Brexit News
Stories of the week 15th September
The appalling and disastrous implications of No Deal were revealed this week when Parliament forced the Conservative government to reveal details of operation Yellowhammer. Even then the Government refused to release full details and tried yet again to spin and lie their way around the topic. Food shortages, medical shortages and civil unrest are just some of the things to look forward to from the Conservative’s negotiating strategy.
In response, the Rebel Alliance of opposition parties are considering all options including a second referendum which would leave the Tory party high and dry without a leg to stand on.
As Boris Johnson continued his kamikaze European exit strategy, a Northern Ireland poll revealed that people would rather re-unite with Ireland than remain in the Union. Nicola Sturgeon plans for a new Independence vote for Scotland after the forthcoming general election and now there is a growing move for independence in Wales.
Johnson and the Conservatives in a stark display of putting careers and party politics before national interests are determined that the UK should suffer in order to keep their voters happy. What a noble group of people.
As the press reported, from Birmingham to Berlin, crowds came out to protest against Johnson’s anti-democratic prorogation of Parliament. These ‘Stop the Coup’ protests took place around the UK and in international cities around the world. At the moment Parliament was being prorogued, opposition MPs tried to keep Speaker John Bercow in his seat so the closure couldn’t take place. MPs joined together to sing Jerusalem, Bread of Heaven and Flower of Scotland – all battle hymns of the Union.
Legal challenges against Johnson proroguing Parliament were launched in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The action in Scotland found Johnson’s move was illegal with many Judicial experts claiming he should resign immediately.
In more bad news for Johnson, he was accused of being a ‘Pound Shop Dictator’ and ‘no better than a bank robber’ after Johnson threated to ignore Parliament’s Brexit Act instructing the Prime Minister to seek an extension.
Having expelled 21 rebels, the Tories suffered more losses as MPs defected from Johnson’s disastrous and insidious strategy. It has become increasingly clear that No Deal is an ideology rather than any practical course of action.
Nigel Farage and the Brexit Party are seeking a pact with the Conservative who have so far denied they have any interest in creating any kind of agreement. This of course means that the pact between the two political parties will eventually happen.
Stories of the week 21 July
Parliament and a group of Conservative rebels sent a start warning to Boris Johnson over his threat to prorogue Parliament to force through a No Deal Brexit. MPs voted by a majority of 41 for an amendment to a Northern Irish bill that requires a Minister to report on direct rule every week to Parliament thereby negating any chance of dismissing the House of Commons. The Press saw this as a sign of how fragile a Johnson government would be.
Adding more resistance to Johnson’s No Deal pronouncements, Gina Miller will take Johnson to court if he tries to force through No Deal and a Cross-Party committee in Parliament stated that the most likely outcome and the appropriate way forward is a second referendum.
To add even more insults to Johnson’s injuries, Boris publicly ranted about unnecessary and stupid European food laws using a kipper as an example. The stunt totally backfired and showed Johnson’s inability to grasp detail or the truth when it emerged that the very laws Johnson was moaning about were, in fact, British and not European at all.
The Conservative Leadership race rumbles on and continues to reach even lower depths of discord and misery. Philip Hammond stated that No Deal would be economic suicide for the UK and that he, plus other Tory rebels, would be willing to bring the Government down rather than see this happen. Hammond’s fear was further exacerbated when Jacob Rees-Mogg boasted of a No Deal economic boost which Hammond found terrifying that anyone was so misguided or so deceitful.
Due to appalling Conservative cuts in funding, Theresa May’s legacy will be thousands of UK families dreading school holidays instead of looking forward to them as a time for family fun. The country’s shame lies in the fact that school children will go hungry in the holidays as food banks come even greater pressure to help the many in need.
After creating the devastating ‘hostile environment’, local councils are unwilling to give the Home Office any information on homeless people fearing unnecessary deportations. The Home Office have been accused of being ‘cruel and inhumane’ as stories of officials falsifying information to evict people from the country.
New unexpected depths were hit this week by Donald Trump as he continued his fascists and racist attacks on Ilhan Omar and three other Congress women. Trump encouraged a crowd to chant ‘send her back’ home, in other words back to her country of racial origin. When Omar flew home to Minneapolis she was met with a crowd holding banners saying ‘Welcome Home!’.
Extinction Rebellion’s summer uprising took place this week. Police wanted tougher sentencing for arrested protestors and the group’s famous boats were banned from protests. Nevertheless, activists were able to make their views heard and cause peaceful disruption for the sake of ourselves and the planet.
Artificial Intelligence teaches itself to complete the Rubik’s cube in just 20 MOVES and gets it right every single time
Stories of the week 14 July
The big stories this week in Politics are all around the Conservative Leadership race.
