| Maybe your Northern Agenda Editor is getting old but it seems like new Prime Minister day comes round sooner every year. As the revolving door spins again to introduce our fourth Conservative PM in six years, it's expected to be Leeds-educated Foreign Secretary and self-professed "straight-talking Yorkshire woman" Liz Truss announced as the party's new leader early this afternoon. And could one of Prime Minister Truss's first acts be to freeze energy bills to ease the burden on households this winter? Reports in The Daily Telegraph and The Times today suggest she is likely to introduce an energy bills freeze in some form. And after she promised to reveal fresh help for struggling households within a week, there's no shortage of examples in her childhood home of Yorkshire of the everyday challenges the cost-of-living crisis is bringing.  Liz Truss pictured alongside some of the people an energy bills freeze could help. Graphic: Lisa Walsh
Teaching assistant Helen Somers, 52, from Bingley, West Yorkshire, said she has been "reduced to one meal a day" due to the cost-of-living crisis. The mother-of-four has myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) and an energy bills forecast says she could be paying more than £500 in January for her gas and electric. "I'm sickened really, I am. I'm really low with it. Every day I'm checking my bank to see whether I've got anything in it. You're watching every penny you spend, you're watching the petrol in the car before you go anywhere. It's ridiculous. I shouldn't be doing this at my age. I love the fact that all my children are earning more than me, but I shouldn't be feeling like this at my age." In North Yorkshire, a pub owner has stopped using printed menus and instead relies on writing on specials boards due to constantly fluctuating prices amid the cost-of-living crisis. Abbie Marshall bought her pub in Thornton-le-Dale in September 2021 and said that both her utilities and the cost of food has increased. The next energy bill will see an increase of 300% and further predicts her utilities will go from £22,000 to about £58,000 a year. She told Sky's Sophy Ridge on Sunday: "If we were to plan a physically printed menu, I can guarantee you that within three to four weeks, a lot of those prices will be obsolete. So, we've gone to specials boards where we can change week by week as chefs are continuously looking at price point." 
BoJo's legacy in Bury: Outstanding or a failure?  Boris Johnson and the North: A Love Story charts the Prime Minister's relationship with our region
For his part Mr Johnson leaves power with his closest allies not ruling out a future bid for the highest office. Former chief of staff and close aide Lord Udny-Lister said that the PM will be "very sad" as he travels to Balmoral to formally offer his resignation to the Queen. He told Sky News he would "never say never" about a return for Mr Johnson. In Bury, home to the country's most marginal Parliamentary constituency, our reporter Ryan Wykes spoke to politicians on both sides of the argument for our special video Boris Johnson and the North: A Love Story (which you can watch in full here). Bury South MP Christian Wakeford, who crossed the floor from the Conservatives to Labour, said the PM's legacy in towns like his was one of "failure, of misrepresenting, of broken promises". Leader of Bury Conservatives, Cllr Russell Bernstein, said Mr Johnson's legacy was "outstanding". He said: "Particularly here in Bury, you look at the level of investment that we've had in excess of £100 million in both constituencies, the promise of a new school in Radcliffe, which has been long awaited, Special Educational Needs facilities, also in Bury an 8 million science technology and maths transformation."
Speaking of Christian Wakeford, he received his retribution for deserting the Conservatives in slapstick WWE wrestling style this weekend in Cardiff. He and his fellow members of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Wrestling travelled to Wales to watch a big televised event featuring some of American wrestling's biggest stars And in a jokey video posted afterwards, Mr Wakeford was whacked over the head with a steel chair in the finest traditions of sports-entertainment by Tory Bishop Auckland MP Dehenna Davison. Watch the video here.
