| Meanwhile the Government is stepping up its takeover of troubled Liverpool City Council, with Mr Gove this week appointing a finance commissioner to oversee its work. A few days after returning to the role he was sacked from in July, Mr Gove appointed Stephen Hughes to oversee the financial management of the council and has confirmed that government commissioners at the Cunard Building will also be handed new powers over governance, recruitment and financial decision-making. A team of four commissioners has been overseeing the work of key Liverpool Council departments since the damning findings of Max Caller's government inspection were revealed in the middle of 2021. As Liam Thorp reports for the Liverpool Echo, that commissioners team will now be beefed up in terms of personnel and powers as the Levelling Up Department seizes more control of how Liverpool is run. A report on the progress of the council's improvement plan in the summer revealed serious shortcomings and issues remained - particularly around financial management and senior leadership. The report was also critical of the time it was taking to drive improvements at the local authority. Mr Gove said: "I am committed to helping Liverpool City Council come out of this intervention as a stronger organisation and that is why I am taking further steps to put the Council on a firmer footing." 
What might stick in the craw of locals is the pay of the commissioners, with Stephen Hughes to be paid more than £1,000 a day by the taxpayers of the city. This is the same rate of pay handed to three existing commissioners, while lead commissioner Mike Cunningham is paid £1,200 a day for his work. Read more on that from Local Democracy Reporter David Humphreys here.
 A number of MPs in the North face uncertain futures under the Boundary Commission proposals
This newsletter reported yesterday how Defence Secretary Ben Wallace had been given a headache by changes to his Lancashire constituency. But as more details emerge of the Boundary Commission's proposals there are other Northern MPs with even more reason to be worried. The changes look particularly dramatic in the North East, which is set to lose two MPs under plans that could redraw England's political map before the next general election. The Boundary Commission's latest proposals will see many residents move into a new constituency and some existing MPs struggling to keep their job, as Local Democracy Reporter Dan Holland writes. Among the changes are Mary Glindon's existing North Tyneside seat being abolished, with its wards split up between Tynemouth, a significantly altered Newcastle North, a Newcastle East and Wallsend constituency, and a new Cramlington and Killingworth seat. Crook, Tow Law and Weardale from the existing constituency of North West Durham would instead be included in a revised Bishop Auckland constituency, with the Tory-held North West Durham disbanded. North West Durham MP Richard Holden said he was "immensely saddened" by the latest redrawing of the region's political map and vowed to appeal against them. In West Yorkshire, Kim Leadbeater said she was "very saddened and disappointed" that her Batley & Spen constituency would be split between two new seats of Dewsbury & Batley and Spen Valley.
Yorkshire hotel's asylum seekers dispute reaches High Court  An injunction letter is tied around a pillar next to the entrance of The Hull Humber View Hotel (Image: Hull Live)
Set in 17 acres of landscaped grounds (according to its website), the Humber View Hotel in North Ferriby near Hull boasts "panoramic views of the Humber Bridge". But the hotel was yesterday at the centre of a legal battle in the High Court as East Riding of Yorkshire Council (ERYC) told a judge attempts to house asylum seekers there amounted to an "unauthorised material change of use" under planning rules. Read a full account of the hearing on HullLive here. The Tory-run authority - taking action alongside Ipswich council over a hotel in its patch - is asking Mr Justice Holgate to continue an interim injunction preventing migrants being accommodated at the hotel. The Home Office wants to use the hotel, as well as many others, to accommodate record numbers of people claiming asylum. Gethin Thomas, representing both councils, told the court the hotel plans did not warrant "turning a blind eye to planning requirements" and that there had been discussions over proposals for a 12-month term contract for housing single males. He said ERYC believed the proposed hotel's location is "unsuitable" due to not having nearby services and facilities, that there were "road safety concerns" due to a close busy main road, while also noting it was near the Humber Bridge, a "known suicide spot". But Robin Green, for LGH Hotels Management, which manages the hotel, said the plan "would not involve a material change of use". He said housing asylum seekers would provide "secure income" for the hotel "which has been operating at a loss and is at risk of being mothballed".
