BlogPreston

New advice centre opens to help young people into work

Preston College has opened a new advice centre in the city centre which aims to provide advice and guidance to young people who are not in employment, education or training. The ‘Young People’s Advice Centre’ is on Theatre Street near the post office, and will provide information on courses, training opportunities and careers for young people. It will be open five days a week for the [...]

LIVE: Local elections and referendum

Blog Preston will be live from the Guild Hall from start to finish to bring you the very latest news and results from the local elections and referendum.

We were the first news outlet to report the fact that Mark Hendrick had been re-elected in last year’s general election, and we hope to be first again.

No2AV: ‘The politicians will hold the power, not the voters’

On Thursday it is vital that voters are aware of the issues that the Alternative Vote will bring to the system if the referendum allows it to pass. First Past The Post is a tried and tested system in this Country and has been our way of voting for centuries and is both clear and easy. Under First Past The Post each voter has one [...]

Yes2AV: ‘Canada is proof that the system is broken’

On Monday night, Canada went to the polls and gave us a perfect example of why the Canadian and British ‘first past the post’ (FPTP) voting system is broken, unfair and needs to be replaced. Only 39.6% of the vote went to the right wing Canadian Conservative Party while 59.5% of the vote went to centre-left parties. What was the result? An absolute majority for [...]

‘Make time for wine’ as part of National Wine Month

Preston people are being urged to ‘make time for wine’ as part of National Wine Month. The Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET) have partnered with a number of wine retailers , including the Preston-based Lancashire Wine School. The school is running special introductory evenings to help local people make time for their wine. “Spending a little bit more on your bottle of wine can [...]

McVicar: ‘UCLan is as good as Oxford or Cambridge’

The University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) is as good as Oxford and Cambridge, but the university league tables are skewed due to research funding, according to Vice-Chancellor Malcolm McVicar. Talking exclusively to Blog Preston in the wake of the university’s decision to charge £9,000 a year tuition fees, Dr McVicar slammed the government. “The current generation of students are being punished and I am totally [...]

Disability support group sues County Council over care cuts

A disability support group is so unhappy with Lancashire County Council’s cuts they are planning to sue them. Last month the council announced their budget which included £179m worth of ‘savings’. Council leader Geoff Driver promised to protect services but the cuts have now provoked outrage in the care sector. Members of Disability Equality North West (DENW) are so enraged they have starting legal proceedings [...]

20 mph road plans are ‘ludicrous’, says councillor

Plans to reduce Lancashire’s residential roads to 20mph have been branded ‘ludicrous’ by a city councillor. Councillor Drew Gale made the comment after deaths and serious injuries in the county hit a 30 year low. Last year was the fifth consecutive year casualties numbers have fallen with 798 people killed or seriously injured compared to 1,139 in 2006 and down from an average of 1,704 [...]

Brave firefighters to assist Japanese relief efforts

Specialist members of Lancashire’s fire and rescue services have joined the relief effort in Japan. As details of the disaster unfold, trained teams have been sent from countries worldwide. Seven members from the region’s fire services have been sent to the stricken nation. They include Andy Hayes and Mark Noblet from Preston. Fire service officer, Richard Edney, praised the group for their courage. “Obviously they’re [...]

People tighten belts as basics become dearer

Rising inflation levels and a worsening “income recession” means families may need to tighten their belts yet again. With costs increasing but wages staying static, it is feared many people will struggle to cope. This will lead to poorer standards of living for most families, as basics like food and fuel become more expensive. Criticism has been aimed at businesses, like supermarkets and energy suppliers, [...]

Gordon Burns ignites step towards bridging the ‘digital divide’

Gordon Burns may be used to reading bulletins and grilling politicians but he faced an altogether different challenge at the Harris museum. He was promoting the BBC’s First Click campaign, which aims to help more people become computer savvy. Estimates suggest there are more than 9 million people in Britain who do not use the internet. Mr Burns, the face of North West Tonight, thinks [...]

County budget: Carer mum says future’s glum

One of the major casualties of the county cuts is care for those with learning disabilities. ANDREW SNELL speaks to a mother who will be affected by the slashed services. Tim has severe learning difficulties and can’t speak. He has both epilepsy and cerebral palsy. The nearest diagnosis doctors have offered is Ohtahara Syndrome, the same condition that Prime Minister David Cameron’s son Ivan died [...]

University announces massive fees hike

Tuition fees at the University of Central Lancashire will almost triple within three years, Vice-Chancellor Malcolm McVicar has announced. Speaking at an open staff meeting on Friday, he said the university will struggle to replace lost government funding, and could lose £30million a year unless it charges fees of around £8,000. Dr McVicar said: “Last time fees went up, we set it at the maximum [...]