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Category: UK

  • As the ICJ rules AGAINST Israel, is it enough – as no ceasefire ordered at all

    On Saturday 27 January Bristol will host three pro-Palestine events. One is part of a national day of action, another will feature a tour of supermarkets complicit in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza – and finally people will gather for a vigil. It comes just as the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that South Africa does have a genocide case against Israel – and that their is sufficient evidence of genocide that it imposed immediate provisional measures on it; albeit these appeared to be just telling Israel to ‘follow the law’.

    Israel: the genocide continues – and the ICJ recognises this.

    Israel has killed more than 25,000 people in Gaza, a further 8,000 are missing presumed crushed under the rubble, over 62,000 are injured, and a quarter of the population are facing extreme hunger. Added to this, it is reported that Israeli snipers have taken up positions on rooftops killing civilians as they flee.

    UN secretary general António Guterres has denounced Israel for the “heartbreaking” deaths of Palestinian civilians in Gaza. He has said the resolution to the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict lies in “the acceptance of the right of the Palestinians to statehood” – but Israel totally rejects this.

    Now, the ICJ has ruled that Israel must:

    • Take all measures within its power to prevent genocide – including killing and injuring Palestinians in Gaza.
    • Stop any incitement to genocide – including from members of the public.
    • Take immediate and effective measures to allow humanitarian assistance to enter Gaza.
    • Prevent the destruction of evidence relating to genocide.

    However, the ICJ did not order a ceasefire – and what South Africa asked for has not entirely been delivered. Essentially, the court has partially done its job – but not gone far enough at all.

    So, in the UK people are continuing to show solidarity with the Palestinian people – with 27 January looking set to be no exception, especially in Bristol.

    Barclays: propping up genocide

    Firstly, members of Bristol Palestine Solidarity Campaign will be protesting from 10am until 12pm outside Barclays Bank in the Podium in Broadmead. As the Canary reported, this is part of a nationwide day of action again the bank.

    According to a recent report by War on Want, the bank holds £1,300,688,880 in shares of companies whose weapons, components, and military technology have been used in unlawful violence against Palestinians. This includes investments in BAE Systems, Boeing and Elbit Systems,

    Moreover, it provides over £3bn in loans and underwriting to nine companies whose weapons, components, and military technology have been used in Israel’s armed violence against Palestinians.

    A spokesperson for Bristol Palestine Solidarity Campaign said:

    People will be shocked to hear that Barclays Bank owns over a billion pounds of shares in arms companies supplying Israel. In addition, Barclays provides a further four billion pounds in loans and other financial services to arms companies including Elbit, Raytheon, and Caterpillar.

    It’s shocking that Barclays bank executives are making profits from arms companies supplying Israel with the weapons it uses to maim and kill people in Gaza. If People want to help please google #BoycottBarclays to find out how they can switch their bank account away from Barclays.

    A boycott tour as the ICJ rules

    Next, members of Bristol Palestine Alliance (BPA) will gather at 10.30am outside Sainsbury’s near Cabot Circus in Broadmead. They will then hold a ‘boycott tour’ of Sainsbury’s and Tesco stores near Union Street, then pass a further two Tesco stores on Wine Street and Clare Street, then visit Sainsbury’s on Broad Quay on the Centre, then finish at Tesco on College Green. The tour is expected to take about two hours.

    BPA was formed in response to the horrific events happening in Gaza. Acting as an umbrella group, it brings members from organisations and groups and communities in Bristol together to respond collectively to organise marches and other events to call for a ceasefire in Gaza and an end to Israel’s brutal occupation of Palestine. It is based on the network of solidarity that has been successfully built in this city over many years.

    A ‘long and radical history’

    A spokesperson for the group said:

    Bristol people are horrified at what is happening in Palestine. They have marched, repeatedly, in their thousands to show their opposition. But no-one in power is listening. So people want to know what else they can do? Boycotting Israeli products in our local shops is the next logical step.

    All seven supermarkets in central Bristol have Israeli products on their shelves right now. These include avocados, figs, and even certain brands of hummus. In addition there are big name brands that trade with or support Israel that people can choose to avoid.

    The idea of a boycott campaign has a long and radical history. The word BOYCOTT originates from the 19th century Irish land struggles against English colonialism. It was also used in Bristol to avoid sugar produced on slave-labour plantations. And is well known for the vital role it played in opposition to Apartheid in South African.

    People can find out more by googling BDS which stands for Boycott-Divestment-Sanctions. And there’s even apps called Watermelon and No-Thanks people can download onto their smart-phones to scan bar-codes to check products while they shop.

    When the boycott tour finishes supporters will gather at 1pm on College Green outside City Hall for a vigil.

    Genocide: never again

    A BPA spokesperson said:

    This is a multi-faith/community vigil. Our message is GENOCIDE – NEVER AGAIN FOR ANYONE.

    We invite people of all faiths and backgrounds to join us for a peaceful vigil in remembrance of lives lost in history and lives being lost as we speak.

    We call on our leaders to use their voices to join us in calling for an immediate ceasefire to end the genocide happening in Gaza right now.

    They concluded:

    If people want to find out more about Palestine then visit the Palestine Museum & Cultural Centre on Broad Street. It was created by volunteers and opened just over ten years ago by the Palestine Ambassador and the Lord Mayor of Bristol.

    It was the first permanent Palestine exhibition of its kind in the western world! It’s open every weekend and it’s free. It builds awareness of Palestine issues through meetings, films, and cultural events.

    Featured image via BPA

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • TUSC is organising a left-wing working-class election convention to challenge Starmer’s Labour

    The Trade Union and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) is co-hosting a convention on how to present a “working-class challenge” to the main parties at this year’s general election. The event looks set to be an interesting platform of ideas and planning for smaller political parties on the left. Not that being ‘on the left’ of politics is hard – when you have Keir Starmer’s Labour Party lurching to the right.

    TUSC: convening the working class

    A “Convention to Organise a Working-Class Challenge at the General Election” will take place on Saturday 3 February at the Carrs Lane Centre in Birmingham B4 7SX. Co-hosted by the TUSC, it will also feature the Socialist Party, System Change (formerly Resist), the Campaign for a Mass Workers Party, TUSC Independent Socialists, and Socialist Students.

    The convention is not aimed to be an event of hundreds of people. It is a working event of delegates from the six co-hosting organisations, and a further five socialist parties and campaign groups who have agreed to send representatives. Individual TUSC members who are not otherwise members of a constituent organisation are also welcome.

    The convention will start with an opening session in which campaign groups and socialist organisations considering putting up candidates in the general election will be able to explain their broad position and take questions on their approach. It will also be open to any independent socialist candidates who, like the former Labour MP Emma Dent Coad, have already declared that they are intending to stand.

    Fair media coverage and more

    Then the convention will get down to detail, debating propositions tabled by the Convention Arrangements Committee (and any amendments or alternative proposals received) under six headings:

    • The ‘fair media coverage’ target.
    • The attitude to left-wing Labour candidates.
    • A common name on the ballot paper.
    • The minimum policies that candidates would have to support.
    • The right to campaign independently within a common challenge.
    • Decision-making going forward.

    As the Canary previously reported, TUSC’s own election campaign is already off to a flying start. On 10 January, it announced 38 candidate for this year’s local elections on 2 May. This reflects a growing determination that Starmer’s Tory-lite ‘new’ Labour party should not be left unchallenged at the ballot box.

    It is also this determination which is driving the convention and its aims.

    How to get involved

    In-person attendance at the convention is open to the following:

    • Every campaign group or socialist organisation that is considering supporting or standing candidates in the general election can appoint up to ten delegates to represent their organisation at the event.
    • Any individual member (attending in a personal capacity) of a trade union national executive committee, section or group executive committee member, or elected union branch officer or workplace rep can also attend with voice.
    • Every resigned-from-Labour or independent socialist councillor can attend on the same basis.
    • All individual members of TUSC will also be able to attend to ask questions and speak.

    Zoom will also be available for visitors, who are asked to pay the same registration fee (£5 waged or £2 unwaged or low-waged) as in-person attendees to help meet the event’s costs. The registration form is available here.

    Featured image via TUSC

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Activists occupy a council in Wales over it investing in Israel’s genocide in Gaza

    On Wednesday 24 January, activists occupied a council building in Wales. It was over the council’s investments in arms companies that are complicit in Israel‘s ongoing genocide in Gaza. And thanks to one independent media outlet we know just how much the council has been funnelling into the industry.

    Wales: people say no to Gwent investing in genocide

    In what Newport Palestine Solidarity Campaign called a “bold and impactful move”, activists occupied the Civic Centre in Pontypool, raising their voices against the Gwent Councils’ controversial pension fund investments.

    The Greater Gwent pension fund, in which all five Councils in Gwent are stakeholders, is under scrutiny for its staggering £110m investments in companies linked to human rights abuses against the Palestinian people.

    Independent media outlet voice.wales first reported on this in 2023. It dug into figures from the Palestine Solidarity campaign. voice.wales said overall:

    Welsh council pension funds have a combined total of more than £161m invested in companies that supply the Israeli military.

    Among the top beneficiaries, receiving more than £32m each, were General Electric and BAE Systems. The arms giants have supplied the IDF with weapons systems, engines and other components for the regime’s fighter jets, military helicopters and missile ships.

    Welsh pension funds own £626,799 in shares of French firm Thales and Israeli military contractor Elbit, which together produce surveillance and attack drones for the IDF. Their Watchkeeper drones – some made in Aberporth, Ceredigion – have also been used by the UK Government to surveil refugees crossing the English Channel.

    Elbit: the most despicable of companies

    This revelation comes to light as these investments are found to directly contravene a UN-sanctioned list of companies profiting from illegal settlements on stolen Palestinian land. Activists say the involvement of the pension fund with such entities demands immediate attention and action from both councillors and councils.

    The pension fund’s portfolio includes investments in Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest arms company.

    According to Human Rights Watch, Elbit’s weapons have been implicated in war crimes in Gaza. Experts, Holocaust scholars, UN officials, and NGOs have labeled Israel’s actions in Gaza as genocide, prompting South Africa to initiate legal proceedings in the International Court of Justice against Israel for breaching the Genocide Convention.

    Of particular concern is Elbit’s association with the production of prohibited weapons, including weaponised white phosphorus and cluster bombs, raising grave ethical concerns that demand urgent resolution.

    Pension funds: complicit in war crimes

    Joe Logan from Abergavenny took part in the occupation. They said:

    I am a pensioner with the Greater Gwent Council’s pension fund. I see in their publicity that they aim to invest our money ethically. So I was horrified to find that they are allowing our pension funds to be invested in arms manufacturers like Elbit. Elbit is guilty of supplying the Israeli army with weaponry to use against Palestinian civilians; men, women, and a huge number of children and babies.

    It is a genocidal and cruel massacre of innocents, making my pension fund complicit in these war crimes. They must divest now in the war industry as they must in the fossil fuel industry, for all our futures.

    Hillary Brown from Newport was also there. She said:

    I’m shocked and horrified that Gwent Councils are investing our pensions in war crimes and genocide. I have been heartbroken to see videos daily of the atrocities in Gaza. Councillors need to act now to stop these investments. We all want to have a good pension, but it shouldn’t be at a cost to the most defenceless and vulnerable people in the world.

    Nor should 10,000 children have to die in Gaza, with Gwent pension members as shareholders of this carnage.

    Featured image via Newport Palestine Solidarity Campaign

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • A think tank has a radical plan for the NHS: scrapping the hospital model of care

    The NHS should replace its traditional general hospital model to improve outcomes and reduce cost pressures, a new report from a think tank says. Its authors say the government is using “strikes as a convenient excuse” for the chaos in the NHS. So, the Canary would like to hear your thoughts on the plans.

    NHS: time for a radical change?

    The proposals come as part of a paper published on Thursday 25 January by the centre-left think tank the Social Market Foundation. It’s authored by Nick Bosanquet, former professor of health policy at Imperial College, and Andrew Haldenby, an experienced adviser to public service organisations. You can read the report here.

    Together, they set out a plan for what they claim will be a more efficient NHS, featuring teams led by GPs and including physiotherapists, counsellors, and specialist ‘Dynamo’ operating centres, with the goal of making many trips for hospital treatment obsolete: 30% fewer NHS patients should be attending hospitals in 10 years’ time, the paper proposes.

    The government’s £20bn New Hospital Programme, which entails building 40 new hospitals in England, has been beset by delays and rising costs, and largely replaces existing beds, the paper highlights. The Labour Party has signalled that it will review investment into the New Hospital Programme.

    Swift action is needed

    Bosanquet and Haldenby argue that it should be cancelled and its funds used to invest in a modern hospital system. As the report points out:

    • The NHS is losing public and professional confidence: waiting lists are unacceptable, experienced staff will be in shorter supply, bed numbers are likely to remain static.
    • Previous experience shows productivity can be increased in healthcare: early diagnosis and testing kept HIV/AIDS under control, mortality rates from coronary heart disease have fallen dramatically and the cost and length of stay for hip and knee replacements has fallen.
    • Patterns of demand for healthcare have shifted, with the number of patients with long term conditions like respiratory, cardiac, diabetes and anxiety/depression set to rise from 5.3 million in 2020 to 9.1 million in 2040.

    The proposals in the report say that a modern system would feature a local GP-led teams – a team of health professionals managing all out-of-hospital services in an area, with the aim of reducing hospital admissions over time. These ‘Neighbourhood Teams’ would be tasked with reducing hospital admissions by 30%.

    Without swift action, the paper suggests, the NHS is drifting towards a three-tier system: worst in deprived areas, better in affluent areas, and with more people buying private care.

    Maintaining the district general hospital model prevents policymakers from addressing Britain’s changing health needs, and obstructs the NHS from making necessary efficiencies.

    A new path for the NHS?

    A patient could be treated by their neighbourhood team of healthcare professionals at home, resulting in a more cost-effective outcome than hospital-based care, with the potential to treat four times as many patients in a month.

    Neighbourhood Teams would also maintain continuity of care, which is becoming a more important requirement, given the rise in long term conditions which have physical and mental health elements.

