Sir Keir Starmer and Tory leader Kemi Badenoch are desperately trying to work out how to fight back against the dramatic surge in support for Reform UK in Thursday’s string of English elections dismantling a huge Labour majority to win Runcorn and Helsby by just 6 votes Nigel Farage’s party gained its first elected mayors – among them Andrea Jenkyns in Greater Lincolnshire and Luke Campbell in Hull and East Yorkshire Labour lost Cambridgeshire and Peterborough to the Conservatives but kept hold of the West of England down 635 which is an astonishing 67% of their councillors Book tickets to domestic & international cricket at Utilita Bowl or secure a Membership and join the Hampshire Cricket family Hampshire Cricket Membership Hampshire Women's Season Ticket Hampshire Hawks Tickets Hampshire Hawks Hospitality Vitality Blast Passport County Championship Tickets County Championship Hospitality Men's One Day Cup Tickets Women's One Day Cup Tickets One Day Cup Hospitality Women's Metro Bank One Day Cup Final Tickets England Tickets England Hospitality The Hundred Hospitality Pitch-Facing Hotel Bedrooms Book tickets to the various music and other events hosted at Utilita Bowl Visit Hampshire Cricket and Utilita Bowl's online store to get your hands on official replica and supporter kit as well as a range of other merchandise Online Store Hampshire Cricket Replica Hampshire Cricket Training Kit overnight spa break or take out a membership at eforea spa Book Now Book a table at BEEFY’S – be it for an intimate dinner a family gathering over a Sunday roast or a treat for a loved one on a special occasion Book A Table Festive Gatherings Utilita Bowl's 18-hole parkland golf course Book A Round Book a stay at Hilton Southampton – Utilita Bowl Book A Room Event & Matchday Stays Christmas Make the most of special offers currently available around Utilita Bowl Early Bird Vitality Blast Passport Early Bird Vitality Blast Tickets Hampshire Men take on Durham at Utilita Bowl in the 2025 Rothesay County Championship - you can follow the action as it unfolds via the live stream below Watch highlights of each day of Hampshire Men's Rothesay County Championship match against Durham at Utilita Bowl Read the match report & hear reaction from Hampshire Men's Rothesay County Championship match against Durham at Utilita Bowl All-rounder Daisy Mullan signs for Hampshire to complete the 2025 women’s squad 023 8047 2002 enquiries@utilitabowl.com 023 8047 2002 (Opt 2) tickets@utilitabowl.com 023 8047 5619 hospitality@utilitabowl.com sponsorship@utilitabowl.com 023 8047 5603 coaching@utilitabowl.com  023 8047 5638 wesley.spearman@utilitabowl.com We stand against discrimination in all its forms and are committed to ensuring that cricket is a game for everyone. 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Sign Up COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP DIVISION ONE ROUNDUP: A seventh-wicket partnership worth 133 between centurion James Rew and Craig Overton sees Somerset clinch their first Division One victory of the campaign in unlikely circumstances Southampton (day four of four): Durham 511 & 61-0, Hampshire 470 - match drawn Ben Brown reached his third-highest County Championship score as Hampshire and Durham's clash inevitably ended in a draw as Matthew Potts and Codi Yusuf shared seven wickets to bowl Hampshire out with a deficit of 41 Alex Lees and Emilio Gay put on 61 around frequent rain breaks before hands were shaken on the assured the result at 3.50pm - only 20 wickets have fallen across four days Hampshire remain unbeaten and move up to fifth while Durham are three points behind them in the table with 13 points received from the draw and bonus points Related: Somerset receive much-needed boost as club confirm Matt Henry's arrival date Related: England and Essex face anxious wait over Jordan Cox's side injury Matthew Potts finished with 4 for 84 Stu Forster/Getty Images) Taunton (day four of four): Essex 206 & 259, Somerset 145 & 325-7 - Somerset won by three wickets James Rew's 10th first-class century guided Somerset to an unlikely first County Championship victory of the season a three-wicket success against Essex at the Cooper Associates Ground Having been 78 for 5 at one stage in their second innings the home side began the final day on 216 for 6 But Rew took his score from 65 to a superb 116 sharing a seventh-wicket stand of 133 with Craig Overton Overton ended the game 25 minutes before lunch with a straight six off Simon Harmer which took him to a 111-ball half-century notable for unbroken concentration and application in a pressure situation Essex had let things slip with some wayward bowling the previous evening and their bowlers found scant assistance in a last-day pitch that had aided seam and spin considerably in the previous sessions while Somerset claimed a welcome 19 after a disappointing start to the campaign Derbyshire Durham Essex Glamorgan Gloucestershire Hampshire Kent Lancashire Leicestershire Middlesex Northants Nottinghamshire Somerset Surrey Sussex Warwickshire Worcestershire Yorkshire Home Fixtures Results Tables Averages Home Fixtures Results Table Averages Fixtures Tables Averages Welcome to www.thecricketer.com - the online home of the world’s oldest cricket magazine opinion and cricket