Louisa Clarence-Smith
@LouisaClarence
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US business editor @TheTimes | [email protected]
Joined May 2012
💥 Rishi Sunak is considering launching an urgent review of “age-inappropriate” sex education materials in schools. He is said to be alarmed about RSE content in classrooms and was handed a 130-page dossier of case studies by MPs this week .
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I've started @Telegraph as education editor. Got a story about schools, universities, or further education? .Get in touch: louisa.clarence-smith@telegraph.co.uk.
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More concerning activity by PayPal . It has shut down the account of parents’ group @UsforThemUK which campaigned to keep schools open during pandemic, citing “the nature of its activities”.
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🎉🎉 Very excited to have been appointed Education Editor @Telegraph. Sad to be leaving to the business beat and my wonderful colleagues @thetimes but this could not be a a bigger moment for schools, families, and children. Starting at the end of June.
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Exclusive: A civil servant was sacked after blowing the whistle on political activism in Whitehall, including the exclusion of white men from a jobseekers' event. She has now been awarded a £100,000 payout from the Government .
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Exclusive: Banks face losing their licence if they discriminate against customers based on political beliefs under plans being drawn up by the Government.
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Victory for campaigners led by @UsforThemUK as government confirms the Covid-19 inquiry will examine the impact of lockdowns on children and their education .
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So thrilled to be returning to The Times later this month as US business editor, based in New York. Can’t wait to work with the talented US and business teams led by @katdavies and @fletcherr . ✉️Get in touch securely with tips and invites: louisaclarence@proton.me.
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Exclusive: White pupils have been excluded from extra weekend literacy classes at schools in north London. It comes as a report by @DontDivideUsNow claims that schools have been infiltrated by groups teaching contested critical race theory as fact .
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In 2015, senior Conservatives including Boris Johnson promised to regenerate Ramsgate and make it the “beating heart of Kent’s tourist economy”. Six years on it has more than 30 empty shops in and around its High Street
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Exclusive: A woman has described being “violently assaulted” at the Midland hotel bar at the Conservative Party conference last night. Clementine Cowton said she wanted to highlight how "women are often unsafe in places where other people feel safe".
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Shares in Grenfell building materials companies Kingspan and Saint Gobain down almost 7% and 5% on Gove threat to ban the sale of their products in the UK if they don’t commit to funding remediation works now
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Robert Jenrick last week, says Treasury blocked attempts for bigger cladding fund. Rishi Sunak today, questioned about funds for cladding removal: “We’re straying into area that is not my portfolio responsibility” @CommonsTreasury.
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Breaking: Gillian Keegan announces independent panel of big-hitters to lead sex education review . They include Alasdair Henderson, the barrister behind the report on anti-Semitism in the Labour Party
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Chuffed to win this with the talented @_MODwyer! 🥳🥂.
In the Young Journalist of the Year category @LouisaClarence was a co-winner, standing out for her strong writing on the property sector.
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Excl: Education Secretary Kit Malthouse suggested people who went to comprehensives were poorly educated in a letter to his student newspaper. In the 1988 letter, he also writes Labour MPs are "in the main thick”, whereas Tory MPs are “highly educated”.
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The housing secretary is facing calls for an inquiry into his decision unlawfully to approve the property development of a billionaire who once donated to the Conservative Party, with @billykenber
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Intrigued by this new signature branding appearing on the chancellor’s announcements. Is an embossed polo shirt collection in the works for summer? Rishi, by Rishi Sunak
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What happens when a school allows a boy to join reception as a girl and keeps his sex a secret for years?. The inside story of how one CofE school’s policy left a group of 7 year old girls traumatised. With @AllisonPearson
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NEW: Rory Stewart has emerged as a contender to be Oxford’s next chancellor. With @DominicPenna
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This is what a socially distanced canteen looks like at an Inland Homes construction site in Kent. Bleak.
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Great to be in the running with some esteemed nominees for this award 🥳.
In the Young Journalist of the year category, @olivertelling , @CallumBurroughs , @ceostroff , @LouisaClarence and @_MODwyer were shortlisted.
