While the Victorian railway cathedral remains from the days of steam and smuts, the £160m extension has the clean lines, sweeping shapes and the swish escalators that are more often associated with an international airport than a provincial station.

Like all good railway adventures, it has been a long journey with plenty of delays to reach the point where the station is now ready for public use. Britain is pretty poor at major infrastructure projects, but it shows that when we stick with it – rather than getting cold feet halfway through and pulling out, as happened with HS2 – we can achieve impressive results.

We live in a bitterly divided country at the moment, but this seems to be a great example of national government working with the regional mayor and the local council to achieve these results, and it was good to see yesterday the credit being shared between the Conservative Tees Valley mayor and Darlington’s Labour council leader, MP and transport minister, Lord Peter Hendy. The public always says it wants its politicians to put their party divides to one side and work together, and here we see collaboration – along with the railway company LNER – paying off. Congratulations to them all.

As the Stockton & Darlington Railway showed, if you build it, all manner of commercial enterprises will spring up alongside it, and we look forward to economic growth rippling out from the station.

But one blot on the landscape presents itself immediately the passenger steps out of the multi-million pound rotunda: St John’s Church, “the railwaymen’s church”, closed in 2023 and now looking empty and forlorn. How can it be brought back into the fold?

Truly, a regenerator’s work is never done.

The move comes amid a slowdown in the construction industry.

The company, which has 500 branches nationally, also closed a branch today in Oban, Scotland.

A spokesperson for Travis Perkins said: “We can confirm we will be exiting our Ripon branch based on Charter Road with effect from Friday.

RECOMMENDED READING:
Travis Perkins says construction recovery ‘uncertain’ as sales slide

 “This difficult decision has been made following a recent review of branch performance and operational priorities.

 “We are working hard to support colleagues affected and are seeking, where possible, to redeploy and retain them within the business.

 “We’d like to thank all our customers for their support at the branch. We have a number of other branches across Yorkshire which will continue to provide the outstanding service Travis Perkins is renowned for.”

Travis Perkins opened in 12,000-square feet premises on Charter Road, at Ripon Business Park, in 2005.

In a trading update last month, the company said it “continued to experience challenging trading conditions” and declining revenue.

The first quarter update for the period to 31 March 2026 said group revenues are down 1.7 per cent on a like-for-like basis. 

In the Merchanting segment revenue was down 2.3 per cent as construction activity levels “remain subdued”. 

Zain Alabdeen Osman, 32, of no fixed address is wanted after breaching his prison licence by failing the notification requirements of the sex offenders register.

He is believed to be in the Leeds area but has connections to Scarborough, North Yorkshire Police has confirmed.

Recommended reading:

A force spokesperson said: “If you have any information about his whereabouts, please call North Yorkshire Police on 101.”

“If you have an immediate sighting of him or know where he is now, please call 999.

“If you prefer to remain anonymous, you can pass information to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or online via their website.

“Please quote reference 12260088052 when passing on information.”

In The Mixer’s World Cup special

Get previews of every single team at the World Cup sent directly to your inbox, featuring the players to look out for, games you shouldn’t miss and Metro’s big England predictions.

Seaham councillor Andrew Harrison and Delves Lane representative Kenny Hope were suspended pending an investigation on Monday (May 11), according to a party spokesperson.

But in a letter to constituents, Cllr Harrison claimed he and Cllr Hope had quit the party citing ‘unreconcilable differences’ with the leadership of the council.

A Reform UK spokesperson said: “Andrew and Kenny were suspended from Reform UK pending investigation on Monday morning, so not quite sure what they’re resigning from.”

The nature of the investigation is not known.

Both councillors were elected in May 2025 amid a sweeping win in County Durham for Nigel Farage’s party.

Andrew Harrison (left) was elected in May 2025. (Image: CHRIS BOOTH)

Posting in a Seaham Facebook group, Cllr Harrison said: “Today is a sad day as I have resigned from Reform UK due to unreconcilable differences with the leadership in Durham and lack of support. This has been highlighted in writing on multiple occasions and my reasoning.”

