Britain – Hoang Viet

Uncategorized

Oct 30 2024

Labour has finally thrown the dice on its gamble to get Britain growing | Politics News

One hundred and eighteen days into the Labour government, and finally we get to see what the slogan on the front of the manifesto – Change – really means. And you might be forgiven for feeling rather blind sided.

Because the tax and spending plans outlined today by Chancellor Rachel Reeves in the first Labour budget are as hefty and historic as the Labour manifesto was vague.

In that document there are just a handful of pages of costings, and a commitment to £8bn of tax rises to fund spending commitments for more NHS appointments and more teachers.

There was nothing in those plans that signalled the £40bn of tax rises by the end of this parliament or the £76bn in increased spending.

Budget latest: Experts taken aback by ‘massive’ tax plans

This is the biggest tax rising budget since 1993, with seismic spending and borrowing to invest. It is quite simply massive.

Painfully cautious when trying to win the election, now Labour is brazenly bold, having won a majority. But the question is do they really have a mandate for the tens of billions in new tax and spend commitments.

Repeatedly asked about tax and spending rises in the run-up to the election to avoid austerity and fund our hospital and schools, transport networks and communities, the prime minister told me – clearly – he had “no plans” to raise taxes beyond the manifesto commitments, while shadow cabinet minister after shadow cabinet minister insisted that improved public services would come through a combination of extra funding via economic growth and reform.

It simply didn’t add up then, and the cost is being laid bare now.

The argument made repeatedly to me by the chancellor on Wednesday is that these choices were made after Labour got in and looked under the bonnet of the public finances.

Read more from the budget:
The key announcements
Chancellor looks to raise £40bn in taxes
British companies face uphill struggle

Reeves told me: “When I became chancellor in July, officials at the Treasury presented me with information that the previous government were overspending to the tune of £22bn more than they had planned.

“In addition to that, there were compensation schemes that the previous government had signed up to, but had not budgeted for – infected blood and the Post Office Horizon scandal.

“And the previous government hadn’t done a spending review. And so as a result, we did need to raise taxes in this budget to put our public finances on a sound trajectory.”

A stretch to blame it all on the Tories

So her answer is to pin it all on the economic inheritance from the Conservatives and the so-called £22bn black hole.

But it’s a stretch to say the least.

Even if you accept a chunk of it, £8bn of that “black hole” comes from Labour’s decision to accept pay recommendations for public sector workers (did they really not expect to need billions to do this before the election?).

And on spending, did Labour really not think more investment was needed in the NHS before the general election, when health thinktanks were all saying it did?

Then, shadow health secretary Wes Streeting told me repeatedly that it wasn’t about more money – it was all about reform and then economic growth.

Fast forward a few months, and Reeves on Wednesday announced an extra £25bn spending boost for the NHS over the next two years.

A traditional left-wing budget

Compare it to the Corbyn manifestos of 2017 and 2019, which the public roundly rejected, and the tax rises aren’t a million miles off.

In 2017, Corbyn proposed a £43bn increase in taxes – while the 2019 manifesto, emphatically rejected by the public, proposed £80bn of rises.

When I asked Rachel Reeves if she was a half-fat version of Corbyn’s full-fat tax take, she roundly rejected it, saying: “I’ve never been compared to Jeremy Corbyn. I disagreed with everything that he was doing.”

But you take the point: this is a traditional – many would say left-wing – Labour budget, with a massive tax and spend envelope.

Corbyn at least levelled with the public in what he intended to do. Voters who crossed the floor in the election might well now regret it.

One Conservative MP told me tonight his inbox was filling with angry emails over changes to capital gains tax that are going to hit farmers who work their land after the chancellor announced combined business and agricultural assets worth under a million would continue to be exempt from inheritance tax, but above that there would be a 50% relief, at an effective rate of 20%, from April 2026.

And those who own shares, and from employers who are seeing hikes in their national insurance payments.

