Evening briefing Monday 29th June

0:00This episode of the Times Radio News Briefing is sponsored by PwCWC. Staying competitive means getting ahead, not just keeping up. So how do business leaders cut through the noise and focus on what really matters? PwC takes you further with tech, from optimising the systems that put your data to work, to scaling AI from proof of concept to competitive edge. PwC helps you meet tomorrow's tech demands, so you can compete at a speed that rewrites the rules. Discover more at pwc.co.uk Welcome to the Times Radio evening briefing on Monday the 29th of June. Andy Burnham has promised the biggest rebalancing of power the country has seen.

0:43He says a prime ministerial office in the north will help to direct power to the nations and regions. And he's made a big pledge on helping people to find a home. Britain's housing crisis is having a ruinous impact on its public finances. So, working with local areas, Number 10 North will oversee the biggest council house building programme since the post-war period. The Conservative leader, Kemi Bethenok, says more devolution is not the answer. A devolved mayor can't lower energy costs. A devolved mayor cannot change regulations and laws. A devolved mayor can't really cut any taxes apart from maybe council tax, which is not one of the things that business is complaining about.

1:27It is business that creates growth, not more and more politicians. A man who was parliamentary private secretary to the former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has pleaded guilty at Southwark Crown Court to cheating at gambling. Craig Williams placed bets on the date of the 2024 general election. More details from Times Radio's Olly Cole. Craig Williams served as the MP for Montgomeryshire until the last general election and rose up the ranks to become a close advisor to Rishi Sunak in No. 10. Ahead of the 2024 election, Williams put a£100 bet on it being held in July. After a referral to the Gambling Commission over whether the bet had been based on confidential information, the former Tory MP was formally charged under the Gambling Act.

2:10He won't be sentenced until a series of co-defendants have stood trial. In cricket, England have been thrashed by New Zealand by 160 runs in Ben Stokes' final test match as an England player or captain. Stokes' retirement was announced midway through play yesterday amid speculation about strained relationships with management. TalkSport cricket reporter Sam Ellard says the coach and the director of cricket should not outlast Stokes. It's supposed to be the start of a new era for English cricket. McCollum, Stokes, Keel kept their jobs after the embarrassing winter in Australia. It gets worse. England hand-lost a home series of three tests and more since 2012.

2:48Well, now they have. New Zealand win the third test by 160 runs. They win the series 2-1. And with the pathetic manner in which England went about their batting last night, they've gotten everything they've deserved. It surely has to be time for a change. And Dame Penelope Keith, best known as Margot Ledbetter in the good life, has died at the age of 86. She'd been suffering from cancer. Here's a clip from the Christmas special when Margot and Jerry spent the festivities with Tom and Barbara. Well, I seem to have the inside of a roll of lavatory paper. Inside that? Come on, Margot, get your hat on.

3:24This is the Daily Mirror. I am terribly sorry, Margot. Please, have the telegraph. You can follow the Times Radio News Briefing on Spotify and listen live to Times Radio online.

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