Xi urges renewed crackdown on ‘illegal religious activities’ in rare visit to Xinjiang

Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Mon, 28 August 2023 


Chinese president Xi Jinping called for a further crackdown on "illegal religious activities" during a rare visit to Xinjiang in northwestern China.

Beijing has been accused of committing “crimes against humanity" against the Uyghur Muslims and other ethnic minority groups over the past decade through alleged widespread abuses, including mass incarceration, forced labour, torture and sexual assault.

The United States along with other Western countries have labelled China's policies as a "genocide", a claim that Beijing has denied and dubbed “the lie of the century.”


Mr Xi on Saturday travelled to the regional capital of Urumqi for the first time since his first publicly known visit to Xinjiang in July last year.

The Chinese president listened to government work reports and delivered a speech "affirming the achievements made in various tasks in Xinjiang", state broadcaster CCTV reported.

Stability in Xinjiang is also key to increased local economic development, Mr Xi said during his visit, adding that the region can promote resources-based industries and is encouraged to build more agricultural and solar industrial parks.

He said it was "necessary to... combine the development of the anti-terrorism and anti-separatism struggle with the push for normalising social stability work and rule of law”.

According to reports, Mr Xi also urged officials to "more deeply promote the Sinicisation of Islam and effectively control illegal religious activities".

"In the process of Chinese-style modernisation, we will better build a beautiful Xinjiang that is united and harmonious, wealthy and prosperous."

The president added that officials must “strengthen positive publicity and show Xinjiang’s new atmosphere of openness and self-confidence... (while) refuting all forms of false public opinion and negative or harmful speech”, according to the state broadcaster.

A 48-page report released by the UN in September last year said a million or more people from minority groups were forced into detention camps where many have said they were tortured, sexually assaulted, and forced to abandon their language and religion.

It said that descriptions of the detentions were marked by patterns of torture and other cruel and inhuman treatment and said that allegations of rape and other sexual violence appear credible.

“The extent of arbitrary and discriminatory detention of members of Uyghur and other predominantly Muslim groups ... in [the] context of restrictions and deprivation more generally of fundamental rights ... may constitute international crimes, in particular crimes against humanity,” the report said.

Beijing has closed many of the camps, which it called vocational training and education centres, but hundreds of thousands of people continue to languish in prison, many on vague, secret charges.

The UN assessment said that reports of sharp increases in arrests and lengthy prison sentences in the region strongly suggested a shift toward formal incarceration instead of the use of the camps.

Protests rock government-held areas in southern Syria as economy crumbles

BEIRUT (AP) — Protests spread Monday in two government-held provinces in southern Syria amid widespread anger over the crash of the Syrian pound and the dwindling purchasing power of many people in the war-torn country, opposition activists said.

The rare protests are still limited to southern Syria and are far from government strongholds along the Mediterranean coast, the capital Damascus and the largest cities, including Aleppo and Homs.

The protests came a week after Syrian President Bashar Assad issued two decrees doubling public sector wages and pensions, sparking inflation and compounding economic woes for others.

The U.S. dollar has strengthened from 7,000 Syrian pounds at the beginning of 2023 to 15,000 now. At the onset of Syria’s uprising turned-civil war in 2011, the dollar was trading at 47 pounds.

The protests were concentrated in the southern city of Sweida, home to the country’s Druze minority, and the nearby province of Daraa, often considered the birthplace of Syria’s uprising 13 years ago. Sporadic protests in Sweida against the government and corruption have intensified and turned violent, while Daraa, back under government control since 2018, has experienced high crime and clashes between militias.

There was no immediate comment Monday from the government about the second day of protests in Sweida and Daraa.

Related video: Protesters take to the city in Druze city as anti-government protests rock Syria (WION)  Duration 2:13   View on Watch

On Sunday, the pro-government Sham FM radio station reported that final exams at branches of Damascus University in Sweida were postponed until further notice because some students could not reach campuses because of road closures.

Assad’s decision to hike wages and pensions comes as the cash-strapped government continues to restructure an expensive subsidy program for fuel, gasoline and wheat for bread. Soon after the decision, public transport and fuel fares increased. The economy has already been struggling after years of conflict, corruption and mismanagement, and Western-led sanctions on the government over accusations of war crimes and involvement in the illicit narcotics trade.

“We only kneel to God,” chanted dozens of protesters in the city of Sweida who were accompanied by Druze clerics, according to Suwayda 24, a news website run by activists in the region.

It said protesters were coming to the provincial capital from nearby villages.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, reported that protesters closed main roads in Sweida, including the road leading to the local headquarters of Assad’s ruling Baath party.

In Daraa province, where protests against the government in March 2011 spread across the country, protesters marched in villages including Nawa, Jasem Sanamein and Dael calling for the downfall of Assad’s government and for the expulsion of Iranian influence from the region, according to opposition activist Ahmad al-Masalmeh. Iran has been a main backer of Assad, helping to tip the balance of power in his favor.