Read more on the budget:
See how you will be impacted with calculator
Sunak slams ‘broken promise after broken promise’
Promise of short-term pain for long-term gain

A defining budget for this government

We at least now know what this Labour government is about.

This budget will define the Starmer administration in this parliament and the shape of the country beyond.

Such a big departure from manifesto promises – Labour has spent months blaming the Tories for the choices Rachel Reeves now makes.

But this is not really about the Conservatives anymore, it is about Labour’s – in their own words – “unprecedented” plan to rebuild Britain, and whether voters will go along with it or feel misled.

👉 Listen to Sky News Daily on your podcast app 👈

The gamble is that by protecting the pay packets of working people and front-loading massive spending plans, funded by the wealthy and business, that towards the end of this parliament, Labour can say it has helped its core voters and improved Britain.

It’s a huge gamble with no certainty it will pay off. But at least they have finally thrown the dice.

admin 0 Comments

Uncategorized

Aug 24 2024

RAAC: More than 2,000 homes could be demolished across Britain | UK News

Fiona and Jimmy Vallance have lived in their two-bedroom former council flat in Scotland for 40 years – then they were given two hours’ notice to leave the property they owned.

The couple find themselves in the middle of a concrete crisis causing financial turmoil and emotional devastation for homeowners.

Sky News has been told more than 2,000 homes with collapse-risk RAAC could be demolished across Britain, with the vast majority in Scotland.

“It’s just been a complete, utter nightmare,” says Ms Vallance, sobbing as she recalls talks about being referred to mental health medics.

“This is actually worse than a death. At least if somebody died in your family, you can have a few months to get over it. This never goes away.”

‘I wake up crying’

The couple, who are aged 59 and 63, finally paid off their mortgage for the flat in Clackmannanshire in 2013. It was a huge moment of personal achievement.

But everything changed in October last year, when, as they recalled it, a chap at the door one evening gave them two hours’ notice to leave their property and never return. Engineers, he said, had discovered their roof could cave in.

Barely able to hold a conversation, the couple now sit clutching each other’s hands as they agreed to talk to us about their harrowing, ongoing ordeal.

They are surrounded by boxes in the homeless accommodation they have lived in ever since.

Broken, they are ravaged by the pain of their lives being thrown up in the air.

“I wake up in the morning crying,” says Ms Vallance.

“I wake up during the night thinking about it. It’s just on your mind all the time. It’s absolutely wrecked our lives.”

Although officials are likely to offer the couple market value for their family home, they say they will never be able to get another mortgage and now face a ruined retirement.

Ms Vallance continued: “I have even had to stop my wee cleaning jobs because I can’t go out and clean someone else’s home when I haven’t got home of my own.

The RAAC crisis

RAAC is a cheap, lightweight, “bubbly” material that was used in construction between the 1950s and 1990s.

It was mostly used for flat roofs – but also in walls and floors.

In the 1990s, structural engineers discovered the strength of RAAC wasn’t standing the test of time and only had a lifespan of around 30 years – putting buildings at risk of collapse.

The Vallance family’s tower block in Tullicoultry now lies empty waiting for possible demolition. It is eerily quiet and looks like a crime scene with metal grates used to board up the windows and doors.

It is a community wiped out in the blink of an eye – but it’s not alone.

Around 100 miles north in Aberdeen officials have decided to flatten and rebuild more than 500 homes with potentially deadly RAAC at a cost of £150m. It will be the UK’s single biggest housing victim of this scandal.

Most affected are council tenants who have been uprooted to different temporary accommodation across the city. Around 100 properties are privately owned.

Owners have told Sky News they face financial ruin after being offered a severely diminished price of the original value of their now RAAC-ravaged home.

“I’ll be paying for rubble,” said local schoolteacher Amie Bruce.

The 27-year-old, who now faces homelessness, bought her home less than three years ago.

She is now staring down the barrel of negative equity and being saddled with debt – without a property to show for it.