goodness from every corner of our beautiful sport Visit County Durham (VCD) is the destination management organisation for County Durham and one of a portfolio of nationally supported and high-performing accredited Local Visitor Economy Partnerships We provide strong local leadership and governance and development of County Durham as a great place to live Visit County Durham works in partnership locally and nationally on shared priorities and targets Our mission is to support and grow the visitor economy through robust destination management strong stakeholder relationships and clear planning Our vision is to create the conditions for our residents and the environment to benefit from sustainable growth in our visitor economy By supporting and marketing our distinctive heritage we will grow both day and overnight visits and make County Durham a compelling Tourism contributed £1.23 billion to Durham’s economy Durham' aims to inspire those who have travelled through the county by rail or road From attractions and accommodation providers to places to eat Visit County Durham Partnership brings benefits through promoting and developing any type or size of business The online media centre is free to use and allows you to access key photography and videography from across the county All of which showcases the county’s many amazing attractions Visit County Durham work with a number of Supplier Partner’s who offer services which are directly relevant to tourism businesses 02 May 2025 By Reform has taken control of Durham CC in a shock victory The council had been under no overall control with Labour as the largest party but the administration formed by a coalition involving the Conservatives following yesterday’s election Reform now hold 53 of the 98 seats Labour has lost 28 seats while the Conservatives are down 15 and Independents down 11 Sign in or Register a new account to join the discussion Today's election results will be felt by the whole local government network,… At least five Conservative county leaders lost their seats as the party… Reform has won its second metro mayor contest Cross-party talks are due to be held in Northumberland as the county… More Sponsor Insight Liverpool City Region Combined Authority You have reached ESPN's UK edition. Stay on current site or go to US version Dawson 5-158) and 61 for 0 drew with Hampshire 470 (Brown 162 Ben Brown reached his third-highest Rothesay County Championship score as Hampshire and Durham's clash inevitably ended in a draw Brown ended up on 162, three shy of his first-class best, as Matthew Potts and Codi Yusuf shared seven wickets to bowl Hampshire out with a deficit of 41. Alex Lees and Emilio Gay put on 61 around frequent rain breaks before hands were shaken on the assured the result at 15:50 BST - only 20 wickets have fallen across four days. Hampshire remain unbeaten, and move up to fifth having taken 12 points from the fixture, while Durham are three points of them in the table, with 13 points received from the draw and bonus points. Any chance of the match not meandering towards a certain draw was a day of quick scoring and quick wickets. Kyle Abbott only faced one ball, as he watched his off stump get catapulted by one that kept low from Potts - who was named in the England Test squad to face Zimbabwe. Ben Brown had gone in at 143 overnight, but his final day aim seemed solely to be keeping Durham in the field as long as possible, with Brad Wheal equally happy to play along. Brown reached 150 for the seventh time of his career in 257 balls but failed to score a single boundary in the 34 balls he faced on day four. Wheal did strike two fours - well connecting with a pull and cover drive - but time in the middle was a more important factor to Hampshire's approach than the runs scored. South African loanee Yusuf earned the rewards for Durham's 155 over toil as he suddenly found some extravagant in-swing to extract Brown for 162. The fast bowler then pinned Sonny Baker to end up with three for 83, with wholehearted Potts returning four for 84 in his 29 overs. Hampshire were bowled out for 470, with an irrelevant first-innings deficit of 41. The use of the heavy roller between innings made sure that the occasional moments of lower bounce would not be a problem in the third innings. Spinner Liam Dawson opened the bowling with Kyle Abbott in a nine over stint before lunch. Abbott bowled three maidens from his four overs, demonstrating both his accuracy and Alex Lees and Emilio Gay's resolution to keep their wickets. Three overs have been lost in a 15 minute delay before lunch and bad light and more rain after the interval killed an hour - and lobbed another 11 overs - before the inevitable shaking of hands. Off spinners Felix Organ and Tom Prest took over the bowling as things turned into a glorified net session for Lees and Gay, before another rain break kyboshed the action - with Durham unbeaten against Hampshire since 2015. Rain brings early end at Utilita Bowl after Ben Brown's 162Durham finish with no loss in second innings as bat dominates contest Ben Brown century puts Hampshire safe in impending stalemateHampshire captain gets first century in new role to guide team's rearguard Graham Clark picks up where he left off to take Durham past 500After resuming on 