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Exclusive: A group of US congressmen has written to President Biden to demand security vetting for UK investments in US companies if the British government fails to intervene in the Chinese takeover of a microchip plant in Wales.
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It’s all kicking off between housebuilders and @michaelgove . Persimmon’s boss says the housing secretary’s demands over funding for cladding repairs are illegal after taking advice from a top QC @aliosborne20 @tomhtimes .
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The impact of the cladding crisis on residential investment was not considered as a factor in OBR's residential investment forecasts, admits OBR's Sir Charlie Bean, following question from @Siobhain_Mc @CommonsTreasury.
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Breaking: A prayer ban imposed at Katharine Birbalsingh’s Michaela Community School is lawful, a High Court judge has ruled.
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Colleagues, rival developers and Times readers pay tribute to Tony Pidgley, the Barnardo’s boy who built one of Britain’s most successful companies
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A woman is running one of Britain’s major property agents for the first time. Can Stephanie Hyde change the culture and lead JLL to overtake CBRE?. First interview in @TimesBusiness .
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Jenrick says Richard Desmond’s Westferry project would have provided “hundreds of affordable homes” and “there was no bias” in his decision. It offered 21% affordable (282 out of 1,524) which is well below the 35% affordable policy target for big schemes in London.
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Positive news from Taylor Wimpey and Vistry Group this morning. Both housebuilders have announced plans to re-start construction in the next 3 weeks after reviewing safety on sites.
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The housing secretary has accepted he showed “apparent bias” when he gave the green light for Richard Desmond's Westferry Printworks, just in time for the billionaire to avoid an estimated £40m bill for local infrastructure works
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Reassuring to be reminded that no matter what uncertainty we face, the characters in Eastenders never change
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Teachers are surveying pupils over gender confusion and punishing them for using the wrong pronouns, parents have claimed.
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Exclusive: Gillian Keegan will present herself as the heir to Margaret Thatcher in a speech today amid speculation of a future leadership bid
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Big property splash in @thetimes today! Persimmon faces potential loss of Help to Buy contract
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Exclusive: Oxford University and Legal & General have formed a partnership to build thousands of homes for staff and graduates as well as science and technology hubs
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Is @MKA_UK the most prolific fundraising group in the UK? http://t.co/TH2EsclHpc
http://t.co/NinLeuVxKr.
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Brilliant letter from Timpson boss @JamesTCobbler in @thetimes today on KPMG’s introduction of a target for the number of working class staff.
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🚨Labour plans to appeal to working parents in Tory strongholds by lifting restrictions on new state nursery schools . Interview with @bphillipsonMP on how the UK could create an Estonian-style childcare system
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Chuffed to have made this list .- Alongside some far more accomplished women in property!.
💥Our 2020 list of influential women in #planning, #property, and the built environment is now LIVE and available to view on our website #EachforEqual #IWD2020💥
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NEW: The housing market will remain open during the new lockdown in England. People can still move home and should follow the current guidance, @mhclg has confirmed
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Big news from Taylor Wimpey. Says it will close all construction sites, despite gov saying they can still operate. Will others follow?
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Remarkable how much damage is being done to the government and the Public Health message to protect Dominic Cummings. What makes No 10 think it can’t function without him? And why isn’t he trying to protect the PM by taking the fall?.
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Exclusive: The property industry is facing an audit-style shake-up by its regulator after scrutiny of potential conflicts of interest at the biggest advisory firms
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First interview with Kenta Konishi, the UK chief executive of Japan’s biggest housebuilder, which plans to build thousands of modular homes around the country
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Parents are being kept in the dark when their child changes gender identity at nearly half of schools, @Policy_Exchange study finds. Downing Street is under pressure from MPs and peers to intervene
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💥A major row has broken out within the Government over plans to let children change their gender in school if parents give their consent. Gillian Keegan is facing a backlash from Tory MPs and figures in Downing St and the Equalities Office over the plans.
