It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Sunday, September 08, 2024
UK
Ed Miliband Considers Scrapping Planned Nuclear Plant
The U.K.’s nuclear future is in limbo as Energy Secretary Ed Miliband considers scrapping a major plant in Wales. The Telegraphhas more.
The Energy Secretary has told officials to review future nuclear plans in a move that has thrown into doubt plans for a third new gigawatt-scale plant to be built at Wylfa, in Anglesey.
The review will also reconsider the official target, announced under Boris Johnson, to deploy at least 24 gigawatts of nuclear capacity by 2050, the Telegraph understands.
It comes amid concerns that the plans set out under the Conservatives were rushed out ahead of the General Election and not properly thought through. …
The move will fuel concerns that Britain’s ambitions are being scaled back, with the Conservatives accusing him of turning his back on the industry.
Wylfa was only confirmed in May by the previous Conservative Government to follow similar projects at Hinkley Point, in Somerset, and Sizewell, in Suffolk.
The Welsh site is capable of hosting up to four large reactors and has attracted keen interest from major international firms including U.S.-based Westinghouse and South Korea’s Kepco.
It is understood that ministers remain committed to making a final investment decision on the £20 billion Sizewell C power plant before the end of this year, as well as to the programme to develop the first mini nuclear power stations known as small modular reactors (SMRs).
But sources said that the Government’s future commitments were being reviewed in the round as part of wider plans to transition to a Net Zero energy system.
Which rural area will take the UK’s nuclear waste?
Victoria Gill and Kate Stephens Science correspondent and senior science producer,
BBC News Reporting fromCumbria BBC
A repeating tone - blip, blip, blip - is the audible reminder that we are in one of the most hazardous nuclear sites in the world: Sellafield.
That sound - pulsing from speakers inside the cavernous fuel-handling plant - is a signal that everything is functioning as it should.
That is comforting because Sellafield, in Cumbria, is the temporary home to the vast majority of the UK’s radioactive nuclear waste, as well as the world’s largest stockpile of plutonium.
That waste is the product of reactions that drive the UK’s nuclear power stations and it is highly radioactive.
It releases energy that can penetrate and damage the cells in our bodies, and "it remains hazardous for 100,000 years", explains Claire Corkhill, professor of radioactive waste management at University of Bristol.
Sellafield is filling up - and experts say we have no choice but to find somewhere new to keep this material safe.
Nuclear power is also part of the government’s stated mission for ”clean power by 2030”. More nuclear power means more nuclear waste.
Inside Sellafield’s fuel-handling plant, we watch from behind one metre-thick, lead-lined glass as operators remotely control robotic arms.
They manoeuvre joysticks on what look like large retro game-controllers, as the arms pull used nuclear fuel rods – still glowing hot and highly radioactive - from the heavy metal containers in which they arrived.
This complex operation never stops. Sellafield runs 24 hours a day with 11,000 staff. It costs more than £2bn per year to keep the site going, and it comprises more than 1,000 buildings, connected by 25 miles of road.
The hot glow of rods of spent fuel is visible
However, in recent years, doubts have been raised about the site's security and physical integrity.
One of its oldest waste storage silos is currently leaking radioactive liquid into the ground. That is a “recurrence of a historic leak” that Sellafield Ltd, the company that operates the site, says first started in the 1970s.
Sellafield has also faced questions about its working culture and adherence to safety rules. The company is currently awaiting sentencing after it pleaded guilty, in June, to charges related to cyber-security failings.
An investigation by the Guardian revealed that the site’s systems had been hacked, although the Office for Nuclear Regulation said there was “no evidence that any vulnerabilities had been exploited” by the hackers.
Getty Images Sellafield costs more than £2bn per year to operate
All of this has cast a shadow over an operation that, as well as taking in newly created nuclear waste, also houses several decades worth of much older radioactive material.
The site no longer produces or reprocesses any nuclear material, but this is where the race began to produce plutonium for nuclear weapons at the height of the Cold War.
“It was the dawn of the nuclear age,” says Roddy Miller, Sellafield’s operations director. “But because it was a race, not a lot of thought was given to the long-term safe storage of the waste materials that were produced.”
The leaking storage silo, which was built in the 1960s, is just one of the buildings that now has to be emptied so the material inside can go into more modern silos. The building was only ever designed to be filled, and Sellafield says its plans to clear the site and demolish the building are the safest option.
The site’s head of retrievals, Alyson Armett, points out that without a “permanent solution” for the nuclear waste, the plans to decommission could be delayed.
The current plan for that permanent solution is to bury the waste deep underground.
A complicated search – both scientifically and politically - is currently on for somewhere to lock it away from humanity permanently.
"We need to isolate it from future populations or even civilisations, that’s the timescale we’re looking at," says Prof Corkhill.
She studies how radioactive waste material can be made safe for extremely long-term storage, and is searching for the most stable, inert substance that nuclear waste could be "baked into".
"We turn it into a solid - glass, ceramic or a material that’s just like the rocks that the uranium originally came from," she explains. At Sellafield, the highest level of radioactive waste is stabilised in a similar way before it is stored on-site.
Scientists study how nuclear waste can be "baked" into solid, stable materials, like glass
The plan for permanent, underground storage is to contain that solid waste in a Russian doll-like series of barriers. The glass, encased in steel, will be shielded in concrete, then buried beneath the Earth‘s own barriers - layers of solid rock.
The question is, where will that facility be?
‘The waste is already here’
Six years ago, communities in England and Wales were asked to come forward if they were willing to consider having a disposal facility built near their town or village.
Potential sites will need the ideal geology - enough solid rock to create that permanent barrier. However, they also need something that might be more difficult - a willing community.
There are financial incentives for communities to take part in this discussion. So far, five have come forward. Two have already been ruled out. Allerdale in Cumbria was deemed unsuitable because there was not enough solid bedrock. Then, in September, councillors in South Holderness, in Yorkshire, withdrew after a series of local protests.