110, he reached 160 before Hampshire closed still 399 runs behind Graham Clark century puts Durham in chargeRescuing visitors from 82 for 4 Clark shares stands of 124 with Ollie Robinson and an unbroken 124 with George Drissell Up to £100 in Bet Credits for new customers at bet365. Min deposit £5 and 1x settled bet requirement to release Bet Credits. Min odds, bet and payment method exclusions apply. Returns exclude Bet Credits stake. Time limits and T&Cs apply. More Details Ben Brown reached his third-highest Rothesay County Championship score as Hampshire and Durham's clash inevitably ended in a draw Brown ended up on 162, three shy of his first-class best, as Matthew Potts and Codi Yusuf shared seven wickets to bowl Hampshire out with a deficit of 41 Alex Lees and Emilio Gay put on 61 around frequent rain breaks before hands were shaken on the assured the result at 15:50 BST - only 20 wickets have fallen across four days and move up to fifth having taken 12 points from the fixture while Durham are three points of them in the table Any chance of the match not meandering towards a certain draw was a day of quick scoring and quick wickets as he watched his off stump get catapulted by one that kept low from Potts - who was named in the England Test squad to face Zimbabwe but his final day aim seemed solely to be keeping Durham in the field as long as possible with Brad Wheal equally happy to play along Brown reached 150 for the seventh time of his career in 257 balls but failed to score a single boundary in the 34 balls he faced on day four Wheal did strike two fours - well connecting with a pull and cover drive - but time in the middle was a more important factor to Hampshire's approach than the runs scored South African loanee Yusuf earned the rewards for Durham's 155 over toil as he suddenly found some extravagant in-swing to extract Brown for 162 The fast bowler then pinned Sonny Baker to end up with three for 83 with wholehearted Potts returning four for 84 in his 29 overs with an irrelevant first-innings deficit of 41 The use of the heavy roller between innings made sure that the occasional moments of lower bounce would not be a problem in the third innings Spinner Liam Dawson opened the bowling with Kyle Abbott in a nine over stint before lunch Abbott bowled three maidens from his four overs demonstrating both his accuracy and Alex Lees and Emilio Gay's resolution to keep their wickets Three overs have been lost in a 15 minute delay before lunch and bad light and more rain after the interval killed an hour - and lobbed another 11 overs - before the inevitable shaking of hands Off spinners Felix Organ and Tom Prest took over the bowling as things turned into a glorified net session for Lees and Gay before another rain break kyboshed the action - with Durham unbeaten against Hampshire since 2015 the right-wing political party led by Nigel Farage has gained control of the Durham County Council Reform UK secured 65 councillors out of a possible 98 with many gains coming from previously Labour when 20 of 23 councils have been announced which is more than double the Conservative result Durham County Council last had an election in 2021 after which a coalition was formed by the Conservatives The Liberal Democrats were able to retain support earning one more councillor at the elections Among the Reform councillors elected is Darren Grimes He reacted to his election by saying “I gave up a job in telly land to stand here and do this.” “I’m obviously personally delighted but I’m also really humbled by the number of people who put their trust and faith in us to deliver for them.” He also said if Reform UK won the council election they would “get the auditors in” to ensure money wasn’t being wasted Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Durham University Rugby Club (DURFC) is one of the oldest and most successful university rugby clubs in the UK Durham University Rugby Club (DURFC) and Durham University Women's Rugby Club (DUWRFC) and with the support of Campus Living Villages invite you to a day of rugby on Saturday 3 May "To celebrate the 150th year of rugby at Durham University the club is both honoured and proud to become only the 5th university team to take on the world famous Barbarians where it all began for the renowned wearers of the black and white shirt (the first game ever was against Hartlepool Rovers in 1890) don't panic - our award-winning student TV station The second episode of the newly-launched Talking Team Durham podcast features a conversation with our current Head and Assistant Coaches (and Durham alumni) Si Culley and Rob Vickers Listen in as they chat to hosts Dave Coldwell (our Head of Sport and Physical Activity) and Peter Warburton OBE (our former Director of Sport) about the Rugby Club's 150th Anniversary The Racecourse Rugby Scholarship provides support for incoming undergraduates looking to combine rugby as a University level sport with further education at Durham The Scholarship has been gifted by University rugby club alumni who wish to provide the same opportunities they were afforded A large number of our alumni have gone on to become famous international players Familiar names include former England captains Peter Dixon and England World Cup Winner Will Greenwood Doncaster Knights rugby teamHighlights from the 2020-21 season He also captained England Students to victory over their French counterparts Fred will be playing for the Barbarians on Saturday 3 May 2025 Winning the BUCS Super Rugby League in 2021.DURFC reflect on winning the BUCS Super Rugby League and creating University history Durham University Rugby Club in images through the years With roots dating back to the foundations of the University DURFC's past is illustrious and long-standing.  