Boris Johnson was accused by the Press of being a spineless coward as he refused to support UK Ambassador to the US, Kim Darroch and threw him under a bus. Despite Brexiteers accusing Remainers of making the UK a vassal state of the EU, the Press say that Johnson has done exactly the same thing with Brexit making the UK a vassal state of the US. ‘Ordered by Trump, sacked by Johnson’ and ‘Trump said jump, Johnson said how high. MPs from all sides, including a host of Tory MPs condemned Johnson for his lack of leadership.
It also seems that Conservative Party members are completely out of step with the rest of the country. Johnson has a huge lead over Jeremy Hunt with Party members according to Polls. However, Hunt is far more popular with the rest of the country with voters saying Johnson is an ‘irresponsible, self-serving buffoon’. But the real bad news for Conservatives is that the majority of voters polled say that neither Johnson nor Hunt would make a good Prime Minister.
MPs passed an historic and long overdue vote this week when they voted to bring the same level of human rights to Northern Ireland as enjoyed by the rest of the UK. MPs voted to allow abortion and same sex marriage in a landmark step.
Very bad news for the Brexit Party this week. Polls show that the party’s popularity is in sharp decline. Perhaps that may be something to do with outbursts such as these when a Brexit Party MEP said that the Royal Navy should attack EU fishing boats. A national embarrassment.
There was more dreadful news on the potential fallout from a No Deal Brexit this week. BMW is moving engine manufacturing; Ireland say that the Northern Irish backstop debate is being badly and irresponsibly handled by both Hunt and Johnson; the UK faces decades of decline and Brexit will signal the end of the Union. Project Fear was the usual unbelievable Leaver reply. Even the Head of the World Trade Organisation stated that Johnson is not grasping the truth of what post-Brexit trade looks like. Trouble ahead.
This week saw massive shock waves on the environmental front as big hitters and big events hit the headlines. David Attenborough likened the fight against the climate emergency to the fight against slavery and warned of civil unrest in the face of our climate crisis. Prince Charles even warned that we have 18 months to save the planet. The UN revealed that we have one major climate event every week and a report found that city dwellers have billions of toxic are particles lodged in their hearts.
Violent protests continue in Hong Kong. Carrie Lam has said the extradition bill is dead but it’s not withdrawn as Joshua Wong, leader of the protest groups, states that the British police commander should face the consequences and pay the price for police action.
It seems it’s worth taking a gamble on Artificial Intelligence. A robot beat top poker players in a major breakthrough for AI.
Stories of the week 9th June
The state visit of Donald Trump took place this week against the usual background of hypocrisy, fake news, demonstrations and controversy. But according to the President himself, ‘the Queen had never enjoyed herself so much’ as she did during his visit. Whilst Conservative Party Leadership hopefuls queued up to meet Trump along with Trump’s ‘good friend’ Nigel Farage, other politicians including Jeremy Corbyn and Sadiq Khan who came in for a barrage of tweets from the US leader, joined protestors to condemn the visit..
Fears for the influx of chlorinated chicken and other horrendous imports from the US as part of any post-Brexit trade deal were heightened this week. Both Trump and the US UK ambassador made statements on how the NHS was up for grabs in terms of any future trade negotiations. The uproar was immense and the subject was dropped. For now.
The Brexit Party was in the news this week for two big stories. Much to the ire of Brexiter press, the Brexit Party lost the Peterborough election and the chance of getting the first Brexit Party MP into Westminster. Labour won the election with the Brexit Party coming second and the Conservatives a humiliating third.
Brexit Party leader, Nigel Farage refused to appear before a European commission investigating why he had not declared almost half a million pounds given to him by long-time supporter Arron Banks, himself under investigation for electoral crimes.
In more disastrous Brexit news, Ford announced this week that it was closing its Welsh engine plant with a loss of 1700 jobs. Adding to the concerns, Ford also said that a No-Deal Brexit would put a further 6,000 jobs on the line.
With UK economic data weakening all the time because of Brexit, growing sections of the Press asked have we learnt nothing from D-Day and the forces that are keeping Europe united are stronger than those trying to tear it apart. A message Brexiters just want to ignore.
In a shocking and chilling report this week, Humanity could end by 2050 from ecological collapse, disease pandemics, lethal heatwaves and even the threat of nuclear war. The case for more Extinction Rebellion on a global scale could not be stronger.
But there has been some climate good news this week. The Greta effect is making children push their parents to be greener. Theresa May has promised zero emissions in the UK by 2050 as public concern over environmental issues reaches a record high, although this can be rolled back by future PMs. The Danes rejected populism in their elections to focus on the climate emergency.