The United Nations estimates that 90% of Syrians in government-held areas live in poverty and that over half of the country’s population of 12 million struggles to put food on the table.

___

This story corrects day for no government comment to Monday.

Kareem Chehayeb And Bassem Mroue, The Associated Press

Syrian protests enter second week with calls for Assad to go


Ruth Michaelson in Istanbul and Asmaa al-Omar
Mon, 28 August 2023 

Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

A spate of protests and strikes across government-held areas in southern Syria have continued into their second week, with demonstrators increasingly unafraid to call for the removal of the president, Bashar al-Assad.

Protesters gathered in the southern city of Suwayda on Monday, closing provincial roads. The province of Suwayda has remained under government control since Syria’s 2011 uprising and is home to much of the country’s Druze minority.

Video shared by the activist-led organisation Suwayda24 showed several hundred people gathered in a central square waving Druze flags and chanting “long live Syria, and down with Bashar al-Assad”.


Another video circulating online showed activists chanting on Sunday evening after welding shut the doors of a branch of the ruling Ba’ath party in the town of Melh in the east of Suwayda province.

One protester explained that they targeted the building due to its role in suppressing previous protests calling for an increase in basic services such as water and electricity.

He then directed his cries towards the Syrian president, who has worked to stamp out all dissent since protests against his rule first erupted in 2011. “From Melh we call on you, Bashar al-Assad … we say leave, we don’t want you, you’re going to fall.”

Related: Anti-government protests shake Syrian provinces amid anger over economy

He added: “You have two options: either you leave with your dignity, or you are destined to die.”

Protests spurred by a rise in fuel prices and anger at economic corruption and mismanagement quickly morphed into anti-government demonstrations, including repeated calls for Assad to leave. Demonstrations have grown steadily throughout Syria’s south.

In Suwayda, people held signs citing a UN security council resolution demanding a transitional government, or calling for the release of thousands that have been forcibly disappeared by the Syrian security apparatus since protests first gripped the country 12 years ago.

“Suwayda hasn’t witnessed a civil strike and movement like this before. People don’t want reforms. This regime is not able to provide people with any of their needs,” said Rayan Marouf, the exiled head of Suwayda24.

“These protests have awakened hope in Syrians. Their demands are clear, and no one is making economic demands. People in Suwayda also protested over the past few years and nothing changed.”

Marouf emphasised that the renewed protests were about calls for political change, rather than economic grievances that saw smaller protests in Suwayda in previous years.

“If they wanted economic reforms they would have protested differently, they would have taken to the streets, for example, and tried to break into banks, or called for a change of ministers and to bring back fuel subsidies. They wouldn’t have attacked the Ba’ath party offices, one of its few functioning branches in Syria. People want Assad to go,” he said.

The demonstrations in majority Druze areas, which have drawn support from local clerics and other groups in the area, like Bedouin, represent a further blow to the Assad regime, which has long touted its defence of the country’s minorities.

The Syrian pound has hit historic lows throughout the summer, plummeting to almost 15,000 to the dollar on the black market, depreciating threefold since its value late last year. The government continues to hike wages amid a costly restructuring plan on subsidies for basic goods, including bread and petrol.

The United Nations said in June that Syria’s 12-year conflict had pushed 90% of its remaining population over the poverty line, amid rising food costs and cuts to electricity and fuel.

Despite efforts by Assad to oversee a return to the Arab League and re-establish relations with former foes in the Gulf, his control over Syrian territory remains fractured and a profound economic crisis persists.

The government has offered little comment on the protests, apart from the state’s head of reconciliation, Omar Rahmoun, who posted on social media to accuse protesters of acting as a conduit for extremist groups.

Damascus has blamed its collapsing economy on western sanctions, which increased following documentation of war crimes committed by the Assad regime as well as its role in the regional drug trade.

Marouf said the protests show Assad’s efforts at control have done little to quell public anger, even in government-held areas. “People want a fair government, and al-Assad’s regime is incapable of giving his people that. Whatever this regime does it won’t be enough for his people,” he said.

“The world thinks that Bashar al-Assad has won after being readmitted to the Arab League, but it’s those on the ground who decide whether he’s a legitimate ruler or not.”

Top Scottish lawyer warns prisoners could take legal action against the Scottish Government for a breach of human rights

Rachel Amery
Tue, 29 August 2023

One lawyer is warning prisoners could take legal action against the Scottish Government for breaching human rights. (Photo: submit)

A leading Scottish lawyer is warning prisoners on remand could launch legal action against the Scottish Government for breaching their human rights.

Thomas Kerr KC says delays to having criminal cases heard in courts are “extremely serious”, with waiting times for the most serious cases doubling.

He says this is leading to some people being in prison for two years and then being found not guilty, which is a breach of their right to a fair trial in a reasonable amount of time.