Government scientists are assessing the remaining three communities that are currently in the running. Geologists have been carrying out seismic testing - looking for that all-important impermeable rock.
One of the communities being considered is very close to the Sellafield site in West Cumbria, at Seascale.
Local councillor David Moore says the industrial complex is "just down the road, and it’s the biggest employer in the area".
He adds: “I think that’s why conversation here’s different. We’re already the hosts of the waste. And we all want to find it a safer location.
"I have seven grandchildren who live in this community, and I want them to live in a safe environment.” Sellafield is on the doorstep of the community at Seascale, on the Cumbrian coast
It is not yet clear if Mid Copeland, the area under consideration that includes Seascale, will have the right rock. The survey and consultation here - and in the other locations being considered - are in their early stages and scheduled to last at least a decade.
In the meantime, the conversation goes on and each community being considered for a geological disposal facility (GDF) now receives about £1m a year in investment while initial scientific tests are carried out.
Mr Moore is part of a committee called a GDF partnership. It includes local residents, local government and representatives of Nuclear Waste Services, which is the government body behind this project.
These partnerships aim to keep the process transparent and ensure local people are well-informed. They also decide how the money is spent. Nuclear Waste Services host meetings to discuss the project with the local community
If a GDF is built here, Mr Moore says, there will be billions of pounds invested in the area. “If we're going to host this on behalf of the UK, the community should benefit,” he says.
Also still on the shortlist are South Copeland, again on the Cumbrian coast, and a site on the east coast in Lincolnshire, where there have been a number of peaceful, but angry, protests.
On Halloween 2021 in Theddlethorpe, one of the local villages, several residents used their gardens to put up garish anti-nuclear dump scarecrows, inspired by an idea from pressure group the Guardians of the East Coast, which is campaigning against the disposal facility.
Ken Smith, from nearby Mablethorpe, is a member of both the campaign group and the local GDF partnership.
He thinks the government’s approach to finding a nuclear waste disposal site "stinks".
Mr Smith is concerned that the voices of those most affected might not be heard and says it is unclear how local opinion will be measured at the end of the consultation.
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero says a GDF will provide “safe and long-term disposal of the most hazardous radioactive waste”.
Prof Corkhill is convinced that a GDF is the safest solution. “We extract uranium from the rocks in the ground, we get energy from them and [this disposal facility essentially means] they’re returned back to the ground again,” she says.
“That uranium has been present in those rocks for billions of years. It’s been pushed and pulled, squeezed and heated, exposed to water and air. But the uranium is still safely locked up.”
Getty Images In Finland, a geological facility has already been built
In Finland, a facility, called Onkalo, has already been built, and could receive its first nuclear waste within the next year.
Locations for three other sites around the world have also been chosen, in Switzerland, Sweden and France. They are at various stages of development.
In the UK, the search, studies and consultations continue. Only when those have been concluded and some kind of final assessment of community support, like a referendum, has taken place will construction of a GDF begin. The earliest that any waste could be put inside it is estimated to be during the 2050s.
Until then, it will continue to be stored and managed at Sellafield.
“We've benefited from nuclear energy in this country for 70 years, but we are still a long way behind cleaning up the legacy that has been left behind,” says Prof Corkhill.
“When we move to thinking about a new generation of nuclear power, we need to think about the waste now.”
UK
Jacqueline Wilson 'delighted to be viewed as gay icon' after coming out
Yasmin Rufo BBC News Jacqueline Wilson has written her first novel for adults, Think Again, which is a sequel to the Girls series
Jacqueline Wilson has been described as many things over the years, but one title that still surprises her is "gay icon".
In 2020, the British children's writer announced that she was in a long-term relationship with a woman.
The beloved author, who is known for her nuanced depictions of childhood struggles, has found a new and unexpected audience after opening up about her sexuality.
"I'm very touched to be thought of as a gay icon, it's an absolute delight," she tells the BBC.
Aged 78, she can't quite see herself "rampaging around with a rainbow flag, but I highly applaud and approve of anyone who does".
Wilson has just published her first adult novel which, among other themes, explores same-sex relationships.
Think Again is the sequel to the Girls series and follows the life of Ellie Allard, and her best friends Nadine and Magda, as she turns 40.
Wilson says the idea "has been on my mind for years and started when my daughter asked me if I ever wonder what happens to my characters when they grow up".
Having written more than 100 books, Wilson says now felt like the right time to write her first adult novel.
"In real time the girls would be hitting 40," she reflects, "and that's a significant age where you have to make big decisions, and, for some people, life doesn't look like what you dreamt of as a teenager".
'No happy ever after ending'
In the book, none of the three women has quite the life they hoped for and Ellie is stuck in a rut as she reaches her milestone birthday.
"The girls don't have their happy-ever-after ending but I didn't want to write something that is all grim because there are things in their lives that are great and fun," explains Wilson. "I just wanted it to be realistic."
"Nowadays many teenagers are quite depressed and anxious, but they also have big ideas and say, ‘I want to be this’ or ‘I’m going to do that’, which is fantastic but this story shows that you need to have a plan B or C."
The former children's laureate is also using the book as a way to highlight how "choice is the best thing in modern life".
Ellie, Magda and Nadine aren't in relationships that society would expect from middle-aged women.
"There's not just one path nowadays," Wilson says. "In my generation we were told you either get married and have children or have a career but why can't you do both?
"Getting married young wasn't a sensible idea for me and women now are more sensible and work out what they want. It's finding it that's the difficult part!"
Jacqueline Wilson is in a long-term relationship with Trish Beswick
Wilson's books have explored all manner of themes, but it's only recently she's started writing about LGBT issues with her gay heroine appearing in her 2020 novel, Love Frankie.