Stories of the week 2nd June
It turns out the Brexit Party wasn’t the overall winner in the European Elections. The majority of voters supported Remain parties in the latest demonstration that Remain is the will of the people. In another strong example of how Brexit no longer is flavour of the month with voters, the Liberal Democrats have surged ahead in the polls leaving the Conservatives and Labour tied in third place behind the Brexit Party.
As the days tick past there is a growing argument in the Press about what awaits, a straight choice between No Deal and a 2nd Referendum.
The Conservative Party leadership race nearly really does have more chiefs than Indians with more and more riders joining the race. Most contenders are hard-line Brexiters promising to open up re-negotiations. Europe couldn’t have made a clearer response by splitting up their negotiating team and stating that negotiations were concluded and would not be re-opened under any circumstances.
The Leadership race has seen recent wounds remaining unable to heal as Tory grandees and Remainers warn against the political suicide of No Deal. The UK car manufacturing sector took another potentially mortal blow with production down 44.5% and the future of British Steel remains unknown.
This week saw the publication of yet another report pointing the finger at the UK and its Territories as the world’s greatest enablers of tax avoidance as the use of food banks continues to rise and record number of UK children are in poverty.
Record GP closures are up a staggering 700% under the Conservative Government as nearly a half a million people have been forced to find new surgeries or go without medical covers.
Stories of the week
Reports this week claimed that dozens of millionaires, many of whom supported the referendum, are leaving the UK because of Brexit. Rats and sinking ships come to mind. Speaking of which, a crowdfunded campaign to launch a prosecution against Boris Johnson for lying about the £350m per week payments to the NHS on the side of the bus? Remember that bus? It looks like it’s coming back for Boris.
Cross-Party talks appear to be coming to an end with no compromise or agreement in sight. This puts the potential for a second referendum or people’s vote right back on the table which is the option becoming increasingly favoured by the public.
Threats and abuse of MPs is reaching record and unacceptable levels in a clear indication of what Brexit has dome to public order and public decency in the UK.
As polls show the Brexit Party going ahead of the Conservatives in the forthcoming European elections, party leader Nigel Farage decided to stick to his Leaver values and left the site of a road traffic accident. Nothing like showing your true leadership credentials by ‘legging it’ from an accident scene before the police arrive.
In shocking news for the UK, a Dutch court has refused extradition of an accused drug dealer to the UK because of the inhuman conditions in UK prisons. The cuts to funding and privatisation conditions have become intolerable and now UK prisons are considered unsafe and inhumane.
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This week saw a major and historic breakthrough in the fight against the growing threat of antibiotic resistant superbugs and the lack of any real investment in the next generation of antibiotic drugs. In a world first, a teenage girl in the UK was the first person to have a deadly superbug infection successfully treated with a genetically modified virus treatment. An amazing breakthrough offering hope to humanity.
Stories of the week 5 May
Local Elections took place this week and in no uncertain terms it was a Remain backlash against pro-Brexit parties particularly the Conservatives and the Labour Party. Pro-Remain parties the Liberal Democrats and The Green Party surged ahead at the polls. The Conservatives lost hundreds of seats and control of numerous local Councils in what was seen as voter rejection from both Remainers and Leavers who have been dissatisfied with how Brexit has been dealt with by the Government. In no uncertain terms, voters across every region have shown their opinion and their voice by this overwhelming landslide victory for Pro-Remain parties in the clearest signal yet that the mood and the opinion of the country has changed in the almost three long years since the referendum.
In more bad news for the Government and for Leavers, Gavin Williamson was instantly dismissed by Prime Minister Theresa May for potentially breaking the Official Secrets Act and certainly for failing to adhere to the Ministerial Code. Williamson was found guilty of leaking vital security information over the possible inclusion of Huawei technology in the UK’s infrastructure. The highly embarrassed Prime Minister wants the matter close but not so Gavin Williamson who continues to plead his innocence despite having admitted he talked to the Press soon after the high level security meeting but didn’t mention this. MPs want a Police probe. The Government are saying that’s up to the Police. The Police are saying actually it’s the Government’s decision. Williamson could face up to two years in prison if found guilty.
In bizarre news for the UK’s now verging on comedy government, Boris Johnson was forced to delete a tweet claiming that he had voted in the local elections wher there wasn’t any voting taking place at all in his constituency. Also, Scottish Tory Leader, Ruth Davidson, has prevented Boris from appearing at the Scottish Tory Party Conference. Boris is anything but potential leadership material for a great many Conservatives.
At last some great political news for the UK. Jeremy Corbyn, after the Labour Party expressed report for Extinction Rebellion, begged MPs to declare a Climate Emergency which they dutifully did. The Climate emergency is the first official recognition of the huge and devastating impact climate change is having on our planet. It’s hoped that more governments will do the same and a number of environmental decisions can now be taken in the UK with this as its official position. A report was also released stating that the UK should target zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Venezuela’s President Maduro survived an attempted coup this week led by his political rival Juan Guaido. Donald Trump supported the coup whilst Putin supported the President, both leaders taking the world back to the 1960s with violent clashes with the military all over the country.