    Neighbourhood Teams would be complemented by “dynamo centres”, with more operating capacity than the new surgical hub units – and should be modelled on the South West London Elective Orthopaedic Centre (rated “among the best in the country”).

    These would be highly specialised, and treat a large enough area such that 24/7 staffing by consultants would be viable. The specialisation and concentration would boost output and success rates, ultimately bringing down waiting lists.

    Remaining district general hospitals would then be left to focus on providing A&E services, and work with Neighbourhood Teams.

    Government using “strikes as a convenient excuse”

    Bosanquet said:

    The NHS’s enormous current resources can deliver a faster, better service within months, even in a climate of great pressure on public spending.

    Haldenby said:

    Ministers are using strikes as a convenient excuse for rising waiting lists. The NHS has talked about the right kind of change for years but progress has been glacial.

    Jamie Gollings, Deputy Research Director at Social Market Foundation said:

    Addressing Britain’s changing healthcare needs whilst delivering better value for public money is challenging, but possible.

    The plan Bosanquet and Haldenby lay out requires great political will to shift our focus away from the traditional hospital model, but there are existing examples to learn from that show how it can be changed. Their paper shows how we can build greater and swifter operating capacity and deliver more healthcare in the community, and cut our losses on the increasingly delayed and burdensome New Hospital Programme.

    The hospital must become a last resort for patients, and they must have avenues for care that preempt and avoid it.

    What do you think of the Social Market Foundation’s proposals? Write a letter for us to publish – email membership(at)thecanary.co

    Featured image via NHS England – YouTube

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Barclays will face mass, nationwide protests this weekend over its funding of Israel’s genocide in Gaza

    Israel is continuing its assault on the Gaza strip with an average of over 150 Palestinians being killed each day in the last week. So far, Israel has killed over 25,000 people in Gaza – including over 10,000 children. That’s why this weekend, Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) and others are organising a day of action against Barclays on Saturday 27 January. The bank is one of the largest funders of Israeli war crimes.

    Barclays: funding Israel’s genocide in Gaza

    The Canary has documented Barclays many crimes against people and planet. From its support for fracking, to oil pipelines, via investing in union-busting companies, and the not-small matter of its former boss’s ties to child trafficker Jeffrey Epstein – Barclays is one of the most notorious corporations on the planet.

    According to a recent report by War on Want, the bank holds £1,300,688,880 in shares of companies whose weapons, components, and military technology have been used in unlawful violence against Palestinians. This includes investments in BAE Systems, Boeing and Elbit Systems,

    Moreover, it provides over £3bn in loans and underwriting to nine companies whose weapons, components, and military technology have been used in Israel’s armed violence against Palestinians.

    Arms companies have seen their factories blockaded in recent months, in response to a call made by Palestinian trade unions:

    The bank also has investments in Caterpillar, whose D9 bulldozers are used to demolish Palestinian homes, schools, and civilian infrastructure to allow settlements to be built in the occupied West Bank, deemed illegal under international law.

    Take action for Palestine

    However, direct action can make a difference. Already several institutions, including pension funds and sovereign wealth funds, have cut their ties to companies profiting from violations of Palestinian human rights. Now, PSC and friends like the Peace and Justice Project want to force Barclays to do the same.

    Groups across the country have been taking action against Barclays including occupying their branches and boycotting their services. Now, this will be coordinated on 27 January nationwide:

    Then, on 9 February hundreds of people will close their Barclays bank account in support of a free Palestine. You can do that here.

    Plus, on Sunday 28 January, Stop the War Coalition is hosting an anti-war convention in East London. This will be an opportunity for people to come together and discuss the collective response to the ever-widening conflict in the Middle East. Join Jeremy Corbyn, National Education Union (NEU) general secretary Daniel Kebede, Palestinian author Ghada Karmi, and more at this ‘Stop Bombing Gaza! Stop Bombing Yemen’.

    The Peace and Justice Project said:

    If our government and businesses won’t end their complicity with Israeli war crimes then we must force them to.

    We hope you can join your local action this weekend and the next National Demonstration on Saturday 3rd February in London.

    Featured image via Extinction Rebellion

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • A parking company is taking on the entire Welsh language – by dragging a guy to court over it

    Language campaigner Toni Schiavone will face a third trial on Friday 26 January for refusing to pay an English-only parking charge notice.

    Dismissing the Welsh language

    According to campaign group Cymdeithas yr Iaith, translating the notice, and avoiding the three court cases over a period of three and a half years, would have cost between £60 and £70.

    Schiavone received the original notice in September 2020 for not paying for parking in a car park in Llangrannog, Wales. Although the court case has already been thrown out twice, parking company One Parking Solution is once again appealing over the notice. The company failed to be present for the first case and the second case was thrown out of court as it was introduced late and under the wrong conditions.

    Speaking ahead of his trial, Schiavone said:

    If One Parking Solution provided me with a Welsh copy of the notice as many other parking companies already do, I would be fully prepared to pay it. Instead, they insist on taking me to court again and again to try to force me to pay the notice in English.

    According to the company, since I understand English, they don’t need to respect my right to use my own language in my own country. It is utterly offensive.

    An ‘absurd’ situation

    Cai Phillips, deputy chair of Cymdeithas yr Iaith’s Welsh Language Rights Group, said:

    The company’s attitude is absurd. We have been informed by several translation companies that the cost of translating the original charge into Welsh would be roughly between £60 and £70. However, instead of doing this and respecting Mr Schiavone’s right, One Parking Solution has insisted on going to court for the third time and paying all the costly legal fees entailed in doing so.

    This dispute reflects the wider failures of the 2011 Welsh Language Measure to guarantee the rights of Welsh speakers in the private sector. Recently, HSBC customers lost the ability to call their bank through the medium of the language. On Saturday Aberystwyth Post Office was picketed because of an anti-Welsh attitude and the lack of Welsh services.

    Since we started our campaign to refuse payment of English-only parking notices, individuals all over Wales have taken up the call and are in similar situations to Toni. It is key that we continue to press to strengthen the 2011 Welsh Language Measure.

    Welsh version

    Bydd yr ymgyrchydd iaith Toni Schiavone yn wynebu trydedd achos llys ddydd Gwener 26 Ionawr oherwydd iddo wrthod talu rhybudd parcio uniaith Saesneg.

    Yn ôl Cymdeithas yr Iaith byddai cyfieithu’r rhybudd, ac osgoi tair achos llys dros gyfnod o dair blynedd a hanner, wedi costio rhwng £60 a £70.

    Derbyniodd Schiavone y rhybudd gwreiddiol ym Medi 2020 am beidio talu am barcio mewn maes parcio yn Llangrannog. Er i’r achos llys gael ei thaflu allan ddwywaith yn barod, mae cwmni parcio One Parking Solution unwaith eto’n apelio. Methodd y cwmni fod yn bresennol ar gyfer yr achos cyntaf a thaflwyd yr ail achos o’r llys gan y cyflwynwyd yn hwyr ac o dan yr amodau anghywir.

    Yn siarad o flaen ei achos llys, dywedodd Schiavone:

    Pe bai One Parking Solution yn darparu copi Cymraeg o’r rhybudd i mi fel mae llawer o gwmnïau parcio eraill eisoes yn gwneud, bydden i’n gwbl barod i’w dalu. Yn lle hynny, maen nhw’n mynnu mynd â fi i’r llys dro ar ôl tro i drio fy ngorfodi i dalu’r rhybudd yn Saesneg.

    Yn ôl y cwmni, gan fy mod yn deall Saesneg, does dim angen iddyn nhw barchu fy hawl i ddefnyddio fy iaith fy hun yn fy ngwlad fy hun. Mae’n gwbl sarhaus.

    Dywedodd Cai Phillips, Is-gadeirydd Grŵp Hawl Cymdeithas yr Iaith:

    Mae agwedd y cwmni yn gwbl hurt. Rydym ni wedi cael gwybod gan sawl cwmni cyfieithu y byddai cost cyfieithu’r rhybudd gwreiddiol i’r Gymraeg rhwng tua £60 a £70. Ond, yn lle gwneud hyn a pharchu hawl Mr Schiavone, mae One Parking Solution wedi mynnu mynd i’r llys am y trydydd tro gan dalu’r holl ffioedd cyfreithiol costus yn y broses.

    Mae’r anghydfod yma’n yn adlewyrchu methiannau ehangach Mesur Iaith 2011 i warantu hawliau siaradwyr Cymraeg yn y sector breifat. Yn ddiweddar, fe gollodd cwsmeriaid HSBC y gallu i ffonio eu banc trwy gyfrwng yr iaith. Ddydd Sadwrn roedd rhai yn picedu Swyddfa Bost Aberystwyth oherwydd agwedd wrth-Gymraeg a diffyg gwasanaeth Cymraeg yno.

    Ers i ni ddechrau ein hymgyrch i beidio talu rhybuddion parcio uniaith Saesneg, mae unigolion ar hyd a lled Cymru wedi gwrthod talu ac mewn sefyllfaoedd tebyg i Toni. Mae’n allweddol ein bod yn parhau i bwyso i gryfhau Mesur Iaith 2011 ei hun yn ogystal a’i weithrediad.

    Featured image via Cymdeithas yr Iaith

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • If you haven’t heard of the forced swim test, you should’ve – as it’s abysmally cruel but still legal

    THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS DESCRIPTIONS AND VIDEO OF ANIMAL EXPERIMENTS WHICH SOME READERS MAY FIND DISTRESSING

    As the Home Office reviews its policy on the forced swim test, over 400 scientists, academics, and medical and veterinary professionals from around the world have sent an open letter to parliamentary under secretary of state for the Home Office lord Sharpe urging him to prohibit the use of the widely discredited and abysmally cruel test in the UK.

    Forced swim test: not valid, not scientific

    The group says in the letter:

    The forced swim test is not a valid or reliable scientific method, and its use must be ended.

    Despite the scientific and welfare concerns, the test is still widely used, and many of those who fund, authorise, or use the forced swim test appear not to be aware of the debate around its use and interpretation.

    The letter (available here) calls for an end to the forced swim test, an experiment that induces panic in small, vulnerable animals by forcing them into inescapable cylinders of water, where they fear they may drown. The animals attempt to climb the steep sides of the container and even dive underwater, desperate to find a means of escape:

    Preposterous mental health claims

    The experiment is conducted under the erroneous assumption that it can reveal something about mental health conditions in humans.

    The Home Office is currently reviewing its policy on the forced swim test in the UK. Advice made public last year from the Animals in Science Committee – an independent advisory body to the Home Office on issues relating to the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 – suggested that many licences to conduct the test had been granted without the proper scrutiny.

    It concluded that the test has significant limitations. PETA is calling for all licences to be revoked and for the forced swim test to be ended in the UK.

    Australia’s National Health and Medical Research Council recently acknowledged that the forced swim test has a significant adverse impact on animals.

    The council announced that the test must not be used in new projects for modelling human depression or anxiety, the treatment of these conditions, nor other reasons without compelling justification. Those currently using the forced swim test must conduct a review of their project within three months.

    ‘Outrageously cruel’

    PETA science policy advisor Dr Kimberley Jayne said:

    Abolishing this outrageously crude and cruel test could spare thousands of animals a terrifying ordeal and encourage scientists to focus on human-relevant research methods. PETA and world-leading academics and scientists are calling for an end to the forced swim test, and the Home Office must implement an immediate policy ban.

    Featured image via PETA – YouTube

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Tories are resurrecting plans to use agency staff to break strikes – and the TUC and REC have hit back

    The Trades Union Congress (TUC) and the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) have urged the government to abandon its rehashed plan to allow agency staff to replace striking workers. Representatives of both the agency sector and unions say this plan is counter-productive, impractical, and could prolong and inflame industrial disputes with trade unions.

    Dismissed by the High Court – but the government is still pressing ahead

    The organisations have joined forces to urge the government to abandon plans to end a longstanding ban on agency workers filling in for workers who are on strike.

    The union body and agency sector body call on ministers to reconsider the ”ill-judged proposal”.

    In June 2023, the government was defeated in the High Court after it rushed through new laws that allowed agencies to supply employers with workers to fill in for those on strike.

    The presiding judge criticised ministers for acting in a way that was “unfair, unlawful, and irrational” and reinstated the ban on agency staff being used to break strikes.

    But despite this rebuke – and strong opposition from employers and unions – ministers are resurrecting the plans.

    Agency staff use will “inflame” situations

    The joint statement from REC and the TUC warns the change could prolong disputes:

    We both believe that using agency staff to cover strikes only prolongs and inflames the conflict between employers and their permanent staff.

    It also risks placing agency staff and recruitment businesses in the centre of often complicated and contentious disputes over which they have no control.

    Where a dispute occurs, the focus should instead be on negotiation and resolution to return to a normal service.

    It also says the proposal is “impractical”:

    The proposal is simply impractical. There are currently significant numbers of vacancies for temporary agency workers. This suggests that many can pick and choose the jobs they take and are unlikely to opt for roles that require them to undermine industrial action.

    Meanwhile, many roles that may be on strike require technical skills or training and impractical to fill with agency workers at very short notice.

    “Less than overwhelming”

    The TUC/REC statement also highlights the failure of government to provide any robust evidence that the changes will benefit employers:

    The previous repeal of this regulation was overturned by the High Court because of failings in consultation.

    In his judgment, Mr Justice Linden concluded that “the case for the measure was on any view less than overwhelming”.

    It is therefore notable that, even though regulation 7 was repealed from July 2022 to August 2023, the government has still not provided robust evidence that lifting the ban benefits employers.

    The statement comes as the TUC is set to hold a march and rally on Saturday 27 January to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the GCHQ trade union ban and to stand up for the right to strike.

    Agency workers: no need for law change

    Neil Carberry, chief executive of the REC, said:

    Agencies across the country have been clear that they do not want the law changed again.

    The ban on direct replacement of striking workers reflects global good practice and protects temps and agencies from being drawn into disputes that are nothing to do with them.

    Removal of the ban does nothing to resolve those disputes either. The REC was clear in 2022 that this is a step which only causes problems for businesses and workers in reality – however good politicians think it sounds.

    TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said:

    The humiliating High Court defeat should have been the final nail in the coffin for these unworkable, shoddy plans to overturn the long-standing ban on agency workers filling in for striking workers.

    Now they are trying to resurrect the proposal despite strong opposition from unions and employers.

    It’s spiteful, cynical – and it won’t work.

    Bringing in agency staff to deliver important services in place of strikers risks worsening disputes and poisoning industrial relations.

    Agency recruitment bodies have repeatedly made clear they don’t want their staff to be put in the position where they have to cover strikes.

    It’s time for ministers to listen and drop these plans for good.

    Agency staff: EHRC criticism

    The human rights watchdog, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), has also criticised the move.

    In its consultation response on 16 January, the EHRC accused the government of failing to provide “sufficient evidence” to justify the restricting people’s rights under Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

    This governs freedom of assembly and association. The ECHR is incorporated into UK law through the Human Rights Act 1998,

    In its response to the government consultation on the changes, the EHRC warns:

    In summary, while Article 11 rights are not absolute, any interference must be proportionate, justifiable and well-evidenced.

    Our assessment is that the government has not provided sufficient evidence to justify further restrictions of Article 11 rights.

    Featured image via Wikimedia

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Twickenham Stadium turned blood red in support of Palestine

    On Monday 22 January Palestine Action covered Twickenham Stadium in blood red paint, hours before the Defence IQ’s ‘International Armoured Vehicles’ expo was due to commence:

    Twickenham Stadium: complicit in Israel’s genocide on Gaza

    The event, which is marketed as “the world’s premier international meeting ground for all elements of the armoured community”, hosts representatives of Israel’s weapons trade, including largest weapons company, Elbit Systems Ltd, along with representatives of their British subsidiary Elbit Systems UK and the Israeli state-owned arms manufacturer, Rafael.

    Based in Haifa, Elbit is responsible for the manufacture of vast amounts of the Israel‘s military technologies – including 85% of its drones and land-based military equipment, all of its small-calibre ammunition, and an array of munitions, surveillance and targeting technologies, and other armaments.

    During the current onslaught on Gaza, which has thus far martyred over 25,000 Palestinians, Elbit Systems’ CEO described the company as playing a crucial role in the genocide, which received gratitude for this by the Israeli military. From this country, Elbit export numerous drone technologies, surveillance and targeting systems, and other weaponry to the Zionist regime, from manufacturing sites in Shenstone, Tamworth, Kent, Bristol, and Leicester.

    Palestine Action has, for over three years, worked to prevent manufacture at these premises and to disrupt Elbit’s appearances and marketing wherever possible – including at high-security weapons fairs such as this.

    A blood-red reminder

    One such example is Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI). Taking place every two years – supported by the UK government, and organised by Clarion Events – DSEI is a massive event for arms dealers. One of its primary functions is to allow arms companies to network with representatives from some of the world’s most repressive regimes.

    Companies will encourage delegates from human-rights-abusing nations such as Bahrain, Qatar, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia to buy the latest weapons to suppress their own populations and/or to wage war against others. Moreover, Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) research shows that over 40 Israeli arms companies – including Elbit Systems – had stalls at DSEI in 2023 – weeks before Israel began its genocide in Gaza.

    Twickenham has, therefore, was covered in a blood-red reminder of the Palestinian bloodshed for which their guests of honour are responsible:

    Action Twickenham Stadium 22/01/24Other companies present include Thales, Elbit’s partner in running their UAV-Tactical-Systems joint enterprise drone plant in Leicester, along with other firms facilitating Israel’s genocide including Leonardo, BAE Systems, and Teledyne.

    A Palestine Action spokesperson said of the expo at Twickenham Stadium:

    That Israeli arms dealers are invited as guests of honour at a time when their deadly output is on full show in the Gaza genocide should shame all people who enter this abominable event. After developing their weaponry in the Laboratory of Palestine, Elbit and Rafael then sell these technologies on to other regimes.

    While our governments happily turn a blind eye to this brutality, Palestine Action will continue to work to make sure that Israeli war criminals have nowhere to hide.

    Featured image and additional images via Palestine Action

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • NZ foreign policy critics warn over ‘inflaming’ Red Sea crisis, call for Gaza ceasefire

    Asia Pacific Report

    A group of foreign policy critics alarmed at the Aotearoa New Zealand government’s “undemocratic decision” to step up support for US-led strikes against Yemen have warned against “inflaming” the Red Sea maritime crisis.

    They have urgently called for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza as they say the Israeli war that has killed more than 25,000 Palestinians is the root cause of the crisis.

    The foreign policy group, Te Kuaka, said in a statement that the government’s decision to deploy a six-member NZ Defence Force team to the Middle East was “deeply alarming”.

    The government announcement came this afternoon at a post-Cabinet media conference.

    Group co-director Dr Arama Rata said: “New Zealand’s involvement in the Red Sea will just inflame regional instability and cause more civilian deaths without addressing the root cause of the Houthi actions, which is ending the genocide in Gaza.”

    Dr Rata said it was deeply alarming that this decision was made without a Parliamentary mandate, particularly given the incredibly high stakes of the crisis.

    “There has been no explicit authorisation of military action in self defence against Yemen by the UN Security Council either,” she said.

    ‘Frightening precedent’
    “This sets a frightening precedent for how foreign policy decisions are made.

    “There are huge risks to not just the Middle East, but New Zealand directly, when we take the side of the US and the UK, nations that have a long history of oppressive intervention in the Global South.”

    Co-director Dr Marco de Jong said: “We know that public opinion and a Parliamentary mandate would have swayed any foreign policy decisions in the direction of calling for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza.

    “Public polls and weekly protests for Palestine, since October 7, have shown this to be the case.”

    Thousands took to Queen Street in the heart of Auckland for the 15th consecutive week to protest over the war and to call for a ceasefire and an end to genocide. One of the Palestinian speakers addressing the crowd reminded them millions of citizen protesters were demonstrating all over the world.

    The protesters condemned Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters for failing to call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza.

    At today’s, post-cabinet media conference Luxon claimed the Houthi attacks were hurting New Zealand exporters.

    Global trade
    “Nearly 15 percent of global trade goes through the Red Sea, and the Houthi attacks are driving costs higher for New Zealanders and causing delays to shipments,” Luxon said.

    However, Dr de Jong said: “By pre-empting these criticisms [such as by critics and protesters] in its own announcement, the government is wrongly suggesting that our intervention in the Middle East will not be viewed in the context of genocide in Gaza and highlighting NZ’s previous involvement in US-led misadventures — which have been similarly deadly and destructive.”

    Dr Rata added: “We need to have an honest reflection about our positioning alongside the US and the UK.

    “Instead of colluding with these colonial powers, we should be standing with countries like Brazil and South Africa, which are challenging old colonial regimes, and represent the majority of the international community.”

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Climate defenders gather at parliament to resist Tories’ ‘deadly’ new oil and gas bill

    On Monday 22 January, campaign groups Fossil Free London, Just Stop Oil, Extinction Rebellion, Scientists for Extinction Rebellion, and their supporters staged a demonstration to resist the Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill, which is having its second reading at the House of Commons:

    The Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill: a disaster

    Members of the groups came together at Parliament Square with banners and placards to voice their outrage against the Bill, moving to the gates of Parliament where MPs enter to vote.

    If passed, the Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill will allow fossil fuel corporations to bid for new North Sea licences every year. The bill comes after the government and North Sea Transition Authorities already announced their plan to give out more than 100 production licences for new oil and gas in the North Sea.

    Whilst the Conservative government justifies continued extraction of new North Sea oil and gas, claiming it’s cleaner than importing gas from outside the UK and will improve the country’s energy security, experts have refuted both claims.

    The government has now also publicly admitted that any gas and oil extracted from the North Sea wouldn’t actually go to UK consumers; it would be sold in the international market.

    Utter madness from the government

    The government’s expansion plans for North Sea oil and gas comes as 2023 was marked as the hottest year ever recorded on Earth, smashing scientists predictions. Further too, the International Energy Agency stated back in 2021 that there can be new oil, gas or coal development if the world is to reach net zero by 2050; a target the UK government is legally bound to.

    Energy secretary Clare Coutinho has admitted new North Sea oil and gas won’t bring down household energy bills. In fact, analysis by Uplift has shown that the development of the Rosebank oil field alone will cost the public £3.75bn in tax relief.

    Joanna Warrington, spokesperson for Fossil Free London, said:

    The UK Government’s Offshore Petroleum Licencing Bill is nothing short of deadly. Pressing ahead with fossil fuel expansion plans in the midst of climate breakdown just makes us less energy secure and fuels the UK’s freak floods as more of our coastal homes drop into the sea. The government is making the interests they serve plain – it’s oily millionaires burning our house down for profit.

    Exposing the government’s “true priorities”

    Pete Knapp of Scientists for Extinction Rebellion said:

    New oil and gas will do nothing to bring down our energy bills, or help with our energy security as most of the oil will be sold on the world market. New oil and gas is also incompatible with keeping within 1.5C. The government is either scientifically illiterate, is playing political games with our futures, or just doesn’t care, but, most likely – all three.

    After everyone agreed to transition away from fossil fuels at COP28 in December, what message is this sending to the rest of the world?

    Kush Naker, a Just Stop Oil supporter and NHS GP said the Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill:

    shows us what the governments true priorities are, they are happy to sacrifice the lives of the British public just to maximise the oil company profits.

    This government is addicted to oil, even though it is killing us. It’s like we have got cancer, but the government is still forcing us to smoke more cigarettes.

    Many Tory MPs know they’ll be kicked out at the next election, so they’ve become even more unhinged. They’re using these last few months to rush through more bills to please their oily billionaire chums in a desperate hope they’ll be offered jobs once they lose their seats. It’s pure greed.

    Feature image and additional images via Zoe Broughton

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Pro-Palestine protesters lay shrouded ‘dead bodies’ across a Tory MP’s front door

    Over 100 pro-Palestine demonstrators took to the streets of Haverfordwest on Saturday 20 January where they staged a ‘mock Funeral’ on Castle Square representing 24,448 dead Palestinians who have been killed by Israel in Gaza in the last 100+ days. The protestors then marched on Conservative MP Stephen Crabb’s Office where the dead bodies were once again laid on the street and outside his office door.

    Protesters inadvertently found a champagne bottle in the office’s recycling – highlighting the hypocrisy of the situation:

    Still marching for Palestine

    Since October 7th, Israel has killed over 25,000 Palestinians in Gaza; over 10,400 of these were children and over 7,100 women, while a further 62,681 have been injured. Israel has killed around 337 health workers, 117 journalists, and 152 UN staff – while 1.9 million Palestinians are now displaced with desperately limited access to food, medicines, and water.

    Protester Ayesha Hussain stated:

    It’s awful that we’ve had to come out again today because our MP Stephen Crabb has STILL refused to call for a ceasefire and stop the killing of innocent men, women and children in Gaza. It’s disgraceful that this is still allowed to happen. We won’t be going away. We will remain steadfast until Palestine is free and until Stephen Crabb grows a backbone and calls for a ceasefire.

    Palestine demoOne of the organisers Jim Scott of Stop the War Pembrokeshire said:

    What kind of world are we living in where we have to make mock up dead bodies like this for a demonstration?

    It is just beyond unfathomable what the people of Gaza are going through right now. Stephen Crabb & Simon Hart MPs have blood on their hands. Crabb isn’t just complicit in the killings in Gaza, he called for this in parliament in October before it even happened.

    He’s the chair of the Conservative Friends of Israel and is part of their propaganda machine dehumanising innocent babies, children, women and men. This is genocide, nothing less and Crabb will be judged by history for this.

    Crabb: support the ICJ ruling

    The Campaign group Solidarity with Palestine Pembrokeshire has also begun delivering weekly open letters to Crabb. This week’s letter focused on the genocide case in the Hague against Israel’s war crimes – asking Crabb: “will you support the ICJ ruling”, if the international court decides that Israel is committing a Genocide in Gaza.

    Campaigners announced that next week’s open letter to Crabb will be an invitation to meet with them and to discuss and justify his current position on the killings taking place in Palestine. Still, protesters lined up the shrouded mock bodies outside his office door:

    mock dead bodies outside Crabb's officeCampaigner Farhana Akhtar said:

    We have had to wrap white clothes around items to create make-believe shrouds to raise awareness and make a powerful statement. Sadly, it is not make-belief in Gaza. The only items coming to Gaza in surplus are shrouds and it’s abhorrent that most of these shrouds are tiny in size as Israel continues its onslaught against children. We will not stop. We will be the voice for the voiceless and we will not be deterred.

    Key National Trade Unionists gave speeches at the rally, including Cerith Griffiths of the Fire Brigades Union Cymru and Mairéad Canavan a National Executive member of the National Education Union.

    Canavan said:

    I am supporting the demonstration because this is a human catastrophe caused by the deliberate action of the Government of Israel and is clearly a war crime and an act of genocide. The UK government has failed to call for a permanent ceasefire and continues to give unconditional support to Israel. As a teacher I’m particularly horrified by the cost of the genocide to children.

    Targeting those complicit with Israel

    Since October 7, local demonstrations have repeatedly marched on Stephen Crabb’s constituency office as well as targeting Marks & Spencer and Barclays bank over their support for Israel’s war and occupation in Palestine, weekly vigils have also been held:

    Mariam Akhtar who attended the protest said:

    Children like me don’t have a chance in Gaza. So many have been killed by Israel but I will be their voice. I will protest and call for this violence to end. Me and many others again ask our MP to be kind and to be a human and stand up for humanity. We ask him to please please call a ceasefire and stand with innocent children.

    It’s so sad to me that brown lives don’t seem to matter but when a white country like the Ukraine is occupied, everyone including us brown people stand against the oppressors and occupiers and we stand with humanity but our leaders are so evil that they won’t even call for the killing to stop.

    Stop Israel’s genocide

    With South Africa’s allegations of Genocide against Israel currently being heard by the ICJ in the Hague, organisers said “It is clear that Israel wants to ethnically cleanse Gaza of Palestinians”, adding that:

    Biden, Netanyahu, Sunak, Starmer, and our own MP’s Crabb and Hart, are complicit in this war crime. We are rallying to send a clear message from Pembrokeshire to Crabb & Hart that this genocide must stop. We are rising up for Palestine and we are certainly not going away as Crabb has been claiming.

