Sunday, October 13, 2024

Russia Explores Building Four Icebreakers in India

Russia's flagship Arktika-class icebreakers under construction at St. Petersburg. The orders in India would be smaller and would have conventional powerplants (USC file image)

Russia is reportedly expanding its shipbuilding cooperation with India, with two Indian shipyards being considered for construction of four non-nuclear icebreakers. The project is estimated to cost a total of $713 million. The vessels will join Rosatom’s icebreaking fleet, operating in the Northern Sea Route (NSR).

According to Indian media reports, the government is in talks with two shipyards - one state-owned and the other private - for the construction of the icebreakers. The Russian nuclear agency Rosatom is mandated with the development of the NSR, including managing the icebreaking fleet for the route.

As the West tightens economic sanctions, Russia’s domestic shipbuilding sector is reeling under the pressure of supply chain disruptions. During a two-day state visit to Moscow in July, the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreed to strengthen cooperation with Russia in areas ranging from nuclear power to shipbuilding. In addition, Rosatom identified India as an important partner in the development of NSR. Particularly, India would benefit from efficient imports of Russian oil, coal and liquefied natural gas (LNG).

The order for the ice-breakers is said to be a follow-up for this agreement between Indian and Russian governments. Although specific details of the order are yet to be made public, a joint working group with experts drawn from the two sides is already in place to finalize negotiations. The joint group held its first meeting last Thursday. India also pushing for its seafarers to get training in polar waters.

With India currently intensifying support for its emerging shipbuilding sector, it is poised to benefit as Russia courts foreign shipyards for its new ship orders. Indeed, Russia is in a tight spot, with most yards in China, South Korea and Japan fully booked at least up to 2028. Shipyards in Europe cannot take up ship orders from Russia due to sanctions. Thus, India seems to be in the best position to assist.

A team from Rosatom has already visited India to assess suitability of yards. “The NSR is a universal platform for developing multifaceted cooperation in a number of areas, and we see great potential for cooperation with India in various areas, from developing cargo flows to building shipyards,” Rosatom’s public relations manager in South Asia told the Indian Newspaper Economic Times.

Recent data from the Centre for High North Logistic s(CHNL) shows that NSR is seeing record level transit voyages, as trade between China and Russia shifts to the route. As of September 30, NSR recorded 79 transit voyages, translating to an estimated 2.38 million tons of cargo for the Summer-autumn navigation season. So far, around 95 percent of this cargo volume moves from Russia to China.

Russia plans to move around 150 million tons of cargo through NSR by 2030. To support this ambition, Kremlin plans to build 50 ice-breakers and ice-class vessels.

Norwegian Center to Host Three Floating Wind Demos to Advance Technology

METCentre will provde test locations for the development of floating offshore wind turbines (METCentre)

Three companies have signed up with Norway’s Marine Energy Test Center for demonstrations of floating wind turbine technologies. The center highlights it is the only place in the world for testing on a large scale and the aim is to reduce the costs of floating offshore wind technology which is viewed as critical in the next phase of expansion of offshore renewable energy.

Many locations around the world, including Norway, Japan, and the West Coast of the United States, will require floating technology to advance offshore wind energy power generation. The seabed topography and water depths require floating installation to harness the energy potential of these locations. However, the technology remains costly and has only been applied in a few advanced sites.

The METCentre is located off the West Coast of Norway and is already hosting projects including the Hywind 2.3 MW demo and a 3.6 MW Siemens Gamesa turbine as part of the TetraSpar platform. Last year the center received approval to expand its test area with up to four new test sites. The three new agreements call for the demonstration of floaters of 15 MW or greater capacity turbines. Detailers were not released because the next test projects are still competing for funding from Norway’s ENOVA a state-sponsored initiative to advance renewable energy projects.

“This is very good news for innovation in floating offshore wind,” said Arvid Nesse, head of METCentre and Norwegian Wind Offshore, a trade group to support the development of the wind supply chain. “We are the only place in the world ready with permits to test projects of this capacity. If we are to get floating wind offshore started in Norway without further delays, it must begin at METCentre.”

Nesse highlights that the goal is to gain important knowledge from both the construction and operation of these large-scale wind turbines. They believe this will help the industry to realize important cost savings and also help Norway to develop leadership in the sector.

They also highlight that the test location is close to the Utsira Nord area, which the Norwegian government has designated as one of the country’s first offshore wind sites. Norway completed an auction for a fixed-bottom location but delayed the tender for Utsira Nord to 2025. Details are expected to be announced shortly for the tender.