Speaking on BBC Good Morning Scotland, Mr Ross said: “Everyone working in the criminal justice system is working flat out.

“Particularly in the high court we have exhausted all the court’s resources, but with all that effort the delays are still going up.”

The number of prisoners on remand in Scotland has risen from around 900 to 2,200.

There are a number of reasons for this, including a backlog caused by the coronavirus pandemic and a “proliferation” of large-scale prosecutions such as for serious organised crime.

Mr Ross says he worries this will lead to some people pleading guilty to crimes they have not committed just to get out of the prison system quicker.

He said: “That won’t happen in the high court where the sentences are between six and 12 years.

“But in the sheriff court where the sentence might be two years, with release after one year, if you’re on remand for more than a year it doesn’t make sense for you to stay in prison, so many will just plead guilty to get out.”

He adds he “wouldn’t be surprised” if this leads to some raising legal action for a breach of human rights, particularly if the person is later found not guilty.

Mr Ross said: “Everybody has the right to a trial within a reasonable time and arguably if you’re relying on remand for a period in excess of two years, you are not getting that in a reasonable time and arguably this is a breach of human rights.

“Most of those on remand are serving sentences which will be imposed on them in the future, but if you’re on remand for two years and are then acquitted, you aren’t entitled to any compensation.

“Recently in an Irish court an accused was not extradited to Scotland because the prison conditions here are so terrible.

“People are being held in cells for 22 hours a day - imagine being locked up in a cell for 22 hours a day for two years, and then being found not guilty?”

He is now urging the criminal justice system and the Scottish Government to do some “creative thinking” to come up with ways of bringing these long waiting lists and delays down.

Mr Ross said one solution may be offering people more of an incentive to plead guilty early, particularly for crimes such as drug trafficking offences.

He said: “These solutions won’t find favour with everyone, but there are a lot of people out there who want more lengthy sentences.

“But we are in a difficult situation so we need some blue-sky thinking to get out of this emergency.”

A massive Iranian missile attack on a US base offered a glimpse of the long-lasting injuries US troops will face in a war with Russia or China


Paul Iddon
Mon, 28 August 2023 a

Al Asad Airbase in Iraq's western Anbar desert.AP Photo/Nasser Nasser

In January 2020, Iran fired nearly a dozen ballistic missiles at an Iraqi base housing US troops.


No US personnel were killed, but more than 100 were later diagnosed with traumatic brain injuries.


Those injuries were a likely preview of US casualties in a future war, medical researchers say.

An unprecedented Iranian ballistic-missile attack in Iraq in January 2020 offered a worrying glimpse of the less visible but long-lasting injuries US troops will likely sustain in future wars.

Five days after the assassination of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani in a US drone attack in Baghdad, Iran made good on its threats to retaliate by launching 11 ballistic missiles at Al Asad air base on January 8, 2020.

The hundreds of US troops at the base experienced what has been described as "the largest ballistic attack against Americans in history."

The troops only received a few hours of warning, and the base had no air defenses capable of intercepting the missiles. As the 11 missiles, each carrying 1,000- to 2,000-pound warheads, rained down, some US soldiers were blown out of their positions in guard towers by the blasts. Other US troops huddled in bunkers built during the reign of Saddam Hussein.

Yet no US soldier was killed or suffered severe physical injuries. Their survival was described as "a miracle of God."

US soldiers inspect damage from Iranian missiles at Al Asad air base on January 13, 2020.John Davison/Reuters

But 109 American personnel at Al Asad were ultimately diagnosed with traumatic brain injuries, or TBIs, and will likely have recurring headaches and PTSD-related symptoms for the rest of their lives. Several of these troops were awarded Purple Hearts in recognition of their injuries.

US Army Maj. Robert Hales was the highest-ranking medical doctor on the base during the attack. In an interview with 60 Minutes over a year later, he said there is limited understanding of brain traumas such an attack can cause.

"There hasn't been a lot of studies with this level of percussion wave, with the overpressure and the negative pressure that immediately follows being exposed to this, over and over again," he said. "Just because this missile attack was so unique, as it never has happened in history that a ground force was exposed to 11 theatre ballistic missiles."

Unfortunately, according to a report published in August by the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, TBIs will only become "more prevalent" among US troops in conflicts against a near-peer adversary, a term that refers to forces with capabilities similar to those of the US military.

Debris from Iranian missiles seen in a rural area near Erbil on January 8, 2020.Al-Baghdadi township/Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

In its post-2001 wars, the US found itself fighting insurgents and terrorist groups who used unconventional tactics to counter the US's military and technological superiority. US dominance of the air, ground, and sea "assured relative freedom of movement for medical evacuation" of wounded US troops, the report says.

Most of the 60,000 casualties, including 7,076 deaths, that the US suffered in those wars were caused by small-arms fire and less sophisticated weapons like improvised explosive devices, mortars, and small rockets. As the fighting in Ukraine has shown, a war against a near-peer adversary would almost certainly involve heavier and longer-range weaponry.