Both Cllrs Harrison and Hope served as chair and vice chair on the Economic Scrutiny and Enterprise committee at County Hall.

Kenny Hope (left) was also elected in May 2025. (Image: CHRIS BOOTH)

“We are both time served Veterans and have both resigned on the same day with similar reasoning,” Cllr Harrison said.

“Our values, integrity, honesty and principles come before everything and not [sic] negotiable.

“I will not go into any further detail as this would be unprofessional, however, I will say that I have not had any complaints by anyone disclosed to me or any other reason for my resignation. It’s simply the right thing to do.”

It leaves Reform UK with 58 councillors at Durham County Council, down from the 65 elected under the party’s banner in 2025.

Cllr Hope was contacted for comment.

Hearts are in pole position – for now. Avoid defeat at the home of Celtic, and they are SPL champions for the first time since 1960

After one of the most dramatic title races in Scottish football history, it all comes down to one game at Celtic Park.

Hearts are in pole position – for now. Avoid defeat at the home of Celtic, and they are SPL champions for the first time since 1960.

“It’s a perfect ending to a season for the league, for Scottish football, for drama and excitement,” said Hearts boss Derek McInnes ahead of Scotland’s first final-day title shootout since 1991. “It’s pure box office.

The last time the Scottish Premiership was not won by Celtic or Rangers was all the way back in 1984/85 when Aberdeen won two league championships in a row under a manager called Alex Ferguson.

Martin O’Neill’s Celtic were handed a lifeline on Wednesday when they defeated Motherwell with a contentiously awarded stoppage-time spot-kick.

McInnes branded the decision “disgusting” after his side’s victory over Falkirk on the same night, but said on Friday, on the eve of his club’s biggest ever match, that he did not want to get bogged down in talk about referees.

“It’s important now that we have that one big performance in us to try and get over the line and get the title won. The confidence I feel in the players is so strong. We have to go there with courage, with belief and be bullish,” said McInnes.

Hearts will have fewer than 1,000 supporters at the 60,000-capacity Celtic Park.

Here is everything you need to know about the game..

When is the game?

Saturday at 12.30pm

Where is the game?

Celtic Park

Is the game on TV?

Yes, the game will be shown live on Sky Sports in the UK and Ireland

Is the game being streamed?

Yes, Sky Sports will have a live stream of the game

Betting odds

Celtic 8/13

Hearts 9/2

Draw 17/5

Click here to sign up to our sport newsletter, bringing you the latest sports news, headlines and top stories

The latest rugby news and headlines from Wales and beyond

Here are your rugby evening headlines for Friday, May 15.

South Africa consider pulling out of Champions Cup

South African teams are reportedly considering pulling out of the Champions Cup and Challenge Cup, with a decision expected later this summer.

Multiple reports claim the South African Rugby Union are considering withdrawing their clubs from European competitions over player welfare concerns, following quotes from the SARU president Mark Alexanders at the governing body’s annual meeting in Cape Town on Thursday.

While Alexander didn’t reference the Champions Cup and Challenge Cup specifically, it would appear to be the competition they would consider withdrawing from.

“We generate our income from participating in tournaments. Participation is important, but our players are overworked,” the SARU president, Mark Alexander, said at the union’s annual meeting in Cape Town this week.

“We will hold a workshop in July in which we will have to decide which competitions will be retained and which ones we can drop.”

He added: “We have to find a balance so that our players can rest enough. They cannot play 11 months of the year.

JOIN OUR WALES RUGBY FACEBOOK PAGE! Latest news, analysis and much more

“Discussions about a global rugby calendar have been going on for 14 years without anything concrete coming to fruition.

“If you do the same thing over and over again, you’re not going to get a different outcome.

“We have to make tough decisions as an organisation and we will do that over the next month or two.

“It has to be done in the best interests of our players.”

No South African club has progressed beyond the quarter-finals of the Champions Cup since joining the competition in the 2022-23 season

A source told the Times: “There is definitely a wavering from SARU on the Champions Cup.”