    Saturday’s demonstration took place as part of coordinated local rallies around the UK following hundreds of such demonstrations since Israel’s war on Gaza began. National demonstrations have attracted hundreds of thousands of people on the streets of London – and organisers encourage everyone to join local and national rallies in support of Palestine and to demand an end to Israel’s genocide on Gaza.

    Featured image and additional images via Stop The War Pembrokeshire

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Where has the £150 cost of living payment for disabled people gone?

    As the date for the final cost of living payment approaches, the government is still ignoring millions of chronically ill and disabled people over the issue. This is because, while the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will be giving millions of people the £300 – hundreds of thousands of others won’t get anything. Moreover, the cost of living payment isn’t sufficient for many chronically ill and disabled people.

    So, a petition is calling for the DWP to reinstate another cost of living payment that it previously gave out, worth £150.

    Cost of living payments

    As the Canary has documented, the DWP’s cost of living payments have been controversial. There have been two rounds of them. The most recent one saw the department give people £900, split into three payments. It paid the first one in April 2023, the second payment of £300 in October/November, and the third payment of £299 will be made from 6 February.

    People have argued that firstly the money doesn’t even cover the real-terms cuts the government has made to benefits. Secondly, the payments haven’t reflected the rising price of everything (inflation). However, thirdly – over 1.6 million people reliant on benefits have missed out on these cost of living payments.

    So, what did the government do for some of the 1.6 million people it didn’t support? Well, it gave them a cost of living payments worth £150. This was if they were claiming certain benefits like Personal Independence Payment (PIP). The DWP made these payments in 2022 and 2023. However, since then it has not given chronically ill and disabled people any more support – particularly those not entitled to the main cost of living payment.

    Not enough in reality

    This has been devastating for many. Chronically ill and disabled people face far higher costs than non-disabled people – on average a staggering £1,122 per household, per month. Plus, inflation (how much the price of things we buy rises by) has outstripped benefit increase – meaning they’ve actually been real-terms cuts.

    As the Canary previously reported, between April 2021 and September 2023:

    • Prices in general have risen 36% more than benefits have.
    • Food prices in particular have risen 107% more than benefits have.
    • Energy prices have risen 471% more than benefits have.

    So, in reality the main payments were a drop in the ocean for many chronically ill and disabled people – let alone the £150. However, they were at least something – hence a petition is calling on the government to reinstate them.

    Reinstate the disability cost of living payment

    Tom Howard is a disability rights campaigner. In December 2023, he started a petition calling on the government to reinstate the £150 cost of living payment. The petition states:

    The rising cost of living, especially the rise in energy bills, disproportionately affects disabled people. For example, someone with a chronic lung condition may require a set temperature in their home. This may mean that they have their heating on more than a comparable household. Furthermore, some may require specialist and/or medical equipment to be plugged in and active throughout the day. This, in turn, can lead to higher energy usage and therefore higher energy bills. This point is even more pertinent as energy bills are set to increase further at the start of January 2024.

    The petition calls on the government to:

    to acknowledge the plight of disabled people and reinstate the Disability Cost of Living Payment. The payment should also be reviewed and increased to effectively support disabled people in the UK. It is a matter of basic human rights and social justice.

    You can sign the petition here.

    ‘Sidelined and forgotten’

    Tom told the Canary:

    Time and time again, disabled people are sidelined and forgotten by those representing us in government. It shouldn’t surprise anyone that less than 2% of MPs identify as disabled, but amongst the general public this figure has been recorded as high as 24%.

    Politics is inaccessible, and this is also true on a local level. Numerous support programmes used to exist to help disabled people get into politics. Such programmes have, of course, fallen victim to a decade of cuts and austerity under the Tories.

    This leads me onto my petition, as petitions are needed so our voices can be heard.

    In this petition, I am calling for the immediate review and reinstatement of the Disability Cost of Living Payment. This payment was made to around six million eligible individuals in Autumn 2022 and early Summer 2023.

    Then, news of this financial support disappeared.

    The government needs to act

    Tom continued:

    Campaign groups, lobbyists and MPs have since questioned the government and it appears, at present, there is no current plan to continue this financial support for disabled people in the UK. But, the fact remains, disabled people have been disproportionately affected by the Cost of Living Crisis.

    I’ve been contacted by individuals that require round the clock heating due to their lung condition, or constant use of electricity for their medical equipment. It’s not possible for these individuals to simply cut their energy usage as doing so could have a severe impact on their health and wellbeing.

    The Disability Cost of Living Payment, albeit not nearly enough, provided some respite for those in need and helped mitigate the disproportionate costs being faced by the most vulnerable in our society. I urge the government to consider their current stance and to immediately reinstate this support for disabled people across the UK.

    Tom is right – chronically ill and disabled people are always an afterthought by governments and institutions, due to systemic ableism. While the £150 cost of living payment may not be much in comparison to the main payment, it did indeed provide some respite.

    For the government to allow inflation to have got out of control, while providing no support for chronically ill and disabled people, is nothing short of a scandal. It must address the issue now.

    Please sign and share the petition today. You can do that here.

    Featured image via the Canary

    By Steve Topple

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • CWU slams leaking of Ofcom report into Royal Mail as regulator proposes deliveries EVERY OTHER DAY

    The Communication Workers Union (CWU) has issued a furious response to the leaking of an Ofcom report into Royal Mail. Little wonder really, when one of the regulator’s reported proposals is letter deliveries every other day. However, there’s more to this story than meets the eye – because it all hinges on the company’s new bosses, and whether Ofcom is simply ‘reading the (board) room’ over the state of Royal Mail.

    Royal Mail: in dire straits

    Royal Mail has been in dire straits for years. For example, as the Canary has documented it made a £1bn operating loss in the 52 weeks from March 2022 to 26 March 2023. As we wrote at the time, this level of losses shows:

    bosses’ management of the company was a shambles. This won’t come as a surprise to anyone who’s been following the dispute between the CWU and Royal Mail. The company has lurched from self-induced crisis to self-induced crisis.

    From its (now former) CEO Simon Thompson lying to a parliamentary committee, to him and his cronies threatening to declare Royal Mail insolvent if the CWU didn’t bow down to their demands, the past 12 months at the company have been a farce.

    Moreover, as anyone who still receives letters will tell you, Royal Mail’s service is already dire – thanks to management. However, don’t take customers’ word for it. In November 2023, Ofcom fined Royal Mail £5.6m for missing its first and second class mail delivery targets for the entire financial year of 2022-23.

    Postal deliveries every other day?

    So, as Sky News reported the regulator is reviewing Royal Mail‘s options after years of chaos. It is supposedly releasing a report on Wednesday 24 January into the Universal Service Obligation (USO). This is part of the deal that Royal Mail has with the government – where, to be allowed to have a monopoly on letter deliveries, it has to operate them six days a week.

    Ofcom will reportedly look at a range of options. However, none of these appear to be good for the customer, workers, or the business itself. Sky News says it:

    has learnt the regulator will on Wednesday publish a consultation paper on the future of the Universal Service Obligation (USO), which industry sources believe is likely to include reforms such as modifying first and second-class delivery targets; following European markets such as Germany and Italy in moving to alternate-day deliveries; providing a state subsidy to support the USO; and allowing Royal Mail to impose higher stamp prices.

    Amending the current six-day USO – which obliges Royal Mail to deliver to every UK address six days a week for the price of a stamp – to a five-day structure that would then lead to the long-standing system of Saturday deliveries being scrapped is also understood to be among the options that will be presented in the Ofcom paper.

    However, axeing the USO altogether, as Denmark has done recently, is unlikely to be a realistic option that would gain support from ministers.

    Predictably, the CWU has hit back.

    Ofcom: a “sham” and in cahoots with bosses and the government?

    The union slammed not only the leak of the report, but Ofcom overall. A CWU spokesperson said:

    The early leaking of the details of the Ofcom report on the future of the Universal Service Obligation (USO) to the media sums up the lack of professionalism, integrity, and credibility they have as a regulator.

    This report, like their previous investigation on quality of service, has been produced without the input of a single postal worker or the CWU.

    Ofcom have abandoned their responsibilities on quality of service and are now attempting to do the same on the USO.

    Debating the future of the postal service in the absence of those who work for it and deliver it every day is completely inappropriate and should tell everybody what Ofcom’s real priorities and motives are.

    It is therefore no surprise to see Ofcom potentially recommending letter deliveries every other day which is a serious down-dialling of the USO to a level which would threaten tens of thousands of jobs.

    This is the regulator openly pursuing the failed agenda of the former Royal Mail Group senior leadership – all of whom have now left the company.

    CWU general secretary Dave Ward went further on Sky News on Monday 22 January. He told host Kay Burley:

    we think the whole of Ofcom’s approach is a complete sham. It’s about getting to a predetermined outcome. And we’re not going to sit back and allow Ofcom, Royal Mail, the government, to destroy what is an important public service which customers still support…

    A “huge test” of the new bosses

    Further to this, a CWU spokesperson laid out the union’s position:

    The CWU and our members are not blind to the need for change. But we want change based on the needs of customers, the security of our members’ jobs and driven by an ambitious growth strategy that sees the infrastructure, fleet and presence in every community as Royal Mail’s key assets.

    The CWU will work with economists to produce an alternative and independent view on the future of postal services in the UK and embark on a major engagement exercise with our members, businesses and the public.

    This is a huge test of the new leadership of Royal Mail.

    There has been some positive recent signs but they must now decide whether to back a completely failed vision which will destroy the company or change direction and join the CWU in expanding the role of postal workers and in turn expanding services, job security and profit.

    Royal Mail: another critical juncture

    Royal Mail is at a critical juncture yet again. After years of previous bosses decimating the service, the new ones do – as the CWU state – have a chance to turn the company around. However, this will only happen if they work with staff – something that has previously not happened. However, Ofcom’s intervention and the leaking of the details of it do not bode well.

    Clearly, either the regulator is still on the same page as Royal Mail’s former bosses – or, it is reflective of the position the new management will take; that is, stripping the company back to little more than a red-logoed Uber. Either way, the CWU needs to act, and quickly, before another one of Britain’s great institutions is consigned to the dustbin of history.

    Featured image via screengrab

    By Steve Topple

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Labour has a predictably grim response to an anti-genocide protest at Lammy/Fabian Society shindig

    On 20 January, shadow foreign secretary David Lammy gave a speech at the Fabian Society conference. Lammy’s speech was interrupted by pro-Palestinian protesters who asked him:

    will you condemn the genocide?

    and:

    how many more children need to die?

    The Fabian Society had a predictably grim response to it all:

    Lammy and the Fabian Society: all about power

    If you’re unsure what the Labour Party-affiliated Fabian Society is, they are to Blairite neoliberal politics what dog shit is to bad smells. When they say ‘power not protest’, what they mean is they’d rather be the ones privatising the NHS than the ones lacking healthcare under it; they’d rather be the ones starting the Iraq war than the ones dying in it; and they’d rather be the ones giving Fujitsu a contract for software that doesn’t work than the subpostmasters going to prison over it.

    ‘Power’ is an empty word in that they want it purely for its own sake; not because they’d do anything moral or useful with it. And people were quick to point this out:

    And talking about wielding power:

    Political commentator Barnaby Raine linked the tweet to the Fabian’s history of grim commentary:

    Shadow party

    It wasn’t for nothing that protesters targeted Lammy, as the shadow foreign secretary is also being roundly criticised. Diane Abbott was another person pointing out how useless power is in the hands of these Labour politicians:

    In this interview Lammy said “it’s about change through power, not protest”:

    It’s increasingly unclear what this slogan they’re so happy with even means. Will those who protested Lammy be allowed to share the power if Labour becomes the next government? If not, then how will they exert change if they don’t agree with Labour, if not through protest?

    Change?

    Labour keeps telling us that change can only happen when they’re in power; they also keep telling us they won’t offer any change to the Tories:

    People are protesting Labour not because they think Labour has the power to act now; they’re protesting Labour because they’re worried what Labour will do when it’s in government. They’re drawing a line in the sand and they’re saying we don’t condone this under the Tories, and we won’t condone it under you.

    Public dissatisfaction being what it is, Labour has an open shot at the goal in the next election. Despite this, they’re doing their upmost to kick the ball directly at the stands.

    Featured image via Sky News

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Kuenssberg runs to protect Mone – blaming her PPE pandemic profiteering on a lack of ‘hindsight’

    When people heard about the PPE profiteering – notably Michelle Mone – that went on during the coronavirus pandemic, most people immediately knew it was wrong – and not just wrong, corrupt. Would you believe the BBC‘s political figurehead Laura Kuenssberg has found something other than blatant corruption to blame the fiasco on?

    Mone PPE: how odd she would lie

    Kuenssberg and her panel of guests on Sunday With… on 21 January were discussing Tory baroness Mone, who was involved in a very prominent PPE scandal (as summarised here by the Guardian):

    The Department of Health and Social Care granted a newly formed company, PPE Medpro Ltd, two contracts worth a total of £203m in May and June 2020. The first, for £80.85m, was to supply 210m face masks, and the second was to supply 25m sterile surgical gowns, for which the government paid £122m.

    The contracts were processed via the “VIP lane”, which gave high priority and fast-tracked PPE offers from companies introduced by people with connections to the government…

    PPE Medpro had clear links to Barrowman’s Knox group, but after the contracts were published in the autumn of 2020, and in response to questions from the Guardian, Mone and Barrowman fiercely denied being involved.

    Turns out they were involved and stood to make tens of millions – something they later confessed to.

    Odd that they’d lie, no? Almost as if they always knew it was wrong, and they didn’t need hindsight in the first place.

    Hindsight

    Kuenssberg was speaking to guest Tom Hunter, who like Michelle Mone is a Scottish ‘entrepreneur’ (i.e. someone who’s very good at making money from other people’s labour). Kuenssberg asked him:

    Do you think she’s been treated fairly? She’s very clear that she’s been made a scapegoat.