Ms Bruce said: “It’s a complete ghost town at the moment. There’s properties empty, left, right and centre.

“My house is valued at around about £125,000, but the council have said that they would then be taking off the cost of repair of the roof to bring it back up to the standard it should be at. It’s looking like that will be around about £70,000.

“That takes it right down to £55,000 that I will be getting back and will still leave me with around £50,000 to £55,000 of a mortgage to pay.”

‘One of the hardest decisions’

Aberdeen City Council told Sky News it “aimed” to buy the privately-owned homes by “voluntary agreement” with owners offered “market value” and other associated costs.

A spokeswoman said: “This is one of the hardest decisions the council has taken. We recognise the impact this will have on residents, many having lived in their home for many years.

“The absolute priority has to be their safety. The welfare of people is what matters most, and we will continue to offer individuals and families one-to-one support whilst meeting their housing needs as far as possible from existing stock.”

Campaigners claim there is a postcode lottery of treatment for victims of this crisis.

The UK RAAC Campaign Group say homeowners in one area are being offered the prices of their properties prior to RAAC being discovered while people in neighbouring councils are having tens of thousands wiped from their valuations.

Read more from Sky News:
Tributes to Scottish teen who fell from Ibiza balcony
Edinburgh on track to become first Scottish city with tourist tax

Chairman Wilson Chowdhry said: “Without a national fund, councils cannot make the decisions they need to make to provide a fair deal for homeowners who are now paying for mistakes of councils and the government from the 1960s.

“This is unfair. It will leave a large number of people homeless, on benefits and probably in dire distress and depression. The governments need to step up.”

admin 0 Comments

Uncategorized

Aug 6 2024

‘Is this Britain or Soviet Union?’: Elon Musk hits out after video appears to show man arrested for Facebook comments | Politics News

Elon Musk has ramped up his row with the UK as he questioned if it was “Britain or the Soviet Union” after a man was apparently arrested over comments he made on Facebook.

The billionaire owner of X has been engaged in a war of words with Sir Keir Starmer over riots gripping the UK, amid concerns online disinformation is fuelling the unrest.

Riots latest: 30 new rallies on police radar and lawyers’ offices threatened

In his latest rebuke, Musk retweeted a video appearing to show police officers arresting a man for making offensive comments on Facebook.

He said: “Arrested for making comments on Facebook!

“Is this Britain or the Soviet Union? Is this accurate @Community Notes.”

Community Notes is X’s own fact checking resource.

In the video, the man is arrested on suspicion of improper use of the electronics communications network.

This covers things like sending a message that is “grossly offensive or of an indecent, obscene or menacing character” and can result in a maximum six month jail term or a fine.

In another tweet on Tuesday afternoon aimed directly at Sir Keir, Musk asked “why aren’t all communities protected in Britain?”.

It was in response to a video appearing to show large crowds of masked people gathered outside a pub, some waving the Palestine flag.

Musk directed a similar comment towards the the prime minister yesterday, after Sir Keir said he would not tolerate attacks on Muslim communities.

Mosques and hotels housing asylum seekers have been among the targets of unrest across the UK for the past week.

The tech billionaire has also claimed that “civil war is inevitable” in the UK – comments which have been condemned by Downing Street and justice minister Heidi Alexander.

Ms Alexander earlier told Sky News that “everyone should be calling for calm in this situation”.

“So I do think the language around civil war being inevitable is totally unjustified,” she added.

The riots began in Southport last Tuesday in the wake of the fatal stabbings of three girls in the Merseyside town, and have spread to towns and cities across the UK.

The row risks threatening government efforts to get social media companies to take more responsibility for removing harmful online content believed to be stoking some of the violence.

Misinformation online said the person arrested, 17-year-old Axel Rudakubana, was a Muslim refugee who arrived in the UK last year via a small boat.

Rudakubana was born in Cardiff to Rwandan parents before moving to a village near Southport.

