Two earthquakes have been recorded in North Wales this month

One of the earthquakes was 'felt by a single household'

By Steve Bagnall

Breaking News editor
Stephanie Colderick

 9 SEP 2024

The community of Llangaffo on Anglesey where one of the earthquakes was felt (Image: Google Earth)

North Wales has been shaken by two earthquakes this month, with the first tremor recorded on Monday, September 2, centred near Llangaffo on Anglesey, as reported by the British Geological Survey. The initial quake had a depth of 1.3km and a magnitude of 1.3, but it seems to have gone largely unnoticed.

According to the BGS, it was "Felt by a single household in Niwbwrdh, around 2km from the epicentre, who reported "a slight shaking and a faint rumbling." The second earthquake's epicentre was located at Pant Plas in Gwynedd, 5km south of Penygroes, on Saturday, September 7.

Online overtakes TV in survey of news habits

David Sillito

BBC
Media correspondent

BBC
Reeta Chakrabarti presenting the BBC News at 6 on BBC One - the channel is still the number one news source according to the latest Ofcom survey

Online has for the first time overtaken television in an annual survey of the UK's news habits.

Research by the broadcast regulator Ofcom reveals 71% of the population said they used online services for news versus 70% for TV news bulletins.

Over the last year, online sources grew from 68% to 71%, while social media also saw a rise from 47% to 52%. For people aged between 16 and 24, the number saying they use social media for news was 82%

The most commonly mentioned online news sources were Facebook, YouTube and Instagram.

Meta which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, was the second biggest news source in the survey with 40% saying they used it for news.

The BBC remains the biggest single source, with 68% of people saying they turn to it for news. However, this is a survey of what people say they do - analysis based on actual usage can paint a different picture, showing for instance that BBC News reaches 75% of the UK population on an average week.

The biggest falls in the survey were for traditional news providers. Newspapers and their websites saw the number of people saying they used them drop from 39% to 34%. TV news fell from 75% to 70%. BBC News online also fell from 22% to 18%.

The survey, however, does not measure usage of specific sites. The BBC (1.2 billion visits) and CNN (710 million visits) are the two largest news websites in the world, according to the UK Press Gazette's most recent monthly survey. Both saw significant increases in traffic over the last year.


YouTube saw the biggest rise in the survey of news habits, up from 7% to 19% in a year


The source that saw the biggest increase is YouTube. 19% of those surveyed say they used it for news. In 2023, it was just 7%. However, last year YouTube was not mentioned by name and was just referred to as "other online", which Ofcom says probably accounts for the large rise.

Other sources such as the Guardian (10%) and the Daily Mail (14%), which have both a large online presence as well as a print newspaper, had similar figures to last year.

The largest UK newspaper website was the Guardian with 365 million visits in July 2024.

However, traditional newspapers saw a big decline, with even those over 55 saying they read a print newspaper dropping from 38% to 32% in just a year.

Nevertheless, the most mentioned single news source in the survey remains BBC One. TV as a whole maybe in decline but 43% of those surveyed said they turned to BBC One for news, 13% ahead of its nearest rivals, ITV and Facebook, both on 30%.

Why Scotland needs Luddite revolution against internet's damaging effects on society

By Karyn McCluskey
Published 9th Sep 2024

When our digital world reduces debate to short soundbites, it’s hard to discuss serious issues like the recent decision to stop sending under-18s to prison

There is always something particularly unsettling when we see crimes committed by young people. There are news stories that loom so large in the public consciousness that the names of those involved are impossible to forget. It is because these crimes are so unusual that they remain lodged in our collective memory. Thankfully, they are vanishingly rare.

We’ll always have some complex young people who come to the attention of the justice system. Because of careful, dedicated research and expertise, such as the work of Susan McVie and Lesley McAra, who studied a large number of young people over many years, we know what contributes to young people entering the justice system, and more importantly what keeps them out. Yet a small number will continue to reach our doors.

The news last Monday that no more under-18s will be kept in prison has been a long time coming. Campaigned for vigorously by organisations, journalists and families alike, and backed up by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, it now means that no children will be held in Scottish prisons.

Wrong place for the young

I’ve had so many conversations since then with people who are not in favour of the change and it has been enlightening. So many of us consume news in bite-sized chunks, from X/Twitter, Facebook, occasionally newspapers, but less so from broadcast news.

Scotland’s prisons are a human rights disaster in the making

Dainty soundbites might be easy to swallow, but the lack of in-depth reporting or nuance – especially on social media – does little to help us have these mature public debates. I’ve appreciated the opportunity of speaking about why prison is fundamentally the wrong place for the young and sharing what is being done to manage risks and what the future of justice could look like. Every contact leaves a trace, and young lives are lost or changed forever the moment they pass through prison doors – despite heroic attempts by prison staff.

Prison is no place for under-18s (Picture: Peter Macdiarmid) | Getty Images

The fast news cycle means that an invite onto TV might be three to five minutes, which is no time really, not to explore the complexity of justice or what to do to improve it. It’s no wonder people have kneejerk reactions to announcements when it’s presented with little context or background.


Barking into cyberspace


How do we engage with complex issues like justice, when our digital world reduces everything to binary code? Barking into cyberspace seems rather futile, lacking as it does nuance and the ability to disagree well. Personally, I rather like the radio, people have it on in the background, information filtering in as we do other things. I find it a better way of communicating, longer slots allowing you to get a message across more completely.


Yet, in truth I prefer a more analogue approach – which will sound old fashioned to all the Gen Zers and Alphas who live life online. But we must build trust with each other again, engage with and listen to each other more thoughtfully if we are to feel our way through modern ‘wicked’ problems.


I can think of no other way to do that than to be physically together. So join me and my Luddite revolution and let’s sit down together, face-to-face where we can look at each other and connect, listen, explain and understand.