Stories of the week 28 April
Cross-party talks continued this week surrounded by a mutual blame game. Jeremy Corbyn accused the Government of not budging an inch on their red-lines and no sight of compromise in sight. Theresa May, on the other hand, accused Labour of simply trying to destroy the Conservatives. Something they seem to be doing well enough by themselves.
The big news this week was a serious leak in the Cabinet. Details of a secret meeting regarding the giant Chinese telecoms company Huawei’s role in the roll-out of 5G. Security forces were investigating how the leak took place. Ministers were accused first then they blamed civil servants.
Nigel Farage is back. The Brexit Party is set to benefit at the European Elections at the cost of the Conservatives. Some local Conservative activists are refusing to even canvass in the upcoming euro elections. The Brexit Party have nothing but constructive plans for being a real thorn in the side of the European Parliament. It’s a real Hua-dunnit, one headline read.
Donald Trump is due to make a UK state visit to commemorate the 75th anniversary of D-Day. The police bill for his three day visit is expected to be more than £18m. It is likely the President will address US troops rather than angry MPs who still want him banned from Parliament. The Press are divided broadly along the same split as Brexit. Nothing surprising there.
ISIS claimed responsibility for carrying out bombings of churches and hotels in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday. In the atrocities, nearly 300 men, women and children were killed.
In extremely disturbing news, food parcels from the food bank network reached a new record high in the last year. In even more proof of the cruelty and failure of Universal Credit, 1.7 food parcels were distributed over the past 12 months.
Greta Thunberg addressed UK politicians and condemned the UK’s policy on fossil fuels. Extinction Rebellion continued their protests to save ourselves from ourselves and a new Banksy was revealed. A little girl holding the Extinction Rebellion logo.
Stories of the week 14 April
The big news this week is that the UK didn’t leave.
A ‘flextension’ was granted by the EU in an act of kindness and common sense to save the bedraggled and confused from No Deal. As you might expect, the Press were deeply divided. Some asked how taking back control ended up as begging the EU to let the UK stay. As Donald Tusk advised the UK ‘don’t waste time’, the Leaver Press saw this as the end for Theresa May as Prime Minister and the end of her proposed deal.
Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn continued their talks to find some kind of compromise but to no avail. Conservatives were horrified that Labour was being consulted and that a customs union was being discussed. On the other hand, Labour negotiators were disappointed with the lack of movement on the Government’s Brexit red lines.
In more depressing Brexit news, the enormous cost of the Brexiter fantasy threat of No Deal was revealed. No Deal preparations were stood down with £4bn already spent. Billions that could have been spent on the NHS, Education or Social Care.
In good news for Remainers, Switzerland overturned the result of a referendum because voters were poorly informed. A Remain Labour MP won a local election in a Leave constituency as the appetite for a second referendum continues to grow.
Alarmingly UK voters appear want to embrace authoritarianism according to the Hansard Society.
The Brexit extension requires the UK to hold European elections. This along with holding cross-party talks with Labour has well and truly split the already bitterly divided Conservative party. Expected to take a bashing in the local and European elections, the race for party leadership is definitely on with Boris Johnson in rumoured talks with the DUP.
‘At least you’ll die from old age’ stated a poignant banner carried on more Youth Climate Strikes this week as the young valiantly try to remind their elders of their responsibility to the planet and future generations.
More news this week on how UK arms sales are leading to civilian atrocities and death in the Yemen.
New proposed online laws could threaten the freedom of speech in Britain.
Stories of the week 7 March 2019
This week it seems there was only one major theme with a thousand subplots – Brexit.
In rapidly growing concerns about the rise of white right-wing terrorism, pro-Brexiters left suspicious devices to disrupt the rail network. Just what Brexit needs, delays to transport to add to the threat of lengthy customs checks.
Theresa May was accused by Tories of reaping disaster on the party for doing what should have been started nearly three years ago, and opening cross-party talks with Jeremy Corbyn. After three days, Labour says nothing has changed as May refuses to budge whilst there are other reports that Corbyn and May are trying to make any agreement water-tight against a future Brexiter Tory leader, say, for example, someone like Boris Johnson.
It’s official, Conservative divisions throughout the Brexit negotiations have made the UK a source of ridicule and pity for the rest of the world.
The Press also point out Gove’s and Johnson’s connection to the illegal Leave referendum campaign and wonder why such illegality and fraud is going without further review and action. It seems Brexiters have cheated their way to victory but nobody is willing to take action.