Sir Keir has been clear that anyone inciting violence – whether online or offline – “will face the full force of the law”.

Former police chief Neil Basu has said the worst of the far-right violence should be treated as terrorism.

admin 0 Comments

Uncategorized

Jul 17 2024

Labour promises to ‘take the breaks off Britain’ in King’s Speech | Politics News

Labour has promised to “take the brakes off Britain” as it outlines its plans for government in the King’s Speech later today.

More than 35 bills are expected to be unveiled during the event, which will see King Charles read out the list of policies and pledges from the Houses of Parliament.

The party said the focus would be on “unlocking growth and improving living standards for working people” in what it called an “ambitious legislative agenda”, echoing the “first steps” Sir Keir Starmer campaigned on in the general election.

Analysis: King’s Speech will be biggest symbol of change Labour hopes to bring

Speaking ahead of the announcements, the prime minister said: “For too long people have been held back, their paths determined by where they came from – not their talents and hard work.

“I am determined to create wealth for people up and down the country. It is the only way our country can progress, and my government is focused on supporting that aspiration.”

It is not clear yet what all the bills will be, but Downing Street confirmed a number of measures on the eve of the speech.

They include legislation to bring rail services back into public ownership when their current private contracts expire and the establishment of a new public body called Great British Railways to oversee both the services themselves and fares.

A Better Buses Bill will also be introduced, giving local authorities more power to franchise their services, as well as lifting restrictions on creating new publicly owned bus operators.

Long-trailed planning reforms are expected to be outlined to help with the building of houses and infrastructure, and a new English Devolution Bill will transfer further powers to local leaders.

Sir Keir said: “Today’s new laws will take back control and lay the foundations of real change that this country is crying out for, creating wealth in every community and making people better off – supporting their ambitions, hopes and dreams.”

The now leader of the Opposition, former prime minister Rishi Sunak, said the Conservatives would not “oppose for the sake of it” as Labour pushes forward with its plans, but it was their “responsibility” to speak up and hold the new government to account.

When MPs debate the King’s Speech in parliament on Wednesday, Mr Sunak is expected to say: “[Labour] tapped into the public’s desire for change, but they must now deliver change, and we on this side of the House will hold them accountable for delivering on the commitments they made to the British people.

“The Labour Party promised no tax rises on working people and no plans for tax rises beyond what’s in their manifesto, in full knowledge of the public finances.

“They can’t now claim that things are worse than they thought and renege on these pledges. We will hold the government to its own promises.”

admin 0 Comments

Uncategorized

Jul 16 2024

Britain must be able to confront China, Russia, Iran and North Korea, warns new defence lead | UK News

Britain’s armed forces must have the ability to confront a “deadly quartet” of China, Russia, Iran and North Korea, the surprise pick to lead a major review of the UK’s shrunken defences has warned.

Lord Robertson, a former Labour defence secretary and former NATO chief, is being brought back to frontline military policy by Sir Keir Starmer after he led Labour’s last Strategic Defence Review (SDR) more than a quarter of a century ago.

In another novel twist, the government on Tuesday announced two other external experts will work with the peer on crafting the new blueprint for the future shape and size of the armed forces.

They include Fiona Hill, a former foreign policy adviser to the Donald Trump White House who testified against the former president during his impeachment trial.

Her appointment could draw criticism from Mr Trump – who could well be elected back into power later this year – just as the new prime minister and his top team stress the importance of the transatlantic alliance.

Ms Hill, a leading expert on Russia who is British but has US citizenship, has previously likened Mr Trump to President Vladimir Putin. He has said about her: “She doesn’t know the first thing she’s talking about. If she didn’t have the accent, she would be nothing.”

Speaking about the new role, Ms Hill said: “This review could not be more timely given the current global turmoil and rapid technological change. I am honoured to participate in this important and critical exercise.”

The third outside reviewer is General Sir Richard Barrons, a highly-regarded four-star general once tipped to be the head of the armed forces, but who left the military in 2016.

