UK News: Miliband hits AV poll campaign trail

CHANGING the voting system will benefit Britain's "progressive majority", Ed Miliband was set to say today as he campaigned alongside senior Lib Dems for a "yes" vote in the May 5 referendum.

The Labour leader was to share the stage with ex-Lib Dem leader Charles Kennedy and Green MP Caroline Lucas.

New rules for train firms

NEW powers to ensure train companies provide proper information to passengers were proposed today by rail regulators.

Companies not complying with the new obligations could face fines, said the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR), which laid down the proposals today.

Roads left to crumble as spending cuts bite

SPENDING cutbacks and the harsh early-winter weather have led to a decline in road conditions, according to an RAC survey.

Councils have been forced to undertake short-term repairs rather than fund permanent solutions, the RAC said.

Half of the 20 UK councils questioned said they had not yet completed repairs resulting from the bad weather of winter 2009-10.

Eleven of the councils reported that their roads were in a poor or mixed condition.

Royal wedding stamps

ROYAL Mail is celebrating Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding with a new set of stamps.

The stamps will feature William and Kate's official engagement portraits by photographer Mario Testino.

His casual picture of the couple will go on a first-class stamp, with the more formal image on a 1.10 stamp.

They will be released on the Queen's birthday, April 21.

Let's reclaim our streets

COMMUNITIES champion Baroness Newlove has called on members of the public to "reclaim their streets" in the fight against yobs.

The widow of murdered father-of-three Garry Newlove said she wanted people to be given more power on their own streets.

PORTSMOUTH: The Royal Navy's former flagship HMS Ark Royal has been put up for sale on the Ministry of Defence's auction website. Just two weeks after the aircraft carrier was decommissioned at its home port of Portsmouth Naval Base, Hampshire, the Ark Royal has been advertised on the edisposals.com website.

LONDON: A coffin was to be paraded outside the Houses of Parliament today to symbolise the "death" of the NHS as part of a union protest against the UK Government's health reforms. Unite has collected thousands of signatures against the Health and Social Welfare Bill.