The Norwegian government in its 2025 budget plans to provide $3.3 billion in subsidies in a scheme to help support the development of floating wind technology. Floating wind is expected to play a critical role in the government’s target to allocate 30 GW of offshore wind power production by 2040.

Partnership to Design Next-Generation SOV for Floating Offshore Wind Ops

offshore wind SOV — Project seeks to tailor the SOV design to the challenges of floating offshore wind projects (North Star)

A new industry collaboration is being launched by North Star, Vard, and others to solve the challenge of delivering high-performance operations and maintenance ships tailored for floating offshore wind farms. They look to leverage the collective expertise to develop a new generation of vessels better suited to the future of offshore wind operations.

According to the partners, as offshore wind moves into deeper waters with floating wind turbines located far from shore, the sector faces significant logistical and operational challenges that must be addressed efficiently and cost-effectively. While the industry has demonstrated the ability to safely complete transfers from traditional SOVs to floating wind platforms, they believe there is room for improvement in transfers where both the vessel and platform are dynamic and in motion.

North Star has signed a memorandum of understanding with MO4, Principle Power, SMST, VARD, and Voith Group, to establish a dedicated working group of industry experts to help fast-track the design and testing of a new SOV concept. Together, the six organizations have committed to developing a detailed, high-performance ship design to meet the needs of commercial-scale projects, such as the 17GW of floating projects awarded in the ScotWind leasing round.

“Floating offshore wind presents both challenges and opportunities, and through this collaboration, we can innovate, and design a solution specifically tailored for GW-scale projects,” said Andrew Duncan, North Star’s renewables & innovations director. “Our goal is to create an innovative, best-in-class ship design that supports the rapid expansion of floating wind technology. By pushing the boundaries of what's possible, we can ensure that our future SOVs deliver the highest levels of safety, efficiency, and operational flexibility, ultimately paving the way for a more sustainable energy future.”

They believe there exists an opportunity to optimize the transfer operations by developing SOVs that will operate under a long-term contract that specifically addresses the local challenges and the requirements of floating wind project operators. The collaboration seeks to capitalize on this opportunity by delivering an SOV design that sets a new industry benchmark for safety, performance, and efficiency.

North Star which provides support services for the UK’s offshore wind and oil and gas markets will be joined by VARD, a major global designer and specialized vessel shipbuilder which is a leader in SOVs, and Principle Power, which has been developing offshore wind platforms for 15 years. They will add emerging technology by involving Digital twin and AI decision support software firm MO4 as well as Voith Group, which will contribute propulsion options, and offshore equipment design and build specialist SMST.

“The detailed ship design will be put to the test through rigorous workability assessments, ensuring that it meets the highest standards of performance, safety, and efficiency before being implemented in future floating wind projects,” said Duncan.

Fire Aboard South African Fishing Vessel Forces Crew to Abandon Ship

**The crew of the Ludwani rescue survivors from the fire aboard Armana (SAMSA)**

The South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) has confirmed that an aging fishing vessel had a serious shipboard fire off Gansbaai on Sunday, forcing the crew to abandon ship.

In the early hours of Sunday morning, the 62-year-old fishing vessel Armana sustained a fire at a position about 60 nautical miles off Gansbaai, a town southeast of Cape Town. The crew initially believed that the vessel was sinking, and they successfully abandoned ship to escape the fire. All 20 crewmembers survived and were rescued by another vessel in the same operator's fleet, the fishing vessel Ludwani. The Good Samaritan vessel is on schedule to arrive at the pier at about 2000 hours local time and will be met at the dock by the authorities.

The Armana remained afloat, and it is currently adrift and on fire at about the same position. A third vessel from the same fleet, Harvest Saldanha, remains on scene to monitor the disabled Armana; the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) has instructed owner Viking Fishing Company (a subsidiary of Sea Harvest) to arrange for a salvor and tow the vessel to an appropriate place of refuge.

Another vessel in the same operator's fleet, the 63-year-old trawler Lepanto, sank with the loss of 11 lives in May 2024. The Armana - now abandoned and adrift herself - found and rescued the nine survivors of Lepanto's sinking.

Call for safety review

Immediately after the fire, Minister of Transport Barbara Creecy instructed SAMSA to conduct an urgent safety inspection of all commercial fishing vessels operating in South African waters.