Karyn McCluskey is chief executive of Community Justice Scotland

NIMBY

Council blocks plans for Gypsy and traveller homes

Hannah Brown
Local Democracy Reporting Service
Brian Farmer
BBC News, Cambridgeshire

The council has blocked plans for Gypsy and traveller homes on the edge of Cambridge - at the Old Coal Yard, off Fen Road, near the Cambridge North railway station

A council has blocked a man's plans to site Gypsy and traveller caravans on the outskirts of a city.

Nelson O’Connor asked South Cambridgeshire District Council for permission to position 18 homes on the edge of Cambridge.

Council members recognised a need for more homes for Gypsy and traveller families in the Cambridge area.

THIS IS BULLSHIT RACISM, AS WE CAN SEE FROM THE PHOTO ABOVE THE TRAVELING HOMES ARE ON THE REMAINS OF THE TRAIN STATION

But they concluded that siting them on land off Chesterton Fen Road would "substantially" encroach into the green belt.


'Very limited'


Mr O’Connor's planning application was partially retrospective because some people had already moved in, councillors heard, reports the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

He argued there was a "shortfall" of places for Gypsy and traveller families and said the planned homes would meet an "urgent" need.

Mr O'Connor recognised that the development constituted “inappropriate development in the green belt” but argued that harm was “very limited”.

Councillors refused the application after studying a report by council planning officers, who said the development would be a "substantial encroachment" into the green belt.

They said it was “clear” there was a need for more homes for Gypsy and traveller families in the area, but that did not outweigh the harm that would be caused to the green belt in this case.

UK
Hospital action plan after undercover documentary

Maisie Olah
BBC News, West Midlands•@maisieolah

The Dispatches documentary was broadcast in June

An action plan of changes has been drawn up by hospital bosses after an undercover TV investigation claimed to find cases of suffering and indignity in its A&E.

A&E IS THE EMERGENCY WARD

The Channel 4 Dispatches documentary in June said a reporter working as a trainee healthcare assistant saw patients waiting in Shrewsbury's emergency department for up to 46 hours and undignified treatment of patients in corridors.

Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust (SaTH) will tell its board on Thursday how there were a number of examples from the film where care "fell below acceptable standards".

It said improvements have been introduced since the programme.

The footage showed the emergency department at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital with patients being cared for in hospital corridors, specifically the X-ray corridor linking the emergency department to the X-ray department.

One immediate action taken by the hospital was an increase in health care assistant staff in the X-ray corridor when it was in use, the report for the board said.

There will also be a review of the availability of sinks for handwashing for staff managing patients in a corridor.

Dispatches said its footage also showed patients waiting overnight in a "Fit to sit" area due to a lack of trolleys - with one person in the area for 30 hours.

An extra doctor would now be allocated to these areas, the trust said.

A board meeting will be held on Thursday to discuss the plan

The action plan said language used by staff in the programme gave the impression of an acceptance of poor standards and there was therefore a cultural concern.

SaTH said an immediate individual and group discussion on use of language and expectations would be carried out in the future.

There would also be a daily increase of senior staff in departments, they added.

A review of all areas of concerns about care highlighted by Dispatches would be carried out by the medical director and director of nursing, the trust said.

The action plan will be updated weekly.

PRO-UNITY 

Poll: Nearly six in ten voters would reject Scottish independence

by Staff Reporter
10 September 2024

Campaigners ahead of the 2014 referendum | Alamy

A new poll has found a majority of Scots would vote in favour of remaining part of the UK.

The Survation poll for pro-UK campaign group Scotland in Union found 59 per cent would vote to ‘remain’ in the UK and 41 vote to ‘leave’.

Those who want to stay part of the UK include 18 per cent of people who voted for the SNP in July’s general election.

Only seven per cent of respondents said independence is one of the most important issues that the Scottish Government should prioritise, while three-quarters of those polled called for the governments at Holyrood and Westminster to work more closely together.

More than a 1,000 Scots over the age of 16 were polled using online interviews. Respondents were asked “if there was a referendum with the question 'should Scotland remain part of the United Kingdom or leave the United Kingdom?', how would you vote?”

Alastair Cameron, founder and chair of Scotland in Union, said: “Ten years on from the referendum – when the people of Scotland chose a positive future as part of the UK – the majority of voters still want to remain.

“The SNP’s relentless campaign to re-run the referendum has detracted from the important job of government. People want their politicians to prioritise what really matters – improving our NHS, tackling the cost of living, creating jobs, and delivering housing.”

Nearly two-thirds said the NHS should be the government’s top priority, followed by the cost of living and the economy and jobs

Children in care wait 10 years for permanent home - study

A major study has tracked the progress of all children in Scotland's care system from 2012/13

More than one in 10 children in care were still in temporary placements a decade after entering the care system in Scotland, a major study has revealed.

The University of Stirling looked at the care experiences of more than 1,800 children in Scotland - many of whom had experienced neglect or abuse - and found that on average it took more than two years to find them a permanent home.

Researchers also raised concerns that too many "looked after" children had no contact with their siblings.

A Scottish government spokeswoman said it was committed to ensuring that permanent homes are secured for children and young people in timescales that are right for them.


The 'Permanently Progressing?' study followed the lives of all 1,836 children who entered Scotland's care system aged five or under in 2012/13.

It is the largest longitudinal study of care-experienced children in the UK and has tracked their progress at key life stages.

The first phase looked at their experiences before entering care and their progress up until age eight.

The second phase revisited the cohort in "middle childhood" between 2020 and 2024.

About 79% of the children were living in permanent homes by the end of July 2022.

But overall the average time it took to find a permanent home was 32 months.

'Not what we want'

The study investigated how long it took to secure permanence for children, which included making sure they felt secure as well as being legally secure in a safe, permanent home.

Dr Helen Whincup, senior lecturer in social work at the University of Stirling, led the study which tracked the children's progress over time.

She said: "While it is heartening that permanence has been achieved for most of the children, it is worrying that for many this took over two years - a long time in a child's life.

"It is also concerning that one in 10 of children had five or more placements and, 10 years after becoming looked after, more than one in 10 children were still, or again, in impermanent placements.