In another fascinating High Court battle Uber is suing Sefton Council in a landmark case that could see taxi fares across the country rise by 20%. The High Court case being brought against the Merseyside town hall by the ride-hailing app firm could result in all taxi and private hire firms outside London being forced to hike their prices by a fifth in order to pay VAT charges on journeys, as Liam Thorp reports for the Liverpool Echo.
'In my wildest dreams I never thought I'd one day meet the king'  King Charles III meets members of the West Indian community during a visit to Leeds Central Library and Art Gallery
Ex-RAF serviceman Alfred Gardner signed up for the war in Jamaica aged 17, arrived in the UK aged 18, returned to the Caribbean aged 22 and then settled in the UK the following year. And the 96-year-old Jamaican Second World War veteran, who came to Britain on the Windrush, said he never imagined he would meet the King when he arrived in the UK as a young man. He was a founder member of the Jamaica Society Leeds, which the King visited yesterday as part of his two-day tour of Yorkshire. And after speaking to Charles, Mr Gardner, standing ram-rod straight and proudly displaying his medals, said: "In my wildest dreams I never thought I would one day meet the King. "I have met the Prince of Wales [William], but to meet the master… what a day. My dad was a real royalist, a policeman, he used to say 'All stand for the King'. I couldn't pass an exam, I didn't know English history, now I have met the King." Earlier, Charles also met young leaders from across Bradford, including Britain's first female hijabi boxer, Safiyyah Syeed, and Yeasin Mohammed, a Rohingya refugee who fled Myanmar before coming to the UK in 2010, and now owns Sizzling Lounge restaurant in Bingley. Today he was due to be joined by the Queen Consort for engagements in York and Doncaster, including unveiling a statue of his late mother at York Minster. He will also confer city status on Doncaster
 Bev Hughes (Image: Vincent Cole - Manchester Evening News)
Baroness Bev Hughes, the deputy mayor of Greater Manchester, announced today she's stepping down from the role, as the Manchester Evening News reports. And with current Stretford and Urmston Labour MP Kate Green set to replace her, it means there's another by-election for the North to go with those in Chester and West Lancashire. Baroness Hughes been serving as deputy mayor under mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham and has led on policing, crime, criminal justice and fire on behalf of the mayor since 2017. The news was confirmed at a press conference in Manchester today. Mrs Green was put forward as her successor by Mr Burnham, with the offer accepted. She was elected as Labour MP for Stretford and Urmston in 2010 following the resignation of Mrs Hughes, but announced in February she would not be seeking re-election.
Bonfire night fireworks could be cancelled forever in Manchester  Heaton Park's last Bonfire Night fireworks display in 2019 (Image: Manchester Evening News)
Manchester City Council was one of a number of Northern authorities deciding against holding its own Bonfire Night events this year, with bosses blaming 'escalating costs' amid 'increased pressure' on budgets. But as Local Democracy Reporter Joseph Timan writes, council-run fireworks displays at parks across Manchester could now be cancelled permanently as the authority is forced to make even greater cuts. The major public events organised by Manchester council, including the huge bonfire night celebrations at Heaton Park, have not happened for three years. Now, the Labour-run authority is looking at scrapping these bonfire events forever. It comes as the council faces a forecasted financial shortfall of £96m over the next three years, with £28m of savings required in the 2023/24 budget alone. The New Years' Eve fireworks display and the Christmas lights switch-on event would also not be financed by the council in the future, according to the latest savings proposals, but they could still go ahead if private funding is secured. The local authority is looking for £28m of savings in the next financial year alone, assuming its portion of the council tax bill will increase by 2.99%, with the biggest budget cuts over the next three years set to be to social care. Among the factors contributing to the latest budget gap, inflation – including rising energy prices – is forecast to cost £42m more than had been expected over the next two years, while lingering Covid impacts are still affecting income.