Some 70% of Ukraine's combat casualties are from Russian artillery and rocket barrages, which cause "multiple high-velocity penetrating injuries, barotrauma, and blunt injuries from being thrown during the explosion" and, of course, TBIs, according to the report, which notes that attacks using IEDs "affected fewer patients, in general, and caused less severe injury."

The report highlights the Al Asad attack as a "rare modern instance" of US troops facing near-peer adversary-level weapons and suffering significant numbers of debilitating TBIs as a result.

US soldiers carry a simulated casualty to a helicopter during a medevac exercise in Vermont in August 2017.US Air National Guard/Tech. Sgt. Sarah Mattison

Moreover, it would be much harder to evacuate wounded personnel from the battlefield, given the likelihood that a near-peer adversary will field long-range sensors and weapons capable of reaching far behind the frontline.

This is especially true of air evacuation. The war in Ukraine has shown how tough air operations would be against a near-peer adversary, and recent campaigns in the Middle East provide examples of how even less capable enemies can use cheap drones to contest the airspace over the battlefield.

Small and medium-size drones are proliferating in the Middle East and "present a new and complex threat to our forces and those of our partners and allies," US Marine Corps Gen. Kenneth McKenzie told the Senate Armed Services Committee in April 2021.

"For the first time since the Korean War, we are operating without complete air superiority," added McKenzie, who was head of US Central Command at the time.

As the likelihood of a war or even a limited conflict with a near-peer adversary rises and the US military's longstanding advantages erode, it is increasingly necessary to develop techniques to prevent and treat TBIs. The Al Asad attack was a relatively small-scale demonstration of the lethal dangers that US troops will face on the battlefields of the future.

Paul Iddon is a freelance journalist and columnist who writes about Middle East developments, military affairs, politics, and history. His articles have appeared in a variety of publications focused on the region.

Signs of Another Secret ‘Shadow Army’ Left Behind by Prigozhin


Shannon Vavra
Tue, 29 August 2023 

Photo Illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily Beast/Getty

After Yevgeny Prigozhin staged his failed revolt in Russia two months ago, the Kremlin promptly clamped down on his empire. The paramilitary boss and his mercenaries were exiled to Belarus, while Wagner-linked media companies that spewed Russian propaganda online were blocked. The future of his information operations were further put into question last week, when Prigozhin was reported dead in a plane crash that bore all the signs of an assassination ordered by President Vladimir Putin.

But despite the clampdown on Wagner’s propaganda minions and the apparent death of the mercenary boss, signs are emerging that Prigozhin’s information operations network never really went away.

A couple of hundred Russian-language accounts pushing pro-Russia and pro-Putin narratives sprung up early this month on Twitter, or X, before Prigozhin’s reported death, according to Clemson University research shared exclusively with The Daily Beast.


The network of accounts—which followed each other and interacted with similar posts that amplify Kremlin lines—has all the telltale signs of a Prigozhin op, according to Darren Linvill, who has been researching Russian information operations for years.

Linvill began researching Russian troll army operations in 2017, surfacing 3 million tweets from Russian trolls in research that drew the attention of law enforcement agencies and U.S. Army Cyber Command.

How Prigozhin Could Wreak Havoc From Beyond the Grave

“Whatever the IRA is now, it’s definitely operated by the same people sitting at the same desks regardless of the name you put on their employer. But the troll operations are still ongoing,” Linvill said of the network, adding that many of the accounts were taken down after he reported them to Twitter, or X.

Twitter did not respond with a substantive comment on the matter. The auto-reply from the press office indicated Twitter would reply.

But parts of the network, or at least accounts linked to the troll network, appear to remain online and active, according to posts, accounts, and other activity reviewed by The Daily Beast.

The accounts, which were created this month and which keep popping up even as others get shot down, focus on promoting pro-Putin and pro-Russia narratives. Most follow the same pattern: They use generic profile pictures, shoot off a few tweets in an apparent effort to look legitimate, and then get to work on their influence operation in the replies and likes.

The accounts appear to be pushing the same kind of pro-Kremlin narratives across the board, using a similar tone. That includes defending Russian air defense capabilities (which have suffered in recent weeks) and Putin’s reputation (which has sunk lower than ever before on the world stage since the illegal invasion of Ukraine last year) as well as spreading disinformation designed to break Ukrainian morale.

One account in the network that still remains online—a user that goes by the name “Gleb”—spewed out over a dozen insults and pro-Moscow commentary on Twitter in just over 10 minutes on Thursday.

The user weighed in on the news that an exiled political activist, Maxim Katz, was sentenced in absentia for criticizing Russia’s war in Ukraine, adding: “Katz, you are a criminal, we are waiting for you in Russia, you will be met right at the door of the plane as an honored guest.”