"This is not what we would want for any child."

The study found that nearly two thirds of children who had ever been looked after away from home had been in two or more placements - and one in 10 children had five or more.

While the Scottish government is the corporate parent for care-experienced children, crucial information about some children was missing from administrative data.

For 9% of children, there was not enough detail in Children Looked After Statistics (CLAS) to say where they were living - and ethnicity was recorded as unknown for 8% of children.

Information on their early lives was available from social workers for 727 children from the overall cohort.

This showed that, before entering the care system, most had experienced "significant neglect and abuse" and family life was challenging.

The survey also looked at contact with siblings using information from caregivers for 79 children.

It found that about half of the children with a sibling living elsewhere had no contact with them.

More than one third of the 98 children whose caregivers completed a questionnaire have a long-standing illness, disability or health problem that affected their day-to-day activities.


Deliver good practice


Dr Paula Jacobs, research fellow at the University of Stirling, was involved in interviewing children and caregivers for the study.

She said: "We heard about the complexity of renewing or maintaining connections across different families, where children may have different needs.

"While not underestimating the sensitivity needed to maintain or renew connections, the fact that so many children do not currently have any form of contact with their brothers and sisters is stark."

The research is led by the University of Stirling in collaboration with Lancaster University, and the Association for Fostering, Kinship and Adoption Scotland (AFKA).

The study was funded by a philanthropic donor and the Nuffield Foundation.

Minister for Children and Young People Natalie Don-Innes said the Scottish government was committed to Keeping The Promise by ensuring that all care-experienced children and young people grow up feeling "safe, loved and respected".

She said: “We are committed to ensuring that permanent homes are secured for children and young people in timescales that are right for them.

"We are funding AFKA to deliver good practice guides helping social workers as they support children, young people and their families.

“We continue to work closely with The Promise Scotland, Cosla and other delivery partners to ensure we can deliver on these aims.”

SCOTLAND
The pains of plugging budget holes with renewables windfall

Douglas Fraser
Business/economy editor,

BBC Scotland

WindFloat Atlantic

First Minister John Swinney says he hopes to avoid the £460m raid on a long-term investment fund announced by Finance Secretary Shona Robison to balance the books this year.

He said so as he officially opened the onshore maintenance base in Buckie for one of Scotland's biggest offshore windfarms - Moray West. He wishes to be seen as a champion of the renewable energy industry.

And on a sunny day on the Moray coast, that was how it looked.

But that £460m was to support the transition to greener energy. Yet Shona Robison says she intends to use that money, if the UK government does not fund public sector pay deals, which have been coming in well ahead of the 3% increase she budgeted this year.

Scottish government confirms £500m in cuts

Scotland's fiscal outlook messy and 'painful'

Grim spending forecast suggests stormy times ahead


The budget problem and the raid on a long-term fund for short-term cash are being blamed on the UK government. Mr Swinney accuses it of a return to 'austerity', meaning a squeeze on public spending.

But these are also embarrassing circumstances for the Scottish government.

Even before the programme of cuts to public spending could be announced, the official fiscal watchdog had nailed the problem with budget planning on the door at St Andrew's House: under-estimating the cost of public sector pay, freezing council tax, and expanding relatively generous welfare payments for Scots.

PA Media


The Scottish Fiscal Commission pointed out that choices were being made at Holyrood before Labour came to power in Downing Street. Those choices, in the budget set out in draft last December, set the course for the mid-year budget crunch we're now seeing.

The scale of Ms Robison's recruitment freeze and spending claw-back remains unclear, at least until Chancellor Rachel Reeves reveals her plans at the UK Treasury. But if the £460m is required, the Scottish government is undermining its own arguments for long-term investment in energy and a 'just transition' from fossil fuels to renewable power.

That plan has been awaited for a long time. It requires some difficult wording on the future path for Scotland's oil and gas industry, which has been on its own transition from the backbone of the economic case for Scottish independence (see the referendum campaign 10 years ago) to something of a political pariah.

But publication now looks imminent. It will have to address the limited economic benefit accruing to Scotland from renewable power. The Moray West wind farm has no more than 70 permanent jobs attached. The manufacturing has been done in the east of England and beyond.

The strategy will require funds to help pay for transition, and that looks a shaky prospect if money earmarked for it is being diverted to avert strikes by bin collectors, teachers and doctors, to freeze council tax and fund welfare payments.

So as it is a vital part of plugging the hole in the Holyrood budget, it's worth a closer look at the ScotWind windfall.


Big prospects


The story began in English waters. Offshore wind looked very expensive, and to create incentives for private sector firms to invest in it, the UK government offered 'Contracts for Difference'. These are promises to fund developers with a minimum price for power per megawatt hour, while also clawing back revenue above that level.

Who will pay? Not the government, but those who pay household and business electricity bills.

A series of auctions, in which the winners offer to supply power into the grid at the lowest price, saw the cost of offshore wind plummet at each time of asking. It was a highly effective way of driving the industry to become more cost-efficient. The more turbines they installed, the more efficient they became.

As a consequence, there are more than 2,000 wind turbines installed in UK waters. It was the country with the biggest such investment until China recently overtook it.
Ocean Winds
Thousands of wind turbines have sprung up around the UK waters



That auction process worked well until last year, when an auction round was pitched by the government at too low or ambitious a price, and there were no bidders. Last week, a more successful bidding round secured 131 winning bids.

Some 37 projects securing Contracts for Difference were in Scottish waters, including fixed and floating offshore windfarms, as well as onshore wind, tidal and solar arrays.

Scotland, meanwhile, had gone big with onshore wind power, where Contracts for Difference drove down prices so much that some new developments can stand alone on a commercial basis. England effectively blocked new plans for onshore turbines, where they met with local opponents.

Going offshore from Scottish waters offered the prospect of consistent wind at higher speeds, but in deeper water with higher development costs. So Scotland came to offshore wind more recently. It has only a small share of installed capacity, but big prospects.