The Press ask ‘is Brexit over’ as a Labour leave constituency votes in a Remain Labour MP. MP’s have taken back control with a series of indicative votes as Conservative peers try to filibuster their way through preventing No Deal being taken off the table.
The Cabinet is split. The Conservative Party is divided but one way or another, like it or not, Article 50 is going to be extended. The question is for how long. Europe want either no extension or a long one whilst the Tories want a short extension to try and get through their deal.
The option of a 2nd referendum grows closer every day. New polls suggest the majority of the public want to have another say. Pressure is piling onto Jeremy Corbyn from Labour MPs to have another vote. Pressure is piling onto Theresa May from Conservative MPs to do the exact opposite and not give the people the final say.
In more dire No Deal Brexit warnings, Brexit has directly cost £66bn to date which doesn’t take into account the £900 billion that has already left the country. The mighty UK Services Sector has shrunk for the first time since the Brexit vote and more than 10,000 riot police are put on standby for No Deal civil turmoil.
Stories of the week 17 March
Thousands of people came together across the globe at vigils to pay tribute to victims of the New Zealand terror attack. White right wing extremists attacked mosques killing 49 people and streaming the despicable event live to the internet. MI5 was looking into links with right extremist groups in the UK. The Press talked about the threat of ‘White ISIS’.
It has been quite a week. Are you sitting comfortably? Then we’ll begin.
The Government announced a cunning plan to slash import tariffs in the event of No-Deal. However, it seems their plan wasn’t so cunning after all. In fact it was condemned as ‘madness’ and a ‘sledgehammer for the UK economy’.
In theory, these tariffs should never need to be slashed since MP’s also voted No Deal could never be an option. It remains theoretical because the motion isn’t legally binding.
The various votes, amendments and strategies played out this week in Westminster have taken their toll. Both the Conservatives and the Labour party finally suffered splits as ministers and factions could no longer support official party lines.
Theresa May remains intent on trying to get her deal back from the dead for the third time prompting a Labour MP to ask ‘how is it undemocratic to give the people a second vote and we are asked to vote three times on the same thing?’ A very good question.
MPs did come to their senses and realise what a mess we’re in and voted to extend Article 50. Europe are saying, quite rightly, if the UK has a plan they’re happy to agree. If no plan then perhaps no way.
Just to add to the Government’s distress and embarrassment, President Trump told the world how he’d advised Theresa May and was disappointed with the way Brexit was going.
In very saddening and disheartening news, more terrible repercussions from Government cuts in benefits were revealed this week. More than half of Senior School Head Teachers reporting having to wash clothes and feed pupils.
‘It’s our time to rise up’ was the rallying cry as hundreds of thousands of children and young people staged youth climate strikes in 100 countries in a mass Extinction Rebellion. The biggest lesson of the day was teaching adults to stop destroying their future world.
According to one report this week, time travel really is possible. In a seemingly incredible breakthrough, Scientists actually reversed time with a quantum computer. Really?
Top stories of the week 10 March
This week Conservatives ‘lost the plot’ on many fronts according to the Press. Cabinet ministers Amber Rudd, Andrea Leadsom and Karen Bradley were branded ‘muppets’ over astonishing gaffes. And, in two of our favourite headlines this week, Jacob Rees-Mogg says Conservative Government is not Right-wing and the Brexit department’s top civil servant is set to retire just as UK is set to leave EU.
Theresa May launched her big Brexit bribe, throwing money at Labour leave towns in return for Labour MPs’ support for her deal. The bung backfired terribly when it was pointed out that it was not nearly enough to make any real difference and payment would be spread out over six years.
Speaking of ‘bungs’, Conservatives also came under fire as Theresa May prevented a key vote that would have made tax havens more transparent at the same time as it the amount of donations to the party from the same tax havens was revealed.
In more bad Conservative news, 14 members were suspended as it was claimed that Islamophobia is rife throughout the party.
Brexit really does leave a bad taste in the mouth and that’s official. Meghan Markle entered into Brexit row with swipe at US where chicken is washed in chlorine. The UK was urged to reject ‘backward US food standards’.
In more condemnation of the Leave campaign, it was revealed this week that Arron Banks broke an agreement to suspend Brexit campaigning after Jo Cox’s murder.
The Windrush scandal continued this week with the Home Office accused of complacency with only one victim helped by the end of 2018. The Department’s failings were so bad there was suggestion of removing immigration duties in the near future.
An alarming report this week revealed that Life expectancy in the UK has fallen by six months in the biggest drop in UK forecasts.
The Government’s brutal austerity was revealed this week as two of the most important aspects of modern day life were thrown into stark relief.
The Government was accused of robbing an entire generation of ‘opportunity’ when more than 7,000 head teachers wrote to millions of parents warned of a ‘school funding crisis’ amid claims of 20% cuts in sixth-form budgets over the past decade. As usual, the Government refused to acknowledge there was anything wrong.