The user also tweeted out an insult at Putin rival Alexei Navalny, and commented several times about the speculation surrounding the apparent death of Prigozhin, backing up the Kremlin’s claims about the mercenary boss.

Some posts appear coordinated between accounts in the network. Gleb follows another user who goes by the name “Maria” and they both posted comments around the same time Thursday urging other users to not worry about new countries joining BRICS—a club of emerging nations including Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.

“Calm down,” Gleb said.

The Maria account also posts praise for Putin and commentary about geopolitics that aligns with Russia’s world view, complaining about the West’s focus on a unipolar world.

“Putin is an experienced politician and people in Russia appreciate him,” the Maria account said Thursday.

Several of the accounts echo Kremlin propaganda about the war in Ukraine. Maria accuses the West of killing Ukrainians by providing them weapons to fight off Russian forces. Another account that goes by “Ekaterina” posted narratives meant to discourage Ukraine in the war, suggesting more Western aid wasn’t coming and applauding the quality of Russian equipment. Another user, “Anastasia,” posts in support of the Russian invasion as well.

From Murder Pigeons to ‘Evil’ Forces: How Putin Sold His War

The network’s pro-Putin leanings align with a switch Linvill had seen in Russian troll networks earlier this year. Linvill said that just after Prigozhin’s revolt, when it appeared Moscow began to absorb some of Prigozhin’s media assets, the trolls switched from supporting Prigozhin to propping up Putin.

While it’s not 100 percent clear that the accounts created this month are run and operated by the people who previously worked for Prigozhin’s troll farms, it has all the telltale signs of the same operation, Linvill explained.

It seems unlikely that Putin will give up the sweeping influence arm that Prigozhin built up through the years—even after the Wagner boss’s death, according to some analysts. With the war in Ukraine faltering and the very public way his authority has been challenged in recent months, the Russian president might be in dire need of a strong propaganda arm.

“Frankly, propaganda is more important to Putin now than it’s ever been. He’d be a fool to dismantle the apparatus that has helped keep him in place,” Linvill said.
Orders From Above

The rapid succession of pro-Russia posts on the same topics suggests that the troll network is handed a list of topics to post about—including specific guidance on what narrative spin to use, Roman Osadchuk, an Atlantic Council digital research associate focused on Eurasia in Kyiv, told The Daily Beast.

“A real person needs at least some time to read the first tweet and then reply. This, they’re publishing a few times within a minute or two sometimes. It is possible… but if they are replying to different Twitter threads, they need to find those threads,” Osadchuk told The Daily Beast. It “looks like they have a list of topics that they need to comment on.”

The speedy and coordinated overlap from the accounts’ activity at times suggests that either different people are operating the accounts manually with the same tasking, or someone is running the accounts using some kind of automation and scripts.

“Somebody had to write those comments in advance so the script could write them,” Osadchuk said.

The Secret Russian ‘School’ Churning Out Minions for Putin

The accounts’ handles’ construction—with last name first, followed by the first five letters of a first name—is another indicator that the network is not made up of authentic users. It suggests the network used an algorithm or software to create the accounts and check for combinations of names that weren’t already claimed on the platform, Osadchuk said.

There is likely “an algorithm that has different writings of specific names, different variants, and then it plays with whether this name is being already used on the platform or not and changes it and tries different combinations,” Osadchuk said.

The accounts appear to make little to no effort to build realistic personas on their profiles. One account examined by The Daily Beast, for example, sports a generic profile picture lifted from popular memes online. The account sports a “swole Doge,” a dog head with an extremely muscular body, for instance. Two accounts appear to both use the same image of a cat as their profile picture in a likely sloppy and quick effort to set up the accounts.

Chiming in

The network also chimes in on breaking news, even if it’s potentially controversial for Putin.

On several occasions, Anastasia and Maria both accused the West of killing off Prigozhin, although many U.S. officials have suggested that Putin would likely have targeted the mercenary boss after his rebellion in Russia. On Friday, several accounts posted lines about how the investigation into his death is ongoing, encouraging trust in the Russian process.

The reach of the operation doesn’t appear to be tremendous by any means yet. The Gleb account, for instance, has just six followers, and is only following 21 accounts, many of which are Russian news outlets. Many of the other accounts in the network exhibit a similar low following.

According to Linvill, that’s another indication that the network is indeed the work of a Russian troll farm. As Russian troll farms have gotten caught in the act more and more in recent years, they have switched from running well-developed and creative accounts that fly under the radar, to low-level accounts that simply jump in where the conversation is ongoing already.

“They’re not driving narratives, they’re responding,” Linvill said. “That’s something you can do without a following and it’s something you can do even if you know your account might get suspended and still have an impact on the platform.”

The Daily Beast.