From origins as one of the strongest senior sides DURFC-linked teams dominated the rugby landscape in the North East of England in the 1900s The importance of rugby and sport in general as a unifying element of society was recognised early on with The Northerner (student newspaper in the 1900s) remarking: it is imperative that men turn out and yell for all they are worth we do not see why the colleges should be open at all on these important days." the Alumni Society provides a community to maintain the relationships and camaraderie experienced by former DURFC players They also support the rugby club's vision to maintain its position amongst the elite rugby universities in the UK The Palatine CentreDurham UniversityStockton RoadDurham DH1 3LE There is no stopping our Northern Lights A Cappella vocal group They recently returned to the UK after a triumphant performance at the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (the ICCA) finals on Broadway The 15-strong ensemble were the only UK representatives in the finals and faced competition from nine other top A Cappella groups from across Canada and the USA.  This is the first time a mixed UK A Cappella group has ever placed on the podium at these internationally recognised awards The group were praised for their tight vocals and impressive choreography which was arranged entirely in-house by the group’s Musical Director included performances of ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’ from ‘The Wizard of Oz’ ‘Golden Slumbers’ by the Beatles and an electric closer with ‘Night Fever’ by the Bee Gees Multi-award winning Northern Lights A Cappella is in its 12th year as a student-led North East of England based mixed vocal ensemble Fourteen singers and a beatboxer perform a wide range of genres from mainstream pop to musical theatre ballads weaving their unique musical arrangements and choreography into each song from headlining sell-out shows at Durham’s Gala Theatre The group arrange all their own music in close collaboration with previous alumni generations many of whom provide regular mentorship and support their performances in the UK and the USA the mining heartland of the UK and a traditional working class county Yet despite its rich history with the reds being the first of England’s county councils to be controlled by Labour – with the party retaining that control for over a century – Nigel Farage’s Reform party is making gains Now it transpires that ex-GB News presenter Darren Grimes has won a council seat in Durham – receiving a staggering 49.7 per cent of the vote Grimes won the Annfield Plain ward in County Durham this afternoon as Farage’s party continues to pick up council seats across the country Reform’s campaign claimed that ‘Durham was broken’ and sought to take advantage of growing disillusionment with Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour lot You could put a donkey with a red rosette on it at one point and it would win Already a subscriber? Log in Steerpike is The Spectator's gossip columnist serving up the latest tittle tattle from Westminster and beyond Email tips to steerpike@spectator.co.uk or message @MrSteerpike Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for £3 Already a subscriber? Log in social housing provider Karbon Homes joined forces with Unite Club and The HUB Consett to run a free fully inclusive programme throughout the two-week school break movies and more.The sessions were hosted by a team of people specialising in supporting ND/SEND children and includes support sessions for parents/carers.Michael and Lynn brought their granddaughter to all the SEND sessions over the Easter break: “These SEND sessions are absolutely ideal and our granddaughter has really been able to be herself relaxed environment and the team running the activities understand the children’s needs and support them which is brilliant.“We’ve never done anything like this before but we would recommend it to other parents and carers with ND or SEND children We don’t get many opportunities to look after our own wellbeing but here we’ve felt supported Our granddaughter is happy and more confident which means we can relax and feel happy too.” Karbon Homes has been running Holiday Squad since 2021 offering a range of free activities for children of primary school age The provision is supported by Durham County Council’s Fun and Food County Durham and the sessions come with a free meal.Feedback from parents on previous Holiday Squad sessions highlighted a gap in the provision of fully inclusive sessions which led to the development of this year’s programme.Paul Moralee Karbon Homes’ Community Investment Manager “While our early Holiday Squad activities were aimed at being SEND friendly feedback told us that they didn’t always fully cater to some SEND children’s needs We noticed higher no-show rates amongst SEND children.