North sets the pace on £2 capped bus fares  A bus in Greater Manchester showing the £2 deal. Image by LDRS
It appears that on buses, where the North leads the rest of the country follows. This weekend West Yorkshire and Greater Manchester introduced a £2 cap on adult fares for single bus journeys in a bid to ease the burden on bus passengers. A similar move in the Liverpool City Region will be introduced later this month. And it emerged this weekend that the Government is introducing a similar, though shorter-term, move nationwide. Bus journeys in England will be capped at £2 from January to March next year in a plan that will cost the Government £60m. Speaking this morning about the Greater Manchester scheme, mayor Andy Burnham admitted he can't guarantee the capped bus fares won't rise next year, but there's a better chance they won't if people "get on board" and use the buses. And as Local Democracy Reporter Joseph Timan writes, the new bus fares system 'won't make a difference' for many – and some passengers will actually pay more. Severe cuts to bus routes in England were avoided last month due to new Government funding, after it was announced £130 million will be made available to keep services running.
In North Yorkshire, more questions have been raised over whether the county's on-demand bus scheme is value for taxpayers' money after it was revealed it costs twice as much to run than regular services. A North Yorkshire County Council meeting heard YorBus costs the authority around £18 per passenger journey, while normal timetabled services cost £9 on average, writes Local Democracy Reporter Jacob Webster. The pilot scheme was recently extended for another year in the Ripon, Masham and Bedale areas, and allows passengers to book services via an app. In total, YorBus cost the council £229,000 last year, and another £230,000 has been set aside for the remainder of the trial until June 2023.
Greater Manchester Police 'leave Meghan's security to her own team'  The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will visit Manchester today (Image: Getty Images)
Expect Manchester to become the centre of attention for the world's media this evening as the Duke and Duchess arrive in the city for their first public appearance since returning for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee. Meghan Markle is set to give a speech as she and Harry appear at the One World Summit held at the Manchester Central Convention Complex, an event which brings together young leaders from more than 190 countries. Meghan is a counsellor for the organisation, alongside Justin Trudeau, Sir Richard Branson, and Jamie Oliver, among others. The summit will be held at various venues across the city but the opening ceremony - where the Duchess will be speaking from 6pm - will be held in the nearby concert venue, Bridgewater Hall. According to The Sun, Greater Manchester Police will not be providing officers, with the couple's own security team and the event organisers expected to protect them. The area outside the 2,300-seater Bridgewater Hall will be cleared an hour and half before the speech. The visit comes just days after Meghan's wide-ranging interview with The Cut magazine in which she said it takes 'a lot of effort' to forgive and hinted that she can 'say anything'.
Less sugar in desserts as Middlesbrough aims to tackle child obesity  Childhood obesity levels are higher in MIddlesbrough than the North East and England average
In Middlesbrough, the council's catering service provides food for 30 schools including nearly 1.5 million meals in the last academic year. But with around in five children in the town obese by the time they reach year 6, local officials are looking again at what they eat. School meals are to be revamped in Middlesbrough next year to encourage healthier eating as data shows childhood obesity levels are higher than the North East and England average, as Local Democracy Reporter Emily Craigie writes. Middlesbrough Council will be creating a new menu that will go live in April 2023 and will change every four weeks with the seasons. The council has also run a competition, entered by more than 300 pupils, to design a new mascot for the rebranded service and plan to introduce posters both in the kitchens for staff and dining halls for children. According to a council report: "The teams will be working with various catering food providers, partners, schools, reaching out to the pupils and parents to create a menu that is tasted and chosen by the pupils. It will be healthy, more nutritious and different to what has been done in Middlesbrough schools previously." From this September, the Eat Well Schools Award will also launch across the town. As part of this, the amount of sugar in desserts will need to be reduced by 30%, there will need to be increased access to fruit and vegetables and more meat-free options.
