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Building of three new towns will start before election, Labour pledges
The construction of three new towns will begin before the next general election, Labour has pledged.
A taskforce has recommended 12 locations in England for development, with three areas – Tempsford in Bedfordshire, Leeds South Bank, and Crews Hill in north London – identified as the most promising sites.
Housing Secretary Steve Reed is expected to announce the plans in a speech on the opening day of Labour’s annual party conference.
Labour has put housebuilding at the centre of its vision of how to get the economy growing, promising to build 1.5 million new homes by 2029.
Tempsford is home to 600 people and currently has around 300 houses. Its parish council chairman David Sutton said residents had been kept in the dark about the potential plans, including how many new homes could be built.
“The biggest problem we’ve got at the moment is that even today, as an announcement’s being made, we’ve been given no idea whatsoever of the scale of what we’re being asked to live amongst,” he told the PA news agency.
“Nobody’s come to talk to us at all.”
The promise of a “new generation of new towns” was included in Labour’s election manifesto last year.
The 12 proposed developments range from large-scale standalone new communities, to expansions of existing towns and regeneration schemes within cities.
Sites in Cheshire, South Gloucestershire, East Devon, Plymouth and Manchester are among those which have been recommended for development.
The chosen sites will be subject to environmental assessments and consultation, with the government confirming the final locations and funding next spring.
Labour said each new town would have at least 10,000 homes and they could collectively result in 300,000 homes being built across England over the coming decades.
The government has welcomed a recommendation from the New Towns Taskforce that at least 40% of these new homes should be classed as affordable housing.
A New Towns Unit will be tasked with bringing in millions of pounds of public and private sector funding to invest in GP surgeries, schools, green spaces, libraries and transport for the new developments.
The taskforce has recommended new towns are delivered by development corporations, which could have special planning powers to compulsory purchase land, invest in local services, and grant planning permission.
This follows the model of the regeneration of Stratford in east London during and after the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said: “For so many families, homeownership is a distant dream.
“My Labour government will sweep aside the blockers to get homes built, building the next generation of new towns.”
In his speech, the housing secretary will promise to “build baby build”, while “taking lessons from the post-war Labour government housing boom”.
“This party built new towns after the war to meet our promise of homes fit for heroes. Now, with the worst economic inheritance since that war, we will once again build cutting-edge communities to provide homes fit for families of all shapes and sizes,” Reed is expected to say.
After World War Two Clement Attlee’s government planned the first wave of new towns, including in Stevenage, Crawley and Welwyn Garden City, to relocate people from poor or bombed-out housing, with development corporations assigned responsibility for building them.
The announcement comes as Labour members gather in Liverpool for the party’s annual conference.
It will be Reed’s first major speech since he took over from Angela Rayner as housing secretary, after she resigned for failing to pay enough tax on a flat purchase.
It has been a bruising few weeks for Sir Keir, who is facing questions over his leadership and the direction of his party.
With Labour trailing behind Reform UK in the polls, the prime minister has stepped up his attacks on Nigel Farage’s party.
Arriving in Liverpool on Saturday, he warned Reform would “tear this country apart” and said the conference would be an opportunity to set out his alternative to the “toxic divide and decline” offered by the party.
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Angel One sets Feb 26 as record date for 1:10 stock split. Shareholders will get 10 shares for each held.
Angel One Stock Split 2026
Angel One Stock Split Record Date: Domestic brokerage firm Angel One has fixed February 26 as the record date for its previously approved 1:10 stock split, moving ahead with a proposal cleared by its Board last month.
The company had earlier informed stock exchanges on Jan. 15 that its Board of Directors approved the sub-division of equity shares in a 1:10 ratio.
Board Approval For Share Sub-Division
Under the approved proposal, each fully paid-up equity share with a face value of Rs 10 will be split into 10 fully paid-up equity shares with a face value of Re 1 each.
In its Jan. 15 stock exchange filing, the company stated that the Board had approved the sub-division of one existing equity share of face value Rs 10, fully paid-up, into 10 equity shares of face value Re 1 each, fully paid-up. The move is aimed at increasing the number of outstanding shares and improving liquidity in the counter.
Stock splits typically make shares more affordable for retail investors by reducing the market price per share, although the overall market capitalization of the company remains unchanged.
Feb 26 Fixed As Record Date
In a subsequent filing dated Feb. 18, Angel One confirmed that its executive committee has fixed Thursday, Feb. 26, as the record date to determine eligible shareholders for the stock split.
The record date serves as the cut-off to identify shareholders who will be entitled to receive the additional shares. Investors holding the stock on or before Feb. 26 will qualify for the sub-division benefit.
What The Stock Split Means For Investors
Shareholders will receive 10 equity shares for every one share currently held. While the face value per share will reduce from Rs 10 to Re 1, the total value of an investor’s holdings will remain unchanged, as the split does not alter ownership percentage or overall wealth.
Angel One Q3 FY26: Profit Dips Amid Higher Costs
For the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2025, Angel One reported a 4.5% year-on-year decline in consolidated profit after tax to Rs 269 crore, compared with Rs 281.5 crore in the same quarter last year.
However, total income rose 5.8% to Rs 1,338 crore from Rs 1,264 crore in Q3 FY25. Total expenses increased to Rs 964.2 crore from Rs 876.5 crore, primarily due to higher employee benefit costs, elevated ESOP expenses, and increased operating expenditure.
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February 25, 2026, 07:20 IST
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Households are set to learn their energy bills will fall by around 7% from April in a shake-up of costs after the Government promised they will receive an average £150 cut.