She says that she could have written a gay character in her earlier work but "there would have been far more 'oh my gosh Jacqueline has written about someone who is gay' whereas now it's not a big deal".
In Think Again, Ellie finds herself unexpectedly falling in love with a woman, much like Jacqueline's own life as she began a relationship with a woman after a divorce with her husband.
"I'm aware that people will think that there are parallels but that's not the intention, I was just being imaginative when I wrote the book," she says.
She also doesn't think that society should view sexuality in such a binary way.
"We don't need to just think that everyone is either straight or gay. Of course I'm not suggesting we chop and change all the time, but for my generation it didn't occur that you could be attracted to all sorts of people, so we've definitely become much more grown up."
Penguin Books Wilson's most famous character is the loud and fiery Tracey Beaker who lives in a children's home
Wilson, who was made a dame in 2008, has never shied away from writing about difficult and dark issues.
Most of her books, some of which explore suicide, mental health and domestic violence, are aimed at children aged between seven and 12.
As a result, her storylines have often caused controversy, but Wilson defends them.
"People say there is sex and drugs in my books, but there isn't any," she says, adding that her stories come from the fact she "wants to show what life is like for children who are a bit outside the system and feel they don’t belong and are unhappy for some reason".
She says these stories "would be comforting for those children, but also help all the other kids understand why these kids might be a little bit difficult or whatever".
While the characters in Think Again haven't been influenced by Wilson's own life, some of her earlier characters go through similar things she did as a child.
"‘I didn’t have that happy a life as a child - I was brought up on a council estate and I did used to think that the children in books were nothing like me and my friends.
"Parents never seemed to have any ugly rows in children’s books, which in my experience, they certainly did."
Wilson also says she promised herself as a child that she would write about these issues if she ever got a chance.
"When I was 12 I wrote in a diary that if I ever wrote children’s books I would put all that in because I thought it's very much part of life." More on Jacqueline Wilson Author Dame Jacqueline Wilson reads to zoo animals
UK
'Don't just throw us on the streets after prison'
Georgia Poncia BBC South East Investigations Lauren Woodhead BBC News
BBC Alan was released from prison into homelessness.
Plans to release thousands of prisoners early have prompted fears of rising homelessness and reoffending.
The new early release scheme will kick in this week as ministers seek to reduce pressure on the prison service and free up jail space.
The government said it had "inherited a justice system in crisis", but concerns have been raised over released prisoners being unable to find accommodation.
Alan, who spent years on the streets in Brighton after his release, said: "You end up getting into trouble again deliberately to get put back inside. It’s not a life that a lot of us want.”
He said he found it "hard, very very hard" leaving jail, and struggled to access benefits and support.
“You come out, the world’s different," he said.
"Find the right place to put us," he added. "Don't just leave us on the street."
From Tuesday, prisoners on “standard determinate sentences” will be automatically released after they have served 40% of their sentence.
The Ministry of Justice says it expects about 5,500 people will leave prison early over September and October.
Data shows that 8,355 people in England and Wales - or 12% of prison leavers - were released from custody straight into rough sleeping last year, an increase of 2,310 from the previous year.
Over 3,000 people were still sleeping on the streets three months after they were released.
Former chief inspector of prisons Nick Hardwick has warned "A lot of those released, I fear will end up homeless because there simply isn’t the accommodation for them."
Evidence shows former inmates in stable accommodation were 50% less likely to reoffend.
Charlie Taylor, the chief inspector of prisons in England and Wales, raised concerns that "a sudden rush" of former prisoners seeking accommodation could increase homelessness.
"There’s a danger then that we do get this bottleneck, that we do get a lot of prisoners released from prison around the same time, and therefore they won’t be able to find accommodation,” he told BBC South East. Mr Taylor also highlighted the link between homelessness and reoffending.
"They’re going back out onto the streets, and then they’re back within the prison in a matter of days," he said.
Nick, who was placed in accommodation after leaving prison, was concerned that there would not be enough accommodation for people being released early in the coming weeks.
He said: "So obviously you're just throwing people back out and they're going to relapse, either on drugs and drink, or they're going to reoffend because they want to go back to prison because they know it's a roof over their heads."
The former inmate said it was "easier, much easier" to be in prison where he got three meals a day, was paid to deliver newspapers, and had access to a hot shower.
Nick, from Seaford, said he thinks about reoffending to get back into prison.
“Sometimes, when you’re going through the bad days,” he said.
Nick is worried he could be made homeless again.
Helen Berresford, from social justice charity Nacro, said people “can be released without support and housing in place".
This can "really set them up to fail,” she added.
The shortage of council housing and an unwillingness from some private landlords to rent to people who have a criminal conviction both contribute to the struggle of finding somewhere to live after leaving custody, she says.
Steven, who volunteers for Sussex Homeless Support, went to rehab after being released from prison homeless.
Steven, from Brighton, is a volunteer with the charity Sussex Homeless Support.
He said the cycle of becoming homeless after being released from custody, and then returning to prison, is something he sees regularly.
“They go into prison with nothing, and then they come out with nothing, so you’re going to end up with nothing," he said.
Jakab, a former inmate who is now sleeping rough in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, said private landlords wouldn't rent to him.
"They push you out. You're just a prisoner," he said.
"I don't want to sleep on the street, it's too much to bear." Jakab cannot get most benefits, council housing or homeless help as he is not from the UK
The Local Government Association has said councils are worried about the impact the early release programme will have on their ability to prevent and manage homelessness.
A spokesperson said: "While councils do everything they can to prevent homelessness, the shortage of affordable housing makes this increasingly difficult and a proportion of prisoners released will become homeless."
The prison population reached a new record high of 88,521 people behind bars last Friday, 171 more than the previous record set at the end of the previous week.
A Ministry of Justice spokesman said that the new early release system would give “probation staff more time to prepare for a prisoner's release", including planning for their accommodation.