    Given the widespread nature of the PPE scandal, there’s a strong argument to be made that she’s a scapegoat. However, that doesn’t mean she’s being treated unfairly – just that everyone else is being treated more favourably than they deserve.

    Kuenssberg continued:

    Or do you look at her and think ‘it’s just a terribly sad mess, but she may have made mistakes’ – what do you think?

    The eagle-eyed among you may have noticed that Kuenssberg provided Hunter with a choice of two answers – said answers being:

    • Mone was unfairly scapegoated.
    • Mone made mistakes.

    Personally, we think it’s a weird interview technique to provide ready-made answers – some might say a leading technique. Putting that to one side, surely it should have been a choice between:

    • She was treated unfairly/she made mistakes/she accidentally did a multi-million pound deal somehow.
    • She’s corrupt/she done it on purpose/she’s a wrong ‘un.

    Against BBC etiquette, Hunter responded with some thoughts of his own:

    I think she’s her own worst enemy. I think she has – in her interview with yourself – you know – it was a car crash interview. Why did she decide to do it – you must be very persuasive.

    Kuenssberg laughed deeply at this, although her face did turn suddenly serious – perhaps realising it wouldn’t do to have politicians thinking she’s making a mug of them. While politicians on her show do frequently come off terribly, that’s 99% their own doing; they’d come across much worse if it wasn’t for Kuenssberg’s interventions.

    Hunter continued:

    But she is not the only one who benefitted. If I had been running the government – thank god I’m not – I would have said can you help us, but I’m putting a cap on the profits you can make. Because there’s something above profit here. Our country is in dire straits; we need your help as entrepreneur, but let’s cap the profits.

    An unhappy Kuenssberg responded (bold and all-caps added for emphasis):

    ALRIGHT, WELL HINDSIGHT MIGHT BE A WONDERFUL THING.

    No-sight

    Yes, Laura – absolutely no one had ever raised the alarm about capitalism run amok before the pandemic. Famously, Karl Marx didn’t write Das Kapital until 2023, and buy ‘wrote’ we of course mean ‘lip synced it on Tik Tok’, because no one writes books anymore.

    Sadly, we also didn’t have words like ‘corruption’, ‘cronyism’, or ‘blatant malfeasance’ either. If we had, maybe the people in charge would have said to themselves, ‘perhaps this corrupt cronyism we’re doing is actually a blatant malfeasance’.

    People had some things to say, anyway:

    Mone PPE: Kuenssberg covers again

    ‘Hindsight’ applies to situations like when you drive down a country road only to discover it’s flooded and you can’t pass. It doesn’t apply to a situation in which you drive into a river you’ve always known was there because you thought it would be a quicker route to the other side.

    It’s funny that ‘hindsight’ only functions as a talking point in relation to the misdeeds of the wealthy – like the Mone PPE scandal. And by ‘funny’, we of course mean ‘blatantly crooked’.

    Perhaps with the benefit of hindsight, Kuenssberg will one day look back at her career and realise what an absolute joke it was.

    Featured image via BBC

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Cops RAID the home of a pro-Palestinian pensioner – for putting up posters with… DRAWING PINS

    On Wednesday 17 January, four Devon and Cornwall police officers raided the house of a pensioner over allegations of criminal damage to Falmouth and Truro Tory MP Cherilyn Mackrory’s office. The alleged crime was committed using… wait for it… drawing pins.

    April: a criminal mastermind with drawing pins

    The pensioner, April, woke up to find police officers in her house. They arrested her on suspicion of criminal damage while still in her nightie.

    The police alleged that she damaged the office door by attaching posters with drawing pins. Yes, you read that correctly. Cops raided April because she pinned some posters to a door.

    After searching the house, the police de-arrested her on the condition that she voluntarily attends a police interview. A video of the raid, and the impact it had on April, can be seen here:

    Mackrory has refused to engage with constituents, including April. This is despite their repeated requests regarding concerns over her own government’s position on the genocide the Israeli government is perpetrating against Palestinian people, and this government’s complicity in war crimes committed by the Israeli state.

    Speaking about the raid, April said:

    I am angry – angry that war criminals, mass murderers, torturers, arms traders, the inflictors and enablers of genocide and brutality go free to continue the brutal mayhem they inflict on others across the globe but our government chooses to hound, harass, arrest those who seek to lay bare their crimes.

    Devon and Cornwall police say… not a lot…

    The Canary asked Devon and Cornwall police for comment. Specifically, we wanted to know if it thought that the cops’ actions were an overreach of their powers. HINT: they probably were.

    A spokesperson told the Canary:

    We are investigating two separate reports of criminal damage to properties in the Truro area and enquiries are ongoing. Due to this being a live and active investigation, it would not be appropriate to comment further at this time.

    Reflective of the UK in 2023

    A spokesperson for campaign group Palestine Solidarity Cornwall said:

    This was an act of intimidation by Devon and Cornwall police against a Grandmother who has simply tried to hold her elected representative to account for the atrocities she, and her government, are supporting in Gaza.

    While it is reflective of the police harassment Palestine solidarity campaigners have faced across the country for speaking out against a genocide, it is outrageous they have decided to put a pensioner through this ordeal over some drawing pins.

    However, we will not be intimidated by these actions. The UN has described Gaza as a “graveyard for children”, and while our so-called elected representatives continue to support the massacre of children, and refuse to stop the export of UK weapons to facilitate this slaughter, we will continue taking action.

    Moreover, Devon and Cornwall police’s actions are reflective of the increasingly authoritarian UK state under successive Tory governments.

    As the Canary has documented, the state increasingly criminalising protest is becoming a lot more common and authoritarian, with the Tories’ Police, Crime, Sentencing, and Courts (PCSC) Act. However, all this pales in comparison to the horror the Israeli state inflicts on Palestinian people, day in, day out.

    So, regardless of the consequences, activists in the UK will continue to show their solidarity with those living under apartheid – even if, like April, it means preposterous cops raid your home while you’re still in your nightie – all over some drawing pins.

    Featured image via Sarah Wilkinson – screengrab

    By Steve Topple

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • BREAKING: David Cameron signed off on continuing arms exports to Israel at the height of its genocide

    David Cameron and the Foreign Office advised that the UK could continue arms exports to Israel at the height of its genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza, legal documents have revealed. They also show that the department accepted that Israel has a ‘different interpretation of its International Humanitarian Law obligations’ – and that it is an occupying force in Gaza.

    UK government review into arms sales to Israel

    The Global Legal Action Network (GLAN) and Palestinian human rights organisation Al-Haq are taking the UK government to court over its arms exports to Israel. The state is currently mounting a campaign of genocide and ethnic cleansing, bombarding Gaza and killing over 25,000 Palestinians, injuring over 60,000 people and displacing over 1.9 million captive Palestinians.

    However, during GLAN and Al-Haq application for a judicial review, court documents have revealed Cameron and the Foreign Office have green-lighted the continuation of arms sales to Israel.

    The UK government has confirmed that it has conducted a review of arms exports to Israel but will not suspend sales. Despite overwhelming evidence presented in the South African ICJ case that the Israeli government is committing war crimes in Gaza that amount to a genocide against Palestinian people, only a handful potential international Humanitarian Law (IHL) violations were assessed as part of the review.

    The document reveals that on 10 November, the Foreign Office assessment unit advising David Cameron had “serious concerns” that Israel had breached IHL, and highlighted concerns over its willingness to comply with IHL including its obligation not to arbitrarily deny access to humanitarian assistance.

    Spin, and then spin some more

    However, just four days later when Zarah Sultana, Labour MP for Coventry South, questioned Foreign Office Minister Andrew Mitchell over arms exports and breaches of IHL, he replied:

    The hon. Member will know that the President of Israel, President Herzog, has made it clear that his country will abide by international humanitarian law.

    The assessment unit then wrote to the Israeli government outlining its concerns on 21 November. The document says it was satisfied by reassurances from the Israeli government that it is committed to complying with IHL, repeatedly stating that Israel has a different interpretation and view of its IHL obligations.

    It decided there was “insufficient information” to assess whether there had been potential IHL violations over four other allegations.

    Despite Cameron refusing to give specific details of any review when he was questioned at the Foreign Affairs Committee on 9 January, Secretary of State for Business and Trade Kemi Badenoch ‘reviewed’ export licences to Israel on 18 December based on advice from Cameron.

    The government’s Strategic Licensing Criteria states that weapons should not be exported when there is a clear risk they could be used in violations of International Humanitarian Law.

    Cameron: signing off on genocide

    Specifically the document states that on 8 December, the Export Control Joint Unit (ECJU) wrote to Cameron setting out three options – continuing exports but keeping them under review, suspending exports that are likely to be used in Gaza, or suspending all arms sales – and:

    that the availability of each of the options turned on the Foreign Secretary’s assessment of whether there is a clear risk that items would be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of IHL”.

    On 12 December, Cameron:

    decided that he was satisfied that there was good evidence to support a judgment that Israel is committed to comply with IHL. On the basis of that assessment in particular, the Foreign Secretary decided to recommend Option 1 to the Secretary of State for Business and Trade.

    The document also confirms that the UK government legally regards Israel as an occupying force in Gaza – something Cameron refused to confirm at the Foreign Affairs Committee.

    A massive industry

    Since 2015, the UK has licenced over £487m worth of arms to Israel in single issue licenses. However, this does not include open licenses where companies can export unlimited amounts of specified equipment without further reporting requirements. One of these open licenses is for components for the F35 stealth combat aircraft that Israel is currently using to bombard Gaza.

    UK industry makes 15% of each F35, and Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) estimates the value of the F35 contract is at least £336m since 2016. These figures do not include licenses issued since 7th October due to a lag in reporting arms export data.

    Sultana’s private members bill, formally titled Arms Trade (Inquiry and Suspension) Bill, would suspend arms sales to Israel and to any country where there is a risk they would be used in violation of international law. The Bill would also launch an inquiry into the end-use of arms sales, identifying inadequacies of the export licensing regime, and recommending reforms to ensure Britain never again sells weapons for war crimes.

    The Bill was presented to Parliament on 11 December 2023 and it is scheduled for its Second Reading on Friday 19 January, where it is expected to be blocked by the Conservative government.

    ‘Utterly outrageous’

    Sultana said:

    It’s utterly outrageous that the government made the active decision to continue arming Israel despite the overwhelming evidence of Israeli war crimes in Gaza.

    These documents expose that whilst ministers were giving public reassurances about Israel’s compliance with international humanitarian law, in private there were major concerns in the Foreign Office about Israel’s behaviour.

    The government must now end its complicity in this atrocity and immediately suspend arms sales to Israel.

    Cameron is a ‘disgrace’

    CAAT’s media coordinator Emily Apple said:

    It is a disgrace that we only know about this review through the legal action brought by Al-Haq and GLAN. It shouldn’t take the threat of a court case for there to be any government accountability.

    David Cameron could, and should, have shared this information with the Foreign Affairs Committee. He chose not to, and was evasive, despite intense questioning. There must be consequences for this refusal to present this information to the committee that is supposed to be scrutinising his actions.

    As a Lord, he cannot be questioned on the floor of the House of Commons, so this committee is the only way MPs can hold him accountable.

    The so-called ‘review’ is nothing but a sham by a government that is trying to find any excuse it can to continue arming Israel, and that does not care about the lives of Palestinian people.

    The UK government has a duty to suspend arms sales when they could be used in violations of international law, and it is outrageous and abhorrent that the Foreign Secretary is willing to simply accept that Israel has its own interpretation of its obligations under IHL. It makes a mockery both of IHL and our arms export criteria.

    There is a genocide happening in Gaza. The UN has described Gaza as ‘a graveyard for children’.

    Hospitals have been destroyed, refugee camps bombed, thousands have died, thousands more have been displaced and are facing famine because the Israeli government is refusing to allow aid into the area. Our government, and the UK arms trade, are complicit in these war crimes, and the deaths of thousands of Palestinian children.

    Featured image via BBC – screengrab

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Women more than twice as likely as men to miss out on statutory sick pay

    New analysis from the Trades Union Congress (TUC) has revealed 1.3 million people do not earn enough to qualify for statutory sick pay – and 70% of those are women. The union body has also said that zero-hours contract workers are eight times more likely than those on secure contracts to miss out on it as well – fuelling calls for the government to act.

    Black and brown women: institutionally discriminated against over sick pay

    The TUC analysis of the latest official statistics shows 6.5% of women do not earn enough to qualify for statutory sick pay, compared to 2.8% of men.

    The lower earnings limit of £123 a week – which is the threshold of income to ensure someone qualifies for statutory sick pay – means that 1.3 million nationwide are ineligible for it.

    The vast majority (70%) of those who don’t meet the income threshold are women.

    Black and brown women (7%) are most likely to miss out on statutory sick pay – and are more than twice as likely compared to white men (2.7%).

    TUC head of economics and rights Nicola Smith gave evidence to a Work and Pensions Select Committee hearing on Thursday 18 January.

    Smith reaffirmed the TUC’s longstanding call for decent sick pay for all workers.

    Insecure and low-paid work

    Zero hours contract workers are eight times more likely than those on secure contracts (30.3% compared to 3.6%) to miss out on statutory sick pay because they don’t earn enough to qualify, according to the TUC analysis.

    Workers on zero hours contracts have to contend with irregular hours which may not result in them earning enough to meet the income threshold.

    Sales and customer services (11.9%) and the elementary occupations (18%) have the highest proportion of workers who miss out on statutory sick pay as a result of the lower earnings limit.

    The TUC says the lower earnings limit means that those who desperately need it are being forced to choose between going without any financial support when they are sick, or working and potentially spreading illnesses to others while risking their own health.

    ‘Paltry’

    As well criticising statutory sick pay for not being available to all, the TUC says it is “paltry” and not enough to live on. The rate is £109.40 per week – equivalent to just 18% of average earnings.

    There is also a three-day waiting period before those eligible start getting the benefit.

    This brings the amount for the first week for someone working a typical five-day week to £44, which is just 7% of average weekly earnings.