Wales centre ruled out of final match

The Scarlets will be without Wales centre Eddie James for their final match of the season against the Dragons on Saturday.

The two Welsh sides face each other in Llanelli as they both bid to avoid ending up as the lowest-placed Welsh side in the United Rugby Championship.

However, just days after he was named in Steve Tandy’s Six Nations squad, Six Nations starter James has been ruled out for the Scarlets through injury.

He joins fellow Wales squad members Sam Costelow and Ellis Mee on the sidelines.

For the Dragons, Aaron Wainwright plays for the final time ahead of his move to Leicester.

Scarlets: Ioan Jones; Tom Rogers, Macs Page, Joe Roberts, Blair Murray; Joe Hawkins, Dane Blacker; Josh Morse, Ryan Elias, Archer Holz, Jac Price, Max Douglas, Jarrod Taylor, Josh Macleod (capt), Taine Plumtree.

Replacements: Harry Thomas, Sam O’Connor, Harri O’Connor, Dan Davis, Osian Williams, Gareth Davies, Carwyn Leggatt-Jones, Jac Davies.

Dragons: Angus O’Brien (co-capt); David Richards, Fine Inisi, Aneurin Owen, Rio Dyer; Tinus de Beer, Niall Armstrong; Wyn Jones, Brodie Coghlan, Dillon Lewis, Seb Davies, Ben Carter (co-capt), Ryan Woodman, Thomas Young, Aaron Wainwright.

Replacements: Elliot Dee, Rhodri Jones, Chris Coleman, Levi Douglas, Harrison Keddie, Rhodri Williams, Harri Ackerman, Huw Anderson.

Wales Rugby VIP hospitality tickets

This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more

Prices vary

Seat Unique

Advertisement

Book tickets here

Seat Unique offers VIP hospitality tickets for Wales’ autumn internationals including New Zealand and Australia.

Wales captain bids farewell

Wales captain Jac Morgan will bid farewell to the Ospreys, as he leads his side for the final time against Leinster on Saturday.

Mark Jones’ side are looking to end the current season on a high, with Morgan playing for the final time ahead of a summer move to Gloucester.

Phil Cokanasiga, who will join Morgan at Kingsholm, will also play for the final time – as well full-back Jack Walsh before he departs for France.

Wales call-up Ben Warren is handed a start in the front-row, while fly-half Dan Edwards will make his 50th appearance for the Ospreys.

Ospreys: Jack Walsh; Keelan Giles, Evardi Boshoff, Owen Watkin, Iestyn Hopkins; Dan Edwards, Reuben Morgan-Williams; Garyn Phillips, Efan Daniel, Ben Warren, Rhys Davies, Huw Sutton, James Ratti, Jac Morgan (capt), Ross Moriarty.

Replacements: Lewis Lloyd, Cam Jones, Kian Hire, Ben Roberts, Harri Deaves, Kieran Hardy, Phil Cokanasiga, Luke Morgan.

‘Frustrated’ Wales bid to avoid another Wooden Spoon

Wales have recalled Seren Singleton as they bid to avoid a third consecutive Women’s Six Nations Wooden Spoon.

Having not won in the competition since 2024, Sean Lynn’s side are staring down the barrel of another last-placed finish. Defeat to Italy this weekend would mark a second winless campaign under Lynn.

Singleton, who made her debut earlier in the tournament, is the only change – replacing Hannah Dallavalle in the starting side.

“We came into camp on Tuesday this week and you could see the frustration from the players,” Lynn said.

“One thing I’ve said to the girls and staff this week, we’ve got 80 minutes to put that right. We haven’t next week.

“So going into Italy, it’s about an 80-minute performance, putting everything right, pulling it together from Ireland, but taking the positives that we’ve had from Scotland, France and England.”

Follow all of our channels to ensure you stay up to date with the latest Welsh rugby news. Sign up to our free daily newsletter here and our WhatsApp channel here for all the breaking news.