Bottlenecks


Another auction process, for the right to develop a sea area, produced another astonishing result in English waters. Private sector developers were willing to bid far more than expected.

An auction for areas of Scottish seabed, known as ScotWind, was halted while the agency which owns and leases the seabed, Crown Estate Scotland, recalibrated what it could expect - concluding it could be as much as ten times more than anticipated.

In April 2022, Crown Estate Scotland announced the winning bidders for 17 sea areas around Scotland's coast, including some large ones around Orkney, as well as areas off Lewis and Islay. Later that year, three more sea areas were added off Shetland. Total takings from the auction: £755m.

And that's only for the right to plan and develop these sites. It does not secure planning rights, or consent to plug a windfarm into the national grid, or one of those Contracts for Difference.

Ocean Winds
The Moray East offshore wind project was granted planning consent in 2014 by the Scottish government


Each winning bid still carries significant technical risks for developing offshore in wild waters. Of the 20 areas, 13 are to use floating wind turbines, which are much less mature in their design.

There is financial risk. These auction bids were ahead of interest rates going up, inflation applying to supplies and bottlenecks in the development process.

There is, for instance, a shortage of the huge barges required to install turbines which now reach more than 200 metres (656ft) above sea level. They have to be booked well in advance, and competition for them has pushed up prices.

The ScotWind windfall could have been more if conditions had not been applied. Crown Estate Scotland chose bids that looked most credible as well as being lucrative, with a large share of the supply chain close to home, and a clear route to being installed within 10 years, which is when the development rights run out.

Crown Estate Scotland has an interest in seeing these plans progress, because it will eventually be charging windfarm owners an annual rent for the seabed once the power and the cash begin to flow.

It has the same financial interest as the Scottish government. Although its name is derived from the estates owned historically by kings and queens, it is wholly owned by Scottish ministers, and all its profits flow into their coffers.

So that is where the windfall reaches Shona Robison. This is a one-off payment, to be followed, in 10 years or so, by more modest annual leasing profits.

PA Media
Shona Robison warned that large cuts to public services are on the way


Putting that money into long-term investment in the energy transition is in line with the SNP's long-standing criticism of the UK government for failing to put aside oil and gas revenues. For 50 years, these have been absorbed into the giant bank account at HM Treasury, some of them to pay for capital projects and a lot of them to avoid higher taxes.

By contrast, Norway at first used its North Sea windfall to pay off its government debt, and for the past 33 years, while levying very high personal taxes, it has taken the long-term view and built up a colossal investment fund, by last month worth £1.3 trillion.

Supporters of independence have long argued that Scotland could have done the same. And maybe it could. But to save and invest funds for the long term, a government has to avoid the temptation of plugging gaps in budgets, to protect priorities in the short term.

That is exactly what the Scottish government is now doing. And while public sector pay will have to be funded next year, with pressure from public sector unions for a further rise at least to match higher prices, there will be no ScotWind windfall available.

'Frittered away'


Nor will public sector unions take kindly to being accused of forcing ministers to raid the Scottish government's investment fund.

A letter from the GMB Scottish secretary Louise Gilmour states: "The decision to use £460m of one-off ScotWind income to plug the gap in Scotland’s finances is unsustainable and represents poor financial planning. For our members in energy, it yet again obliterates the claim of a ‘just transition’.

"These funds should have been used to build the renewable supply chains across Scotland. Instead, they have been squandered."

The union leader isn't holding back: "Just as Thatcher raided Scotland’s oil and gas profits preventing the creation of a sovereign wealth fund akin to that of Norway, Scotland’s future in renewables is now being frittered away.

"Failing to invest and plan in the future of our energy network undermines the Scottish government’s own ability to fund future spending in the public sector."

So, not much thanks there to Shona Robison for funding those union pay demands. Plugging that budget hole looks set to become more politically painful before it's over.

 

Women for Refugee Women reveals harsh conditions for asylum-seeking women housed in UK hotels

Summary

Report finds women are subjected to damaging patterns of coercion and control while in hotel accommodation

By EIN

Date of Publication:

10 September 2024

A new report published last week by Women for Refugee Women, Coercion and Control: The Treatment of Women Seeking Asylum in Hotel Accommodation, highlights serious concerns regarding the treatment of women housed in asylum hotels across the UK.

You can download the 26-page report here.

The report is based on research designed and conducted by women with personal experience of the UK's asylum system, in an effort to shed light on the unique challenges faced by asylum-seeking women. It is the first report of its kind to focus specifically on women in asylum hotels.

Research by Women for Refugee Women reveals that women seeking asylum who have fled gender-based violence are subjected to similar patterns of coercion and control while housed in hotels. This environment has a profoundly negative impact on their mental health and ability to recover from trauma.

The report identifies several troubling practices. Women in hotels face constant monitoring and surveillance, restrictions on their movements, and isolation from social networks and support. They also report being subjected to degrading and dehumanizing behaviour from hotel staff, including sexual harassment and room intrusions, with some women being threatened with eviction for minor infractions.

The mental health effects of these conditions are severe. The report finds that:

• 91% of women surveyed felt anxious or depressed,
• 75% felt hopeless,
• 67% felt dehumanized, and
• 46% reported feeling suicidal.

Many of these women, who are survivors of rape, domestic violence, and sexual exploitation, are retraumatized by the controlling and restrictive environment of hotel accommodation. Rather than providing a space for healing, the report argues, the hotel system perpetuates the very patterns of abuse that these women sought to escape.

A Freedom of Information request submitted by Women for Refugee Women shows that there were 8,029 women in asylum hotels as of the beginning of June 2024. According to the report, women currently make up just over a quarter (27%) of the total number of asylum seekers in hotel accommodation. With so many women housed in hotels across the UK, the report says swift government action is needed to prevent further harm and provide women asylum seekers with the safety and dignity they deserve.

Women for Refugee Women calls for immediate changes, including an end to the use of hotels for housing asylum seekers, and the provision of safe, supportive accommodation where women can rebuild their lives. The organisation urges the new Labour government, which has committed to prioritizing survivors of gender-based violence, to include asylum-seeking women in its efforts to reform the asylum system and address gender-based violence.

