food banks News

 

 

 

Stories of the week 21 July

 

 

Brexit

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.

 

 

Politics

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.

 

Austerity

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.

 

 

Society

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.

 

World

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!’.

 

Environment

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.

 

Technology

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 2nd June

 

Brexit

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 2^nd Referendum.

 

 

Politics

Conservative Leadership candidate and favourite to become the next Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, has been summoned to appear in court. A private case has been bought against him for repeatedly stating lies about the £350m pounds a week famously put on the side of the Leave Campaign bus.

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.

 

 

 

National Health

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 28 April

 

Brexit

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.

 

 

Politics

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 75^th 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.

 

 

World

 

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.

 

 

Austerity

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.

 

 

Environment

Humans are putting almost 1 million species into risk of extinction as a new report states that far from being reduced, de-forestation is on the increase.

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 13 January 2019

 

Brexit

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 2^nd 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.

 

 

Austerity

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.

 

 

 

NHS

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.

 

 

 

World

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.

 

 

 

Science

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.