“We did a lot of work speaking to parents and practitioners to find out what activities they would like to see and what the sessions would look like and calling parents to discuss the activities.“We’ve now partnered with Unite Club The HUB and Fun and Food County Durham to make these SEND activities a reality and we’re excited to see both children and parents enjoy them.” Unite Club is an inclusive project offering families an autistic/ADHD advocate based in Northumberland “My passion is creating inclusive spaces and supporting the community to embrace and understand neurodivergence.“Being able to work with Karbon Homes The HUB and Durham County Council to help bring fun SEND friendly activities to even more families is fantastic I hope this is just the beginning of more activities like this in the North East and beyond.” The HUB Consett is a café and a shop owned and operated by Celebrate Difference – a social enterprise set up to support neurodivergent people in business “We’re thrilled to be hosting these SEND friendly activities with Unite and Karbon It can be hard to find activities that support SEND children and often they can be left feeling excluded Having these Holiday Squad events lets them meet new people and have loads of fun in a way that feels comfortable It also gives parents the reassurance that their children are in safe hands.” The SEND friendly Holiday Squad sessions are funded by Karbon Homes and Durham County Council’s Fun and Food County Durham through the Department for Education’s Holiday Activities Fund Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" Tell Your Story Advertise in Print Advertise Online A Newcastle University study on a farm in Northumberland reveals some answers 5 min UNDO is a company who want to do just what the name suggests; undo the high emissions scenario we have in Earth’s atmosphere Too much carbon dioxide (Co2) is contributing to extreme weather and soil degradation UNDO write on their website: “We’re harnessing the power of nature for a greener future Our mission is to permanently remove over a billion tonnes of CO2 and make carbon removal accessible to all.” UNDO was founded by a former student of Durham University He has now won an Xprize competition for the UNDO's work thanks to a collaboration with Newcastle University This will provide funding of $5 million from the international prize to scale up The university led a study which exposed how impactful basalt rock was in helping with plant stress last year - a bad year for UK arable farming yields The results at Nafferton Farm in Northumberland showed an increase of crop yields by over 20% UNDO does not use a complex artificial technology for their approach It is based on a quite simple process that occurs in nature This is the geological process of rock weathering - which is responsible for removing 1 billion tonnes of CO2 each year “It takes carbon dioxide from the biological cycle to the geological cycle and this is what we are excited about” Jennifer Brodie said who is UNDO’s Agriculture Business Development Manager for Northern Scotland When rain falls and reacts with rock of particular mineral compositions carbonic acid is formed which integrates Co2 This results in the Co2 mineralising (becoming solid) and becoming stored safely below the ground Crushed rocks high in silica content help to accelerate this process Basalt - a type of volcanic rock shows particular promise Basalt is one of the most abundant rock types on the Earth Basalt can be taken form existing quarries meaning there is no extra energy being used to source it allowing Co2 to be captured 50 times faster than it would naturally While this sounds quite straight forward and natural the question is - what is so special about UNDO’s approach While it is true the geological process has happened naturally for millions of years to not only help farmers achieve better yield while also improving the soil health of their lands as the basalt locks in more trace elements The weathered rock even helps with crop yield More is needed to fight climate change than just switching to alternative fuel sources Carbon needs to be taken out of the atmosphere but some are easier to scale up than others Solutions that are natural might end up being lower-cost to get started with especially when they benefit more than one sector UNDO is not just helping institutions meet net zero targets who have dealt with some of the worst impacts of climate change on their yield and livelihoods in recent years Carbon capture company wins $5m to scale up. BBC UNDO official website The ad-free version is ready for purchase on iOS mobile app today we couldn't find that page";var n=e.querySelector("h2");return n&&n.remove(),{staticContent:e,title:t}},d=function(e){var t=document.createElement("button");return t.innerText=e,t.classList.add("error-page-button"),t},f=function(e){var t=document.createElement("div");t.id="recirculation-404",t.classList.add("brand-hint-bg");var n="\n \n \n Tick here if you would like us to send you the author’s response One of the first county police forces to be set up Durham Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing County Durham and Darlington It is one of the smaller of