Andrea Vukovic, Deputy Director of Women for Refugee Women, emphasized the urgency of the situation, stating: "The new Government has inherited a crumbling asylum system which is actively putting women at risk. Nearly half of the women we spoke to said that hotel accommodation made them suicidal. The Government needs to urgently get a grip on what's happening in asylum hotels to prevent further harm. We urge the Government to end policies which have put women in harm's way and ensure proper oversight of the private providers who are running hotels. Ultimately, the use of hotels for accommodating people seeking safety needs to end now. Failing to do so will undermine the Government's ambition to tackle the national emergency of violence against women. It will create a two-tier approach to supporting survivors of gender-based violence, with those seeking safety in the UK left behind."

As the report notes, since coming to power, the Labour government has committed to ending the use of hotels, mainly through processing the backlog of asylum claims.

UK

Louise Haigh puts Labour’s socialist agenda on the ‘fast track’ with accelerated bus public ownership plan

Exclusive: Transport secretary Louise Haigh is set to accelerate her bid to undo Margaret Thatcher’s legacy on public transport

David Maddox
Political editor

Bus services could be run again by local authorities for the first time since the 1980s (Peter Byrne/PA) (PA Archive)

Louise Haigh, the transport secretary, is set to double down on her efforts to renationalise Britain’s transport sector by bringing forward a bill to take bus services back into public ownership.

While some have criticised the Keir Starmer government of being too centrist, Ms Haigh has become the flag bearer for the new government’s socialist agenda in undoing Tory reforms of the 1980s and 1990s.

Hot from winning a vote last night to allow for councils to start to run bus services, sources close to the 37-year-old transport secretary have made it clear she will introduce the Better Buses Bill to reverse Margaret Thatcher’s deregulation before the end of this year.

The demolition of Thatcher’s legacy comes just weeks after it emerged the prime minister had taken her portrait down in Downing Street.

Louise Haigh is renationalising Britain’s transport 

The move on buses follows Ms Haigh getting the first bill of the Labour government through the Commons last week paving the way for the renationalisation of railways in the UK.

A Labour source close to Ms Haigh said: “The Transport Secretary promised to move fast and fix things, and that’s exactly what she’s doing by putting bus reform in the fast lane.

“Today is a landmark day. We’re giving every community the power to take back control of their bus services. This will save and create vital routes up and down the country.

“We won’t stand by and watch while timetables are hollowed out, routes are slashed and passenger numbers plummet.

“Change starts here. After 40 years of failed deregulation, this Labour government is delivering on our promise to put passengers first.”

The move comes despite Tory claims that taking bus services into public ownership will cost the government billions it does not have to spend at a time when chancellor Rachel Reeves has complained she has to make cuts because of a £22 billion black hole in the nation’s finances.

Shadow transport minister Kieran Mullan said: "We know there are a number of local authorities facing financial and organisational challenges, and whilst I don't doubt there will be enthusiasm to make use of these new powers, running any form of public transport brings with it real challenges."

He added: "Depending on the number of local authorities that chose to take up franchising, that could mean significant central Government resources are required.

"Unless I've missed it, today's announcement looks to include absolutely no funding to pay for increased capacity at the department."

The government has also launched a consultation on new, simplified guidance speeding up processes and reducing costs for local leaders looking to bring services into public control.

Transport minister Simon Lightwood told MPs: "(It will) deliver further measures on issues such as funding, despite the challenging financial circumstances we find ourselves in, inherited from the previous government."

There are concerns that rural bus services, which are sometimes run at a loss and require funding from local councils to get private operators to run them, could make running routes more costlier than thought for some authorities. Without funding, some are cut.

MPs were told by Mr Lightwood there are now 300 million fewer miles of bus journeys driven a year since 2010. Overall 1.5 billion fewer journeys took place in 2019 compared to 1985, the final year before deregulation ended.

UK
Increasing numbers of nurses are being driven to thoughts of suicide, RCN warns


A general view of staff on a NHS hospital ward


Peter Lazenby

 MORNING STAR

Tuesday, September 10, 2024


INCREASING numbers of nurses are being driven to thoughts of suicide through pressures at work, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) union has warned.

In a new report published today, the RCN cited workload, bullying and harassment and a lack of work-life balance as being among the “extreme pressures” driving suicidal thoughts.

The union is demanding NHS bosses reduce work pressures on nurses, and called on them to “create compassionate workplaces as the bedrock of quality care.”

The report, which the RCN said was the first of its kind in Britain, said that in the first six months of 2024 an advice line it established saw a 29 per cent increase in the number of callers with suicidal ideas compared with the previous six months.

When compared to the first six months of last year, the increase was 76 per cent.

The RCN said two-thirds of callers mentioned the workplace as a key factor in their ideas of suicide.

RCN general secretary and chief executive Professor Nicola Ranger said: “It’s becoming increasingly clear that workplace pressures are contributing to a rise in suicidal thoughts among nursing staff.

“This is a very serious issue that requires the full attention of ministers and employers.

“Happy and healthy workplaces are the bedrock of quality care, and we desperately need a national set of standards across all health and care settings in the UK.

“These must be built around compassion and prevention and encourage staff to seek support, ensuring mental health interventions are effective and timely.”

The RCN is also collaborating in a “groundbreaking” pilot project with Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust in London to investigate the issues and the measures needed to deal with them.

The trust covers the London Boroughs of Bromley, Greenwich and Bexley.

Professor Ranger added: “Together we will review staff experiences and explore how changes to workplace culture can improve staff mental health.

“The scheme will help pave the way for UK-wide standards in health and care.”

Rachel Evans, at Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We have big plans for the future and are delighted to be part of the RCN Compassion in Practice pilot.”

The Department of Health and Social Care has been approached for comment.