As the knife crime endemic continues to grow and more and more young lives are lost, both Theresa May and Philip Hammond refused to acknowledge that drastic police funding cuts had anything to do with it. You can imagine the outcry that followed.
Microplastics found in every lake and river in Britain and Climate change could bring Zika and malaria to the UK.
The sad and complex story of Shamima Begum continued this week as the sad news of the death of her baby came through and the Government were blamed for the ‘callous’ decision to strip mum’s citizenship
Stories of the week 24 February
Brexit pressure blew Westminster wide open this week with both parties suffering major splits and defections. The new Independent Group formed this week as the clock counts down to leaving. A group of Labour MPs left to seek a new referendum and a group of Conservative MPs left because of the ‘Ukipisation’ of the Party and the continuing Tory threat of No Deal. The Press, unlike the MPs, didn’t know which way to turn. Brexiter Press were running scared of the new group whilst more liberal, remain Press hoped for some kind of breakthrough. There were recriminations, denials and accusations flying around as the various newspapers tried to come to terms with the fast-forming new political landscape. You can see how all sides of the Press lined up on the issue right here.
In other news, it was still a pretty bad week for Brexit. Aviva moved assets worth £9bn out of the UK to Ireland. The US will support Ireland and not the UK over the issue of a hard border. Tariffs on food will send prices soaring in the event of No Deal and the former World Trade Organisation boss warned that Brexiter No Deal trade plans are nonsense.
In more devastating news, Honda announced it was closing its Swindon plant. Brexiters immediately took their usual position of denial and denied it had got anything to do with Brexit. Remainers pointed to the recently signed free trade agreement, the largest ever made, between Japan and the EU as the final nail in the coffin for the UK car industry. Within seven years Japan will be able to import cars directly into the EU with zero tariffs making their investment in Brexit Britain redundant.
The troubling case of Shamima Begum, the UK ISIS bride now with child, hit the headlines this week. The Press, as you would expect, tried to ramp up the anti-Islam sentiments. The Government was accused of running away from the issue by removing Shamima’s UK citizenship. A move that was seen as dangerous, racist and illegal.
In moves harking back to the Cold War, Putin has threatened to target both the US and Europe with nuclear missiles if Trump deploys intermediate range missiles to the EU.
In continuing harrowing environmental news this week, Australia will let toxic sludge be dumped near the Great Barrier Reef, the biggest threat to health in the UK is air pollution and plummeting biodiversity will severely damage food production.
And in our favourite headline of the week, a 12 year old created a nuclear reaction in his playroom lab.
Stories of the week 17 February 2019
The future takes control as thousands of UK school children stage a climate strike against the climate crisis facing us all. Following recent reports from the UN and the Met Office on emissions and global heating, there has been a growing Extinction Rebellion around the world. Theresa May slammed kids for protecting their future while adults looked the other way. Many more climate strikes are planned as part of the continuing global Extinction Rebellion.
In more distressing and alarming environmental news, insect numbers are collapsing at a staggering rate, triggering fears for the ‘collapse of nature itself’.
This week Brexit finally sank to the bottom of the glass when Theresa May’s chief negotiator was overheard revealing May’s negotiating strategy in a bar. It’s great to know our country’s future is being sorted out down the pub.
Europe remains totally bemused and confused over the UK’s approach to Brexit and the fact that Theresa May only seems to be negotiating with the Conservative Party. The Dutch Prime Minister highlighted the fact that the UK is fast retreating from the world stage and will be an insignificant force on its own.
The constant Tory party in-fighting has now turned into a total war. Hard line Brexiteers have accused of giving Brussels the perfect excuse not to renegotiate. Rees-Mogg, Johnson and the ERG have been told to leave the Conservative Party and join UKIP by the other Tory MP’s as the civil war continues and the Tories move closer to a final split. Guy Verhofstadt joined the condemnation claiming Brexiteers could end up on the guillotine like the leaders of the French Revolution for not representing true national interests.
Even worse was to come for May and the Conservatives. At least a dozen ministers and many more Conservative MP’s are set to resign if there is No Deal. At the same time, a ‘purple momentum’ is rising where UKIP members join Conservative associations to deselect moderate Tory MPs.
This week saw strong reactions against the west in the region.
In more condemnation of the UK, UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia are killing women and children in Yemen as people there kill themselves rather than face the pain of starving to death.
Stories of the Week 27 January
In more shocking proof of the incredible global inequality we find ourselves in, figures released this week show that 26 people – think about that number for a moment – that number of people wouldn’t even half fill a single decker bus but they have the same wealth as 3.8 billion people. That’s right, 3.8 billion people. That’s a lot of buses. The Press wonder how long this inequality can and will continue.