They also said the government was working with local councils and charities to "avoid prisoners being released onto the streets", while developing a long-term strategy on homelessness.
“We are having to make tough decisions to get a grip of these issues," they added.
Body set up to investigate cases from NI Troubles registers 85 enquiries
Sir Declan Morgan leads the ICRIR (PA)
By Rebecca Black,
PAToday
A new body tasked with investigating outstanding cases from the Northern Ireland Troubles has registered 85 enquiries since becoming operational earlier this year.
The Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information (ICRIR) was created by the previous government’s controversial Legacy Act which halted scores of civil litigation and inquests into Troubles deaths.
Bereaved families, victims and certain public authorities can instead request the ICRIR carry out an investigation.
However, opposition to the new commission led to protests and claims that access to justice had been shut down.
Time for Truth and Justice campaigners protested against the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Bill (Liam McBurney/PA)
The ICRIR announced on Monday that since becoming operational in May, it has registered 85 enquiries from victims, survivors and families about the possibility of an investigation into their injury or the death of a loved one.
In an update to its work, the ICRIR also confirmed that of those enquiries, eight have been accepted for investigation and are in the Information Recovery stage.
The body is led by retired judge Sir Declan Morgan, a former lord chief justice for Northern Ireland.
The Chief Commissioner said the update “reflects the commission’s values about being open and accountable, and above all the focus on delivering for those who have come to the commission seeking answers”.
Sir Declan said that all at the commission were committed to following the approach that the Design Framework sets out so the body meets what it has promised.
“We are now at a stage where people have come forward and put their trust in the commission to take their requests forward. We will now do so in line with our values and core principles,” he said.
“We are moving into the next phase of our work as the serious and important task of investigation begins.
“In doing this we must meet the commitments that we have made to each person who comes to us, through our open and published policies, and through our trauma and resiliency informed model.”
Peter Sheridan is commissioner for investigations at the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (PA)
Commissioner for investigations Peter Sheridan added: “Many of the individuals and families that the commission will meet will have experienced harm and suffering and may have waited many years to find out more about what they and their loved ones went through.
“We recognise the seriousness of the work that we are undertaking and understand that how we do things is as important as what we do.”
TUC congress: delegates slam Labour move to steal winter fuel payment
There are tensions among union leaders about how to relate to the Labour government
Delegates during the first day of the TUC congress (Picture: Socialist Worker)
By Thomas Foster in Brighton Sunday 08 September 2024
Starmer said Labour MPs should back the move in a key vote on Tuesday night.
Sophie, an NEU education union delegate, told Socialist Worker that Labour “is focusing on the wrong things”. “It should be focusing on taxing the rich and corporations rather than going for pensioners,” she said.
“I think this is only going to be the first round of cuts—I can envision more.”
She added, “Labour says the economy is in a bad place after Tory governments, but I feel like that’s an excuse. It’s not prioritising important things such as the cost of living crisis—energy prices are going up and Labour’s just increased the cap on energy bills.
“It’s going to impact workers, not those who have big businesses or inherited money.”
Sophie argued that Labour “has gone down the wrong path to start off with”. “You’ve heard Keir Starmer say it’s going to be a difficult budget in October,” she said. “But does it need to be difficult?
“Or is he just pandering to the rich while hurting the working class who are already struggling?”
Michelle, a PCS union delegate, told Socialist Worker, “In my workplace there are people going to foodbanks who haven’t got enough money to properly feed the kids, who are finding childcare expenses hard to afford.
“You are going to get people who fall outside of the means-tested criteria but are still struggling. It should be a universal payment.”
Michelle said she saw parallels between Keir Starmer and former Labour prime minister Tony Blair. “Blair made all these promises but then he was just a watered-down version of Margaret Thatcher,” she said.
“My fear is that we might have a similar sort of thing. Politics seems to be going in the direction of ‘If we sit in the middle of the road, we’ll get the most votes’. But that’s not what politics should be about.”
This anger and disappointment among many delegates finds an echo at the top of the unions.
But there are differences about how to relate to the Labour government. The TUC and wants to work closely with Labour, relishing a “seat at at the table” after 14 years of Tory rule. That means giving Labour the benefit of the doubt based on illusions in “social partnership”—not campaigning for more from Starmer’s government.
Paul Nowak, the TUC general secretary, gave the most muted criticism of Labour at a press conference on Sunday morning. He did have “real concerns about the cuts to winter fuel allowance”
But he had begun by repeating Starmer’s excuse, saying, “The government has been left with a really toxic economic legacy by previous Tory governments.”
He didn’t make demands on Labour, but said he hoped it would do the right thing in the end. “I hope that we’ll go into the budget in October with the chancellor setting out what support is going to give to those pensioners,” he said.
“I don’t want any pensioner going into the winter frightened to turn on the heating. It means in the budget making real the aspiration that those with the broadest shoulders do the heaviest lifting.”
Nowak suggested taxing capital gains—profits from selling shares and property—at the same rate as income.
“I don’t see why somebody in a supermarket pays a higher effective rate of tax than someone who derives income from renting flats or from shares,” he said.
Unite union general secretary Sharon Graham was much more open in her criticism—and made demands on Starmer. She said that it was the “wrong choice” and the government needed to be “big and brave enough” to admit it had made a mistake.
“We think it’s wrong that the government has made a choice to cut the winter fuel allowance,” Graham said.
She argued that Labour is “leaving the very rich and wealth untouched” and called for a wealth tax.
PCS general secretary Fran Heathcote said, “I can see a situation where, if Labour continues along the line that it is heading, there will be a real backlash. And that could take the form of industrial action.”
A motion from the PCS union argues that public sector wages have decreased by an average of 1.5 per cent annually since 2011. It calls for a pay restoration to be “a key feature of our campaigning with the new government”
An RMT regional organiser slammed Labour’s move. “The super rich trying to blame teachers getting a 5.5 percent pay rise for pension cuts is sick,” he said.