UK

Teaching assistants tackle MPs for equal pay help

Caroline Gall
BBC News, West Midlands
James Bovill
BBC Midlands Today

Claire Shuttleworth, a higher level teaching assistant in Birmingham, said staff felt "irrelevant and ignored"

Teaching assistants working for Birmingham City Council have met MPs to appeal for help in speeding up their claims for equal pay.

The local authority, which declared itself effectively bankrupt a year ago, faces a bill of up to £760m to settle the claims, on top of the £1.1bn already paid out.

In May about 1,500 teaching support staff from 35 schools went on strike over the issue with further action planned this month.

The council said work was under way on a new approach around job evaluation to settle equal pay issues once and for all.

The dispute relates to claims that staff in female-dominated roles have historically been underpaid when compared to men.

The GMB union wants backdated equal pay for mostly female workers and a change to job descriptions so pay is fair going forward too.

Two teaching assistants (TAs) and a GMB representative met local Labour MPs in Westminster on Monday in the hope of the matter being finalised as soon as possible.

Pamela Whatley, a TA at Yardley Wood Primary School, said going on strike was the only choice left

Pamela Whatley, a TA at Yardley Wood Primary School, said her claim was still on-going despite being "years down the line".

People feel undervalued and were "losing faith" as useful negotiations do not seem to happen and strike action was the way to get their voices heard.

"We've got no other choice, we're tried everything else..," she said.

Claire Shuttleworth, a higher level teaching assistant, said they wanted the MPs to support staff going through claims and the process was "exhausting".

"We keep coming back to the same place and finding ourselves in the same position - it's time it was resolved," she said.

"We feel irrelevant and ignored."

GMB regional organiser Alice Reynolds said it was not until strike action started in May that negotiations began with the council, but said the meetings were not really "meaningful".

The union put forward to the council a deadline of November for it to be able to put something to members, but Ms Reynolds said progress had still not been made.

In a statement, the Labour-run council said it had been engaging with the GMB on equal pay since November 2021, and following a further agreement made with the trade unions in October last year, work was now under way on a new approach to job evaluation to settle equal pay issues once and for all.

"The council is keen to work together with GMB to explore solutions, as it remains committed to resolving historic equal pay issues and settling all legitimate claims from our employees."

Palestine supporters blockade entrance to arms factory in UK


Photo: Martin Pope

MORNING STAR

Monday, September 9, 2024

AN ISRAELI arms factory in Kent was under siege today after Palestine supporters blockaded its entrance roads.

The Instro Precision factory is part of Israeli-owned Elbit Systems, which is believed to manufacture military drones, pilotless aircraft and other weapons for Israel.

Palestine Action mounted the blockade and vehicles were used to block the entrances.

Activists also covered the premises in red paint, symbolising “Palestinian bloodshed.”

Palestine Action said the factory’s products were not affected by last week’s government announcement that 50 out of 320 arms export licences were being suspended.

Sixteen Palestine Action activists are currently in prison for their actions against Elbit Systems and its suppliers.

Palestine Action said the Kent blockade “demonstrates the direct-action group will not be deterred from its goal to shut Elbit down.”

The group claims the Kent factory manufactures weapons sights and “target acquisition” products for the Israeli military.

Cops look on bemused as Palestine Action block Elbit factory for WHOLE day

 by The Canary
9 September 2024

Not to do things by halves, Palestine Action started the week as it means to go on: by blockading an Elbit factory – Instro, in Kent – for the majority of the day; once again, disrupting Israel’s genocide supply chain in the process
Palestine Action shut down Elbit in Kent

Palestine Action have blocked all entrance roads to the ‘Instro Precision’ factory in Discovery Park, once again shutting down the Kent factory of Israel’s largest arms company, Elbit Systems.

Activists have used vehicles to obstruct the entrances:

Whilst this action is taking place, there are 16 Palestine Action political prisoners detained for trying to stop a genocide.

Palestine Action’s ongoing blockade demonstrates the direct action group will not be deterred from it’s goal to shut Elbit down. The site, used to manufacture weapons sights and target acquisition products for the Israeli military was previously entered and dismantled by activists in June.

Palestine Action pledge to continue direct action against Elbit Systems, until the Israeli weapons manufacturer can no longer operate in Britain.
Instro: complicit in Israel’s genocide

The premises, at Sandwich’s ‘Discovery Park’, regularly export ‘ML5’-category weapons sight and target acquisition products to Israel, with at least 50 export licenses for arms sold for ‘military end use’ in Israel approved within a five-year period.

Instro’s weapons products, including XACT th64 and XACT th65 weapons sights, have been delivered in their thousands to the Israeli military for use by “marksmen of both Infantry and Special Operation Forces”, including those conducting ground operations in Gaza. Instro furthermore manufactures target acquisition products fitted to Israeli Skylark drones and to ground vehicles with “hunter-killer capabilities”. All of these products can potentially comprise Instro’s dozens of ‘ML5’ category exports.

Last week’s announcement that the government will continue to permit 90% of Britain’s weapons exports to Israel, necessitates the continuation of action in response to British complicity in the genocide of Palestinians.

Furthermore, Elbit Systems continues to profit from genocide by selling weaponry globally which is marketed as “battle-tested” on the Palestinian people.
Palestine Action: stepping up against Elbit

A Palestine Action spokesperson said:

Despite the ongoing Gaza genocide, Britain has allowed 92% of arms export licenses to continue and given permission for Israeli weapons factories to keep operating across the country. Although our government have failed to take meaningful action, ordinary citizens refuse to be complicit in the mass murder of Palestinians and are stepping up to shut Elbit down.

Featured image via Palestine Action

They have climbed on top of security boxes and the ledge of Discovery Park House:

The premises has been covered in red paint, symbolising Palestinian bloodshed spilt by Elbit’s weaponry:

Meanwhile, as of 3pm cops did little but look on in a state of stupor:

Senior Jewish peer says Starmer right over Israel arms export decision

Crossbench peer Lord Carlile, who sits on the all-party committee for Israel, said the PM had shown “courage and conviction... however difficult it is”

By Lee Harpin September 9, 2024

Lord Carlile, a counter-terrorism expert, and crossbench peer

A senior Jewish peer has backed Keir Starmer over the controversial decision to suspend some arms export licences to Israel, and claimed the previous Tory government had failed to follow similar advice.