Speaking at a press conference to talk about the launch of the government’s new defence review, Lord Robertson said he and his team would aim to provide “fresh thinking” as he set out what he called the “threats and challenges” the nation faces.

“We’re confronted by a deadly quartet of nations increasingly working together,” he said.

“We in this country and the NATO alliance … have got to be able to confront that particular quartet as well as the other problems that are pervading the world.”

The description of China as “deadly” is far stronger than the more nuanced language used by the previous government about Beijing.

Lord Robertson did not identify the quartet by name but the other three countries are thought to be Russia, Iran and North Korea.

Read more from Sky News:
Trump reveals JD Vance as running mate for US election
Moon cave ‘could be base’ for future astronauts, scientists say
Man confesses to killing 42 women

John Healey, the current defence secretary, said the external team would work with the “deep expertise” inside the Ministry of Defence on a review that he promised would be delivered “at pace” within the first half of next year. They will also draw on submissions from academia, think tanks and even journalists.

He said the UK needed a “new era for defence”. Yet he still faces the same old problems of a military that has been hollowed out by decades of cost-saving cuts and with limited finances available to deliver the transformation that will be needed.

The government has pledged to increase defence spending to 2.5% of national income from about 2.2% at present, but has failed to offer any kind of timeline.

Mr Healey, speaking candidly alongside Lord Robertson, said even such an uplift in expenditure would not be a “magic wand” that would fix all problems.

“Because if we simply use additional funding to relieve some of the pressures in present programmes and plans, we will fail to get to grips with the very serious situation we face and the changes we must make to be better fit to fight in the future, better able to defend Britain, and better able to deter the threats that we may face in the future as well.”

Mr Healey also revealed a desire for the wider defence sector to play a much larger role in the government’s plans to boost economic growth.

“In many ways, defence is the untold story of economic growth and the economic engine in Britain,” he said, noting that the average wage is 40% higher than other manufacturing sectors, while 70% of defence industry jobs are outside London and the South East.

“So, for a government that wants to drive growth, improve productivity and spread wealth creation, defence is one of the cornerstones of a new industrial strategy.”

admin 0 Comments

Uncategorized

Jun 29 2024

Bench Across Britain: After 100 years of dominance, will Labour retain its grasp on Wales? | Politics News

The Welsh electorate has travelled in one direction for the last 100 years.

Labour always win more votes and seats than their rivals in Wales but, floating our parliamentary bench on a barge across the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, we discover not everything is as tranquil as it seems in this stunning beauty spot.

The 20mph speed limit, wind farms and waiting times on the NHS are all matters raised by people who are not happy with Labour’s record in the Senedd.

The first person we meet is Reuben Jones, who works at the local barge hire company adjacent to the aqueduct.

“I’m a transgender person,” says Reuben. “I’m very unhappy with the state of the Israeli-Palestinian conflicts at the moment. There are a lot of issues with the education system, a lot of problems with the health care system.

“Neither the Conservatives nor Labour have made a concentrated effort to stand up for trans people in the UK.”

‘Equal society’

Labour have been criticised by JK Rowling for their stance on Transgender issues. The author accused the party of being “dismissive and often offensive towards women fighting to retain their rights”.

Labour have restated their plans to “modernise” the gender transition process, but Reuben feels Plaid Cymru have more to say and “are interested in an equal society and want to stand up for transgender rights”.

“I understand in certain women’s groups concerns about their safety,” Reuben adds. “I do empathise with that. But at the same time, they want to erode the rights of transgender people, which is not the right thing to do either.”

Navigating our green bench across Thomas Telford’s breathtaking aqueduct, the Llangollen Canal narrows to the width of our boat with a sheer drop on one side down to the River Dee which sparkles innocently 120ft below my feet.

