Top story: property prices up but signs of cooling
Morning everyone. I’m Martin Farrer and these are the top stories today.
The average asking price for a house has risen to a record high across every part of Great Britain for the third consecutive month as the pandemic-driven property boom continued. According to data from Rightmove, average prices of houses coming to the market rose by 0.8% month on month in June to £336,073. It was driven by the strength of the top end of the housing market and home movers looking for a change in lifestyle. However, in a sign that the rapid increase in values could be coming to an end, the June increase was smaller than rises of 1.8% in May or 2.1% in April. Rightmove said record low interest rates and stamp duty tax relief had helped boost prices, but there were signs the frenetic pace of sales was beginning to slow. Separate data from the Office for National Statistics based on completed purchases shows lower average house prices but gives a similar picture of a hot market.
Prices in rural areas have been rising especially quickly in recent months as people sell up in urban areas and look for bigger properties in the countryside. Analysis for the Guardian shows that prices in rural England and Wales are increasing twice as fast as in cities, triggering a fresh affordability crisis for young people. Increases of up to 30% were seen in Broxtowe in Nottinghamshire, around Lancaster, in Arun in West Sussex and Amber Valley in Derbyshire. Jenny Fox, 31, a community support worker in south-east Cornwall, said villages in the area had become “totally unaffordable for locals”.
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France vote – Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally party has failed to make a breakthrough in France’s regional and department elections, seen as a key indicator ahead of next year’s presidential poll. Amid projections showing a turnout of only 32%, the centre-right Les Républicains party was on course to top Sunday’s vote, while Le Pen undershot forecasts with 19.1% and appears to have failed in her ambition to win control of at least one region. The results were also terrible for president Emmanuel Macron’s La République En Marche party, which won just 10.9%.
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PM warning – Boris Johnson will be warned by cabinet ministers that he must consult them more ahead of a difficult autumn decisions on hospital waiting lists, social care reform and court backlogs. The prime minister’s planning law reform, which will be debated by MPs today, has been blamed for the Chesham and Amersham byelection defeat last week. The chancellor, Rishi Sunak, is one of a number of ministers who are privately pushing Johnson to pay more heed to collective decision-making, rather than keeping all decisions in a No 10 clique. It also follows the defection of former speaker John Bercow to Labour.
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Tech title – The government’s chief scientific adviser, Sir Patrick Vallance, has been asked by Boris Johnson to investigate whether the UK’s successful vaccine procurement programme can be replicated in other areas of technology. While keeping his existing roles, Vallance will become head of new body called the National Science and Technology Council charged with seeking areas of “strategic advantage”. It comes as Whitehall has been ordered to release confidential documents warning that the NHS could not cope with a pandemic. The UK reported 9,284 new Covid-19 cases on Sunday and more than 1m jabs were booked in two days following the invitation on Friday for all adults in England to come forward for vaccination. In Africa, governments across the continent are scrambling to reinforce health systems and accelerate vaccine drives as a third wave of Covid-19 infections threatens to kill tens of thousands of people.
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Heartbreaking – Two molecules associated with high stress levels have been implicated in the development of broken heart syndrome, a condition that mainly affects post-menopausal women. The syndrome, formally known as takotsubo cardiomyopathy, is characterised by weakening of the heart’s main pumping chamber. It is thought sharp spikes in adrenaline caused by acute stress such as bereavement or car accidents drive loss of movement in part of the heart wall. Researchers have identified two molecules – microRNA-16 and microRNA-26a – that could make the condition more likely.
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Grave Act – The artist Phyllida Barlow is to install a new 5.6-metre-high sculpture called Act in Highgate cemetery that she hopes will challenge visitors to reappraise the site and its monuments. Barlow says it will include a “tower of fabric-wrapped poles” and is inspired by the Victorian obsession with honouring the dead.
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Sport
Jon Rahm claimed his first major golf championship with a brilliant closing round at the US Open at Torrey Pines in California. Just weeks after testing positive for coronavirus, the Spaniard birdied the final two holes to pip Louis Oosthuizen. Wales coach Robert Page has warned European Championship rivals to never “underestimate the character of a Welshman” after his team progressed to the last 16 despite losing against Italy. England’s Raheem Sterling says the post-Scotland criticism is “an overreaction” and insists the mood inside the England camp is relaxed. The New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard is set to make history and headlines after being confirmed as the first ever transgender athlete to compete at the Olympic Games. The British Cycling performance director, Stephen Park, has promised his riders will win “in the right way” at the Tokyo Olympics in the wake of the devastating guilty verdict against the former team doctor Richard Freeman this year.
Business
Morrisons could become the subject of a bidding war after it rejected a hostile £5.5bn private equity bid. Britain’s fourth-largest grocer said it had rebuffed a preliminary takeover bid worth just over £5.5bn from the US firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, which had offered to pay 230p a share in cash. Morrisons’ share price closed at 178.45p on Friday, valuing the company at £4.3bn. The FTSE100 is set to shed almost 0.9% this morning while the pound will buy you $1.382 and €1.164.
The papers
The Guardian leads on the fallout of last week’s byelection defeat for the government with a story saying “Ministers tell Johnson: consult the entire cabinet , not just No 10 clique”. The Times headlines on “Just 1 in 200 amber list travellers have virus” while the Telegraph has “Pensions raid to pay for the pandemic”. The Mail reports on the “New two jab hope to free up your summer” and the Mirror has a similar “The rush to save summer”. The FT reports on the Morrisons takeover story – “US buyout group undaunted after Morrisons rejects initial £8.7bn bid” – and the Express has “Anger at triple lock pension threat”. The Sun splashes on “Harry’s military meltdown”, reporting that the prince agreed to his Oprah interview after being stripped of his military titles. The Scotsman’s main story is “Burnham fury at Sturgeon over travel ban ‘hypocrisy’”, and the National has “Pledge £600k appeal cash WILL be spent winning Indy”.
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