In a major intervention, crossbench peer Lord Carlile, who sits on the all-party committee for Israel, said the Prime Minister had shown “courage and conviction… however difficult it is” with the move.

Writing for The Independent, Carlile, who has been a vocal critic of the BBC over allegations it is biased against Israel, said:“The legal advice relied upon by Sir Keir Starmer and David Lammy has long been known to senior UK ministers.

“Sitting on clear legal advice for more than a very short time cannot be justified. Starmer has shown courage and a conviction that the right thing must be done – however difficult it is.”

Keir Starmer gives NATO statement in Commons

Carlile, the independent reviewer of terrorism legislation between 2001 and 2011, also claimed that former foreign secretary Lord Cameron received the same legal advice as that acted upon by foreign secretary David Lammy last week but chose not to act on it.

This claim was denied by a source close to Cameron.

Barrister Carlile also described Starmer as “one of the most able analytical lawyers of his generation” and said that former prime ministers such as Boris Johnson “should have known better” before making “wildly disproportionate” criticism of the decision.

He also said he was “dismayed” by attacks by communal leaders on the suspension of a limited number of arms exports.

Carlile noted that Italy, the Dutch courts, Spain. and Canada have all reached often harsher verdicts on arms sales to Israel.

“It is crucial that the rule of law – which prevents the abuse of state power and applies to all – is not shouted down in an unruly way by people who are acting on prejudice, dressed up as principle,” he added.

“It is insidious that democracy, brought about by parliamentarians doing exactly what legal advice dictates, should be hijacked by populist sloganeering – especially when that comes from former prime ministers like Boris Johnson, who should know better.”

He also strongly condemed Benjamin Netanyahu saying:”His stubborn resistance in recent months to sound advice given by IDF commanders, by the families of hostages who remain unaccounted for, and by senior international figures including the president and vice-president of the USA, to many of us signifies a person no longer fit for high office.”

Australia backs UK decision to curb arms sales to Israel

Daniel Hurst Foreign affairs and defence correspondent

THE GUARDIAN
Mon 9 September 2024 

Australia’s foreign affairs minister Penny Wong is ‘coordinating’ with the UK to put pressure on Israel.Photograph: Joel Carrett/EPA


Australia is coordinating with the UK and other allies to “pressure” Israel to alleviate the suffering of Palestinian civilians in Gaza and to stop the erosion of longstanding norms protecting aid workers.

The Australian government has also explicitly backed the UK’s decision to curb arms exports to Israel, putting it at odds with the US, which is reported to have privately warned Britain against the move.

The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, told Guardian Australia: “Australia is working with partners – including the UK – to put pressure to see a real change in the situation in Gaza.”

Related: Fact check: is Australia exporting weapons to Israel?

The latest comments are another sign of the Australian government’s hardening rhetoric about the Israeli assault on Gaza, where about 41,000 Palestinians have been killed over the past 11 months and many more have been injured and displaced from their homes.

About 1,200 people were killed in the 7 October Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel and about 250 others were taken hostage, prompting the Australian Labor government to initially back Israel’s “right to self-defence”.

Labor is under increasing political pressure from the Greens and independent challengers in previously safe seats – and from its own rank-and-file members – to take a harder line against Israel’s conduct.

While it has called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire since December, the Labor cabinet has so far resisted calls to describe Israel’s conduct as genocide and to impose sanctions against members of the Israeli government.

The UK foreign secretary, David Lammy, told the House of Commons last week that the government would suspend 30 of the 350 existing arms licences to Israel because of “a clear risk that they might be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law”.

Wong backed the move. “I welcome the decision of my UK counterpart,” she told Guardian Australia on Monday night.

“It reflects what we have been advocating throughout this conflict. Palestinian civilians cannot be made to pay the price of defeating Hamas.”

Wong reiterated the Albanese government’s position that Australia “has not supplied weapons or ammunition to Israel” for at least the past five years.

“And earlier this year we made clear the only export permit applications approved for items to Israel are for those items returning to Australia for our own defence and law enforcement,” she said. This refers to temporary transfers for repairs and maintenance by Israeli firms.

When the Binskin report into the Israeli killing of the Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom and six colleagues in Gaza was released, Wong said Australia would work with the UN and the international community to press Israel to reform its coordination arrangements with humanitarian organisations.

A source familiar with the matter said the Australian government was working with countries that shared its concerns that “norms for the protection of aid workers are being eroded, with repercussions for current and future conflicts”.

Australia is expected to say more about these concerns in the lead-up to the next UN general assembly session.

It is also exchanging views with other countries about the facts on the ground and assessments about compliance with international humanitarian law.

Sources said the UK’s announcement on arms exports could provide Australia with “additional elements” to consider.

The US privately warned the UK against suspending arms sales amid claims it could hamper a ceasefire-and-hostage-release deal, according to a report published by the Times of London.

The degree of private discontent within the Biden administration about the UK decision is contested, but one UK Foreign Office source said it was comparable to the US anger when David Cameron as foreign secretary said Israel should not have veto power on recognising Palestinian statehood.

The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, condemned the UK government’s decision as “shameful” and “misguided” and said it would “only embolden Hamas”. Netanyahu said the decision would have no impact on “Israel’s determination to defeat Hamas”.

The UK suspension covers components for military aircraft, helicopters, drones and targeting equipment – but it almost entirely excludes all UK components for the F-35 fighter jet programme.

Related: Britain’s limited Gaza action will do little to curb Israel’s wider territorial ambitions | Dahlia Scheindlin

F-35 components have been exempted, officials say, because they are part of a global programme and the UK does not have unilateral control of these components, which are sent to the US.

Like the UK, the Australian government has faced criticism from pro-Palestine campaigners for its ongoing role in the global F-35 supply chain.