"This year alone, we have witnessed no fewer than five significant incidents, tragically resulting in the loss of 18 lives," said Minister Creecy. "SAMSA has . . . been instructed to develop a fishing vessel safety improvement plan aimed at preventing future incidents and ensuring that vessels operating in our waters meet the highest safety standards. The safety of maritime workers is a matter of national priority."

Canadian Coast Guard Contracts to Remove Oil from Long-Forgotten WWII Wreck

WII era shipwreck — **In the 1920s the undistinguished little cargo ship sailed as Ace (courtesy of Ocean Ecology)**

As part of its efforts to protect Canada's oceans and waterways, the Canadian Government is bringing back to life the story of a long-forgotten wreck from the World War II era which continues to haunt the Inside Passage between Canada and Alaska. The Canadian Coast Guard reported on October 10 that it has awarded a C$4.9 million (US$3.6 million) contract to Resolve Marine to remove oil from historic shipwreck USAT Brigadier General M.G. Zalinski.

It is an interesting tale shedding light on the forgotten past. The vessel was built in 1919 in Ohio known as Lake Frohna for operation as a Laker on the Great Lakes. She measured 251 feet (77 meters) and approximately 3,500 gross tons. Her career was undistinguished operating in the 1920s as Ace and finally in 1941 being acquired by the U.S. Government.

Renamed Brigadier General M. G. Zalinski no records survive of a distinguished war career. What is known is she set off in September 1946 on a resupply mission from Seattle to Whitter, Alaska. She had a crew of 48 aboard and was loaded with 700 tons of Bunker C fuel oil, gasoline, bombs, grenades, and small arms.

Heading north on the Inside Passage she encountered a strong rainstorm and initially anchored. Later heading north she approached the Grenville Channel, an area known for a very strong current, tides, and weather patterns. At 0300 on September 29 she grounded and with a gash in her hull began taking on water. The crew along with an Irish Setter dog made their way into two lifeboats and were rescued by a commercial fishing boat while the cargo ship slipped below the water with all assuming it was the end of her story.

In September 2003, 57 years after she sank, however, USCG cutter Maple sailing in the Grenville Channel spotted an oil slick and began to investigate. The Canadians surveyed the site and in October to everyone’s surprise they found the USAT Brigadier General M.G. Zalinski. Instead of having sunk to the depths she was sitting upside down on a rock ledge just 112 feet below the surface. (Her full story is recounted in a 2019 article in Haikai Magazine and by Ocean Ecology which is following the efforts.)

As she continued to leak, a dive was mounted to the vessel in 2013 to remove the oil. Porter Marine Salvage details the 2013 operation including its surprise to find the ship was home to a two-and-a-half-meter Giant Pacific Octopus. They removed what was accessible, but reports are that a later survey said as much as 27,000 liters is likely still aboard.

The Canadian Coast Guard believes that the ship’s structure has continued to deteriorate, causing previously inaccessible fuel tanks to collapse. They report currently only a minimal amount of oil is “upwelling” from the wreck but it has been decided to proceed to clean the wreck to prevent long-term damage. They said the new state of deterioration poses a significant risk for the release of a large amount of oil.

Resolve Marine will use a process called "hot tapping" to reduce the volume of fuel in the tanks. First, drainage valves are attached to the hull, then a hose will be connected to the valves and the fuel will be pumped out into holding tanks on a barge. The hot-tap method has been used successfully on shipwrecks for many years, including during the Canadian Coast Guard's response to the historic Nootka Sound shipwreck, the MV Schiedyk, in 2021.

Work is scheduled to begin in mid-October and is expected to take several weeks. Given the nature of the operation, the Canadian Coast Guard reports there is a small risk of a release of oil while draining. It will have personnel on-site and ready to respond if needed.

How creativity and community is helping to tackle poverty in Scotland

Paul Sullivan
Sun 13 October 2024

Kids take part in Big Noise (Image: jeffholmes)

As we approach the end of Challenge Poverty Week, Sistema Scotland’s Director for Children, Young People & Communities Paul Sullivan explains how creativity and community are helping to overcome the impacts of poverty throughout Scotland.

This week has seen people and organisations across Scotland come together to shine a light on poverty and what we can do to tackle it and its impacts.

Arranged by the Poverty Alliance charity, Challenge Poverty Week inspires communities every year to work together, support each other and find new solutions.

However, while we have made huge strides in tackling poverty, there remain true and enduring poverty in communities across Scotland.
Places like Govanhill, in Glasgow, which despite being a fantastic, vibrant community in so many ways, was still recently highlighted as one of the most deprived places in the whole of the UK, and where more than 88% of all children under the age of 15 are living in poverty.

