Today programme

The average UK house price was around £56,000 70 years ago in today’s money, according to analysis carried out to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations. Estate agent Savills said the typical house price in early 1952 was just under £2,000 – equating to around £56,000 when taking inflation into account. The average house price nowadays is more than four times this sum – at £260,000. Lucian Cook, head of residential research at Savills said: “House price growth over the past 70 years has meant that the nation’s housing stock has become a vast source and store of household wealth during the Queen’s reign. Recommended Superspreader events blamed for monkeypox surge - follow live Minister condemns PM’s ‘allies’ briefing against Sue Gray - live Brexit has increased risk of danger foods reaching UK, watchdog warns “But the ability to benefit from this has largely been dependent on the year you were born, meaning the … [Read more...] about Average house price 70 years ago ‘was around £56,000 in today’s money’

Rishi Sunak will set out a package of support to address the soaring cost of living on Thursday. The Chancellor is expected to unveil his plan as the Government seeks to draw a line under the partygate row and focus on the squeeze in living standards caused by soaring inflation. A windfall tax on oil and gas giants, who have benefited from globally high prices, is widely expected to help fund measures which will be targeted at the most vulnerable. Measures which have been discussed as part of a package worth around £10 billion could include a further increase to the warm homes discount to help low-income households cope with rising energy bills. Other measures which have been discussed include increases in the winter fuel allowance, a further cut in council tax or a VAT cut. Recommended Sue Gray verdict prompts fresh Tory calls for PM to quit - live The need for extra help was illustrated by Ofgem chief executive Jonathan Brearley’s indication … [Read more...] about Sunak set to announce help for the poorest to cope with cost-of-living squeeze

Le Pen celebrates result that took her closer to power than ever Johnson pushes for families to take up childcare support PM warns UN chief that Putin will ‘manipulate’ his visit Rayner condemns ‘perverted’ PMQs claim Labour pledges to scrap non-dom tax loophole Russia-Ukraine latest news: Kremlin issues warning to US Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the Commons Speaker, has announced he is calling a meeting with the editor of The Mail on Sunday to discuss the "demeaning" claims the newspaper published about Angela Rayner's conduct at Prime Minister's Questions. MPs on both sides of the Commons have condemned the claims, reportedly made by a Tory MP to the newspaper, that Ms Rayner had crossed and uncrossed her legs on the Labour front bench in an attempt to distract Boris Johnson. The newspaper likened the claims to a scene from Basic Instinct, the 1992 erotic thriller, while Ms Rayner described them as "desperate" and "perverted" and suggested that they could … [Read more...] about Sir Lindsay Hoyle calls meeting with Mail on Sunday editor over ‘demeaning’ Angela Rayner story

Beth Mead is all smiles as she joins us on a Zoom call from the National Football Museum in Manchester. The Arsenal forward has good reason to be happy. Despite the Gunners missing out on the Women’s Super League title by a single point, it has been a standout campaign for Mead on a personal level. In her fifth year with the north Londoners, the 27-year-old has scored a seasonal best 11 goals in the WSL, making her the division's third-top scorer behind only Chelsea ace Sam Kerr and Arsenal teammate Vivianne Miedema. Throw in her eight assists – a joint-league high – and she has 19 goal involvements for the season, again, second only to Kerr and Miedema. It has been a standout year for Mead at international level, too. With 12 goals in her last 11 appearances for England – including hat-tricks against Northern Ireland, Latvia and North Macedonia – she could hardly be in better form ahead of Euro 2022 on home soil. But despite all of that, and Mead’s obvious excitement for … [Read more...] about Beth Mead says “the moment we settle is the moment the women’s game plateaus again”

Oprah Winfrey struggled to hold back the tears as she made her final appearance on The Ellen Degeneres Show on Tuesday. The 67-year-old TV producer was one of the last few guests to appear on the long-running programme which will be taking its final bow on May 26. Oprah – who fronted her titular chat show from 1986 to 2011 – expressed that she understood how the Finding Dory actress was feeling. ‘I got a little emotional backstage because I saw your entire staff is back there. And I said to everybody, “I know what this feels like with only a couple of days left. ‘Obviously, you’re the face out front, but it’s everybody back there that actually makes it work. I was just really tearing up saying, “guys, what a great job you’ve done”.’ Ellen recently reflected on how much has changed around the world since The Ellen Show first aired 19 years ago, and thanked fans for their support. She wrote on Instagram: ‘Today we taped the final episode of The Ellen Show which … [Read more...] about Oprah Winfrey fights back tears in final Ellen Show appearance: ‘I know what this feels like’

Loose Women star Nadia Sawalha left viewers stunned as she debuted her new hair. The ITV star has showed off her brand new locks on today's lunchtime show, with her co-stars - Frankie Bridge, Kaye Adams and Carol McGiffin - remarking on her new locks as they opened the show. Nadia regularly appears on the show and is always known for her curly locks - but she looked very different today, with her revealing that her new hair do has been inspired by none other than the Duchess of Cambridge herself. She looked so different with her new hairdo that host Kaye said she didn't even look like a Nadia now, as they debated what she should change her name to to mark her changing appearance. She debuted her new locks ( Image: ITV) As they discussed possible names including Arlene amongst others, Nadia explained her decision behind changing her hair. Viewers of the show rushed to social media to praise her new look, with one writing: "Liking Nadia’s straight hair … [Read more...] about Loose Women’s Nadia Sawalha leaves viewers reeling as she debuts new hair

Loose Women viewers couldn't believe their eyes as Sean Paul grooved with the ITV show's panellists live on TV today. The 49-year-old Temperature hitmaker's appearance on the daytime programme was baffling enough, but it turned even more surreal as he stepped up to dance on the set floor. He came onto the ITV show around seven months after Judi Love famously danced to his 2003 track Get Busy with partner Graziano Di Prima on Strictly. The Jamaican rapper later recorded a message to Judi, which aired on the BBC dancing show, after hearing about the dance. Opening up about how he had found out about Judi's dance, he told the panel: "People start sending this to my phone [and it...] went viral." Sean Paul joined Judi Love on Loose Women today ( Image: ITV) "It was awesome," he added. "She was a Jamaican so I was like 'yeah!'" Sean Paul sent on to speak about his new album Scorcha, which he described was about "feeling free" after two years at home. He also … [Read more...] about Loose Women fans speechless as Sean Paul dances with panellists in surreal live TV moment

Warning: Spoilers ahead! This Is Us fans are already in bits over the series ending , after an emotional rollercoaster across six seasons with the Pearson family. But now, there’s even more nostalgia added to the mix as one of the stars of the show posted some snaps of the cast together, including pictures of the actors and actresses playing The Big 3 at different ages. The programme, which stars Mandy Moore and Milo Ventimiglia , follows the lives of three triplets, Kate, Kevin and Randall, with their parents Rebecca (Mandy) and Jack (Milo). Flicking back and forth between their childhood (from when Randall was adopted at birth ), their teenage years (after Jack died and left Rebecca to raise them as a widow), and their adult lives (with their own children and caring for Rebecca through her dementia), the show producers cast four different Kates, Kevins and Randalls, all at different ages. Though they never appear in the same scene together, viewers … [Read more...] about This Is Us fans gush over grown up pictures of The Big 3: ‘They grow up so fast!’