Morning briefing Friday 14th August

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.

0:35This is your Times Radio News Briefing for the morning of Friday, the 14th of August. Counting is underway in the Clacton by-election mainstream political parties chose not to field candidates against Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, who called the contest following scrutiny over a£5 million donation. The Conservatives have branded the vote a stunt, though election analysts expect Reform to comfortably hold the seat. Patrick English is YouGov Head of Elections and explained why. While nationally there are many constituencies which are not Clacton, the constituency of Clacton itself is an area full of the kind of voters where we would expect Reform UK to do well in.

1:12And with the absence of any other major party fighting this particular constituency by-election, that is why we expect Nalja Farage to win and be declared the MP for collecting constituency. Passengers are being urged not to travel after a train derailed near Lewis in the Sussex, forcing all lines between Lewis and Haywards Heath to close until further notice. Network Rail has said it can't give a timetable for when the railway will safely reopen. Two people are in hospital with serious injuries after three carriages overturned on the London Victoria to Eastbourne service. Rail accident inspectors are on site, while Lewis MP James McCleary told Times Radio that the heatwaves had recently caused track issues.

1:52I can't speculate at all on the cause of the accident. Of course, there'll be a full investigation and we'll have to wait to see what that says. But we do know that the rail companies have been reporting that the extreme dry conditions have been affecting embankments and track conditions. We've had a lot of speed restrictions in the area recently, which is directly related to the heat. So, as I say, we'll have to see what the investigation crops up. But there have been concerns about the condition of the tracks recently. Christian Warmar is a rail expert and author of British Rail A New History.

2:22He told us that there are two possible explanations for the derailment. The first one would be that, as there have been warnings about, the rails might have buckled because of the extreme heat. and even though the temperature's probably in the mid-30s, but the temperature of the rails can be much higher than that. I'm more inclined to think this might have been a partial collapse in the embankment due to the dry weather. Multiple fires have caused apocalyptic scenes across the West Midlands, forcing people to flee their homes. Huge grassland fires in the West Midlands have led to thousands of 999 calls.

2:57West Midlands Fire Service said it was facing extreme levels of demand due to a huge fire in Stourbridge on Thursday, where a child and three firefighters were taken to hospital. Emergency services across the region said they're also tackling fires in Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire, Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, and Pershaw in Worcestershire. West Midlands Mayor Richard Parker described the multiple fires across our region as an extremely worrying and fast-moving situation, while Prime Minister Andy Burnham described the scenes as awful. For more stories like this, listen throughout the day to Times Radio.

4:00Transcription by CastingWords sponsored by PwC. AI is everywhere. In the news, in our hands, but return on investment, not so much. So how do you get beyond the hype and deliver AI that powers reinvention and growth across your business? Strong foundations unlock AI's potential. That's why PwC takes you further with tech, strengthening the data quality, processes and workflows that shape how well AI performs. PwC turns innovation into implementation so you can accelerate from experiment to scale. Discover more at pwc.co.uk. Here's a tip for you. There's a podcast out there with fans waiting to be your next customer.

4:45They tune in every week, they trust the host, and that host wants to talk about brands like yours in their own words to their audience. The problem is you just haven't been introduced yet. We're a cast where that introduction happens as the world's largest podcast marketplace. We let you browse shows, see who's listening and book host read sponsorships or run your own ads all from one platform. Transparent pricing, real time data, complete control. Start advertising on podcasts by visiting a cast dot com slash advertise.