Once across to the other side, we find retired project manager Paul Otteson, from Carmarthenshire, a man who loves the Welsh countryside and is angry about plans to build wind farms in Llandovery, where he is from in South Wales. His main concern seems to be what is going to happen with the cabling from the turbines.

“We know we need electricity, but there has to be a better way of doing it,” he says. “Recently, they had a vote in the Senedd, and it was a tie. And the Labour casting vote was against burying cables. So, obviously, Labour are not in my good books at the moment.”

The vote was split between Welsh Conservatives and Plaid Cymru who voted for the more expensive option of laying the powerlines underground and Welsh Labour who voted against that, over concerns it would make the project unviable.

‘Best ideas’

But walking down the same towpath, retired bed and breakfast owner Hilary Thomas says: “We need more electricity. We need more solar panels. We need more wind farms. We need a tidal barrage in Wales down on the Bristol estuary there. Anything that keeps the cost down.”

In her mind, Hilary says she has flip-flopped over whom to vote for and still hasn’t decided who has “the best ideas”.

There have been 25 years of devolution in Wales and Labour have always been the largest party, so just as in the rest of Britain the incumbent Conservatives are being judged for their record in government, in Wales so too are Labour.

As we continue upstream and speak to others, Labour’s record on the NHS comes under attack. Some of their spending is described as “wasteful” but the most common topic of conversation is the roads, which many complain aren’t much faster than the waterways since the Welsh government introduced its 20mph speed limits.

‘Money wasted’

Reaching the Telford Inn we meet master and lady of the house Robert and Sarah Kinton-Chittenden, who are happy, after serving lunch, to take a rest on our bench, which is now providing extra seating in their beer garden.

“Very comfy. I can see why they nod off in parliament,” says Sarah, pressing down on the green upholstery. They talk about lower speed limits impacting on tourism to their pub, failure to tackle immigration and the state of the national health service. “That needs sorting out,” says Sarah.

“Massively,” agrees Robert.

“Because so much (money) went on this 20 mile-an-hour (speed limit), however much it was. I don’t remember the statistics,” says Sarah.

“It’s £35m,” adds Robert.

“Something that could have been put into our national health. You know, it’s wasted now,” says Sarah.

Robert picks up again: “No doubt they’ll spend another £35m putting it back, so that’s £70m wasted. It could have gone into hospitals and schools. Ridiculous. What a waste of time.”

The Welsh government estimates it would cost £5m to reverse some of the reduced speed limits.

The couple agree with the argument made by Welsh nationalists Plaid Cymru that Wales is owed £4bn to compensate for the decision not to build HS2 all the way to Manchester, which would have helped people travelling to North Wales.

“I do think there needs to be more money put into Wales and we’re talking an extra few billion because of the lack of high-speed trains,” says Robert. “They spent loads of money and it only goes to Birmingham. There’s already a train to Birmingham and it runs every day. Pointless. Ridiculous!”

Like several of the people we have spoken to along the river, Sarah and Robert haven’t yet decided where their vote will go.

Read more:
Fractured SNP could mean Labour gains in Scotland
Farming community calls for ‘more support’
Performers and punters weigh up votes in election circus

Our longboat chugs through a constituency that has been swallowed up in the boundary changes, Clwyd South, now distributed among four other constituencies. A long-time Tory target it was finally stolen from Labour by the Conservatives in 2019.

Polls suggest voters in the countryside region, along with the nearby city of Wrexham, will turn back to Labour – but from our short trip down the canal, we have found quite a number of floating voters.

admin 0 Comments

Uncategorized

Apr 29 2024

Warmer weather is finally on its way, with parts of Britain set to bask in 20C heat | UK News

Highs of 20C are expected in parts of the UK this week, the Met Office has said, following a spell of cold, wet and windy weather.

Forecasters expect warmer weather to return mid-week, with southeast England set to enjoy the highest temperatures.

But there will still be scattered showers or longer spells of rain across the UK – and areas north of Newcastle, particularly the east coast of Scotland, will see the coldest temperatures this week.