Sistema Scotland is one organisation that is working in the area – and five other places targeted as having the highest need – to help people overcome the significant impacts of growing up in poverty and make a long-term difference for children, families and communities.
We use the power of creativity and community to change lives and transform parts of Scotland that had, for a long time, been excluded.

The impact we are having is palpable. That isn’t down to any magic on our part, but instead the logical impact of an immersive and long-term approach to investing in communities.

Big Noise, our music education and transformational social change programme is intensive, place-based, and embedded in communities facing significant challenges: Govanhill in Glasgow, Wester Hailes in Edinburgh, Torry in Aberdeen, Douglas in Dundee and Raploch and Fallin in Stirling. We provide free music lessons – and wraparound support – to children and young people, working with them on a daily basis to boost their confidence and attainment.

Participants in Big Noise (Image: jeffholmes)

We provide free food and make sure they are safe and nurtured so families can access work and training.
It is a simple idea but one that has had life changing impacts over the past 16 years for the young people and the wider community.

Music itself as a tool for social change within communities. Throughout history, the process of creating and making music together helps us to forge identity, aspiration and human connection. But Big Noise is about more than music.

In Raploch and Govanhill, we are now watching the children who took their first steps with us as primary school pupils grow up and leave school.

What they are going on to achieve is wonderful. They are going to university, to college and into work with confidence and a sense of purpose.

One participant, now 18, is at college and has her sights set on becoming a radiographer. She has performed at countless concerts and has travelled to India to perform.
Yes, the music education element is important – but it is the social change that really matters.

Anna told us she has had opportunities she never would have had, and it changed her life. Doors that might have been closed without being part of Big Noise are very much open. She told us that the nurturing, regular support gave her foundation of self-belief that she carries with her in everything she does.

Poverty is more than simply not having enough money to make ends meet – although that is obviously a big part of it. Poverty is compound and multi-faceted – and its impact can be lifelong. One of the main problems that poverty brings with it is uncertainty. That’s why we aim to be a consistent, supportive presence. We know that it takes flexibility and individual approaches to support families experiencing that instability. We have a flexible and tailored approach for families who require further support for any reason. One family in Govanhill, for example, are new to Scotland. They have achieved wonderful things as part of Big Noise and are both performing music at a really high level now.

Their mother told us how Big Noise helped them settle into the community, make friends and move forward. She has completed a degree, and her children are bubbly and outgoing – far from the shy children they were when they started.

Many of the families we work with might experience stigma, and so it is important that we are always working alongside each other. Music is such a perfect leveller in that respect; showing that anyone can achieve excellence when systemic and cultural barriers are removed.

Music is our tool to supporting wider social change, but there are many elements that help make that change possible.

Participants in Big Noise (Image: Stewart Attwood)

The first is the direct involvement of those communities. Challenge Poverty Week is right to reflect on the importance of volunteers. Our Big Noise programmes are only made possible through the support of a dedicated team of local volunteers, who give up their time to provide to fantastic experiences for young people. We are fortunate to benefit from a number of committed local volunteers – some of whom have been involved with Big Noise for more than ten years– as well as welcome young musicians, many of whom have progressed into joining our staff teams. Volunteer opportunities also open pathways to work, giving people skills and experience to take a step on the career ladder, or get back to work after having children.

The transition from school has been rightly identified as a key moment for young people, we create clear pathways to help young people navigate this tricky time. As well as help with university and college applications, we also provide bespoke career pathways to help our young people onto a bright future – no matter what they want to do. We have set up Modern Apprenticeships at our centres, where older school leavers can get on the job training, and summer internships, helping young people get workplace skills and experience. The immersive and long-term nature of the programmes makes being able to provide those pathway opportunities possible.

Providing whole family support is also another core element of what we do. At Big Noise, we also run holiday clubs across each of our six centres. This summer, 463 children and young people took part in the camps. Alongside music lessons, we served up 4,500 free healthy meals and snacks and ran a wide range of activities to give children and young people a safe and social space, enabling parents to work or study over the holidays. Parents tell us this support is a lifeline during the school holidays, where they need support to keep working to support their families.

Poverty cannot be tackled in isolation. While we look to do everything we can within our power to support families, we know it takes close partnership between third sector agencies, schools, social work and other statutory services in order to provide the right supports for people at risk of poverty.