Latest predictions suggest Ofgem will reduce the energy price cap by £117 to £1,641 a year for a typical dual fuel household from April 1 when it makes its announcement on Wednesday.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves said in November that £150 would be cut from the average household bill from April by scrapping the Energy Company Obligation scheme introduced by the Tories in government.
Customers have been warned not to expect a straight £150 discount on their bills, and that the cut will depend on the size and type of household and how much energy it uses.
The reduction is expected to be primarily applied through a lower price per unit of electricity used, with households advised to look out for information from their supplier explaining this after the price cap announcement.
Cornwall Insight said the changes will reduce the cap by about £145 a year once VAT and pricing allowances within the cap methodology are taken into account.
It added that increases in charges associated with the operation and maintenance of Britain’s energy networks have offset part of the savings.
Wholesale prices had also risen slightly since its last forecast in December, with the cost of gas particularly volatile due to “geopolitical factors”.
Looking further ahead, Cornwall said wholesale costs were still lower than when Ofgem set the January cap level and it expected the cap to remain “relatively steady” throughout 2026, “with only a small rise forecast in July”.
Ned Hammond, deputy director of customer policy at Energy UK, which represents firms, said: “At a time when many households are struggling with their bills, action taken by the Government to provide a considerable discount on energy bills is hugely welcome.
“While the saving will be £150 for the average household, it is important to note that the discount is applied to the unit rate.
“Therefore, households will experience significantly different savings depending on their energy consumption, some much higher and others substantially lower than £150.
“In addition, other moving parts, such as network charges and wholesale costs, mean energy bills will not necessarily fall in line with the saving provided.
“Indeed, the price cap is projected to drop by around £115 from April 1.”
Which? energy editor Emily Seymour said: “Households can expect a significant cut to their energy bills in April, which will come as a relief to millions of people struggling with cost-of-living pressures.
“The bulk of this change is expected to be applied to your electricity price per unit, so your exact savings will depend on your usage; look out for communications from your energy provider in the coming weeks to see how it will affect your bills.”
Simon Francis, co-ordinator of the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, urged households to note the changes in unit costs and standing charges, rather than focus on the headline “average energy bill”.
He said: “We know that energy bills can be confusing and trying to decide when to switch tariffs or change supplier is a big decision which can overwhelm people.
“As well as setting the price cap, Ofgem should play a greater role in ensuring that the tariffs reaching the market are fair and don’t discriminate against specific customer groups.
“Sadly the responsibility currently falls to households to pay careful attention to any changes in their unit costs and standing charges.”
A Lucid Gravity coming off the line at the company’s factory in Casa Grande, Arizona.
Lucid Group reported mixed fourth-quarter results Tuesday as the electric vehicle maker continues to face challenging market conditions and internal struggles.
The company widely missed Wall Street’s quarterly earnings expectations, while beating average revenue estimates by roughly 12%. It also revised its 2025 production results due to internal validation issues, but guided for a notable increase in vehicle production this year.
Here’s how the company performed in the fourth quarter compared with average estimates compiled by LSEG:
- Loss per share: $3.62 vs. a loss of $2.62 cents expected
- Revenue: $523 million vs. $468 million expected
Lucid’s results come days after the company laid off 12% of its U.S. salaried workforce in an effort to streamline operations and “operate with greater efficiency and deliver on our commitments to gross margin improvement and long term growth,” according to a statement from the company.
Interim Lucid CEO Marc Winterhoff described the cuts Tuesday to CNBC as a needed realignment of the company’s workforce amid broader market and economic concerns as well as needed gains in efficiency.
“We are adjusting and going to a level where we think we want to be and need to be,” he said. “But it’s nothing that will continue in the future.”
For 2026, the company announced a vehicle production target of between 25,000 and 27,000 units. That would mark an increase of roughly 40% to 51% compared with the year-end figures the company released Tuesday.
Lucid said the revision for the year — from 18,378 units to 17,840 units — came as “538 vehicles had not completed certain internal procedures required under its final validation process to be classified as produced.”
The company said the vehicles are expected to be completed this year, with the change not affecting its previously reported financial results.
Winterhoff described the expected growth as “healthy,” but not “outrageous” given the current slowdown in overall vehicle sales, including EVs.
“Our initial plans were higher, but we wanted to really be conservative and make sure that we are hitting the numbers that we are projecting,” he told CNBC.
Lucid is expected to begin production of a new, less expensive midsize vehicle at the end of this year, but Winterhoff said it will not be material to its 2026 production plans. He said the automaker’s Gravity SUV is expected to account for the majority of its production and sales this year, followed by the Air sedan. The company also plans to launch its first Lucid robotaxis with previously announced partners.
Winterhoff said the company’s main priorities this year are achieving its production target, growing sales, continuing efficiency gains and preparing for production of the midsize vehicle and robotaxis.
“We really want to make sure that we [are] on our path to profitability, make sure that we’re not spending money that we don’t have to. That’s very, very important,” he told CNBC.
Lucid has yet to say when the company expects to be profitable. It is scheduled to host an investor day on March 12 in New York.
Lucid said it ended last year with approximately $4.6 billion in total liquidity, which Lucid CFO Taoufiq Boussaid said was “strong” and would provide flexibility “to execute near-term objectives while investing in future growth.”
Lucid reported a net loss of $2.7 billion in 2025, in line with a $2.71 billion loss a year earlier. That includes more than doubling its year-over-year losses during the fourth quarter to $814 million. It reported a loss of $12.09 per share for the year.
The company’s 2025 revenue was up 68% to $1.35 billion, including more than doubling year-over-year results during the fourth quarter.
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