    This is less than what the average household spends on food each week (£56.50) and less than a quarter of median weekly rent in England (£190.38).

    A broken system

    The TUC says the UK’s statutory sick pay system is “broken”.

    The lack of decent sick pay massively undermined the UK’s ability to deal with the pandemic, according to the union body.

    It has come under scrutiny in the Covid public inquiry – in which Matt Hancock said statutory sick pay was “far, far too low” and “far lower than the European average”.

    The former health secretary added this “encourages people to go to work when they should be getting better” and aids the spread of viruses.

    The UK went into the pandemic with the lowest rate of statutory sick pay in the OECD.

    Enough is enough (again)

    TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said:

    Our sick pay system is broken. It’s a national scandal that so many low-paid, insecure workers up and down the country – most of them women – are forced to go without financial support when sick. And for those who do get it, it’s not nearly enough to live on.

    Ministers could have boosted sick pay and made sure everyone got it, but they chose to turn a blind eye to the problem during the pandemic.

    The failure to provide proper financial support was an act of self-sabotage that left millions brutally exposed to the virus – especially those in low-paid, insecure work.

    Enough is enough – it’s time for a new deal for workers…

    Amanda Walters, director of the Safe Sick Pay campaign said:

    Women already suffer disproportionately from low pay. To add insult to injury these new figures show that many working women are also losing out when they need time off ill.

    The UK’s statutory sick pay system is unequal, unfair and ripe for reform. By paying a higher weekly amount to every worker from day one, we’ll all see the benefits of a happy healthy workforce.

    Featured image via Prostock-studio – Envato Elements

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Pro-Palestine protesters to lay mock-up shrouded ‘dead bodies’ in Wales on 20 January

    Pro-Palestine demonstration will stage a ‘mock funeral’ in Haverfordwest, Wales this Saturday 20 January at 2pm on Castle Square. Protestors said that Stephen Crabb MP is “feeling the heat”, as local pressure mounts for him to withdraw his support for Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.

    Organisers invite attendees to bring white shrouded mock dead bodies, spattered in red paint for a symbolic mass funeral representing the 24,448 Palestinians who Israel has killed in over 100 days of war on Gaza.

    Standing up for Palestine in Wales

    Since 7 October, local demonstrations have repeatedly marched on Crabb’s constituency office as well as targeting Marks & Spencer and Barclays bank over their support for Israel’s war and occupation in Palestine, weekly vigils have also been held.

    With South Africa’s allegations of genocide against Israel currently being heard by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Hague, organisers said:

    It is clear that Israel wants to ethnically cleanse Gaza of Palestinians.

    They say that Joe Biden, Benjamin Netanyahu, Rishi Sunak, Keir Starmer, and their own MPs Crabb and Simon Hart are complicit in this war crime. they say they are rallying to send a clear message from Pembrokeshire to Crabb and Hart that this genocide must stop:

    We are rising up for Palestine and we are certainly not going away as Crabb has been claiming.

    You can join them on 20 January in Castle Square, Haverfordwest at 2pm to make a stand for Palestine.

    Countless Palestinians dead, injured, and traumatised

    Since October 7th, 24,448 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza,10,400 of these were children and 7,100 women, a further 61,504 have been injured with 7,000 missing, 337 health workers, 117 journalists, and 152 UN staff have been killed while 1.9 million Palestinians are now displaced with desperately-limited access to food, medicines, and water.

    Local campaigners have begun delivering weekly open letters to Crabb. This week’s letter focused on the Genocide case in the Hague against Israel’s war crimes, asking him: “Will you support the ICJ ruling?”, if the international court decides that Israel is committing a Genocide in Gaza.

    Key national trade unionists are to attend and speak at the rally – including Cerith Griffiths of the Fire Brigades Union Cymru and Mairéad Canavan, a National Executive member of the NEU (National Education Union).

    Canavan said:

    I am supporting the demonstration because this is a human catastrophe caused by the deliberate action of the Government of Israel and is clearly a war crime and an act of genocide.

    The UK government has failed to call for a permanent ceasefire and continues to give unconditional support to Israel. As a teacher I’m particularly horrified by the cost of the genocide to children. Since 7 October 2023 , at least 24,000 Palestinians were killed in Gaza and 59,604 Palestinians were reportedly injured. Some 70 per cent of the fatalities are women and children.

    Nizar Dahan (Neezo), who is a prominent pro-Palestine activist from Swansea, said:

    After 103 days plus 75 years of Israeli aggression and occupation, it is important, now more than ever, to keep speaking out for Palestine. The narrative is changing, and people are waking up to the brutality of the terrorist state of Israel. The ongoing genocide and statements to support it are a clear indication of the Zionist entities’ intentions. Our movement is working and helping to educate people on the dire need to support Palestine. This is a cause for all of humanity

    Politicians will be ‘judged by history’

    The demonstration will take place as part of coordinated local rallies around Wales and the UK this weekend following hundreds of such demonstrations since Israel’s war on Gaza began. National demonstrations have also attracted hundreds of thousands of people in London in recent weeks.

    Organisers Stop The War Pembrokeshire and Solidarity with Palestine Pembrokeshire said:

    Who would ever think that as campaigners we would have to resort to staging a protest which includes a mock funeral & laying shrouded dead bodies? It seems unfathomable and so desperately sad that we are forced to organise such a macabre protest.

    However, we have no choice and we are acting on the wishes of our Palestinian sisters, brothers and comrades who are dying at this very moment at the hands of Israel’s murderous Genocide”. Stephen Crabb and Simon Hart are very much mistaken if they think we will “go away”, In fact the opposite is true, as international pressure mounts against Israel’s war crimes.

    Crabb and Hart will be judged by history over their current support for Israel’s Genocide in Gaza.

    All details of Saturday’s demonstration can be found at the Facebook event page here.

    Featured image via the Canary

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • YesCymru buoyed by new report that says Welsh independence is ‘viable’

    Campaign group YesCymru has welcomed a landmark report into Wales’s constitutional future as a “significant step in the journey” to Welsh independence. The report by an independent commission has found that independence is a “viable” option, while calling devolution “flawed”.

    Welsh independence a “viable” but “uncertain” option

    The pro-independence group YesCymru was responding to the findings of the Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales, co-chaired by professor Laura McAllister and Dr Rowan Williams. It published its report on 17 January. The Welsh government set it up to look at the constitutional issues surrounding Wales – including independence.

    As Sky News reported:

    the commission focused on three options – increased devolution, a federal UK and an independent Wales.

    Its report concluded that all three of those options were “viable” but that Welsh independence was “by far the most uncertain option”.

    The report outlined risks in terms of currency, borders, trade, cost and capacity and warned they were “greater post-Brexit”.

    However, as well as saying in its report that independence is a “viable” option, the commission added that it creates the potential for long term positive change, and would grant the power to “devise policies which reflect the priorities of the people of Wales”.

    It also outlined the “risk” to Welsh democracy unless “urgent” changes are made and called for the Senedd to have powers over justice, policing and rail infrastructure.

    It pointed to the “fundamental flaw in the current system of devolution”, saying that it “rests on powers conferred by the Westminster Parliament” and that they “can be taken away by the Westminster Parliament at any time”.

    So, YesCymru was naturally buoyed.

    A “significant step” to independence

    A spokesperson said:

    YesCymru welcomes the report by the Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales.

    As an organisation, we see it as a significant step in the journey to becoming an independent nation.

    Though the report does not go as far as we would like, it does make it clear that the status quo is completely untenable, and that rolling back the powers of the Senedd would not be in the best interest of the people of Wales.

    It confirmed that Wales is currently trapped in a UK economy that does not deliver prosperity to Welsh communities and is instead shaped in the interests of the South East of England and the City of London.

    Importantly, the Commission also put independence firmly on the table as a viable and realistic option worth seriously considering.

    Time to break free from Westminster?

    The spokesperson added that:

    YesCymru agrees with the Commission that under the current constitutional set-up, in which the Westminster Parliament has supremacy, Wales is completely reliant on the UK Government to grant the Senedd more powers.

    It also gives Westminster politicians the power to ignore repeated calls by our political leaders in Wales for more powers as well as ignore the settled will of the Welsh people, as they have done for many years.

    It’s perfectly clear that the UK is not an equal partnership of nations as Westminster politicians often like to claim.

    The only guaranteed way of ensuring that Wales has control of its own destiny is to break free from Westminster and become independent.

    With full control of our money, our laws and our natural resources we will be able the secure a bright and prosperous future for our communities.

    We have all of the talent and ability we need, but for our full potential to be realised we need to demonstrate the ambition, confidence and bravery to forge our own path as a fully sovereign country.

    Featured image via YesCymru

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • London is under-prepared for the climate crisis, facing threats from flooding and extreme heat

    A new report has warned that London is under-prepared for the effects of the climate crisis – namely flooding and extreme heat. So, climate charity Ashden has highlighted some inclusive solutions that could better-ready the capital for possible disasters – while also calling out the lack of government action on the climate crisis.

    UK: not ready for flooding and extreme heat

    The interim report of the London Climate Resilience Review should prompt decision-makers to bring proven solutions from around the UK to the capital, says climate charity Ashden.

    It said in a press release that:

    London boroughs, the Greater London Authority, and national government must act now to protect the capital’s people, businesses, and nature.

    The report, which Ashden submitted evidence to and was published on 17 January declares that London and the rest of the UK is ‘under-prepared for climate change impacts like flooding and extreme heat’. The final review is expected later this year.

    Ashden says decision-makers should replicate successful initiatives from around the UK, to help London’s communities become more resilient to climate change.

    The charity has also made ten recommendations for national government. These include more support for risk mapping, natural flood defences, and new homes designed to minimise the impact of extreme heat.

    A “step-change” is needed

    The report points to key strategic opportunities ahead, as well as gaps in the capital’s preparations for more severe flooding, storms, extreme heat, drought, and other risks. It recommends ‘a step change’ in adaptation planning and investment.

    Dr Ashok Sinha, CEO of Ashden, said:

    We’re delighted to see this London Climate Resilience Review interim report telling it like it is.

    Londoners, especially the most disadvantaged, are in a very precarious position because of the threat of flooding and killer heatwaves.

    What we need now is action across London to scale up solutions that are proven – these include planting trees that cool public areas and constructing protective wetlands to prevent flooding. Or setting high standards for home building and ramping up retrofitting for warmth and energy efficiency.

    It’s also essential that national government devolves the powers and funding to enable community-led solutions.

    What can London learn from climate future proofing already happening?

    Ashden delivers annual awards for climate innovation, as well as ongoing support for councils, schools, and others tackling the climate emergency. Their work reveals initiatives that could protect and empower communities in the capital.

    For example, schemes from Hampshire to Dundee show the potential of nature-based solutions, energy efficiency, and low carbon energy innovation. Ashden says these interventions will help communities stay safe, warm and cool, adapt to extreme weather, and also create stronger economies and greater wellbeing.

    It says these wider benefits are crucial to winning public support for climate action.

    The London boroughs of Enfield and Hackney, along with Liverpool and Hull city councils, have implemented new wetlands, flood defences, and green spaces. Nature-based solutions provide natural cooling, water capture, and flood protection:

    Thames 21-Enfield Council wetland and river restoration work prevents flooding of local homes and restores local rivers.Reducing household energy consumption is one of the most urgent priorities for cutting the UK’s carbon emissions and mitigating climate change, particularly in anticipation of a significant rise in air conditioning use and with 4.6 million English homes currently experiencing summertime overheating.

    Organisations are already working around the UK on improving existing building structures to regulate temperatures and provide low-cost, low-carbon energy sources, as well as rethinking how we design new build homes that are fit for the future:

    Homes in the UK have received the revolutionary Energiesprong ‘wholehouse refurbishment’ in Enfield, London, Maldon in Essex, Sutton in Surrey, and Nottingham. This approach for achieving net-zero homes is being used by them in social housing around the world. Funding to protect the future

    Making changes to protect communities is undoubtedly an investment in the future. Funding our own climate ‘insurance’ by setting up protective initiatives is crucial to building our resilience to the changing circumstances and increasing energy costs we will all face.

    As Sinha summed up:

    What is clear is that we have the solutions, but government must get behind them with funding and policy immediately, so that communities and environments are protected.

    Featured image via JJFarquitectos – Envato Elements and additional images via Ashden

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Lancaster University helped whitewash a housing associations’ dire record on mould and damp

    Lancaster University researchers have helped to evaluate an indoor air quality (IAQ) campaign to improve the health of children living in social housing. It’s with North West housing association Torus. However, the timing is perfect – as Torus has just been condemned by the Housing Ombudsman for leaving a resident in a damp-and mould-ridden property. So, it begs the question: why is Lancaster University helping Torus in this blatant PR exercise?

    Lancaster University and Torus: a new campaign

    Lancaster University and Torus have been trialing some new devices for residents to monitor the air quality in their homes. Dr Emma Halliday from Lancaster University said in a press release:

    Following the death of Awaab Ishak, a young boy from Rochdale who died from a respiratory condition caused by mould in his home, there has been greater political scrutiny of social housing, with housing providers using monitors to find and fix problems.

    The university said:

    Dr Halliday is a member of a team who have helped evaluate an Indoor Air Quality campaign in collaboration with one of the North West’s leading housing providers, Torus, with the aim of creating an innovative pilot that focused on the respiratory impact of indoor air quality while empowering social tenants in their homes.

    The project was delivered by Torus’ charitable arm Torus Foundation, whose colleagues, along with volunteers from its Healthy Neighbours Project, engaged with Torus families with children aged 11 and under, who lived across Liverpool, St Helens and Warrington.

    Good for Torus – because from some news reports it seems like the housing association was long overdue acting on the conditions in its properties:

    Multiple failures and… lies?

    Clearly, the Housing Ombudsman agrees. Just as the Canary was going to ‘print’ with this article, the ombudsman found Torus guilty of two cases of severe maladministration, after it:

    failed to respond to mould reports and also poorly handled the associated complaint, resulting in resident distress and reports of physical and mental health deteriorating.