Get the latest weather forecast where you are here

Senior Met Office meteorologist Amy Bokota said: “Temperatures have been below average for the last couple of weeks, so certainly by the time we get to Wednesday, and probably into next weekend, temperatures will be warmer.

“It might not be the sort of glorious sort of heatwave that we’re hoping for… but there probably will be some more pleasant and warmer weather for some people as we head towards the end of the week.”

The warmer weather comes after heavy rain interrupted sports matches and flood warnings were issued across the UK over the weekend.

Emergency services were called to assist two people inside a car that was submerged in around 50cm of floodwater under a railway bridge in Thurmaston, Leicester, on Sunday morning.

Cricket matches across the country were postponed or cancelled over the weekend because of the rain and soggy grounds, including Vitality County Championship games in County Durham, Yorkshire and Leicester.

The Environment Agency issued several flood warnings for Sunday, meaning flooding was expected, including in St Ives in Cornwall, areas on the River Wreake in Leicestershire, Water Eaton Brook at Water Eaton and several towns on the Isle of Wight.

So far this month, the maximum temperature recorded has been 21.8C in Writtle, Essex, on 13 April with a low of -6.3C recorded in Shap, Cumbria, on 26 April and a UK-wide average of 8.4C.

Grey skies and rain have made April feel unusually cold, the Met Office has said.

But it has actually been “on the warmer side of average”, said Ms Bokota.

It has been a “been a month of two halves”, she added: “Quite warm for the first half, and then quite cool up until now.”

It has definitely been “wetter than average for the UK as a whole”, however, meaning many areas of the UK have been “quite dull so far for the time of year”.

admin 0 Comments

Uncategorized

Mar 16 2024

Diane Abbott hits out at ‘level of racism still in Britain’ as MP is cheered by supporters at rally | Politics News

Diane Abbott has appeared at a rally where she hit out at the “level of racism that is still in Britain”, following a row over comments made about her.

Ms Abbott was greeted in Hackney, east London, with cheers and chants of “I stand with Diane” after a Tory donor’s reported offensive remarks.

The former Labour MP praised the people of Hackney whom she said “stood by her – year after year, decade after decade”.

Politics latest: ‘Sunak chicken’ stunt outside Downing Street after PM rules out 2 May election

In the wake of the race row, she said: “This is not about me, this is about the level of racism that is still in Britain. This is about the way that black women are disrespected.”

The MP for Hackney and Stoke Newington, who was suspended from the parliamentary Labour Party last year, went on to say her mother came to Britain in the 1950s as a nurse.

“She was in that generation of black women who built the national health service,” she said.

Ms Abbott, who currently sits as an independent MP in the Commons, attended the rally days after comments by Tory donor Frank Hester emerged in The Guardian.

He reportedly said at a 2019 meeting that she made him “want to hate all black women” and that she “should be shot”.

Mr Hester, who is the chief executive of The Phoenix Partnership, said he was “deeply sorry” for the remarks, but insisted they had “nothing to do with her gender nor colour of skin”.

The Conservatives have faced pressure to return the money Mr Hester has donated to the party in the wake of the row, which is understood to total £15m since 2019.

There have also been calls among Ms Abbott’s supporters for her to be allowed back into the parliamentary Labour Party again by having the whip restored.

Read more:
Rayner wants Abbott back in parliamentary Labour Party

Ms Abbott had the Labour whip removed from her last year following comments she made in the Observer in which she said Jewish, Irish and Traveller people do not face “racism” but instead suffer prejudice similar to “redheads” – something for which she later apologised.

On Friday night, The Independent reported Ms Abbott had not had the whip restored because she refused to take part in antisemitism training – a claim she rejected as a “blatantly shoddy piece of journalism”.

The Labour Party has said it does not comment on individual cases.

admin 0 Comments

Uncategorized

Jan 26 2024

Mounjaro: New weight loss drug approved for use in Britain to be available ‘within weeks’ | UK News

An American weight loss drug approved in a four-dose injection pen format for use in Britain could be available “within weeks”.