All communities deserve opportunities to be creative, and we see every day the impact of our programmes. This Challenge Poverty Week, we can celebrate the impact of community-based work – and ask that the crucial role of long-term and immersive community work is recognised and supported on a national scale.

The politics of masculinity

13/10/2024

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The web's premier resource for political betting.

I read a truly awful book the other day. JJ Bola’s (apologies if you’re a reader of PB) Mask Off: Masculinity Redefined can be perfectly summed up by a translation of its German title: Don’t be a man: Why masculinity is a nightmare for boys. The idea that the solution to toxic masculinity is to implore boys not to be men is, to put it mildly, self-defeating.

I’m not trying to deny that we have a problem with masculinity. Feminists have rightly been shining a light on power imbalances in relationships, the workplace and elsewhere for decades. And more recently we have been seeing a surge in men (particularly young men) in the USA saying they will vote for Trump and not Harris. There are similar polling imbalances in Canada, South Korea, Germany and UK* (in the UK this effect is less pronounced in actual voting patterns, although Reform attracted the votes of 17% of men and only 12% of women).

Why this surge in what I would characterise as a protest vote amongst men? According to CNN:

“In a striking new Pew Research Center national survey, for instance, fully two-fifths of the men younger than 50 who are supporting Trump agreed that women’s gains in society have come at the expense of men.”

Whatever the rights and wrongs of this view, add in the rise in incel culture in the UK and the popularity of Andrew Tate amongst teenagers and it seems clear that this is an issue that has the potential to skew our politics in unhealthy ways, not least the very real chance of a second Trump term next month.

So what’s the solution?

With further apologies to JJ Bola, were I sufficiently well connected to attract the attention of a publishing house I’d write a book called: Be a man: Why masculinity is an opportunity for boys. If there are any publishers reading, it’d be great; it’d go something like this:Whilst it is undoubtedly true that, structurally and in many cases individually, men have used power for both sexist and misogynist ends on a rampant scale, there are many, many men who currently have little power and as with any group, express legitimate resentment that they are being lumped in with those who have benefited from those structural inequalities.
The vulnerabilities of these men caught on the wrong side of the much needed and incomplete rebalancing of society leave them at risk of radicalisation by hate figures such as Trump, Tate or online communities such as incels.
To protect against this, we need to offer a more positive model of masculinity. I’d offer the following as a start (adapted from here, here and here):Be bold but adaptable: don’t be afraid to show your masculinity; be bold in your words and actions but if a woman calls out something you do or say as sexist or misogynist, don’t get defensive, take them seriously, thank them and reflect genuinely on whether you need to adapt your behaviour. Call out sexism, misogyny, homophobia or transphobia yourself when you see it and be prepared to put in the effort to educate someone without cancelling them.
Swap emotional independence for emotional openness: young men often report feeling societal pressure to hide feelings of sadness or anxiety, with obvious effects on their mental health, for which they are then reluctant to get treatment. A better approach is to learn to recognise your emotions, share those emotions with those you trust and build up the self-control to manage them without lashing out (or voting Trump).
Be present if you’re a father: the drive towards equal pay and opportunities in the work place offers men a quid pro quo – more equal opportunities in parenting. Kids need fathers that are emotionally and physically present, not distant. And being so offers rewards in your relationships with the kids’ mother or other parent as well as the kids themselves.

What are the politics of this?

In the present moment, I fear we may have brewed a toxic cocktail that could tip the balance in favour of Trump next month. It is bizarre that the orange man-child might be any sort of role model among young men; contrasting the popularity of his petulance with Obama’s confident masculinity neatly encapsulates the cul-de-sac we have driven into on this issue.

(A betting market I’d like to see is Trump winning the popular vote amongst men but Harris doing so amongst women.)

Longer term, reinvigorating masculinity would have significant positive mental health effects, stem the rise of the impotent rage that manifested in the summer riots, and blunt the seductive appeal of figures such as Tate. As a teacher I can see that a model of masculinity for teenagers to aspire to is badly needed and would be welcomed by (most) boys trying to work out how to navigate a changed society.

Max H

*Thanks to stodge and Foxy on a recent thread for some of these links.
Betting

Microsoft chief executive to chair UK Government’s industrial strategy council

13 Oct 2024

NATION CYMRU

Microsoft CEO Clare Barclay. Photo by HM Treasury is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

The chief executive of Microsoft UK will chair a new body to advise the UK Government on its industrial strategy.