UK

Opinion

Abandoning a wealth tax is a ruinous Labour strategy. It’s ‘Blairism without the cash’

Owen Jones
Mon, 28 August 2023 


Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

When a British politician discusses “tough choices”, they invariably reveal whose side they are really on. A tough choice tends to involve emptying the pockets of those with little, or slashing a service ordinary citizens depend on. When Labour committed to retain the Tories’ two-child benefit cap – which drives hundreds of thousands of children into poverty – this was styled as a tough decision. Note, however, that raising taxes on the thriving rich is never described as such, even though such a commitment inevitably triggers coordinated hysteria from Tory politicians, rightwing media outlets and wealthy interests. Refusing to do so is the easy way out: it is the very opposite of a tough decision.

When Labour’s shadow chancellor, Rachel Reeves, rules out a wealth tax – or indeed other means of asking the well-to-do to contribute more – she underlines the political cowardice of the opposition. The party has been courting the support of big business in a so-called “smoked salmon and scrambled eggs” offensive, and is determined not to offend them. It’s not just any vestige of Corbynism that Labour’s masters wish to expunge: its leading thinkers believe that the party lost under Ed Miliband in 2015 because it was insufficiently deferential to corporate Britain. This is belied by the actual evidence: polling back then revealed that 42% of voters had considered the party to be too soft on big business, with just 22% believing it too tough. But Labour’s desire to genuflect before the powerful trumps all other considerations.

For anyone concerned about the state of the country after 13 years of ruinous Tory rule, this should cause alarm. Reeves rebuts the need for a wealth tax by announcing she doesn’t “have any spending plans that require us to raise £12bn worth of money”. Any politician who claims to be able to fix a country facing multiple overlapping crises without spending a lot of money is simply not being straight with the public. From record NHS waiting lists and an unprecedented squeeze in living standards to crumbling infrastructure and an ever-escalating housing crisis, Britain will not escape its current mire without colossal levels of investment.


Instead, Labour bets the house on a magic fairy, otherwise known as securing the highest sustained economic growth in the G7. A worthy aim, but how would Labour achieve it? Since the advent of Thatcherism, Britain has been afflicted by weak growth that is inequitably distributed.

Departing from this age of stagnation requires a new economic model: none is forthcoming from Starmerism, whatever that is. Indeed, last year Starmer aptly described trickle-down economics as a “piss take”, but how is promising to raise living standards through economic growth without any meaningful redistribution any different? Consider the verdict of Jim O’Neill, an economist and former Tory Treasury minister who has advised Reeves. He has called for politicians to abandon “petty and arbitrary fiscal rules” and argues “it seems reasonably obvious that without much stronger investment, spending and productivity growth, the UK will not improve its growth performance”.

Whatever its multiple failures, the key successes of the New Labour period – like rebuilding public services and reducing poverty – were achieved by splashing significant sums of cash. Yes, the party stuck by Tory spending limits for the first two years, but genuinely impressive investment followed. No such commitment is forthcoming from today’s Labour party. Indeed, by ruling out a wealth tax and stating it will not increase the top rate of income tax or capital gains, a Labour government has precious little room for manoeuvre in office.

When he stood for leader, of course, Starmer promised to increase taxes on the rich: it represented a key plank of his abandoned “10 pledges”, as he promised not to “oversteer” in response to Labour’s 2019 rout. His claim that changed circumstances led to his many turnarounds is utter rot. The case for raising considerable revenue is far stronger now than it was in 2020. Claims that Tory economic mismanagement ties Labour’s hands are simply regurgitating George Osborne’s justification for austerity after the financial crash. Britain’s tax take is significantly lower than better-performing economies, and the rich are better off than ever. In any case, Britain’s tax burden is only set to increase – consider our ageing population, or a growing climate emergency. Should it fall on the backs of struggling Britons, or those with ample means?

Three years ago, a Wealth Tax Commission brought together scores of economists, legal experts and tax advisers to design a one-off wealth tax. They concluded that if the government introduced a 5% wealth tax on all individual wealth above £500,000 then it could raise a staggering £260bn. It incorporated important caveats: it would only be levied after mortgages and other debts were accounted for, and it would be payable in instalments over five years.

A bold Labour party committed to rebuilding a shattered society would adopt such a plan. Instead, Starmer relies on a shrinking crutch: a now scaled-back green transition plan funded by borrowing. His government risks being Blairism without the investment, or indeed a high-profile policy like the minimum wage. That would represent a bleak offer in good times: in a country enduring social agony, it’s a tragedy.

Owen Jones is a Guardian columnist

UK
Restaurant manager told ‘you’ll be terminated’ after she revealed pregnancy

Alex Barton
Sat, 26 August 2023 

Pauline Bawej, whose daughter Mali is now three, said she was ‘devastated‘ by the ordeal - Solent

A restaurant manager whose boss told her “you will be terminated” after she revealed she was pregnant has won a payout of more than £35,000.

Paulina Bawej, 32, was first told by her manager she must take a pay cut of £4,000 before receiving threatening messages and then being fired, an employment tribunal heard.