The failure of many of the UK’s recent prime ministers, who have passed through Downing Street in quick succession, seems easy to explain. Theresa May couldn’t do what she promised and didn’t “get Brexit done”. Boris Johnson broke his own rules, and the law. Liz Truss failed through sheer incompetence.

But Keir Starmer won an election by a landslide and led his party to victory after 14 years out of power. So why is he looking at a probable leadership challenge after less than two years in office?

It is true that Starmer faced deep problems left by the Conservatives, Brexit and COVID. He then had to deal with the war in Gaza, a capricious US president in Donald Trump, and now a war in Iran. But Starmer’s struggles boil down to a failure of leadership.

US political scientist, Ronald Heifetz, has written that political leadership is about disappointing your followers at a “rate they can stand”. His fellow American scholar, Richard Neustadt, argued that leadership (in the case of presidents) was about “the power to persuade”. Keir Starmer has struggled because he disappointed too many, and persuaded too few.

Crucially, Starmer has never won over the public. Labour’s election in 2024 was an anti-Tory vote, not a pro-Labour one, and Starmer rode a wave of unhappiness from a moody and volatile electorate. Even at the height of his popularity in 2024 the public saw him as competent(ish) but – significantly – 49% also thought he might be indecisive.

After just 100 days, Starmer’s poll lead had plummeted and by July 2025 there was a deep sense that Labour had not delivered on its promises.

This failure was in part because the public had very high expectations of what the government would do, and Starmer had repeatedly promised to be all about “delivery”. But the public came to see the government as not delivering much.

Communication failures

The main policies that got attention were the unpopular ones: cuts to the winter fuel allowance, welfare cuts and harsh immigration reforms. But Starmer never used his power to persuade. Popular policies such as standing up to Trump and on climate were buried or went unnoticed.

So why hasn’t he done or said more? Starmer came to be seen as lacking any sort of vision or ideals, and journalists have written of how he seemed only to support “convenientism” and a wrong-headed strategy to take back votes from right-wing challengers Reform UK. His own attempts at communications were poor: in his “most personal interview yet” in 2024 he began by saying he didn’t dream, didn’t have a favourite book and was neither an optimist or pessimist.

It isn’t only the public. Starmer never won over another crucial group: his own MPs. Labour MPs were not loyal to Starmer to begin with, and were quickly upset by some policies purposefully designed to cut across their principles.

On top of this, his determination to appoint Peter Mandelson as UK ambassador to the US and the resulting scandal as the closeness of Mandelson’s connections to Jeffrey Epstein emerged, and the growing threat as UK voters fragmented, left Labour increasingly desperate. The local, Welsh and Scottish elections showed the party that the writing was on the wall.

The problems the UK faces will not go away if Starmer exits. His failure then begs the questions about who – if anyone – can succeed. Former health secretary Wes Streeting emerged as the first potential challenger. But does he have anything different to offer?

Much has been said about how Streeting is seen as the best communicator and a leader with a genuine working-class heritage. He has a record of delivering policy, and the NHS has improved under his watch, with public perceptions improving for the first time since before COVID. Interestingly, NHS workers themselves are much less convinced by Streeting’s record, with majority seeing the NHS as doing badly.

There are concerns. Streeting seemed to relish challenging striking doctors. And although he denied that he was close to Mandelson, the ongoing investigations could still show otherwise. And on a practical level, Streeting has little support among his party, much less than Starmer ever had.

Angela Rayner would be a more left-wing alternative. Rayner has a similarly Labour back story as a care worker and a rep with public service union Unison. She has a concrete record of delivery and getting things done, having championed what is arguably the signature achievement of this government in the Employment Rights Act.

But she was forced to resign as deputy prime minister in September 2025 after under-paying stamp duty. Now though, with remarkable timing, she has been cleared of deliberate wrongdoing by HMRC. A glance at Labour polling shows Rayner is also very popular with the party.

And of course Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham now has a seat to contest, which could plot his path back to Westminster and his route to a probable leadership bid. However, beating Reform UK to the Makerfield seat is very far from a given.