    The Housing Ombudsman noted that:

    The investigation found excessive delays in the landlord progressing the works to remedy the damp and mould issue. Specifically, works did not start until nearly 9 months after the issue was first reported. When damp progressed through the property, the landlord failed to replace the resident’s bed quickly, leading to the resident sleeping on the floor for at least 3 months.

    The landlord claimed it cancelled the order for repair works after 3 failed attempts to gain access to the property, but there is not enough evidence to support this claim.

    Also, the landlord did not record any consideration of decanting the resident from their home, despite the evident distress and inconvenience for the resident.

    Communication was poor throughout, and the landlord frequently failed to communicate its plans with the resident and left him to call to obtain updates.

    The landlord also did not apply its complaints process in line with its policy or the Complaint Handling Code. It treated the resident’s initial complaint as being at an informal stage, causing further delays in responding to the complaints and failing to acknowledge the landlord’s failings.

    There were also delays in responding to his stage 1 and 2 complaints and those responses did not fully acknowledge the landlord’s failings in addressing the issues raised repeatedly by the resident.

    The response to enquiries made by the resident’s MP also failed to fully acknowledge the seriousness of the situation and the landlord further wrongly instructed the resident that he would have to wait for 8 weeks before he could take his complaint to this Ombudsman when changes to the law meant that restriction no longer applied.

    It’s all the tenant’s fault if they have damp

    Anyway, if Lancaster University’s press release was anything to go by, you’d think that Torus was the epitome of responsibility. It continued:

    As a result of the engagement, 200 devices were installed and monitored pollutants such as levels of particulate pollution such as smoke from fires or tobacco use, carbon dioxide, humidity, and airborne chemicals from everyday household products.

    One tenant shared, “When I’d used fly spray the device was picking up the type of chemicals and levels. I won’t use it in the living room now and I also stopped using the brush to pick up as it was recording dust levels in the air, a quick once over with the hoover from now on.”

    Participants were provided with a report detailing their monitor readings and received practical hints and tips to make improvements to the air quality inside the home. Where issues related to damp and humidity were identified, or families were struggling to heat their homes, cases were referred for housing or energy support.

    However, in the press release Lancaster University then got to the root of the issue. It noted:

    The resulting reports highlights that there was a marked increase in tenants’ awareness of IAQ based on tenants’ self-rated knowledge. This newfound knowledge triggered behavioural changes, such as altered cleaning habits.

    Right – so, Torus installing monitors is to get tenants to clean their properties more – absolving the housing association of the shred of responsibility it takes over mould and damp. Gotcha: mould and damp are clearly the fault of tenants.

    Spoiler alert: they rarely are.

    The only “positive example”, perhaps?

    We’ve seen this all before – when housing associations blame tenants for mould and damp. This was what happened in the case of Awaab – where racist Rochdale Boroughwide Housing blamed his parents “ritual bathing” and “cooking practices” for the mould.

    Dr Halliday, failing to see the irony of earlier referencing Awaab when discussing Torus, further said:

    The findings offer a positive example of how a housing provider has been working with local community organisations to address improvements to indoor air quality with a view to improving the respiratory health of children.

    As this campaign has shown, projects delivered in partnership with communities are more likely to achieve improvements rather than the use of monitors alone. It is vital that people’s lived experiences of these issues are central to efforts to improve indoor air quality, and housing conditions more generally.

    Torus suddenly caring about the health of residents? Too little too late for some, Dr Halliday. Or maybe Torus could just provide clean, well-maintained homes in the first place?

    Whitewashing housing associations

    Helen Cibinda Ntale, head of health and wellbeing at the Torus Foundation, said in Lancaster University’s whitewashing press release:

    As a social housing provider, Torus has a responsibility to ensure that our homes support the health and wellbeing of our customers. We’re extremely mindful of the harmful impacts of damp and mould amongst other indoor air quality factors on respiratory health and were keen to be involved in an initiative which sought to empower customers to achieve changes to their own indoor air quality to improve their and their family’s health.

    Again, Torus is very keen to look like it’s acting but also quick to put the onus onto residents over mould and damp – which are problems invariably of its making, as the Housing Ombudsman verdict showed. Leopards don’t easily change their spots – and this whitewashing from Torus is unlikely to wash with residents.

    Plus, shame on Lancaster University for helping with this transparent PR exercise in the first place.

    Featured image via the Liverpool Echo – screengrab

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Palestine Action has spent the past two days disrupting Israel’s arms trade in the UK

    In recent days Palestine Action has targeted the logistics companies servicing the operations of Israel’s arms trade in Britain, as well as the biggest arms manufacturer – disrupting both their operations and exposing their roles in supporting the ongoing genocide of Palestinians.

    Palestine Action: targeting Israeli arms’ supply chain

    First, Palestine Action targeted logistics companies belonging to Kuehne+Nagel (K+N) and Palletline on 17 January, as part of a widespread direct action campaign against Israel’s biggest weapons manufacturer, Elbit Systems, and the companies which facilitate their weapons manufacturing in Britain and their arms exports to Israel.

    K+N’s Milton Keynes branch and their subsidiary in London, Nacaro cargo insurance, were targeted overnight. At the company’s Milton Keynes industrial site, which specialises in road transportation, activists sprayed the entire front of the building in blood-red paint and shattered windows.

    In London, others took similar action against Nacora, leaving the office drenched in paint:

    In Scotland, activists from Palestine Action struck Palletline’s Glasgow site, breaking their windows and spray painting messages such as “Drop Elbit” and “Free Palestine”. Palletline frequently transport items in and out of Elbit’s drone factory, U-TacS, In Leicester:

    K+N provide transportation and logistics services for Elbit’s UAV Tactical Systems (U-TacS) factory in Leicester, facilitating the manufacture and delivery of Israeli drone technologies. Along with partnerships held with Elbit – the company supplying 85% of Israel’s drones and land based military equipment – K+N played a historical role in trafficking weapons to apartheid South Africa, bolstering the regime in the 1980s. According to the Anti-Apartheid Movement, these shipments were even sent to South Africa via Israel.

    Then, Palestine Action targeted Elbit itself.

    Elbit: still under pressure

    The group was supported by the Bristol-based ‘Rise Up for Palestine’. They shut down the Israeli-owned Elbit weapons headquarters in Bristol on the morning of Thursday 18 January. Dozens from the local group surrounded four activists from Palestine Action who locked on to each other – making the blockade of the only entrance to Elbit’s HQ immovable:

    Elbit Systems UK operates across England and Wales and is owned by Israel’s largest weapons company. The Bristol location, which is leased from Somerset Council, is Elbit’s main operational facility.

    This action happened while Israel is mounting a campaign of genocide and ethnic cleansing, bombarding Gaza and killing over 25,000 Palestinians, injuring over 60,000 people and displacing over 1.9 million captive Palestinians.

    In the past few days, Al-Aqsa hospital in Gaza, one of only 13 out of 35 remaining functioning hospitals, has come under attack by the Israeli army. Drones and quadcopters, most likely developed by Elbit, are being used to fire at anyone who enters or leaves the hospital.

    The Israeli weapons firm openly talk of having “battle tested” its weapons, through Israel’s deployment of them against Palestinians, before these are then sold on the global market. In the current bombardment, Elbit’s new iron sting missiles and drone technologies are being used to massacre the Palestinian people.

    ‘End the complicity in genocide’

    A Palestine Action spokesperson has said:

    Disrupting Israel’s military supply chain through direct action and community mobilisation is a crucial and necessary tactic to deploy as our Palestinian siblings are under fire by Elbit’s weaponry. We do not stand for genocide enablers on our doorstep, and we’ve once again made it clear that Elbit is not welcome in Bristol or anywhere on British soil.

    We will continue to rise up and take the power back into our own hands to shut down the companies arming Israel’s genocide of Palestine.

    Moreover, companies assisting in the delivery and shipment of Israeli weaponry and essential equipment for Elbit, facilitate and profit from the genocide of the Palestinian people. Thus, Palestine Action remain determined to target all those who remain associated with Elbit

    In the past 100 days over 25,000 Palestinians were killed, and for the last 75 years they’ve remained under an apartheid regime enabled by the British government. Whilst our pleas for sanctions on apartheid Israel fall on deaf ears, it’s up to ordinary people to take direct action and end the complicity in genocide.

    Featured image via Palestine Action

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • When Yemen does it it’s ‘terrorism’, when the US does it it’s ‘the rules-based order’

    COMMENTARY: By Caitlin Johnstone

    The Biden administration has officially re-designated Ansarallah – the dominant force in Yemen also known as the Houthis – as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist entity.

    The White House claims the designation is an appropriate response to the group’s attacks on US military vessels and commercial ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, saying those attacks “fit the textbook definition of terrorism”.

    Ansarallah claims its actions “adhere to the provisions of Article 1 of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide,” since it is only enforcing a blockade geared toward ceasing the ongoing Israeli destruction of Gaza.

    One of the most heinous acts committed by the Trump administration was its designation of Ansarallah as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO) and as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGT), both of which imposed sanctions that critics warned would plunge Yemen’s aid-dependent population into even greater levels of starvation than they were already experiencing by restricting the aid that would be allowed in.

    One of the Biden administration’s only decent foreign policy decisions has been the reversal of that sadistic move, and now that reversal is being partially rolled back, though thankfully only with the SDGT listing and not the more deadly and consequential FTO designation.

    In a new article for Antiwar about this latest development, Dave Decamp explains that as much as the Biden White House goes to great lengths insisting that it’s going to issue exemptions to ensure that its sanctions don’t harm the already struggling Yemeni people,

    “history has shown that sanctions scare away international companies and banks from doing business with the targeted nations or entities and cause shortages of medicine, food, and other basic goods.”

    DeCamp also notes that US and British airstrikes on Yemen have already forced some aid groups to suspend services to the country.

    Still trying to recover
    So the US empire is going to be imposing sanctions on a nation that is still trying to recover from the devastation caused by the US-backed Saudi blockade that contributed to hundreds of thousands of deaths between 2015 and 2022. All in response to the de facto government of that very same country imposing its own blockade with the goal of preventing a genocide.

    That’s right: when Yemen sets up a blockade to try and stop an active genocide, that’s terrorism, but when the US empire imposes a blockade to secure its geostrategic interests in the Middle East, why that’s just the rules-based international order in action.

    It just says so much about how the US empire sees itself that it can impose blockades and starvation sanctions at will upon nations like Yemen, Venezuela, Cuba, Iran, Syria and North Korea for refusing to bow to its dictates, but when Yemen imposes a blockade for infinitely more worthy and noble reasons it gets branded an act of terrorism.

    The managers of the globe-spanning empire loosely centralised around Washington literally believe the world is theirs to rule as they will, and that anyone who opposes its rulings is an outlaw.

    Based on power
    “What this shows us is that the “rules-based international order” the US and its allies claim to uphold is not based on rules at all; it’s based on power, which is the ability to control and impose your will on other people.

    The “rules” apply only to the enemies of the empire because they are not rules at all: they are narratives used to justify efforts to bend the global population to its will.

    We are ruled by murderous tyrants. By nuclear-armed thugs who would rather starve civilians to protect the continuation of an active genocide than allow peace to get a word in edgewise.

    Our world can never know health as long as these monsters remain in charge.

    Caitlin Johnstone is an Australian independent journalist and poet. Her articles include The UN Torture Report On Assange Is An Indictment Of Our Entire Society. She publishes a website and Caitlin’s Newsletter. This article is republished with permission.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • The Daily Express snitching on Palestine Action has left one activist in prison

    A Palestine Action activist, Sean Middleborough, was remanded to prison on Monday 15 January, following their arrest on Sunday 14 January, for allegedly planning to disrupt business at the London Stock Exchange (L.S.E). Cops knew about the alleged plans due to a snitch hack at the Daily Express.

    ‘Free Palestine’; allegedly at the London Stock Exchange

    Charged with ‘conspiracy to commit public nuisance’ under the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022, the activist was remanded after an appearance at Wirral Magistrates Court on 15 January morning. Five other activists were released from police custody without charges, awaiting further investigation.

    Upon his remand and removal to prison, Sean shouted “Free Palestine” on his way into the custody van. Lawyers will be submitting an application for the immediate granting of bail. Five other activists were arrested by police within the same operation, who have been released on police bail pending investigation.

    They are accused of having planned to blockade the L.S.E, which through its trading in bonds and shares plays a significant role in facilitating the occupation of Palestine.

    L.S.E: complicit in genocide?

    The L.S.E has raised over over £4.73bn in the sale of bonds for the apartheid state of Israel in the past six years. The exchange describes itself as:

    a key partner to Israeli businesses, by enabling them to raise capital internationally.

    It trades shares in weapons manufacturers arming Israel’s regime, including BAE Systems, Babcock, and QinetiQ.

    In a meeting on 8 February 2022 between the UK secretary of state and Israeli investors, which included representatives from Israeli weapons companies Elbit Systems and Rafael, it was noted that:

    The London Stock Exchange has a strong and important relationship with Israel.

    This relationship involves the L.S.E holding capital market conferences in Israel and hosting Israeli business on the exchange which have a combined market capital of $14.7bn.

    Daily Express: protecting capitalism isn’t big or clever

    The arrests came after a Daily Express ‘journalist’ Max Parry went undercover in the group in order to report on activities and hand information on alleged plans to the police.

    The Daily Express has, along with the vast majority of the British print and broadcast media, conspired to manufacture consent for the ongoing genocide of Palestinians, which so far has claimed over 25,000 Palestinian lives.

    That they have failed to report even the basic facts of Israel’s crimes is indictment enough. However, they have now gone so far as to act on behalf of the police in criminalising the direct action movement opposing these crimes.

    This incident is just one episode in the ongoing crackdown by the state against those activists who stand on the side of humanity and against the side of genocide. Numerous activists seeking an end to bloodshed have found themselves detained by the British state.

    Regardless, Palestine Action has stated repeatedly its unwavering commitment to Palestinian liberation and the ending of all arms production and shipments for the Zionist entity, refusing to backdown.