Tradesmen 'like gold dust' as city plans regeneration bonanza  Plans in Carlisle include the redevelopment of the historic Citadels into a University of Cumbria campus
There are exciting plans afoot in Carlisle, with major projects including the redevelopment of the historic Citadels into a University of Cumbria campus, the expansion of the railway station and a regeneration initiative in Longtown. But concerns are growing that the economic crisis could "take the edge off" regeneration plans as inflation and supply chain issues drive up costs. Specifically it's feared a lack of available skilled tradesmen could be a challenge in delivering the capital projects, as Local Democracy Reporter Gareth Cavanagh writes. The city's head of regeneration Steven Robinson told the city council's Place Panel that Covid and Brexit were "putting pressure on our existing funding envelopes", adding: "So that's an issue we're having to manage quite carefully because some of these projects were costed, before Covid." Carlisle council is updating cost plans to reflect increased cost of materials and man hours, officers then consider what impact this could have on the projects before looking at where savings can be made without diminishing what was planned. During a discussion on the performance report for the first quarter of 2022/23, it was noted that there is a backlog in the work to convert bathrooms for those with mobility issues due to supply chain issues. Health and wellbeing portfolio holder Councillor Elizabeth Mallinson said: "There's a backlog because we can't get tradesmen to do it. Tradesmen are like gold dust at the moment, cost of equipment has actually gone up and they're not prepared to do the job."
In Cheshire there's a skills shortage of a different type, as hospitals are struggling to recruit health care assistants because they can earn more at Tesco. Sally Mann, deputy director of nursing at Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, told Cheshire East Council's scrutiny committee: "I won't deny it, it's really challenging. The numbers of students that are being trained these days have reduced drastically." "We couldn't rely on UK-trained nurses alone as we used to be able to rely on, which is why we embarked about four or five years ago now on our international nurse recruitment programme." 
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Northern Stories  Dan Cross, from Liverpool, who received the Merchant Navy Medal for his efforts in renovating the steamship Daniel Adams
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A Liverpool sailor who rescued and restored a century-old tug boat has been awarded a medal. Dan Cross received the Merchant Navy Medal for his efforts in renovating the steamship Daniel Adamson, the Department for Transport said. The vessel, affectionately known as the Danny, first set sail in 1903 and transported people, goods and livestock between Liverpool and Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, before being decommissioned in 1984. She was earmarked for scrapping in 2004 after being vandalised, but Mr Cross spearheaded a preservation campaign, buying the steamer for £1. -
A tiny island off the coast of the Furness Peninsula in Cumbria has formally crowned its new monarch. Aaron Sanderson was due to have beer poured on his head as part of his 'coronation' on 50-acre Piel Island this weekend. The title of King or Queen of Piel is bestowed upon the landlord of the Ship Inn. BAE worker Mr Sanderson, 33, took on the island pub earlier this year. He was chosen from more than 30 applicants by Barrow Borough Council. -
A Wakefield Labour councillor is to face a party disciplinary hearing after supporting taxi drivers when they staged a Town Hall protest. Nadiah Sharp is under investigation by the Wakefield Council's Labour Group chief whip over her public show of support for cabbies at a demonstration on July 20. Drivers held a demonstration ahead of a full council meeting to discuss making changes to "unfair" taxi licensing regulations. -
A petition calling for a review of the upcoming Clean Air Zone for Bradford has been signed by over 500 people. Published on Bradford Council's website, the petition calls for a pause in the CAZ, which is going live on September 26. It will see the most polluting vans, HGVs, taxis and buses charged to enter the city centre and areas of Shipley. -
A former Labour councillor has joined the Conservative group at Bolton town hall saying they are 'determined to make a difference'. Shamim Abdullah, known as Rosie, who represents Rumworth ward, dramatically quit the opposition group in February citing disagreements with Labour leadership over a proposed Haslam Park school development. Bolton Conservatives have now announced that she has completed a full political about-turn and joined their ranks. -
Drones, camping and sky lanterns could all be banned on council land in North Tyneside following a public consultation. The proposed bans follow, according to the council, an increase in complaints about "inappropriate activities". The consultation will end on September 25 2022 and aims to gather the views of the public on a draft proposal to ban several activities, including drone use and camping across council land. The council's land includes beaches, parks and sites of special scientific interest.
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