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A lot of commentators saying 9 out of 10 NEU teachers voted to strike in ballot results disclosed yesterday. That's not right. Less than half - 48% - of all NEU teachers in England voted to strike. On a turnout of 53%, 90% of those who voted said "yes" to a strike.
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Legal & General has formed a new company with @Bruntwood_UK to create a £1.8bn network of science & tech centres across UK regional cities
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NEW: A £1.4 billion skyscraper is to be built in the City of London after the project received financial backing from one of Britain’s biggest investment funds
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Further evidence that Michael Gove is likely to go after building materials firms after the Grenfell inquiry ends. Yet Kingspan's shares continue to be unaffected - up 1% today and 62% this year.
Deeply disappointed that @MercedesAMGF1 are accepting sponsorship from cladding firm Kingspan while the Grenfell Inquiry is ongoing. I will be writing to Mercedes to ask them to reconsider. The Grenfell community deserves better.
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Exclusive: The Australian trade minister is flying to the UK next week in an attempt to break the deadlock over a multibillion-pound post-Brexit trade deal
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Michael Gove has privately said he is happy to be “taking on dukes and developers” who have made fortunes out of the feudal leasehold system, via @oliver_wright . Property lawyers say plans amount to a redistribution of wealth in England .
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Persimmon's boss yesterday refused to tell me whether the housebuilder had paid to take over its biggest complaints group on Facebook, in what would have breached the site's rules
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Only two months ago, Emma Pattison, the first female head of Epsom College, was telling pupils how excited she was about the year ahead. “There is so much to come,” she told pupils on the school’s podcast. Her former schools have paid tribute today.
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Exclusive: A Chinese property developer has threatened to withhold further investment in the £1.7bn Royal Albert Docks project until there is certainty around the outcome of Brexit.
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Help to Buy has helped a lot of people get on the housing ladder. But it has not helped deliver lots of high quality homes, with all the focus on supporting that eye-watering 30% profit margin.
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Robert Jenrick says the decision to recover an appeal on the Sandown Park Racecourse development was “taken by officials” and “no minister had any knowledge” of it.That’s not what the planning inspectorate said in a letter to Elmbridge Borough Council
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💥Taylor Wimpey says it will return taxpayers money it accepted via the furlough scheme given the resilience of the housing market. Will other big builders follow?
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Scoop: Jeff Fairburn, the ousted boss of Persimmon, has joined forces with US hedge fund Elliott Advisors to buy one of Britain’s biggest private housebuilders .
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Sarah Snook speaks to @Telegraph after winning best actress in a play @OlivierAwards . *clip from my night moonlighting as a show biz reporter
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Laing O'Rourke, the construction company behind many of the UK's biggest infrastructure projects, says a "no deal" Brexit would have a minimal impact on present projects
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💥Teachers’ workloads could be slashed in a bid to halt strikes, under plans being drawn up by the Education Secretary. “We want to reduce bureaucracy which is an issue for teachers,” a Whitehall source said.
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Sekisui’s view of the U.K. new-build housing market: “The UK is one of the leading countries for design and architecture, so when took a look we were a bit surprised because we see many things are advanced in this country but housing was quite left over, in a sense.”.
First interview with Kenta Konishi, the UK chief executive of Japan’s biggest housebuilder, which plans to build thousands of modular homes around the country
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Scoop: Sir George Iacobescu, the driving force behind Canary Wharf, is stepping back from his role as executive chairman next month
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Quite enjoying this reader's joke in response to our Hammerson story this morning.
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Exclusive: Middle-class parents should encourage their children to do apprenticeships instead of going to university, says @JohnGlenUK . Apprenticeships can offer a better “return on investment” for teenagers than university degrees, he told The Telegraph.
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💥Scoop with @KGriffithsTimes . Thousands of young people will get their first step on the housing ladder under a new mortgage guarantee scheme due to be announced in the Budget.
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Exclusive: Apple has agreed a deal to take a chunk of office space at the City of London's new skyscraper
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Epsom College has appointed a new headteacher who has vowed to honour the legacy of Emma Pattison following her suspected murder.