    Featured image via Palestine Action

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Everyone is kicking off about the latest inflation figures – even the corporate capitalists

    To the unsurprise of anyone not rolling in money, UK inflation rose in December. For the Tories, it dashed expectations of a slowdown, dimming hopes of an early interest rate cut, and prolonging a cost-of-living squeeze before the general election. Charities, trade unions, and even capitalists have hit out – some directly blaming Rishi Sunak’s Conservative government

    Inflation: up again

    The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation rate accelerated slightly to 4% in December 2023. Rising alcohol and tobacco prices sparked the first increase since February 2023, the Office for National Statistics said in a statement.

    That is double the Bank of England’s (BoE’s) official target of 2% and the highest level in the G7.

    The hotter-than-expected data is a blow to embattled Tory PM Sunak, who is trailing behind other Tory leader, Labour’s Keir Starmer, in opinion polls ahead of a general election this year.

    Britain’s recession-threatened economy is already buckling under a cost-of-living crisis and increasing industrial unrest over pay.

    The BoE has lifted interest rates to a 15-year peak in a bid to dampen inflation. However, it has worsened inflation because commercial lenders pass on loan costs to businesses and consumers.

    Sunak had in October achieved his long-held goal of CPI falling below 5%. That is, of course, his goal – for the rest of us it merely meant prices were still rising at an extortionate 5%.

    Most alleged analysts had forecast a December slowdown to 3.8%, after CPI touched a two-year low of 3.9% in November. Clearly, they were way off the mark.

    Tories: it’s not our fault (unless inflation comes down)

    Chancellor Jeremy Hunt came out early with the excuses:

    As we have seen in the United States, France and Germany, inflation does not fall in a straight line, but our plan is working and we should stick to it.

    Of course, as people were pointing out on what the Canary still calls Twitter, the Tories seem to think they can have it both ways with inflation:

    The same analysts who missed the December rise still predict inflation will slow this year. However, they warn that shipping costs will increase as a result of the situation in the Red Sea.

    KPMG UK chief economist Yael Selfin said:

    Despite a December rise, inflation is expected to continue falling this year… Nevertheless, disruptions in the Red Sea impacting supply chains could cause further increases in goods prices adding uncertainty to the economic outlook.

    But away from the corporate capitalist commentary, other organisations were less than impressed:

    Workers: £15,000 a year worse off

    Trades Union Congress (TUC) general secretary Paul Nowak said:

    After 14 years of stagnating living standards you’ll struggle to find many people who feel any better off. Prices are still going up with inflation at double the Bank of England’s target. And whether it’s covering the weekly shop or paying the bills families remain under the cosh.

    If real wages have grown at their pre-crisis trend the average worker would be earning around £15,000 a year more. The Conservatives have delivered a decade of dismal economic growth which has hit pay packets and household budgets hard.

    Muddling through is not good enough. We need a government with a serious long-term plan.

    Benefit claimants: not enough money to live on

    Pointing out that food price inflation was still at an outrageous 8.0%, Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) senior economist Rachelle Earwaker said:

    As winter sets in, now is a bad time for progress on inflation to stall. Inflation remains at double the Bank of England’s target, and the price of essentials like fuel and food are much higher than they were, with food inflation falling but still running high at 8%.

    Anyone who needs to use their heating to stave off freezing temperatures this week can expect to pay over 80% more than what they did three years ago.

    Price rises have outstripped increases in benefits which won’t increase again until April, and, even then, won’t make up the difference. Around 6.6 million low income households (56%) reported not having enough money for either food or heating their home between May and October 2023. Around 2.4 million households (20%) didn’t have enough money for both food and heating.

    It’s not right that our social security system, which is meant to protect all of us when we fall on hard times, doesn’t give families enough to afford the essentials. All political parties must commit to introducing an ‘Essentials Guarantee’ to Universal Credit to ensure everyone has a protected minimum amount of support to afford the essentials.

    Even capitalists are not happy

    Plus, even capitalists are kicking off. Nicholas Hyett is an investment analyst at the Wealth Club. He said:

    A surprise jump in inflation is not good news.

    Policy makers, mortgage holders, investors and the average shopper had all been hoping price rises continued to slow over Christmas – clearing the way for lower interest rates and easing the cost of living crisis. Christmas was particularly expensive for those indulging over the festive break, with alcohol and tobacco the driving forces behind the uptick inflation, although food and non-alcoholic drinks continued to see inflation slow.

    But, while the rise in headline inflation will attract the attention, longer term its the stubbornly high core inflation that is a greater concern. Still running at over 5.1%, until this comes down the UK will be very vulnerable to global economic shocks that cause spikes in food and energy prices – and we’ve seen all too many of them recently.

    So, happy new year. If you were wondering why Christmas seemed even more expensive than usual, well now you know. Of course, it isn’t the Tories fault – said no one except the Tories.

    Featured image via ITV News – YouTube

    By Steve Topple

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • TUSC announces its first batch of election candidates for the locals – with talk of the general election increasing

    The Trade Union and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) is already gearing up for May’s local elections – having decided on 34 candidates already. This is, of course, away from the general election that has to happen this year.

    Making moves for this year’s elections

    The January meeting of the TUSC all-Britain steering committee approved the first batch of candidates to contest the local council elections on 2 May. This kicks off the year in which a general election must be called – if, indeed, as is possible, it isn’t held on the same 2 May date.

    38 candidates were agreed at the 10 January meeting, a record for TUSC at this early point in the nomination process. It reflects a growing determination that Keir Starmer’s Tory-lite ‘new’ Labour party should not be left unchallenged at the ballot box.

    This was the mood, for example, of the hundred-plus public meeting in Southampton’s Bevois ward in late December. It introduced the local community worker Nadia Ditta as the TUSC candidate, one of those endorsed by the steering committee:

    As the Socialist Party wrote:

    Nadia rallied the troops, recorded issues of concern, got names of people who want to work with us. She told the gathering that they should be proud of their community, and their children, and that we will make our voices heard in the council chambers of Southampton.

    For many in attendance, Starmer’s complicity in following the Tory government’s support for Israel’s barbarous war against the Palestinians was the final straw. As it says in the TUSC local elections core policy platform, updated at the steering committee meeting:

    if they won’t protest against the destruction of Gaza, its people firstly but also the infrastructure essential to a functioning society, what confidence can we have that they will fight to protect local services, jobs, wages and benefits here?

    TUSC: building for the widest possible stand in May

    Agreeing thirty-eight candidates in January is only a start, of course, with the steering committee in favour of the widest possible stand in May.

    Council elections, contesting control of over one-fifth of all public spending, are important in themselves in the fight against austerity and the cost-of-living crisis. But they are also a vital spring-board for a general election challenge too. The TUSC will be discussing this and more with others at a convention of left-wing organisations on 3 February.

    The full list of council candidates agreed so far is available on the TUSC website. The next steering committee meeting to discuss candidate applications will take place on 14 February. Completed application forms need to be received by the TUSC National Election Agent Clive Heemskerk, at cliveheemskerk(at)socialistparty.org.uk, by Saturday 10 February. Then, they can be placed on the agenda for this meeting.

    The TUSC Council Candidate Application Form is available here as a download, and an explanatory TUSC Guide for Election Candidates and Agents can be found here.

    A list of the 105 councils with elections in May 2024 is also available in the TUSC directory of elections.

    Appeal for social media support

    In the run-up to the convention on Saturday 3 February, and the local elections in May, the TUSC wants to raise its social media profile so that hundreds, possibly thousands, more people see it and consider getting involved.

    Its main social media platforms are X/Twitter and Facebook (it hopes to develop others). Please follow its accounts and share the posts. The TUSC post on Twitter yesterday afternoon announcing the first council candidates has already been seen by over 5,000 people. But, with your help, it could be many more.

    Featured image via TUSC

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Ofgem and Tories under increasing pressure to stop cruel energy standing charges

    New research shows overwhelming support for scrapping the flat-rate daily standing charge on our energy bills, as thousands share their experiences of the energy crisis. It comes energy suppliers have hiked the fixed charges to around £300 – leading one campaign group to say they are causing “widespread energy starvation”. However, will the regulator Ofgem listen?

    Standing charges: a rip off if ever there was one

    As Ofgem itself wrote:

    The standing charge is a cost that is included in each electricity and gas bill. It is a cost set by your supplier. It is also included in the energy price cap that we review and set every three months. Your supplier will charge you this cost each day, even if you do not use any energy on that day. The amount you pay will depend on your supplier and where you live within England, Scotland or Wales.

    The charge covers the cost to maintain the energy supply network, take meter readings, and support government social schemes, for example helping people that cannot afford energy, and environmental schemes.

    Of course, what standing charges also do is help energy firms make huge profits while leaving millions in poverty. However, people are growing wise to this effective con – as a new survey shows.

    Campaign website Organise surveyed 45,000 of its members on standing charges. The results revealed the tough reality that many people across the UK are facing due to the energy crisis, compounded by unfair standing charges that disproportionately affect low-income households.

    Leaving millions in fuel poverty

    Organise’s research showed that standing charges impact adequate heating for 90% of people, with:

    • 84% forced to cut heating, showers, baths, washing, and drying.
    • 72% left in debt or unable to top up a prepayment meter.

    Those on prepayment meters are one group hit hard by standing charges.

    534,462 electricity customers and 269,351 gas customers were cut off between January and March 2023. However, this Ofgem data only covers 4% of households, so ignores millions of other low income struggling households. This includes the two million homes without gas supply that pay the higher electricity standing charges and unit costs.

    Ofgem data shows low Economy 7 users suffering energy deprivation of only 2200 kWh per year versus 9300 kWh total for dual fuel.

    Moreover, energy companies also use the standing charges from poorer households to effectively fund their own operating costs. This is a further kick in the teeth, given the poor standards of customer service companies provide and their marketing and advertising spend which is often wasteful.

    The real-world impact of standing charges

    Organise member Joan said:

    I am having to be extra careful with my consumption, even though I have a disability which is made worse by the cold due to spasms. The standing charge on top of the crippling cost per unit of energy means I have no choice but to cut back.

    Another member of Organise, Jack, said:

    I do anything to keep the costs down, I’m disabled and housebound most of the time. I therefore do not put my heating on and spend most of my time in bed with an electric blanket on as it is the cheapest way of keeping warm. I also eat mainly microwavable meals as it’s cheaper than putting the oven on. Standing charges soon add up eating into what money I’ve put aside for fuel bills.

    Standing charges also undermine energy efficiency by punishing low users and subsidising energy waste. This conflicts with government policy and Ofgem’s new statutory net zero duty.

    Ofgem has previously resisted calls to reduce or remove standing charges, instead increasing them to pay the £2.7bn bill from supplier failures that many blame on poor Ofgem regulation. But increasing public pressure and a report from the Energy Security and Net Zero Committee has forced it to do a review of standing charges.

    This is how you can get involved – but you only have a matter of days to do so.

    Tell Ofgem to sort it out

    Ofgem is coming under mounting pressure to scrap the charge, and has asked for input from consumers and other stakeholders to help them decide what to do.

    The consultation closes on Friday 19 January. However, campaign group Fuel Poverty Action has organised an online template for you to complete. It will then send it to Ofgem on your behalf. You can fill the letter out here. Alternatively, Organise has a pre-composed letter you can sign here.

    Fuel Poverty Action spokesperson Stu Bretherton told the Canary:

    Standing charges bear a huge cost on families and individuals, at around £300 a month that’s wiping out the income of someone on Universal Credit. But that money doesn’t even buy you any energy, it’s a poll tax on something that’s an essential need and a human right. And we’re all forced to pay them even if cut off from your energy supply or forced to switch off the heating and everything else due to mounting energy debt.

    Fuel Poverty Action says this is causing “widespread energy starvation”.

    Outrageous and a scandal

    Bretherton noted that:

    It’s outrageous that people living in tiny flats pay the same as someone heating a mansion and swimming pool. This isn’t just unfair but goes against economic and environmental imperatives to invest in energy efficient housing and heating systems.

    Fuel Poverty Action has long campaigned for standing charges to be abolished and replaced with a national Energy For All guarantee to ensure everyone has their essentials covered according to each household’s needs. Winning change on standing charges is a key step to fixing our upside-down energy pricing system, we’ve pressured Ofgem into this review, so we want to build as much engagement as possible with the consultation while the option is there.

    So, if you’re quick you can get your views on standing charges into Ofgem. Energy companies are ripping us all off, but hitting the poorest the hardest. So, we must take action over this scandal.

    Feature image via Rawpixel – Envato Elements

    By Steve Topple

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • The Canary has a brand-new website

    The Canary launched its brand-new website on Monday 15 January – kind of – and we want readers’ feedback on it.

    A new year, a new-look website for the Canary

    The new site is the most radical shake up we’ve done since 2018 – if not ever. Gone is the static Canary homepage where articles are lined up like robots. Instead, we’ve put in place a more immersive experience, where stories are easily found in their different categories: news, most read, analysis, opinion, editorial, trending, and letters.

    We’ve begun tidying up the site, as well – removing a lot of pages that weren’t needed. The mobile version (which is what around 80% of readers access the Canary on) has had its gremlins banished – so reading our articles should be an easy experience.

    And, we have some new features too – like dark mode and a like/dislike function at the top of each article. Both of these changes were at readers’ requests. Plus, in the next few days you’ll be able to install the Canary on your mobile home screen and have it functioning like an app.

    Bear with us – but feed back to us, also

    The biggest thing for us is that the site is now very, very quick on both desktop and mobile. We hope this will mean a better reading experience for everyone.

    However, bear with us. Switching to an entirely new site theme wasn’t a quick task. It took about 20 hours, all things told. So, there are still bits we need to iron out. You may notice some loss of functionality if you’re a member or subscriber. Also, the ‘Support Us’ page is not currently working.

    These and any other glitches will be sorted in the next day or two. Adverts will also be returning to the site in the next day. However, these will be far less intrusive than they were. Currently, there’s some repetition of articles on our homepage where these would be.

    In the meantime, we’d love to know what you, our readers, think. Please email us via membership(at)thecanary.co – or comment on this article if you’re a member or subscriber. We want to know what you think is good, what you think is bad, and what you would like to see that maybe isn’t there. Please send us your thoughts – because as always, this is your platform too.

    Featured image via Unsplash

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on Canary.