the 43 territorial police forces that serve England and Wales Sign up to our newsletter for free Durham Constabulary updates and breaking news by email City make the lengthy trip to the North East to face Durham in their final game of the 2024/25 season on Sunday Steve Kirby is looking to end the campaign on a high and will be hoping for a positive reaction from his side and a performance similar to that which earned them a 5-0 win over Durham in December Lexi Lloyd-Smith comes into this one on the back of scoring a brace against Sunderland and picking up City’s Young Player of the Year award last week and she’ll be keen to add to her goal tally which currently sees her third top scorer in the division after an impressive first season with The Robins Durham have been a Barclays Women’s Championship side since the club was founded and awarded a licence in 2014 They have been consistently in and around mid table since then missing out on promotion to the Barclays Women’s Super League only to Champions Leicester City Last campaign was a tough one for Durham as they finished 9th eight points clear of the relegation spot but significantly lower than they would have been hoping Current Head Coach Adam Furness was initially brought in on an Interim basis before being appointed permanently in the summer They’ve enjoyed a much more positive season this time around finding themselves 4th having challenged at the top for most of the season before just falling away towards the end Competition: Barclays Women’s Championship Keep up to date with all the latest goings on by signing up for the Bristol City Email newsletter Ashton Gate StadiumAshton RoadBristolBS3 2EJ To continue please log in with your personal details Logging in will give you access to ticketing If you have not yet set up a Bristol City FC account just click Create Account below Members of Durham UCU recently voted in favour of industrial action in response to cost-saving measures that are required to ensure the University’s financial sustainability.  The University aims to achieve the necessary financial savings by voluntary measures and we have been consistently emphatic about this we are not able to rule out the need for compulsory redundancies to put us in a more sustainable financial position It is likely to be mid-May before we know if we have done enough to achieve the required savings through voluntary severance This timeline has been shared with our four campus trade unions We appreciate the patience of our University community during what we know is an unsettling time.  It is disappointing that Durham UCU has chosen to take industrial action ahead of it being known whether we have achieved our financial savings through voluntary measures This action is unnecessary at a time when we are trying hard to make savings through voluntary means and as we let staff know about the outcomes of their voluntary severance applications Dates and type of industrial action    Five days of strike action are planned on Monday 28 Thursday 1 and Friday 2 May 2025.    We expect most learning and assessment activities to proceed as usual during this week. Not all academic staff are members of UCU and of those who are not all will take part in the strikes.    some staff will be taking part in Action Short of a Strike (ASOS) from Monday 28 April ASOS will comprise ‘not working more than the nominal hours specified in employment contracts not providing cover for non-replaced staff boycotting University-related activities relating to the Research Excellence Framework.’   Durham UCU gave the University notice of further continuous action short of strike (ASOS) comprising of a marking and assessment boycott The boycott will start on 12th May 2025. This latest threatened action is not only unnecessary but will also unsettle students as they start the examination period We would urge the local branch of UCU seriously to reconsider this threat Any boycott will create significant extra burdens for Professional Service staff at a very difficult time It will likely slow down responses to voluntary severance applications as both industrial action and the voluntary severance process are managed by the same small teams of colleagues.   including mitigations for industrial action The University will continue to ensure our students are appropriately supported and to minimise any impact on those who are affected by this action We wrote to all students on Thursday 24 April 2025 via their University email account to provide an update All students should assume that classes or assessments will be held as scheduled. They will be contacted directly by their department if classes or assessments are to be rescheduled due to strike action.  