£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

Little Dancer points to Degas sculpture hoard

Experts are divided over the authenticity of 74 plaster sculptures that have been attributed to the Impressionist artist

Cutbacks 'create dying and divided church’

Worshippers in Littlebourne in Kent are angry that their rector will not be replaced, despite their fundraising efforts

UKIP hunter-in-chief goes for Tory jugular

Lord Pearson of Rannoch says he wants to defend Britishness and act as the conscience of the Conservative party he quit

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

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

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

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

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

A less than explosive demonstration

The ADE651 'bomb detector', which is used in Baghdad, appears to be over-sensitive and cannot reliably detect explosives

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

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

Dubai crisis could benefit Britain

The problems in the United Arab Emirates have highlighted that the emerging markets are, by definition, risky investments

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

Traders hope for festive shopping lift-off

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

Pinewood expansion battle rages on the green

The studio wants to expand on green-belt land that it owns, but residents are opposing the move using a 19th century law

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