If Brexit was a motorway, the carriageways in both directions would be littered with pile ups but still no delays.
Theresa May’s deal is seemingly even further away from parliamentary approval and there are reports of her withdrawing the Human Rights Act. Germany would like the UK to think again.
Airbus, Ford and Sony are among a host of companies either pushing the exit button or threatening to leave with a NO-Deal Brexit. Some Leavers are actually leaving too with Brexit hero Dyson becoming Brexit zero after jumping ship to Singapore.
Theresa May attempted to fix the tricky back stop issue by trying to rewrite the Good Friday Agreement. In other worrying reports there are 700 MI5 Officers in Belfast and Ireland has pointed out the potential for uniformed guards on a hard border.
Now at long last after the pile ups come the consequences. All sides of the Press and all sides of Brexit are coming to an uneasy agreement that Article 50 will need to be extended. Now there’s a surprise.
It all became too much. So much so that the Queen intervened although Rees-Mogg said NO 10 asked her to get involved.
An old friend of Brexit, Nigel Farage, returned this week with talk of a new party.
Borders seemed to be the centre of attention outside Ireland too. Trump’s US Government shutdown came to a temporary end for three weeks even though there is still no movement on financing his border wall.
President Trump also decided to exercise his powers across borders by backing the opposition in Venezuela creating civil unrest and a political upheaval along the way.
This week saw new moves to combat the rising and deadly problem of drug resistant superbugs that could bring medicine back into the dark ages and savagely reduce human life expectancy. In what is seen as a two-pronged approach, Doctors have been set targets to reduce antibiotic use and pharmaceutical companies are to be given large financial sums of money to produce the next generation of antibiotic drugs.
Stories of the week 20 January 2019
Brexit entered Big Bang territory this week.
Jeremy Corbyn called the conservatives a ‘Zombie Government’ and Theresa May a ‘Zombie Prime Minister’ as he launched an official vote of No Confidence. May stayed in power but without authority and without a Brexit deal after her planned deal was crushed contemptuously by Parliament. Despite May calling for cross-party talks, she is unwilling to drop any of her red lines which makes it a purely futile exercise and adds to the ‘zombie’ narrative. Unthinking, Unmoved, Unwilling to compromise and, of course, Undead.
In typical Conservative MAYhem, all Brexit solutions are on the table – second referendum, No-Deal, No Brexit, and, least likely, an agreed UK deal. Europe watched in horror at the Westminster mess and prepared for No Deal. The SNP prepared for Indy2RF2 and the DUP moved towards full customs union to get around the Brexit backstop despite Arlene Foster ridiculously claiming Ireland never had a hard border. The majority of Press and pundits agreed that Article 50 would need to be delayed.
More fall out from Brexit was announced this week with jobs to go at Phillips, Hitachi pulling out of a £15bn deal and the UK’s prized Financial Services sector has shrunk by 16% already.
As another caravan sets out for the US border, it was revealed that many more thousands of children and babies were separated from their parents by the US authorities than was initially claimed by the Government.
‘Big Don’ buys ‘Big Ron’ for state banquet was one of the more surprising stories this week. As the US Government shutdown continues, Trump purchased 300 McDonald’s meals to serve at a State banquet as White House catering staff are on shutdown.
At long last many women would say but there were calls this week to make misogyny a hate crime after more stories emerged about the treatment many women have to suffer at the hands of men.
After Trump had threatened Turkey with economic ruin if they attacked the Kurds, the deal almost turned full circle with the Kurds worried about a buffer zone Trump and Turkey had decided to create.
Scientists have come up with a plant-focused diet that would cut meat consumption and help to save both humans and the planet in the face of climate change.
Time is running out to ‘wake up and smell the coffee’ when it was announced this week that 60% of coffee plants face extinction.
The largest ever cache of hacked personal data and passwords was dumped on the internet this week.
This week’s stories had our favourite headline – GIANT LEAF FOR MANKIND – after a plant germinated on the moon in China’s dark side of the moon adventure.
Stories of the week 13 January 2019
In the week running up to the big vote, Brexit was strangely muted but it did take some sinister turns.
Far Right abuse of MPs became completely out-of-hand and then a Conservative Minister warned that No Brexit would be a boost to the Far Right. A claim that was dismissed as Leaver desperation.
In Westminster, MPs backed a cross-party amendment to prevent a No Deal and the chaos that would follow. Brexiteers even accused the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s warning that the ‘whole world’ is against no deal Brexit as a stunt.
Prime Minister, Theresa May, took some unexpected twists and turns this week in an attempt to get her deal through Parliament. May met with Trade Union Leaders and Labour rebel MPs to gain support. In the meantime, continuing threats of 2nd referendums and general elections continue to circulate.