He argued that Labour “is robbing one working class person to help another”. “But we can’t let it divide us. We need to fight this Labour government. Not by appealing to a better nature but by calling strikes.”
It will take turning such words into action to hit back at Labour’s pro-boss policies.
Government 'picking pockets of pensioners' by cutting winter fuel payments, says Unite boss
Sky News Sun 8 September 2024
Firebrand union leader Sharon Graham has told Sky News that Chancellor Rachel Reeves is guilty of "picking the pockets of pensioners" by cutting winter fuel payments.
The leader of the Unite union was speaking on the opening day of the TUC conference in Brighton, where she spearheaded demands for a wealth tax on millionaires to fund restoring the winter cash for pensioners.
"Britain is in crisis, and we need to make very, very different choices," said Ms Graham.
"We're calling on Labour not to pick the pockets of pensioners, but to have a wealth tax on the biggest and richest 1% in society."
She said her proposal would create £25 billion, more than enough to fill the £22 billion "black hole" blamed by the chancellor and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer for the cuts.
"Job's done, let's move on and change society," she added.
"We're calling for the government to think again. This issue isn't going to go away. We're coming up to winter. People are going to be freezing cold.
"You're going to have older people not wanting to put on their heat."
14 years of 'queueing for a pay rise'
On unions' calls for pay to be restored to 2010 levels, Ms Graham said: "Workers and communities have been back of the queue for over 14 years. They've been right at the back of the queue. They've had pay freezes.
"They haven't had pay rises in line with inflation. And the inflation is baked in. So while inflation is going up more slowly, those prices are still baked in.
"And what we're saying, as the union movement, is that workers need to be paid properly and that is something that we should be proud of.
"We should be proud to say that workers should be paid properly. And that's what I'm pushing for."
Up to 50 Labour MPs could rebel over cut to winter fuel allowance
Peter Walker Senior political correspondent Sun 8 September 2024 The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, says the fuel payment cut is necessary to plug a £22bn hole in the public finances.Photograph: UK Parliament/Jessica Taylor/Reuters
As many as 50 Labour MPs could refuse to back the government’s controversial plan to cut the winter fuel allowance, despite Keir Starmer urging back benchers to get behind a measure he has conceded is “unpopular”.
While few on the government benches are expected to vote against the policy in Tuesday’s vote, dozens are believed to be considering abstaining or being absent – though rebels say the numbers in their ranks are very hard to predict.
After seven Labour MPs had the whip suspended in July for voting for an SNP amendment on the two-child benefit cap, the assumption is that a similar rebellion on Tuesday would bring the same consequences..
One Labour MP said: “I’d expect the vast majority of anyone who does rebel to abstain, and remain inside the tent. Abstention is the new rebellion. It’s a question of defining what dissent is, and it’s probably better to do this than to jump off a cliff.”
Although there is no chance of the vote being lost, a significant number of absences would indicate the extent of disquiet over a policy that many rebels fear could lose the party votes, and which one MP described as “a shitshow”.
Neither Starmer nor No 10 would comment on the potential punishment for rebels before the vote, which was triggered by the Conservatives formally opposing the plan to strip the payment from all but the poorest pensioners.
But in his first substantial TV interview since becoming prime minister, Starmer made it plain that he was unlikely to tolerate open dissent. When asked if he would apply the same police of removing the whip from rebels, Starmer told the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg: “That will be a matter for the chief whip.
“We’re going into a vote. I’m glad we’re having a vote, because I think it’s very important for parliament to speak on this. But every Labour MP was elected in on the same mandate as I was, which was to deliver the change that we need for the country.”
A number of Labour MPs, however, argue that the winter fuel decision is different, because of worries about the consequences for many older people and because it was not in the party’s manifesto.
Starmer reiterated the argument that the near-£1.5bn annual cost of no longer paying the allowance to all pensioners regardless of income was a vital element in plugging what the government says is a £22bn fiscal hole discovered after they took office.
He contrasted the decision with what he said was a Conservative government that had “run away from difficult decisions”.
“I’m absolutely convinced that we will only deliver that change – I’m absolutely determined we will – if we do the difficult things now,” he said. “I know they’re unpopular, I know they’re difficult. Of course, they’re tough choices. Tough decisions are tough decisions. Popular decisions aren’t tough, they’re easy.
“I do recognise how difficult it is for some people. I do recognise it’s really hard for some pensioners. But of course, they do rely on the NHS, they do rely on public transport. So these things aren’t completely divorced.”
He also argued that with the triple-lock policy of pension increases, he could guarantee that the annual increase in the state pension “will outstrip any reduction in the winter fuel payment”.
Wes Streeting, the health secretary, said the amount of criticism the policy had received showed the “political pain of it”.
He told Sky News: “I’m not remotely happy about it and I’m not remotely happy about having to say to some of my constituents: ‘I’m sorry that I’m going into work this week to vote for something that will take money away from you’. Let me tell you that whether it’s pensioners or anyone else in this country, they won’t forgive us if we duck the difficult decisions now and end up leaving the country with a bigger bill.”
Twelve Labour MPs have signed a Commons early day motion, a way to indicate opinion, expressing alarm at the plan, as have five of the backbenchers who had the whip suspended in July.
One of the latter group, John McDonnell, said on Sunday that he would rebel again unless ministers set out “a way of managing this that isn’t going to impact upon people in my constituency who are facing hardship”.
He told LBC radio: “But if that doesn’t happen by Tuesday, I will vote against. I can’t do anything else.”
“There was no equality impact assessment, no consultation with charities. And it was announced just before the summer recess. It’s hard to say how many people will abstain – a lot of the new MPs are quite scared of the whips – but everyone is being inundated with emails and letters about this,” they said.