Ms Bawej, who represented herself, has now been awarded £35,492 in compensation after successfully suing for pregnancy discrimination and unfair dismissal.
‘Shocked’ by the news


The company that employed her, Huangs Grill, runs Japanese restaurants Sushinoen, in Whitechapel, east London, and Taisho, in Golders Green, north London.

The tribunal heard Ms Bawej was employed as assistant manager from July 2018.

Ms Bawej told her boss she was expecting a child shortly after she had learned she was pregnant in February 2019.

But Mr Huang was reportedly “shocked” by the news and said he needed to consult co-manager Ms Kim.

The 32-year-old expectant mother was then forced to relocate from Taisho to the Sushinoen restaurant.

Ms Bawej asked to split her time between the two restaurants but Ms Kim “abruptly refused”. The restaurant manager then suggested Ms Bawej had her pay cut by £4,000.
‘You will be terminated’

When Ms Bawej raised pregnancy rights, Ms Kim texted her: “This is nothing to do pregnant. I am talking about your position. Do not forget. Shang tried to give you chance.

“You will be terminated from Taisho and employed in Sushinoen. Not transferred. I employed you for Taisho not for Sushinoen.

“We have already assistant manager so I do not need it and your salary is higher than normal. So I cannot afford it. It’s up to you. If you want come welcome, if not is fine.”

Ms Bawej, whose daughter Mali is now three, said she was “devastated” by the ordeal and has since given up on her hospitality career.

At the Watford Employment Tribunal, Gary Tobin, employment judge, said the use of the word “terminated” was a “threat” to Ms Bawej.
‘No proper explanation’

Judge Tobin also “resoundingly rejected” Mr Huang’s argument that she was sacked due to redundancy, which he said was a “made-up” excuse.

He said: “No other explanation fits the sequence of events or appears plausible.

“Huangs Grill has provided no proper explanation as to Ms Bawej’s dismissal.

“She was not dismissed for poor performance or misconduct as originally contended. This was not a redundancy situation as subsequently asserted.

“We can find no credible explanation as to why she was dismissed, save that this employer dismissed her because she was pregnant.”

UK

Barclay family launch bid to buy back Telegraph


James Warrington
Sat, 26 August 2023 

Copies of The Daily Telegraph newspaper on a newsstand

The Barclay family have tabled a bid to regain control of Telegraph Media Group from Lloyds Banking Group.

The former owners of the newspaper group, comprising the Daily Telegraph, Sunday Telegraph and Telegraph.co.uk, have secured backing from Middle Eastern investors to buy back roughly half the debt it owes Lloyds, Sky News reported.

The unnamed backers are said to be based in Abu Dhabi, while the offer is believed to be in the region of £500m to £600m.
This would mark a significant writeback for Lloyds, which wrote down the value of its loans to the family several years ago.

The Barclays lost control when the newspaper’s parent company was placed into receivership in June.

A formal sale process run by Goldman Sachs is due to begin in September. The Wall Street bank will also auction The Spectator magazine, which was also owned by the Barclay family.

Potential bidders for The Telegraph include Lord Rothermere, the owner of the Daily Mail, who is reportedly courting investors.

Any bid by his company Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT), however, would be at risk of a lengthy review of its impact on media plurality that might reduce its attractiveness to Lloyds.

National World, a local newspaper group led by veteran executive David Montgomery, is to date the only party to publicly declare an interest in making a bid.

However, the Barclay family may hope a deal with them would be viewed as preferential by receivers at specialist consultancy AlixPartners, given it would avoid the risk of any protracted regulatory review.

Charlie Nunn, chief executive of Lloyds Banking Group, last month said there was “no need to have a rushed sales process”.

He added: “We’ve set up an independent receivership and this is all being managed totally independently from executives at Lloyds Banking Group.

“You can imagine why that’s important for us and for me personally so we aren’t involved in the decision making around how the process is being run.

“We’ve given the receivers the complete freedom to run a process with the right diligence and, from our perspective, to ensure the process is run well from a UK perspective and maximise the returns for our shareholders.”

A spokesman for the Barclay family declined to comment.

Germany plans three-year rent freeze for tenants

Tim Wallace
Mon, 28 August 2023 

Aerial view of Berlin skyline with famous TV tower and Spree river

Olaf Scholz is considering imposing a three-year rent freeze on Germany’s landlords as his ruling Social Democratic party attempts to ease the strain of the cost of living crisis on tenants.

Landlords could be forced to repay rents deemed “usurious”, if the rate charged is more than 20pc above the typical local level, in areas with limited supplies of homes.

Rules already in place to limit rent rises will also be tightened, under the plans, as furnished apartments and homes let for temporary use are not always covered by the restrictions.

Verena Hubertz, a senior SDP politician, told the German national Bild am Sonntag: “We need a breather for tenants – we need a rent freeze for the next three years”.

