| Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was back in his North Yorkshire patch this weekend and swapped affairs of state for enquiries into the aftermath of a fire at a TV and radio transmitter which has left thousands of people struggling to tune in. It was some 16 months that the 314-metre tall Bilsdale transmitter in the North York Moors suffered catastrophic damage in a fire sparked by a water leak, with up to one million homes losing TV and radio signals as a result.  The 314-metre tall Bilsdale transmitter suffered catastrophic damage in a fire sparked by a water leak. Graphic by Marianna Longo
Communications infrastructure firm Arqiva says temporary masts and relay stations have provided some services and that TV and radio signal had been restored to 99.5% of homes but declined to give an estimated date for the launch of a replacement for the towering structure. Arqiva chief executive Shuja Khan told Richmond MP Mr Sunak the new mast was expected to be providing TV signals to the area in the spring, but speaking after a visit to the nearby village Chop Gate the PM did not appear to acknowledge that many people still had significantly reduced or intermittent services. He said: "The fire at Bilsdale transmitter in August last year caused significant difficulties for many of my constituents, many of them elderly, who rely on broadcast television and radio services to watch and listen to their favourite programmes." But North Yorkshire County Council's Independent group leader Councillor Stuart Parsons said many people, especially in the Upper Dales, did not have the services they had before the fire and that many others were regularly having to retune to get a signal. Read the full story by Local Democracy Reporter Stuart Minting here. 
Southgate: Yorkshire feels the same way about England as the Welsh do  Andy Pearson, pictured at the Saltney Tavern, was born in Chester while his brother John was born just over the Welsh border in Mancot (Image: CheshireLive)
TV reception will surely be impeccable at Downing Street tonight as the Prime Minister - along with most of the rest of the country - watches England and Wales do battle in the World Cup football. But a quirk of geography makes Andy and John Pearson, two brothers from Saltney, a small town near Chester on the England-Wales border, rivals for the big game owing to the land of their birth. Both were brought up in Saltney but, while Andy was born in Chester, John was born just down the road in Mancot, Flintshire. As Angela Ferguson reports for CheshireLive, in this borderland area of Cheshire and Flintshire even stepping across the road can take you to a different country. At the Saltney Social Tavern, where the popular social club is decked out with both England and Wales flags as part of its World Cup celebrations, Andy said he would be supporting England, while John stuck his neck out to say he would be supporting both countries. England manager Gareth Southgate, who lives in a £3.7million mansion called Swinsty Hall in North Yorkshire, told reporters yesterday that he considered the relationship between the two sides to be "a great sporting rivalry...no more than that." He added: "That feeling might not be mutual, but I can understand that as well. I live in Yorkshire. They feel the same about the rest of England, so that's where we're at."
Backlash over Knowsley's 'creepy' litter enforcement officers  The litter enforcement agent was photographed outside a shop in Prescot. Photography by Ste Kelly.
Nobody likes litterbugs, that's clear. But if the example of Knowsley on Merseyside is anything to go by, many people also aren't keen on private enforcement officers trying to catch them in the act of dropping rubbish. Last week Knowsley Council announced it had contracted the services of National Enforcement Solutions to enforce fines on people who drop litter in the borough, writes Local Democracy Reporter Lisa Rand. And officers from National Enforcement Solutions were spotted at a shopping park in Prescot last week. A post on social media with a photograph depicting what appeared to be an enforcement officer "lurking" close to a shop entrance said the council was "out trying to fine people." It sparked dozens of comments. Some were furious, vowing to refuse to cooperate if officers approached them and one person said they thought the way people were being followed around by officers was "creepy." Others were sympathetic to the idea of the council contracting officers in an attempt to stop people littering, with one saying: "No problem if you don't drop litter surely." The council says its decision to contract litter enforcement officers came about after concerns expressed by the people of Knowsley. A spokesperson added: "Any concerns we receive will be thoroughly investigated through our complaints procedure."
 Cllr Liam Robinson is the new leader of Labour in Liverpool (Image: Copyright Unknown)
Not far away, Liam Robinson is taking over what must surely be one of the toughest assignments in local politics after being elected as leader of Liverpool Council's Labour group. Cllr Robinson, who has represented the Kensington and Fairfield ward for the council since 2008, was voted in as the group's new leader at a meeting last night. He defeated fellow shortlisted candidates Cllr Liz Parsons and group chief whip, Cllr Ruth Bennet in the process. The 40-year-old now takes over the position of Labour group leader from current Mayor Joanne Anderson. Mayor Anderson will however continue in her role as mayor and city leader until May's elections, when she will leave the scandal-hit council which is currently under the control of government commissioners. The three shortlisted candidates delivered their pitches at the town hall at a closed door Labour meeting. Sources at the meeting told the Liverpool Echo that Cllr Robinson "smashed it" with his speech and was voted in as the group's new leader.