There has been speculation that ministers could ease worries by announcing some sort of extra support. But No 10 officials say there is nothing planned beyond the existing extension of the household support fund, which allows councils to hand out some small grants, and encouraging eligible older people to apply for pension credit, which would entitle them to the winter fuel payment.
One MP said this would make little difference, saying the household support fund has only a marginal impact, while only about two-thirds of those who could claim pension credit did so, a proportion that seemed unlikely to notably shift.
“A lot of people won’t claim pension credit however much you advertise it,” they said. “The form you have to fill in is 24 pages long and has more than 200 questions. The whole way ministers have dealt with this is a shitshow.”
Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, has the tricky job of addressing MPs at a meeting of the parliamentary Labour party on Monday evening to push home the message about the need for fiscal sacrifices to encourage longer-term growth.
It remains to be seen if she will face any open dissent, with many backbenchers, especially those newly elected in July, known to be nervous about the possible repercussions of being seen as rebellious.
One backbencher who opposes the policy said, however, that they believed even Labour whips were often privately sympathetic.
“They’re getting the same volume of emails and letters that everyone is, or being stopped in the street by people who said they voted Labour and they now feel betrayed. It all feels politically illiterate, and the risk is it will push a lot of people away from us.”
Rachel Reeves’s winter fuel payment cut will put pensioners in hospital, Labour MPs fear
Andy Gregory Sat 7 September 2024 THE INDEPENDENT
Labour frontbenchers and MPs have reportedly expressed fears that chancellor Rachel Reeves’s “brutal” plan to scrap the winter fuel allowance for all but the poorest pensioners will put more older people in hospital.
Around 10 million people are expected to be directly impacted by the plans announced by the chancellor in July – prompting gasps in the House of Commons – to cut the winter fuel payments first introduced by her predecessor Gordon Brown in 1997.
The decision, made ahead of Ms Reeves’s first budget next month, will axe the payment of up to £300 for all pensioners except those in receipt of those claiming pension credit or other means-tested benefits. It comes as regulator Ofgem raises its energy price cap by 10 per cent. The decision comes as regulator Ofgem raises its energy price cap by 10 per cent (POOL/AFP via Getty)
The plans have sparked anger and concern across the country – close to half a million people have signed an Age UK petition calling on Sir Keir Starmer’s government to rethink its plans.
With MPs set to vote on the policy on Tuesday, Labour politicians have expressed their own grave concerns amid a flood of worried emails from constituents reported by The Independent to have shocked new MPs in particular.
In remarks to The Guardian, anonymous Labour MPs lined up to relay the sheer volume of the correspondence they have received on the issue, with one saying: “I don’t think there is a Labour MP who isn’t worried ... I’ve had more people stopping me in the street than over Brexit. Pensioners just pleading that we don’t do this.”
One cabinet source complained to the paper that the policy “hasn’t even been thought through properly”, warning: “We’re going to end up with more old people in hospital or care as a result, with all the costs involved in that.”
Another MP said: “It’s going to save us £1.5bn but that won’t be worth the political hit we’ll take this winter. The right-wing press will be full of stories about elderly people sitting in A&E or on buses because they can’t afford their fuel bills and it’s the only way they can keep warm.” Ofgem has announced a 10 per cent rise in the energy price cap (Peter Byrne/PA)
Becoming the latest Labour MP to speak out on the record, Rosie Duffield told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Saturday: “I think all MPs have been inundated with emails. It’s not just those constituents affected – it’s also their families and people who are really concerned.”
Ms Duffield added: “I’ve had letters – I think we all have – from people who are suffering ongoing illness like cancer, and their doctors are telling them how important it is to keep warm.
“Human life is our job to protect and we know that these people are going to feel cold and it’s going to affect their health. That’s my biggest worry – that we’re going to see people dying ... it just feels particularly brutal.”
According to the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, some 4,950 excess deaths the winter before last were caused by living in cold homes.
Referencing the seven MPs who had the Labour whip removed after voting to scrap the two-child benefit cap in July, Ms Duffield said: “We’ve seen what happens when people vote against the government, which is a shame considering we have such a huge mandate.
“But I won’t be voting for this cut,” the Labour MP added. “Those of us who feel perhaps a bit more comfortable abstaining and know a bit more about being parliament are going to abstain to make the point that we’re there for our constituents more than we are for our party, I’m afraid.”
Twelve Labour MPs have now signed the early day motion set to be voted on next week calling on the government to postpone the cut.
The Treasury has been approached for comment.
How Red Wall pensioners surviving on £22k are bracing for Labour’s winter fuel raid
Noah Eastwood
THE TELEGRAPH Sat 7 September 2024
Winter Fuel Raid North
Rachel Reeves’s winter fuel raid will hit poorer pensioners in Red Wall constituencies hardest, Telegraph Money analysis has revealed.
It comes as the Government, which is facing a growing backlash over the move, was accused of taking a “sledgehammer” approach to the winter fuel raid after research suggested most pensioners living in poverty will lose out.
Northern constituencies that helped hand Keir Starmer the keys to No 10 are among those where the loss of winter fuel payments is likely to cut deepest.
All but one of these seven Red Wall seats, which have the highest proportions of pensioners and low income households in the country, were won by Labour from the Conservatives in July.
They are Bishop Auckland, Blackpool North and Fleetwood, Rother Valley, Scarborough and Whitby, North Durham, and Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland. Only Redcar was held by the party at the last election.
Incomes after housing costs across the constituencies are as low as £22,000 a year on average, while the proportion of the population that are pensioners is as high as 26pc.
The revelation will increase pressure on Ms Reeves who is facing calls from a growing number of backbench Labour MPs to reconsider the plan.
Sam Rushworth, Labour MP for Bishop Auckland, a constituency in the Red Wall where low-income pensioners are most at risk, voiced his concern during Prime Minister’s Questions this week.
