Stories of the Week ending 30 September:
Brexit this week took its usual twist and turns. The EU almost seemed irrelevant as we began party conference season and the battle lines are drawn not only between political parties but also between Leave and Remain.
On the one hand, Jacob Rees-Mogg wanted the whole country to enjoy a magical Disney happy-ever-after Brexit.
Elsewhere, Brexit took a potentially unexpected turn. Just as The Soros Foundation takes Hungary to court over human rights violations, Conservative MEPs get a personal thank you from far right Hungarian PM Viktor Orban for their support in standing against proposed EU sanctions. Michael Gove also refused to condemn Orban although later Conservative MEPs were ordered to ‘distance themselves’ from the Hungarian leader.
The Labour Party started the conference season in spectacular fashion. Keir Starmer firmly launched Labour’s stance on a final say on the Brexit deal and a possible 2nd Referendum. But that wasn’t all. A range of social and economic policies either made Labour a government in waiting for some of the Press whilst others simply saw ‘an insane Marxist’ programme.
Labour also claimed Theresa May’s government ‘the most divided ever’ as various leadership candidates lined up in what was called ‘a Tory beauty parade’ to take over from the PM.
Also much was made of the government’s Northern Powerhouse Minister and how little he had actually been up north.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, clashed with Theresa May over Conservative Austerity. After the Archbishop criticised the Government for failing the poor and deserting a section of society, May responded with ‘work is the best way out of poverty’.
As an example of austerity and the failure of Universal Credit, a very alarming story highlighted how a couple violently induced a miscarriage because of Government benefit cuts.
Two of the most icon and important species – whales and bees – featured heavily this week in disappointing news.
Benny the beluga whale was spotted lost and in the Thames estuary. This rare event was greeted with curiosity and wonder by some of the Press whilst others saw Benny as an omen representing a global catastrophe no-one is talking about.
It was bad news too for killer whales. In yet another potential man-made extinction, half the killer whale population will die from a man-made chemical banned more than 40 years ago.
The news wasn’t good for bees either. The world’s most popular weed killer harms them and other studies show they become addicted to harmful and deadly pesticides.
This week saw a truly amazing scientific breakthrough when paralysed patients were able to walk again using an implant that responds to their thoughts.
And yes, in other amazing news, it seems our star signs really do control our destiny.
Life expectancy is shortening in the UK. For the first time children’s life expectancy is shorter than their parents.
Whilst Donald Trump and Theresa May talked up a post Brexit deal, he also managed to bring laughter to the world at the UN.