'Cost-of-living crisis could really hit high street after Christmas'  Rob Welsh speaks to Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Labour candidate Sam Dixon in Hoole
Rob Welsh, who has run neighbourhood fashion store erj boutique in Hoole, Chester, with his wife since 2007, had an audience yesterday with the woman who could be the next Chancellor as Labour's Rachel Reeves visited. And he told of his worries that the worst impact of the cost-of-living crisis will hit the county's high streets after Christmas as winter weather and energy price rises take their toll. Mr Welsh, 57, described his frustration at paying higher business rates than major national firms and online providers and said the impact of Brexit - which had recently started to be felt - "hasn't done us any favours". But he said the pandemic had been "a bit of a reset button and made people revalue small business and shopping local. Obviously it was a bad thing, but there was positive from it and the fact that people do seem to value small businesses again". Asked about his biggest concern, he said: "We haven't really had a winter yet. Up until Christmas, I'm hoping that things will be okay. After Christmas...as we get deeper into winter and the bills stack up, I do think it's inevitable that we will be affected." Shadow Chancellor Reeves was visiting Cheshire to campaign for Samantha Dixon, the Labour candidate in Thursday's City of Chester Parliamentary by-election who hopes to succeed former MP Christian Matheson. Read more about the candidates in this piece by CheshireLive's Angela Ferguson.
Labour's analysis suggests the revaluation of business rates announced earlier this month means firms in Cheshire West and Chester will see a £600 increase to their annual business rates bill. Across the North West an average business rates bill will grow by £850, and in Yorkshire it will grow by £550, says Labour. The amount of business rates paid on average in inner London will rise by just £205, lower than any English region. The Government says its Autumn Statement earlier this month unveiled a £13.6bn support package which includes freezing the business rates multiplier, protecting all ratepayers against the full effects of inflation. It will also extend and increase business rates relief for retail, hospitality and leisure properties from 50% to 75% in 2023-24, up to £110k per business, to support high streets and town centres. Officials say this package means the total increase in business rates bills will be less than 1%, compared to over 20% without intervention.
'Reluctant exile' from the North East to get freedom of Gateshead  David Olusoga is an historian, writer and academic
He came to national attention with a series of successful television shows and documentaries including A House Through Time, Civilisations and Our NHS: A Hidden History. And David Olusoga, who arrived in Gateshead from Nigeria with his family aged five, still has a deep love for the North East despite his encounters with racism as a child and teenager which eventually forced his family to move. The leading historian and former Gateshead council leader Mick Henry are to become Freemen of the Borough of Gateshead - the council's highest honour - in a move announced last week. Mr Olusoga said: "I'm from a generation who were told to get on our bikes. A generation too many of whom had to leave the North East for work. But like most of that generation, I am a reluctant exile and remain deeply connected to the region in which I was brought up." Meanwhile, a legendary music producer who grew up in Whitehaven before going on to create best-selling hits and work with artists including Cher, the Pet Shop Boys, Coldplay and the Arctic Monkeys has been honoured by the University of Cumbria. Brian Higgins - who co-wrote Cher's 1998 international number one hit single 'Believe' - returned to his home county to receive an Honorary Fellowship. The 56-year-old said: "It is a truly great county in which to have been born and I am very lucky to call myself a Cumbrian." 
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Northern Stories ![Annemarie Glover described the Tories as]() Annemarie Glover described the Tories as "detached from reality"
- The chief whip on Wakefield Council's opposition Tory group has resigned and announced she plans to sit as an independent. Annemarie Glover made the announcement three days after Conservative group leader Tony Homewood said he was leaving the party with immediate effect. Cllr Glover described the Tories as "detached from reality" as she took aim at the party nationally in a resignation statement. She was elected as councillor for Wrenthorpe and Outwood West in 2021, nine years after a previous stint on Wakefield Council.
- Plans to send wardens out to combat anti-social behaviour across Newcastle have suffered a setback, with council bosses struggling to recruit people for the jobs. Newcastle City Council has pledged to send staff out into communities across the city to patrol trouble hotspots, as part of a £1.5m investment. But civic centre officials say they are now trying to make the job "more exciting" for people and offer a higher salary, having been forced to re-advertise for the posts this month.
- NHS waiting times could be shorter this winter in Cheshire and Wirral after a multi-million pound surgical hub opened. Based at Clatterbridge Hospital in southern Wirral, the Cheshire and Merseyside Surgical Centre will provide two new operating theatres to treat patients waiting for planned surgery. Two more theatres are currently being built. The new centre, hailed as "fantastic news" by NHS directors, is expected to treat around 6,000 patients each year and was part of a £25m investment into the hospital. More than 40 staff have been employed at the hub as part of a large recruitment process.
- The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Coalfield Communities is today launching an inquiry into the next steps in levelling up former mining towns and villages. There has been progress in regenerating Britain's coalfield areas, where once there were more than a million miners, but on most indicators of
prosperity and well-being they still lag behind. The inquiry aims to work out what still needs to be done and how, and help set the agenda in the run up to the next General Election and beyond. - Planning permission has been granted for a £200m lithium hydroxide refinery that could bring 1,000 jobs to Teesside. Owned by the London Stock Exchange-listed Alkemy Capital Investments plc, Tees Valley Lithium has been granted planning approval by Redcar and Cleveland Council to build a refinery which is touted as Europe's largest. Construction is expected to start in 2023 in Redcar at the Wilton International site. The firm plans to supply around 15% of Europe's electric vehicle production requirement for lithium hydroxide - which is used in the vehicles batteries, reports Business Live.
- People are being told to avoid parts of the Merseyside coastline that are at risk of being "lost altogether." Work is due to be carried out throughout December and January at sand dunes along Sefton's coast in a bid to remove an invasive plant species Japanese Rosewhich has taken over parts of the borough's coastline. The work, which will be carried out by Natural England, is part of a wider sand dune restoration programme aiming to protect Sefton's coast from further degradation. The problem has grown in recent years to the point that now that an area along the coast the size of 12 football fields has been completely taken over by the plant.
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