He asked: “They’re not entitled to pension credit. They live in cold, stone-built houses. What assurance can the Chancellor give to those pensioners that this government will help to warm their homes and ensure that they do not struggle to heat their homes this winter?”
A motion tabled by Neil Duncan-Jordan, Labour MP for Poole, said the decision to remove the winter fuel allowance from 10 million pensioners had come without “sufficient time to put in place a proper and effective take-up campaign for pension credit”.
Under the Government’s plans, only pensioners in receipt of pension credit will remain eligible for winter fuel payments. There are estimated to be 880,000 pensioners eligible for the support who are yet to claim.
Ms Reeves has justified the policy as necessary to help fill a £22bn “black hole” in the nation’s finances it is claimed was left by the Conservatives.
However, Baroness Ros Altmann, a former pensions minister, said the Labour policy was “wrong socially, economically, morally and indeed politically too”.
She said: “This has nothing really to do with politics, but politically it is just as misguided. The damage done to the pensioners living in the worst conditions and coldest parts of the UK this winter is not justifiable on any grounds.”
Telegraph analysis of Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures shows Bishop Auckland had an average household income of just £24,667 in the financial year ending 2020 after household expenditure, and 24pc of the population were pensioners at the time of the latest census.
The constituency also includes the village of Copley, which is the snowiest place in Britain.
Thirteen constituencies in total were analysed as being among the top quartile for share of pensioners and bottom quartile for average household income of every parliamentary seat in the UK.
Pensioners in three seats won by Reform UK – Clacton, Great Yarmouth, Torbay and Boston and Skegness – are also likely to have relatively little household income to afford the loss of winter fuel payments.
Those in three Conservative seats, including Bridlington and the Wolds, Louth and Horncastle and South Holland and the Deepings, could also struggle to afford energy bills without winter fuel payments, which range from £200 to £300.
MPs will debate the scrapping of winter fuel payments in a session in the House of Commons on Tuesday, when further concerns over the policy are expected to be raised.
Simon Francis, of the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, a charity network, said: “A lot of these names will be familiar to politicians for having very high levels of fuel poverty already because of the quality of their housing. The people who are going to suffer the most are indeed the poorest pensioners in the country.”
“What we have to see is support for households to stay warm each winter until our energy bills come down. This cut has come at the last minute and has not given households any time to prepare.”
Richard Tice, Reform UK deputy leader and MP for Boston and Skegness, said: “My inbox is full of desperately concerned pensioners who fear they will be colder and poorer this winter.
“They are furious about this while the government is paying billions to evermore asylum seekers and sending billions overseas in climate aid.”
Health Secretary Wes Streeting 'not remotely happy' about cutting winter fuel payments
Sky News Updated Sun 8 September 2024
The health secretary has said he is "not remotely happy" about having to vote to cut the winter fuel allowance for some pensioners.
Wes Streeting said he has apologised to his elderly constituents who it will affect, but said cutting the payment from those not on pension credit is essential to balance public finances.
He told Sky News' Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips: "I think it is a tough choice, and we've had plenty of political criticism for it, I think, which demonstrates the political pain of it.
"I'm not remotely happy about it, and I'm not remotely happy about having to say to some of my constituents, 'I'm sorry that I'm going into work this week to vote for something that will take money away from you'."
MPs will vote on Tuesday on whether to cut the winter fuel payment after the government announced its intention at the end of July.
Mr Streeting echoed Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer's sentiment that it was a "tough choice" but is needed to get the economy back on a stable footing.
The health secretary added: "I think there are lots of people out there, actually, particularly pensioners, who've seen governments come and go, and have seen what happens when politicians duck the difficult decisions, who, even if they don't agree with this choice, I hope will take some reassurance that this isn't a government that ducks difficult decisions or pretends you can spend money you don't have, or pretends that the stability of the public finances is not an essential ingredient for the future growth, prosperity and success of our country."
Labour MPs will be told they must vote with the government on Tuesday to cut the payment, however several, particularly on the left of the party, have voiced their opposition to the cut.
It is understood they may abstain instead of voting against the government after Sir Keir suspended seven MPs from Labour when they voted against the government shortly after winning the election.
Sir Keir would not confirm or deny if he would do the same this time.
"That will be a matter for the chief whip," he told the BBC.
"We're going into a vote. I'm glad we're having a vote, because I think it's very important for parliament to speak on this.
"But every Labour MP was elected in on the same mandate as I was, which was to deliver the change that we need for the country over the time we've got in office.
"I'm absolutely convinced that we will only deliver that change, I'm absolutely determined we will, if we do the difficult things.
"Now, I know they're unpopular, I know they're difficult. Of course they're tough choices."
In a busy week for the prime minister, following the vote on Tuesday, Sir Keir will head to the US on Friday for his second trip to the White House since becoming PM in July.
Ahead of the meeting with Joe Biden, Sir Keir denied the US was angry at the UK for suspending some arms sale licences to Israel.
"We have been talking to the US beforehand and afterwards," he told the BBC.
"They are very clear that they have got a different legal system and they understand the decision that we have taken."
He said discussions with the president would be focused on a "strategic discussion" about the next few months in Ukraine and the Middle East.
Wes Streeting ‘not remotely happy’ voting to ‘take money away’ from pensioners
08 Sep 20245 minute read
Health secretary Wes Streeting appearing on the BBC current affairs programme Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg. Photo Jeff Overs/BBC/PA Wire
Health Secretary Wes Streeting has said he is “not remotely happy” on having to vote to “take money away” from pensioners through cutting winter fuel allowance.
Mr Streeting did however share the Government’s argument that the move is essential to balance public finances as the Prime Minister did not rule out suspending MPs for defying the Government in Parliament.
Rosie Duffield, the Labour MP for Canterbury, is among the party’s backbenchers who have said they will not vote with the Government when the measure to limit the winter fuel allowance comes to the Commons on Tuesday.