Mounjaro, also known as tirzepatide, is a diabetes drug that was authorised by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to help obese and overweight adults lose and manage weight in November last year.

The authorisation of the US pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro “KwikPen” means the company will be able to “begin supply to the UK within weeks”, according to its president and general manager of UK and Northern Europe Laura Steele.

The Mounjaro KwikPen gives four doses of the drug for once-a-week treatment over a month, and has been approved to treat adults with type 2 diabetes and for weight management in obese adults, as well as overweight adult patients who have weight-related health problems like prediabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or heart problems.

Julian Beach, MHRA interim executive director of healthcare quality and access, said: “The public health importance of safe and effective treatments to help manage diabetes and obesity, which can have a significant impact on people’s health, is clear.

“This approval enables access to the approved Mounjaro pen in a more convenient presentation of a month’s treatment, of one dose per week.”

The jab was approved for NHS use in September last year by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) as an option for patients with type 2 diabetes who do not have the condition under control, but NICE has yet to approve use of the drug for obesity.

The active ingredient in the drug helps to reduce sugar levels in people with type 2 diabetes when their levels are high, and works as a weight management drug by making a patient feel full, and making them experience fewer food cravings.

The MHRA’s newest authorisation is based on the results of a bridging study which showed the efficacy and safety of the multidose Mounjaro KwikPen are expected to be the same as those for the single-dose pen.

Read more:
Surgeon warns against weight loss operations abroad
Weight loss pill with gastric balloon inside being used by NHS
Patients waited over five years for operations in Wales

Douglas Twenefour, head of care at Diabetes UK, said: “We hope the MHRA’s approval of this device will help people living with type 2 diabetes, who are eligible, to access this effective treatment.

“Supporting people with type 2 diabetes to lose weight and manage their blood sugar levels is key to reducing the risk of diabetes-related complications, and tirzepatide (Mounjaro) expands the range of treatment options available to help people achieve this.”

However, the MHRA warned Mounjaro may affect how well the contraceptive pill works in obese or overweight female patients.

It also listed potential side effects of the medicine, including nausea, diarrhoea, vomiting – which usually goes away over time – and constipation.

Low blood sugar is also “very common” in patients with diabetes, the agency added.

The MHRA said it will keep the safety and effectiveness of Mounjaro under close review.

admin 0 Comments

Uncategorized

Jan 14 2024

Snow set to cause disruption as Britain braces for week of freezing temperatures | UK News

Snow is set to hit parts of Scotland today before spreading south next week as cold air from the Arctic brings freezing temperatures.

Up to 5cm of snow is expected in places by the end of Sunday, causing disruption on the roads and railways.

A yellow weather warning for snow and ice is in place into Monday, covering areas including the Highlands and the Orkney and Shetland Islands.

Northern Ireland could also see up to 5cm of snow on higher ground on Monday, with a yellow warning in place from 3am until the end of the day.

Check the five-day forecast where you are

Forecasters predict the snow will then move south over the course of the week, with the potential for wintry weather in parts of northern England on Tuesday.

Southern regions were said to be at “low risk” of snow.

Met Office meteorologist Honor Criswick said: “It is going to be feeling pretty chilly in the north of Scotland.

“Throughout the week we are going to see more and more snow showers and warnings, towards the end of the week we will probably see an accumulation.

“The warning is of 2cm to 5cm of snow, throughout the week there is the possibility we will see a build up of snow.

Read more:
Why forecasting snow in the UK is a big challenge

“On Tuesday, we are going to see more rain turning to snow moving east across the country, with more prolonged snow and more accumulations at low levels in the north of Scotland and northern England.

“That’s where we could see 5cm or 10cm of snow in low-lying areas.

“There’s a very low chance the south might see a bit of it.”

admin 0 Comments