£3.2bn increase in funding for local councils

The Government says that it will stick to its three-year spending plans agreed in 2007 to allocate town halls £76 billion

Des Browne to resign at next general election

The former Defence Secretary said that he wanted to spend more time working towards disarmament and conflict resolution

Labour hoping for clear path to election

Party figures predict less internal strife than in previous campaigns - when Gordon Brown was sniping from the sidelines

Temporary footbridge near Calva Bridge

Army engineers are helping to build the bridge, which will form the first link between the two sides of the flooded town

Former MP cleared over bar row

Helen Clark was told that her behaviour in a hotel bar in Peterborough in 2008 had been ‘shameful’ but was not criminal

Diplomats uneasy at Oxford tribute to dissident

The Government believes that honouring Neda Soltan by a scholarship from Queen’s College, Oxford, could ‘provoke’ Tehran

Smart money is on cashmere this Christmas

The jumper once associated with celebrity golfers is now affordable, stylish and provides a valuable dose of reassurance

Iraq pays $80m for bomb-finding ‘dowsing rods’

A British company has sold a bomb detector to the Iraqi government that has been described as being ‘a fake and a swindle’

My Week: Katie Price

I have done a lot of thinking. I know that there are a couple of big things about me that people don’t quite understand

Motorway lights ‘should be turned off’

Pollution commission says that thousands of road lights should be removed, adding that it will not lead to more accidents

Fashionistas hunt a rare green nail varnish

Chanel's sought after Jade polish sold out in 40 minutes and is being flogged on eBay for five times its original price

Traders hope for Christmas shopping lift-off

Retail bosses show optimism for strong sales starting this weekend and say that confidence is returning to the high street

Attorney-General’s former housekeeper charged

Loloahi Tapui, who was dismissed by Baroness Scotland over her immigration rights, faces allegation of fraud

Nato lost way in Afghanistan, Army chief says

General Sir David Richards has told a Muslim newspaper that the alliance needs to rediscover the conviction to succeed

For the best high street bargains, go online

Retailers such as Aldo and Gap are tempting shoppers into their stores with discounts only available by logging on first

Convincing jargon, unconvincing bomb detector

When scientists are left flummoxed by the jargon, as with the 'bomb detector' the chances are the customer has been had

Regulation of NHS Foundation Trusts is vital

It would be wrong to say that because sometimes serious issues emerge, problems are not being detected

Chinese big spenders coming to London

The country's newly affluent young shoppers are rivalling Russian and Middle-Eastern tourists for their buying power

Navy 'could not rescue yacht hostage couple'

The First Sea Lord fires a broadside at 'emotional' critics who branded sailors as cowards for not foiling pirate kidnap

Downing Street outmanoeuvred in Brussels

The City could face more regulation after France took the internal market and financial services job in the EU Commission