The University will continue to provide updates regularly via this page Students can stay up to date via our internal industrial action SharePoint pages A link to the pages was included in the email of Thursday 24 April along with details of where students may seek support we will continue to keep our community informed Durham University and Colleges Union (DUCU) has commenced its industrial action carrying out 5 days of strike action over the course of the first week of Easter Term It has also been announced that the DUCU will participate in a marking and assessment boycott Various forms of industrial action are set to take place throughout the exam term starting with the strikes but also including actions short of strike (ASOS) including a marking and assessment boycott The current strikes are in response to Durham University’s announcement that it intends to undertake staff cuts to the amount of £20 million across the 2024/24 and 2025/26 which the University has estimated to result in 200 job losses DUCU has said it will call off its current industrial action if Durham University rule out compulsory redundancies maintaining that any necessary savings should come from non-staff costs and that compulsory redundancies should be off the table DUCU say that “the savings objective of £20M in staff costs over the next two years is unnecessary Management has yet to present concrete evidence justifying the drastic measures they are proposing.” Redundancies are a choice Targeting professional services colleagues is a choice Stonewalling meaningful consultation is a choice University management can and should choose otherwise “Durham UCU members have demonstrated our willingness to defend our jobs and our colleagues by voting with record turnout to support strike action and action short of a strike “Now is the time to stand up for one another and for the integrity of our university Targeting professional services colleagues is a choice University management can and should choose otherwise.” A Durham University spokesperson said: “Durham University has for the first time reported an underlying operational deficit To remain a world-class centre of research and education we must have a firmly established and sustainable financial base “We are seeking to reduce staff costs by £10m in professional staff costs in the academic year 2024/25 and a further £10m in staff costs (£5m in professional staff costs and £5m in academic staff costs) in the academic year 2025/26 “We are doing all that we can to achieve these necessary financial savings by voluntary measures we are not able to rule out compulsory redundancies at this stage It is likely to be mid-May before we know if we have done enough to achieve these savings through voluntary severance We are doing all that we can to achieve these necessary financial savings by voluntary measures “We have shared extensive financial information with all four trade unions and consulted them at length in addition to publishing our externally audited accounts for 2023/24 in the public domain “It is deeply disappointing that Durham UCU has chosen to take industrial action ahead of it being known whether we have achieved our financial savings through voluntary measures “We have a formal University mitigation policy in place and will ensure that everything possible is done to minimise the impact on those who may be affected “We expect most learning and assessment activities to proceed as usual during this week Not all academic staff are members of UCU and of those who are “Students should assume that teaching and assessments will be held as scheduled unless they are notified otherwise All examinations will go ahead as scheduled “Students who have specific questions or concerns may contact their academic department and our student support services are available including 24/7 mental health and wellbeing support “We will write to students with any important updates and more information is available on our SharePoint pages.” All talks take place in the Hogan Lovells Lecture Theatre The Practitioner Day morning session focuses on best practices in written advocacy offering guidance on delivering opening and closing statements and conducting effective cross-examination Sir Robin gave one of the leading judgments on setting aside an arbitral award in The Federal Republic of Nigeria -v- Process & Industrial Developments Limited on 23 October 2023.  The Practitioner Day fee is GBP 500. This fee covers the gala dinner, the course materials, the sessions, the event attendance including morning and afternoon refreshments, lunch, coffee/tea. A GBP 100 non-refundable deposit is required for registration which will be deducted from the fee. Join us on Friday 25th April to celebrate World Heritage Day and visit our wonderful attractions. Our venues and collections will have a lot to offer on the day: - Free entry to the World Heritage Site Visitor Centre and Museum of Archaeology on Palace Green.   - Handle ancient artefacts in our Museum of Archaeology. - See the new exhibition of Shakespeare’s First Folio in Cosin’s Library. - Grab a ticket for Durham Castle and enjoy a self-guided tour and activities for children, colouring in and dressing up in the Great Hall. 11am-4pm, last entry 3:15pm. Tickets can be purchased on the day from Palace Green Library reception, located near the castle entrance.  For more information about our attractions, please visit: https://www.dur.ac.uk/things-to-do/venues/ c/o Oriental MuseumElvet HillDurham DH1 3TH The BBC is not responsible for any changes that may be made Thestrup at 72 minutesSubstitutesNumber 17 Woolley Match OfficialsReferee: Abby DeardenAssistant Referee 1: Richard FullicksAssistant Referee 2: Emmanuel ArakpogunFourth Official: Jon Ashworth-SearsMatch StatsKey Copyright © 2025 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.