The party’s parliamentarians are meeting on Monday to hammer out new policies to cut living costs, with rents on the agenda.

The measure is on the table “in view of the enormous rent increases in recent years and the drastically increasing ancillary and heating costs caused by the war,” Ms Hubertz said.

Of Germany’s 41 million households, almost half live in rented accommodation, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD).

Just over a fifth own their own home, the OECD found.

Official statistics show that the average tenant household spent almost 28pc of their income on rents last year.

The IFO Institute, an influential economic think tank, estimates that rents in Germany will rise by an average of 7.2pc per year over the next decade.

In 2020 a five-year rent freeze came into force in Berlin, locking most payments at their 2019 level and even reducing the monthly payments of tenants deemed to be overpaying for their accommodation.

But the Federal Constitutional Court, the highest court in the land, ultimately struck the measure down in 2021, ruling that the local authority did not have the power to impose the cap.

Economists typically reject rent controls on the basis that the policy undermines the supply and quality of rental properties available for tenants as landlords cut investment.

In the UK, Labour’s shadow housing secretary criticised rent control policies this summer.

Lisa Nandy said: “When house building is falling off a cliff and buy to let landlords are leaving the market, rent controls that cut rents for some, will almost certainly leave others homeless.”

UK

Families to fund record £8.1bn toward first-time buyer purchases

Eir Nolsoe
Sun, 27 August 2023

A couple view properties for sale in an estate agents window

Parents and grandparents are facing a retirement cash crunch as they prepare to contribute a record £8.1bn towards younger buyers’ house purchases this year, a report has warned.

Money from relatives will help fund close to half of all purchases by under-55s in 2023, according to research by Legal & General and the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr).

It is a significant jump from 35pc in 2020, when the research was last carried out. For under-35s, the share is expected to jump from just under half in 2020 to 57pc this year as rising interest rates push up mortgage payments.

The Bank of England has raised interest rates 14 consecutive times since December 2021 to 5.25pc, wiping tens of thousands of pounds off what the average borrower can afford.

The average amount of financial support from relatives is expected to hit £25,600 this year, L&G’s research found.

Bernie Hickman, chief executive of Legal & General Retail, which has 12 million policyholders, warned the record sums put many older people at risk of running out of money later in life.

He said: “Our research clearly shows that gifting or lending money to loved ones to get on the property ladder has noticeably impacted [the givers’] finances.

“There’s clearly a risk of depleting their own financial resources to the extent that it could impact on their own ability to live comfortably.”

Collectively, gifted funds towards home deposits are predicted to reach £10bn by 2025, nearly twice as much as in 2016.

Many of L&G’s customers have released equity from their property through lifetime mortgages to help their children or grandchildren get on the property ladder, Mr Hickman said.

He added that Britain’s housing market was not only perpetuating inequalities but was also creating “risks for the older generations”.

Research by L&G found that seven in ten people who had given money towards a family member’s home said it had left them in a worse financial position.

Steve Webb, a former pensions minister, said: “The big risk for parents on a tighter budget is that they might under-estimate their own retirement needs.

“It is important to have both regular income and a certain amount of capital. You might think that you can live comfortably enough from week to week, but what happens when the car needs replacing or the boiler breaks?”

Even among buyers aged 45 to 54, one in four relied on funds gifted by family to afford their purchase, L&G found.

Aneisha Beveridge at Hamptons, an estate agent, said rapidly rising borrowing costs would pile more pressure on family members to provide financial support towards deposits.

She said: “They are going to increasingly be calling for help from older households, whether that’s grandparents or parents.”

Ms Beveridge warned that despite growing pleas from younger buyers, demographic changes meant fewer parents were in a position to help out.

She said: “As homeownership rates have declined through the last 50-60 years, that has limited parents’ ability to actually help their children.

“I think we’re starting to see some of that play out now. That has big consequences for saving pots for healthcare and general day-to-day living.”

Separate research conducted by Hamptons found that financial help from siblings now makes up 11pc of gifted money towards home purchases, nearly twice as much as six years earlier.

Meanwhile, UK Finance data showed almost one in ten people climbing the property ladder are signing mortgage deals that will leave them paying off debts well into their 70s.

The trade body said a record 9pc of all home movers took out loans of 35 years or more in June, up from less than 1pc a decade ago.

Homeowners spend an average of eight years in their first property before moving, according to Zoopla.

This suggests home movers in their early 40s are signing up for mortgages that will leave them stuck in a debt trap until their late 70s.

The data also showed a record one in five first-time buyers are also signing up to mortgages of more than 35 years as interest rates soar.

A UK Finance spokesman said there had been a “rapid increase in the proportion of mortgage customers borrowing over a longer term in order to stretch their affordability” over the past year, though this was starting to plateau.

They added: “If the mortgage runs its full term this does mean the customer ends up paying more overall than they would over a shorter term, although the majority of first-time buyers redeem their mortgage well before this, usually when they move house.”