The single thing about Brexit the Press could agree on was whatever happened in the vote, Article 50 would be extended.
In the meantime Jaguar Land Rover along with other car manufacturers announced job losses as fears of the UK crashing out of Europe grew.
In really very disturbing news, teachers are reporting that malnourished children are searching school bins for food. Four out of five teachers are paying for school resources using their own money.
The Government also quickly moved to stop more impact of the failed Universal Credit scheme even though in a staggering moment of insensitivity, Amber Rudd said these appalling stories of crushing poverty only happened to one or two people.
In more bad news for the Government, NHS chiefs have warned that the much-heralded £20bn ‘extra funding’ will not impact waiting times unless staffing problems are met.
Donald Trump has broken yet another record. He has succeeded in beating Bill Clinton to the record for shutting down the US Government for the longest time. National Parks and other federal resources have shut down as the stand-off continues on the financing of the border wall.
In an incredibly amazing and highly chastening discovery this week, scientists have found that elephants are evolving to lose their tasks after experiencing decades of ivory poaching.
Stories of the week 10 December
This week Brexit kept on ramping up to full frenzy.
The Government lost three crucial votes and was found in contempt of Parliament. They duly published the Brexit legal advice.
This, in turn, created a storm over the sticky Northern Irish border question and the dreaded back stop.
In the face of this extraordinary shambles, there is talk of the EU agreeing to extend Article 50 to give the UK more time to sort it out.
The Press were spectacularly divided on the Brexit way forward and what was going to happen next. One thing that did unite them was that Prime Minister May must go.
In alarming news this week, the Press once again focussed on right wing extremism. It seems there is a hidden network linking US billionaires, right wing Australians and Russian trolls to British Far right Activist, Tommy Robinson.
Sir David Attenborough issued a dire warning on climate change, stating the end of civilisation is in sight unless World Leaders act right now.
To support Sir David’s point and in what was described as ‘brutal news’, carbon emissions jumped to an all-time high in 2018.
With allegations against Tommy Robinson and a right wing network coming to light, there was more alarming news when a British neo-Nazi group called Prince Harry ‘a race traitor for marrying Meghan Markle.
Chinese media accused the US of ‘hooliganism’ this week after the arrest of Meng Wanzhou, the Chief Financial Officer of giant Chinese tech company Huawei. Huawei has been accused of violating US sanctions on Iran and Meng Wanzhou has been arrested in Canada for extradition to the US. Markets plummeted around the world.
A ‘Khashoggi Way’ road sign appeared outside the Saudi Arabian embassy in Washington this week as the dreadful story continued. The Senate ignored Donald Trump and Theresa May was accused of double-standards by publicly supporting sanctions whilst privately talking about more arms sales.
Last week, NASA’s incredible Mars InSight probe touched down on the planet. This week amazing history was made when InSight sent back the sound of Mars for humanity to hear. Scientists were amazed to hear Martian wind.
Stories of the week 2 December
This week had some potentially explosive news in more ways than one.
First off the block, Russia seized Ukrainian ships in what Ukraine considered to be a precursor to all-out war. In preparation , Ukraine implemented martial law in certain regions.
The migrant caravan arrived at US Border at long last amid reports of appalling conditions. The situation became extreme when US Border officials fired tear gas into crowds of women and children.
The repercussions of the appalling Khashoggi murder continued to rumble around the world this week. President Trump changed his mind to support the Saudi regime while edgy world leaders at the G20 meeting came face-to-face with the Crown Prince.
Brexit had a frenzy of stories from a lot of different angles this week.
The terrifying picture of a No-Deal Brexit once again was framed this week by the Press and the usual disclaimers of ‘Project Fear’ followed. No-Deal was seen as being worse than the 1930s crash.
The Government went against the will of Parliament and refused to publish the full legal advice surrounding the Brexit Deal in a direct attack on democracy.
Despite denying the people a vote, Theresa May is happy to talk the people about her deal even though they are powerless to do anything to change it. The TV debate has all sides wanting to be represented but it seems the very artificial debate will now just be May and Corbyn.
Follow this link for some fascinating reading as you can see what all sides of the press think of the Brexit deal and reveal exactly where they stand.
On what promises to be a very miserable Christmas for many, the use of foodbanks is unhappily set to break recently broken records.
Out of desperation and need, a group of mothers is taking the Government to court over their broken Universal Credit system. The claim is that the system infringes their human rights and ability to work,
In bad news for the planet, after his own administration delivered an apocalyptic report on climate change Donald Trump refused to believe it much to the world’s surprise.
NASA’s InSight probe reached the end of its journey this week and managed to survive a seven-minute violently turbulent descent onto the surface of Mars. The InSight probe will dig down into the red planet in a search for signs of life.