Mr Streeting said he is not “remotely happy” about having to vote to cut the winter fuel allowance, but argued it is essential to balance public finances.
He told Sky News: “I think it is a tough choice, and we’ve had plenty of political criticism for it, I think, which demonstrates the political pain of it.
“I’m not remotely happy about it, and I’m not remotely happy about having to say to some of my constituents, I’m sorry that I’m going into work this week to vote for something that will take money away from you.”
Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced the plan to limit the winter fuel allowance in July, as she said there was a need to fill a £22 billion “black hole” in the public finances left by the previous government, a claim the Tories have challenged.
The change means that only those who claim pension credit and other means-tested benefits will receive the additional fuel payments.
Mr Streeting said pensioners “have seen what happens when politicians duck the difficult decisions”, adding: “this isn’t a Government that ducks difficult decisions or pretends you can spend money you don’t have”.
‘A matter for the chief whip’
Other Labour MPs have urged the Government not to go forward with the move by signing a Commons motion from Poole MP Neil Duncan-Jordan.
Some 11 Labour MPs are among the 27 who have signed the Early Day Motion which describes the plan as “a bureaucratic and unpopular means test” for pensioners.
Seven of the party’s MPs had the whip removed for voting to scrap the two child benefit cap.
Sir Keir Starmer said whether or not Labour MPs will be suspended from the party for voting against cuts to winter fuel payments is “a matter for the chief whip”.
He told the BBC: “We’re going into a vote. I’m glad we’re having a vote, because I think it’s very important for Parliament to speak on this.
“But every Labour MP was elected in on the same mandate as I was, which was to deliver the change that we need for the country over the time we’ve got in office.
“I’m absolutely convinced that we will only deliver that change, I’m absolutely determined we will, if we do the difficult things.
“Now, I know they’re unpopular, I know they’re difficult. Of course they’re tough choices.”
Mr Streeting went further on the “tough choices” that his cabinet colleague Ms Reeves will be implementing in the autumn budget as he warned “it’s not just pensioners”.
He told Sky News: “We have had to take into account context. And by the way, it’s not just pensioners. We’ve got a budget and the spending review coming up, there are, there are difficult choices coming, and we’re going to have to look carefully at how we make sure we can build the future for our country.”
Despite discontent from backbenchers and the cabinet Sir Keir has maintained resolve to cut the fuel allowance, saying he is “absolutely clear” the move is necessary to “fix the fundamentals and stabilise our economy”.
Sir Keir said: “Talking to many pensioners in the last two or three years, the things that have hit the most and hardest are inflation, because it got out of control under the last Government, energy bills, because the steps that were needed to be taken years ago weren’t taken, and the cost of living.
“I’m determined that no pensioner will ever be put through that before. That’s why we’re fixing the foundations now, tough though that may be.”
TUC
Paul Nowak, general secretary of the TUC, said he had “real concerns” about cuts to the winter fuel allowance, but added that Labour was dealing with a “toxic” economic legacy.
He told a press conference ahead of the annual TUC Congress in Brighton: “I don’t want to see any pensioner going into winter afraid to turn on the heating, so yes I have concerns but I recognise the difficult legacy that’s been left.
“I hope that in the Budget we can see proper support for pensioners and others who might be struggling. But I am also worried about the level of support for people wanting to go back to work, or about our members who are scared stiff of losing their job.”
Study of wastewater in south Wales detects significant levels of cocaine
ALOT OF POLICE RAIDS
08 Sep 2024 NATION OF CYMRU
The River Taff at Pontcanna. Photo by All I want for Christmas is a Leica , licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0
A new study has provided insights into the levels of illicit substance use in south Wales by analysing wastewater at two treatment plants in the region.
The study also found over a quarter of cocaine residue detected was still in the water supply after treatment.
A research team from Bournemouth University set out to understand the levels of use of New Psychoactive Substances in the surrounding areas. However, the primary substance detected in wastewater samples was benzoylecgonine, a compound that is produced when the body breaks down cocaine.
Bethan Davies, a PhD Student at Bournemouth University who led the study said: “Whilst wastewater testing has been used in other parts of the world to examine use of New Psychoactive Substances in different communities, this is the first time it has been used in Wales.
“Our study highlights how improved monitoring and treatment could address local public health and environmental concerns,” she added.
Over a two-month period, Bethan and her research team studied wastewater samples before and after treatment from Friday to Monday every week.
After analysing the data, the average consumption rate of cocaine during the testing period was estimated at 3.88 milligrams per day per one thousand people near one plant and 1.97 milligrams per day per thousand people near the other.
The highest rate observed was 8.54 milligrams per day per thousand people which was found after a weekend where an autumn international rugby match took place in Cardiff when footfall in the area would have been high.
They also found that on average, just 73 percent of benzoylecgonine was removed during treatment – meaning that traces remained in the water that went back into the region. This suggests that improvements to treatment processes could be needed to prevent drug residues from entering the public water supply.
Innovation
In another innovation for this study, Bethan and the team made use of the WEDINOS platform, which allows people to submit samples of substances anonymously for analysis. This provided an indication of which new psychoactive substances are in circulation in the region, meaning that the researchers could be more targeted when studying the samples from the treatment plants.
“Testing for NPS’s can be expensive, especially because they evolve very quickly. So by knowing what is popular within certainly communities, we can tailor how we test for certain substances in different areas and do not spend time and resources testing for drugs that are not around,” Bethan said.
As well as helping water treatment plants to review the effectiveness of their treatment methods, Bethan also advised that the screening process she developed in this study could help local health and social care services.
“Understanding more about the most common drugs in communities could be very useful for those who have to work with people who misuse them, helping them develop public messaging about the risks and being able to provide the most effective treatment,” she concluded.
BBC
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