Pilot project in Preston comes with apprenticeship offer for Neets at end of three-week courseIn a youth centre opposite Preston bus station, the UK government is trying to address two of the greatest challenges facing the national economy: AI and youth unemployment.The hope is that one will solve – rather than cause – the other. In a room at the recently opened Vault, a community hub in the Lancashire city, an “AI bootcamp” is under way – part of a trial in the north-west to give 16- […]

Gerrard Raven thinks Andy Beckett is worrying unnecessarily, while Misia Newsome says Barnsley has been regenerated by an effective council. Plus a letter from Austen Lynch“Were Reform to capture the council … the Preston model might quickly unravel,” writes Andy Beckett (The UK’s radical ‘Preston model’ faces an uncertain future with local elections looming, 20 April). He is worrying unnecessarily. Reform UK at present has just one seat on Preston city council. Councillors are […]

A Lancashire council tries hard to keep wealth and power in the area, despite such ideas being out of fashion in Westminster. But Reform could unravel it allWhat legacy will Labour leave when it loses power? For its ministers and MPs, that question looms in the far distance, with the next general election probably not for three years and the current political fragmentation making its outcome almost impossible to predict. But for many Labour councils, facing the electorate in less than three […]

Third of councils affected by overhaul from two-tier to unitary authorities ask for postponementUK politics live – latest updatesMore than a third of local authorities in England have asked to postpone their elections in May, saying they are unable to deliver them effectively during an overhaul of local government, according to administrators.The requested postponements have sparked unrest and fierce criticism in some councils, with police being called to a council meeting in Redditch this […]