Despite Streeting’s resignation, everything remains in flux. Starmer has failed as a leader, but is not yet gone. The possible candidates now circling need to offer a better approach, one that can win over the public and, more immediately, Labour MPs. A general election must be held by August 15, 2029. It remains to be seen if the next Labour prime minister, if there is change at the top, can persuade more and disappoint less in the remaining time.

The new site in Selby will build on the existing Osborne House Care Home in Union Lane – creating 24 two-bedroom apartments.

It will complete a long, narrow plot that was once occupied by a disused factory and storage yard, which was cleared in 2008 to make way for the care home.

Recommended reading:

Now approved, the new apartments will be available to residents aged 55 and over, who are required to receive at least two hours of care per week.

Developers say the scheme is designed to complement Osborne House, creating a “continuing care retirement community” where residents can access varying levels of support as their needs change.

The site sits within a residential area, bordered by terraced housing and industrial units.

Supporters of the scheme say its location would allow older residents to remain close to family, friends and familiar surroundings, while benefiting from on-site care services.

It comes after the application initially received push back from 17 objectors, including Selby Town Council, who pointed to the site’s proximity to properties in Portholme Drive and Union Lane, “noisy” deliveries from Tesco in Portholme Road, and possible flood risks.

Others criticised the three-storey building’s design, saying it would impact on neighbouring homes’ privacy and view.

Speaking about this, the developer said: “The extremities of the building are primarily of two and three storeys with an eaves height of 5.1 metres and 7.8 meters above ground level respectively, to reflect the domestic nature of the adjacent buildings on Union Lane.

“We have reduced the scale of the development by the turning the footprint in a different direction, which means that only parts of the buildings are viewed on the approach.

“The scale also reflects the nature of the approved care home.”

Design plans highlighted accessibility and security as key features, with controlled entry points, 24-hour supervision and intercom systems for visitors.

Cardiff reached the United Rugby Championship play-offs for the first time ever after a sensational 22-16 bonus-point victory over the Stormers at the Arms Park.

Corniel van Zyl’s side will be Wales’ only representative in next season’s Investec Champions Cup after outplaying the in-form Stormers.

After a difficult start to the game Cardiff bounced back strongly with No 8 Taine Basham and outside-half Ioan Lloyd outstanding. Lloyd also contributed two further points from the kicking tee.

Andre Smith scored the Stormers’ only try with Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu kicking five points.

Tries from Jacob Beetham (twice), Tom Bowen and Lloyd got the home side over the line.

Cardiff were superb throughout, with Lloyd putting Beetham over for the opening try via a lovely cross-kick.

Lloyd’s pass released Bowen down the wing a few minutes later with the Wales U20s wing showcasing his pace to score out wide.

With the first-half drawing to a close Lloyd finished tremendously well out wide to give the hosts a 17-10 lead at the interval.

Cardiff carried on where they left off after the break as Lloyd put Beetham over for his second try out wide.

The Stormers threw everything at Cardiff during the closing stages of the game but the Welsh club’s defence remained intact as they claimed a famous victory.

Cardiff: Cam Winnett; Jacob Beetham, Ben Thomas, Rory Jennings, Tom Bowen; Ioan Lloyd, Johan Mulder; Danny Southworth, Liam Belcher (capt), Javan Sebastian, George Nott, Rory Thornton, James Botham, Dan Thomas, Taine Basham.

Replacements: Dafydd Hughes, Rhys Barratt, Keiron Assiratti, Alun Lawrence, Evan Lloyd, Ellis Bevan, Steff Emanuel, Leigh Halfpenny.

Stormers: Damian Willemse; Sileiman Hartzenberg, Wandisile Simelane, Jonathan Roche, Leolin Zas; Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Imad Khan; Ntuthuko Mchunu, Andre-Hugo Venter, Neethling Fouche (capt), Adre Smith, Ruben van Heerden, Paul de Villiers, Ben-Jason Dixon, Evan Roos.

Replacements: JJ Kotze, Oli Kebble, Zac Porthen, Salmaan Moerat, Marcel Theunissen, Keke Morabe, Stefan Ungerer, Jurie Matthee.

Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)

Live updates below: