to provide more information when a home is listed for sale, reducing the need for buyers to carry out searches and surveys.

Binding contracts could also be introduced at an earlier stage, reducing the risk of a chain collapsing.

The proposals could also deliver clearer information to consumers about estate agents and conveyancers, including their track record and expertise, along with new mandatory qualifications and a code of practice to drive up standards.

Housing Secretary Steve Reed said the proposals, which are the subject of a consultation, would help make “a simple dream a simple reality”.

The Government will set out a full road map in the new year after consulting on its proposals.

Mr Reed said: “Buying a home should be a dream, not a nightmare.

“Our reforms will fix the broken system so hardworking people can focus on the next chapter of their lives.”

Officials believe the proposed package of reforms could cut around a month off the time it takes to buy a new home and save first-time buyers an average of £710.

People selling a home could face increased costs of around £310 due to the inclusion of upfront assessments and surveys.

Those in the middle of a chain would potentially gain a net saving of £400 as a result of the increased costs from selling being outweighed by lower buying expenses.

Wider use of online processes, including digital ID, could help make transactions smoother, the Government argued, pointing to the Finnish digital real estate system which can see the process completed in around two weeks.

The consultation also draws on other jurisdictions, including the Scottish system where there is more upfront information and earlier binding contracts.

The planned shake-up was welcomed by property websites and lenders.

Rightmove chief executive Johan Svanstrom said: “The home-moving process involves many fragmented parts, and there’s simply too much uncertainty and costs along the way.

“Speed, connected data and stakeholder simplicity should be key goals. We believe it’s important to listen to agents as the experts for what practical changes will be most effective, and we look forward to working with the Government on this effort to improve the buying and selling process.”

Zoopla boss Paul Whitehead said: “The homebuying process in the UK remains far too long, too complex, too uncertain, and has seen far less digital innovation than many other sectors. ”

Santander’s head of homes David Morris said: “At a time when technology has changed many processes in our lives, it is incredible that the process of buying a home – an activity that is a cornerstone of our economy – remains much the same for today’s buyers as it did for their grandparents.”

Nationwide’s group director of mortgages Henry Jordan said: “Buying a home is often complex and stressful, which is why the homebuying process needs to be simplified and streamlined for the benefit of consumers, brokers and lenders. But to tackle this issue effectively, we must collaborate.

“That is why we look forward to working closely with Government and the wider industry to modernise the homebuying process, so that buyers are given certainty earlier and to help reduce any unnecessary costs.”

Conservative shadow housing minister Paul Holmes said: “Whilst we welcome steps to digitise and speed up the process, this risks reinventing the last Labour Government’s failed Home Information Packs – which reduced the number of homes put on sale, and duplicated costs across buyers and sellers.”

Radio NewsHub

06/10/2025

NEWS: The Conservatives are “up for the fight”, Kemi Badenoch said as she kicked off the party’s annual conference in Manchester.

Breaking with tradition and delivering a welcome speech at the start of the conference on Sunday, Mrs Badenoch acknowledged the Conservatives had “a mountain to climb” as it languished third in the polls behind Reform UK and Labour.

But setting out her party’s plan to leave the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and deport 150,000 people a year, she insisted her party could win the next election by “combining secure borders with a shared culture”.

She said: “Nations cannot survive on diversity alone. We need a strong common culture rooted in our history, our language, our institutions and our belief in liberty under the law.

“That is what holds us together, and that is why borders matter, why numbers matter, but most of all, why culture matters.”

Immigration has dominated the start of the conference, where “stronger borders” is one of the two slogans hanging from the front of the conference centre.

Earlier, Mrs Badenoch had told GB News that every Conservative candidate must sign up to her plan to leave the ECHR, or they would be barred from standing at the next election.

As well as pledging to leave the ECHR, the Conservatives published a plan on Sunday that included a series of measures aimed at deporting 750,000 people over five years.

These included the creation of a “Removals Force”, inspired by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) agency, a radical tightening of asylum eligibility and the abolition of courts handling immigration cases.

Speaking on the conference floor, shadow home secretary Chris Philp said he would deport any foreign national expressing “racial hatred, including antisemitism” or supporting “extremism or terrorism”.

But speaking to the BBC earlier on Sunday, Mrs Badenoch had declined to say where people would be deported to if they could not be sent to their own country, describing this as an “irrelevant” question.

Shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel told a fringe event at the conference that the proposed Removals Force would be “very different” from Ice.

She said: “The two are not comparable. Our system and our structures and our laws are different.”

In her speech, Mrs Badenoch also stressed her party’s commitment to economic responsibility, saying it had “learnt” from Liz Truss’s mini-budget.

She said: “Economic responsibility is the hallmark of the Conservative approach and today it is right back at the heart of everything we stand for.

“We may be in Manchester, but the theme of economic responsibility will run through this conference like the words in a stick of Blackpool rock.”

And she hit out at her opponents in Labour and Reform, saying they were “two sides of the same coin” that both practised “identity politics” and “division”.

She said: “I am black, I am a woman, I am a conservative, and I know that identity politics is a trap. It reduces people to categories and then pits them against each other.

“But I am more than black, female and even conservative. I am British.

“I am British, as we all are, and my children are British, and I will not allow anyone on the left to tell them that they belong in a different category, or anyone on the right to tell them that they do not belong in their own country.”

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