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Exclusive: Housebuilders have been warned they could be stripped of their right to sell Help to Buy homes if they use advertising to make buyers feel time pressured to complete purchases before the current scheme ends next year
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Children “deserve an apology” from the Government over the policy strategy exposed by Whatsapp leaks, a leading academy boss has said . Failings exposed in @Telegraph have “been hugely detrimental to the lives of hundreds of thousands of young people.”.
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Exclusive: KPMG has become the first big business in Britain to set a target for the number of working-class staff. It is aiming for 29 per cent of its partners and directors to come from the social group by 2030.
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💥Exclusive: Derek Hatton has been arrested alongside Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson as part of a corruption probe into property deals @thejohnsimpson @char_wace @patrickkmaguire.
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Exclusive in tomorrow’s @TimesBusiness: Persimmon’s ousted £76m bonus chief executive Jeff Fairburn has resurfaced at another Yorkshire housebuilder
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💥Inside the ‘Wild West’ of Relationships and Sex Education lessons in Britain’s schools . Parents and MPs warn of explicit age-inappropriate content and contested gender ideologies taught as fact . How did we get here? 👇.
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Hedge fund boss Ken Griffin says he will no longer donate to Harvard. The elite college is producing “whiny snowflakes” he says .
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NEW: Threat level raised for a headteachers strike. @ASCL_UK's indicative ballot has shown a majority in favour of proceeding to a formal ballot. 61% of eligible members voted in total, with 64% of these in favour of moving to a formal ballot on strike action.
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Exclusive: The government is looking at introducing a new "levelling up" planning formula that would result in more development in the north of England and the Midlands and fewer new homes in Tory shire constituencies.
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Boris declares he is a "sceptic" about predictions the pandemic will lead to a "massive change" in urban life. But lots of city centre businesses tonight will be worrying about how they can survive if office workers don't return before the summer.
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Persimmon, Britain's biggest housebuilder by market value, has been selling almost 50% more homes per week since the start of July than it sold last year. On the back of the rebound, it will pay an interim dividend of 40p per share.
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Savills is now predicting that UK house prices won't fall at all during the crisis. but will grow by 20.4% by 2024, which would be really quite remarkable, and not ideal for aspiring homeowners
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A culture of mistrust between retailers and landlords, as well as increased scrutiny on property valuations and outdated tenant risk ratings, is stoking a “perfect storm” for retail landlords
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Exclusive: State school pupils are more likely to get into the University of Cambridge than their private school counterparts for the first time . with @bienbutcher .
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NEW: The Department for Education says it is "urgently investigating" reports that UK students are being asked to meet higher entry standards than international students. Ministers have held discussions with the university sector this afternoon.
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Clive Betts, chairman of the housing select committee, told The Times he wants to explore whether the tax on the building industry to pay for cladding “goes far enough”. Redrow's John Tutte said the proposed tax was not “a massive amount”
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Exclusive: Google is expanding its London office footprint in a demonstration of its commitment to the city and the future of office-working
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Persimmon has joined Barratt and Taylor Wimpey in shutting down its construction sites. Britain's three biggest builders, which accounted for nearly 50,000 of the country's new homes last year.
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NEW: Universities are considering offering fewer places to British students amid the threat of financial collapse
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Canary Wharf during the 9am "rush hour" this morning.
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One of the country’s biggest property investment families has called the bottom of the shopping centre slump with commitment to invest in neglected regional town centres
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Universities must “come clean” about the amount of online learning they are delivering, academics and leading figures in education policy have warned. Hundreds of thousands of students could be “unknowingly” signing up for courses unaware of how many hours will be taught online
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Big anti-Fascist protest marches through London Bridge - 'Europe we are with you'
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Persimmon’s latest ploy to recover its reputation - destroy years’ of public complaints by taking over the biggest customer complaints group about its homes on Facebook
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L&G’s Nigel Wilson warns government that “history will judge us very unkindly” if we don’t take this opportunity when rates are so low to invest in areas such as climate change solutions, mid-size infrastructure projects and retrofitting housing .
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The construction of new office buildings in London is at its highest level since the EU Referendum, @DeloitteUK_RE crane survey finds
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