A fireworks display did go ahead in the County Durham town of Peterlee, but the apparent poor quality of the pyrotechnics has sparked a war of words between the local council and the company they contracted for the event. As Daniel Hall reports for ChronicleLive, the display was due to last for more than 15 minutes, though reports suggest it was over in less than seven minutes, prompting a number of complaints. Peterlee Town Council blamed Nemesis Pyrotechnics Ltd, who they said were contracted for a 18-20 minute fireworks display, adding: "We are gutted to have been let down so badly by the fireworks company who were trusted to run the key part of the event." But Nemesis is now threatening legal action and said: "The council has slated us, but fails to state we have fired the show for them successfully for a number of years, demanding low noise fireworks that are less impacting and more expensive because that is what residents want." 
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Northern Stories  The site was discovered by teams who studied old maps while working on upgrading the Transpennine route
- An ancient railway that is almost two centuries old and had been buried under the dirt has been unearthed in Huddersfield. The railway, at Hillhouse, was formerly used to harbour off-duty trains back in the 1800s. It consisted of train sheds and railway turntables. The hub performed major services, transporting cattle, coal and other goods across the UK as part of the Manchester - Huddersfield line. It was discovered by teams who studied old maps while working on upgrading the Transpennine route.
- A much-needed new Rochdale secondary school which was due to welcome its first pupils next year will now not open until 2025. The Government gave the go-ahead for a new 'free school' in Littleborough, back in 2019, as concerns mounted over the area facing a shortfall of more than 130 places. To be run by Star Academies, the 750-place school – dubbed Star Lakeside Academy – was expected to open at the former Littleborough Playing Fields site next year. But a council report reveals this has now been 'paused' by the Department for Education, which now says the school will not open before 2025.
- On-the-spot fines for irresponsible dog owners are to be introduced for the next three years across Liverpool. Liverpool Council has tonight agreed to adopt a public space protection order (PSPO) tightening its controls over dog fouling and inappropriate behaviour in certain locations across the city. The three-year order will prevent dogs being off lead in eight city cemeteries and present at all at more than 70 playgrounds and sports pitches. The PSPO will be effective for a maximum period of three years and those found in breach would be issued with an £80 fixed penalty notice by council officers or police constables.
- An investigation has found a leading Hull councillor misrepresented information in a party political leaflet which was likely to compromise the impartiality of officers. Opposition Labour councillors at the Guildhall called on Liberal Democrat cabinet member Mark Ieronimo to apologise for the Lib Dem leaflet about the future of the Boothferry Road bridge in west Hull. The row first erupted three months after May's elections in Hull when the Lib Dems won control of the council. It was triggered by a Lib Dem leaflet about the bridge sent to residents in Pickering ward featuring a quote from Cllr Ieronimo, who represents the ward.
- The leadership of a local authority which is set to take on the roles of eight district, borough and county councils from April has approved spending £394,000 on rebranding. A meeting of North Yorkshire County Council's executive heard councillors repeatedly congratulate officers for minimising the cost of swapping various logos and council names for that of a white rose and North Yorkshire Council on items ranging from staff badges to headed notepaper. But the meeting was told much of the county, borough and district councils' branding would continue to be seen by the public for some time as the new branding would be phased in.
- Sheffield Council has said any further delays to its controversial Clean Air Zone (CAZ) would mean losing at least £705,240 per month, on top of nearly £2.5 million up to June next year. The figures were revealed at the latest full council meeting, where taxi drivers presented a petition calling for the CAZ to be cancelled due to the cost of living crisis. Julie Grocutt, co-chair of the transport, regeneration and climate change committee, added: "A failure to implement would result in a breach of a legal duty giving rise to risk of judicial review proceedings, complaints of maladministration, and enforcement action by the office for environmental protection."
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