In a Senate estimates hearing in June, Defence officials emphasised that Australia had participated in the supply chain for the past 20 years and that all such parts were “exported to a central repository in the United States”.

The Greens have called on the government to limit this involvement and to stop all two-way military-related trade with Israel, including contracts in which Israeli defence firms supply to Australia.

– additional reporting by Patrick Wintour


US ‘understands the decision we have taken’ on Israeli arms sales, Starmer says

Archie Mitchell

THE INDEPENDENT
Sun 8 September 2024 

Sir Keir Starmer has insisted the US backed Britain’s decision to suspend some arms sales to Israel, after reports the move had angered Britain’s closest ally.

The prime minister said Washington “understands the decision we have taken” and was told about the move in advance.

He was quizzed about Britain’s decision to suspend around 30 of its 350 arms export licences to Israel after a review found there is a “clear risk” that they could be used to breach international humanitarian law.

Starmer insisted there was no rift with the US over arms exports to Israel (PA)

The decision was announced by foreign secretary David Lammy, who stressed the UK’s ongoing support for Israel and said the decision was “not taken lightly”.

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the move as a “shameful decision” by the UK, while reports claimed the US had been caught off guard and angered.

Challenged over the move’s impact on UK-US relations, Sir Keir told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg: “You’re wrong about that.”

He added: “We have been talking to the US. We have been talking to the US beforehand and afterwards, and they’re very clear that they’ve got a different legal system, and they understand the decision that we’ve taken.

“So that’s very clear.”

The PM will travel to the US next week (PA)

Sir Keir is making his second visit to the US next week for a meeting with president Joe Biden in Washington DC on 13 September.

The PM said his visit is not related to Britain’s suspension of arms sales to Israel, but because “the situation in Ukraine is becoming ever more pressing, as is the situation in the Middle East”.

He added: “What I want to have the opportunity for is a more strategic discussion about the next few months in relation to Ukraine and in relation to the Middle East.

“So it is that more strategic discussion about the next few months in relation to Ukraine and the Middle East that will be the central focus of the visit.”

It comes a week after Mr Lammy told the House of Commons that a review conducted by the UK government could not “arbitrate on whether or not Israel has breached international humanitarian law” in Gaza, but ministers have a legal duty to review export licences.

He said Israel had a right to defend itself but he said that he was not satisfied with answers after he had raised concerns with the Israeli government.

Rishi Sunak’s government had refused to suspend arms sales to Israel, and shadow foreign secretary Andrew Mitchell said Labour’s decision was “not easy to swallow”.

Mr Lammy said the criteria states the government will not issue export licences if there is a “clear risk that the items might be used to commit or facilitate serious violations of international humanitarian law”.

He told the House of Commons: “It is with regret that I inform the House today that the assessment I have received leaves me unable to conclude anything other than that for certain UK arms exports to Israel there does exist a clear risk that they might be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law.”


'You're Wrong About That': Starmer Claims US Understands Suspension Of Some Arms Sales To Israel

Kate Nicholson

HUFFPOST
Sun 8 September 2024 

Keir Starmer BBC

Keir Starmer has suggested that the decision to suspend some arms sales to Israel has not impacted the UK’s relationship with the US.

Labour decided to suspend around 30 arms exports licences – out of a total of around 350 – to the Middle Eastern country last week.

It came after a government review found there was as “clear risk” of the equipment being used to break international humanitarian law in Gaza.

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahusaid “shameful” move would “embolden Hamas”.

The US’s National Security Council spokesman, John Kirby, responded to the move saying the States has not determined any violation of international humanitarian law itself, and that it would continue “to do what we have to do to support Israel’s defensive capabilities”.

He added: “We’ll let other nations decide for themselves if they’re going to support Israel and to what degree. That’s what sovereignty is all about.”

And in Starmer’s first major interview since being elected into No.10, the PM denied any diplomatic tensions.

Referring to Starmer’s upcoming trip to the White House, the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg said: “Now it’s no secret that your decision to suspend some arms sales to Israel has not gone down very well across the Atlantic.

“It has not made the UK government very popular with its closest ally, the United States.”

“You’re wrong about that,” Starmer said.

“So you’re saying the US agrees with it?” The presenter replied.

The PM claimed: “We’ve been talking to the US beforehand, and afterwards, and they’re very clear that they’ve got a different legal system and they understand the decision that we’ve taken.

“So, that’s very clear.”

The US is Israel’s largest ally, and has remained staunchly supportive of the country throughout its war in Gaza, against Palestinian militants Hamas.

Matt Miller, a spokesman for the US Department of State, said last week: “The US is not going to make an assessment under the UK standard. We will make our determination based on US law.”

He added: “[The UK government] had a legal framework that they needed to apply, they applied that legal framework and it led to this decision. It’s of course appropriate for them to make their own legal judgments based on their system and their laws.”

Starmer also told the BBC that his visit to the States is unrelated to the arms suspension.

He said: “The reason I’m actually going and having the visit is not about that at all. It’s because the situation in Ukraine is becoming ever more pressing, as is the situation in the Middle East.

“I’ve obviously had a number of discussions with President Biden, both in person and on the phone, and other allies – France, Germany, Italy, Nato allies, about the tactical decisions we have to make in relation to Ukraine and the Middle East.”

He said their actions have been coordinated so far, but he also wants “to have the opportunity for a more strategic discussion” about both wars.

Kuenssberg then asked if he was “relieved and excited” that US President Joe Biden had been replaced by his Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee ahead of the November elections in the US.

He dodged that question and said: “They’re our sister party and of course it’s really good to see the election developing as it is in the US.

“I’ll be very clear, as the prime minister of the United Kingdom, I’ll deal with whoever the American people elect in as their president.

“But I think it’s very important to remember, particularly for Ukraine and the Middle East, the next few weeks and months are critically important, and therefore it’s important for me to speak to President Biden to speak about our shared response, the response of our allies, to to the pressing immediate issues but also to the more strategic, long-term issues.”