Clare Barclay will head up the industrial strategy advisory council, which will act as an interim advisory body until legislation is passed to put it on a statutory footing.

The first meeting and full membership is expected to be announced in the coming weeks.

Ms Barclay said: “As chair of the industrial strategy advisory council, I will ensure the council provides a clear and strong voice on behalf of business, nations, regions and trade unions as we invest for the future to ensure that our prosperity is underpinned by robust growth in key sectors right across the country.

“Whilst we fully embrace the industries of today, we must also have a clear plan for future growth and the advisory council will play a central role in shaping and delivering this plan.”

Green Paper

On Monday, the Business Secretary and Chancellor will publish a green paper, which businesses across the country will be invited to respond to to inform the strategy, which aims to “create a pro-business environment”.

That will come on the same day as a high-profile investment summit which will be used by the Government as a chance to champion firms who have already committed billions of pounds to the UK and attempt to woo others who are considering new deals.

The industrial strategy will focus on eight areas: advanced manufacturing, clean energy industries, creative industries, defence, digital and technologies, financial services, life sciences, and professional and business services.

Taskforce

The Government will also launch a supply chains taskforce to assess where supply chains critical to the UK’s economic security and resilience could be vulnerable to disruption.

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said: “Our modern industrial strategy will hardwire stability for investors and give them the confidence to plan not just for the next year, but for the next 10 years and beyond.

“This is the next step in our pro-worker, pro-business plan which will see investors and workers alike get the security and stability they need to succeed.

“Clare’s wealth of talent and experience will help ensure the industrial strategy delivers its mission of unleashing the potential of high productivity sectors to spur growth, spread wealth and drive up employment across the UK.”

Chancellor Rachel Reeves said: “I have never been more optimistic about our country’s potential. We have some of the brightest minds and greatest businesses in the world. From the creative industries and life sciences to advanced manufacturing and financial services.

“This Government is determined to deliver on Britain’s potential so we can rebuild Britain and make every part of the country better off.”

The chief executives of Make UK and WPP as well as the chairman of Airbus welcomed the industrial strategy.

‘Stability’

Rain Newton-Smith, chief executive of the CBI, said: “A modern, long-term industrial strategy can provide firms with the stability and certainty to unlock the innovation and investment needed to grow the economy.

“Given the size of the UK economy, a successful industrial strategy cannot seek to be everything to everyone. By focusing on eight highly productive sectors, the Government is identifying where the UK can compete to win on the global stage.

“But with businesses of all sizes and sectors vital to the Government’s growth ambitions, the industrial strategy must also be the vehicle for creating a thriving investment environment for the wider business community.”

George Dibb, head of the IPPR’s centre for economic justice, said the planned announcements are an “important first step to securing long-term, green growth for the UK economy”.

He said: “Seizing the green growth opportunities of the future requires a strategic role for the state, actively shaping markets and working in partnership with businesses.

“Adopting a clear-sighted industrial strategy is all the more important as the USA and EU have outflanked the UK in developing their own strategies to deliver green growth.”

UK

Ministers set to axe hereditary peers 'by Easter' with Labour poised to force through bill

13 October 2024, 08:23

Ministers set to axe hereditary peers 'by Easter' as Labour forces through bill. Picture: Alamy

By Danielle de Wolfe

@dannidewolfe

Ministers are set to abolish hereditary peers in the House of Lords "by Easter" it's been revealed

MPs will vote this week on the government’s plans to abolish 92 hereditary peers who current reside in the House of Lords.

The legislation will reportedly be forced through even if members block the proposals, The Times revealed on Sunday.

The "cleaning up" of the peerage system forms part of a key manifesto pledge by Labour, who vowed to reform the way in which the House of Lords operates.

The House of Lord's Chamber Palace of Westminster in London before the State Opening of Parliament, Tuesday May 11, 2021. (Chris Jackson/Pool via AP). Picture: Alamy

Hereditary peerages - held by individuals who inherit their titles through their families - have faced widespread criticism in recent months.

The peerage system as a whole came under intense scrutiny under the Tory government, after a number of peers - including Scottish life peer Michelle Mone - found themselves caught up in scandals linked to PPE contracts during Covid.

It comes within weeks of Labour Chancellor Rachel Reeves announcing an investigations into £600m worth of Covid contracts handed out by the Tory government.

According to The Times, the clean-up could see hereditary peers being removed from the Lords by Easter.

The move by Labour represents the biggest shake-up of parliamentary rules in nearly a quarter of a century.

The key roles of peers, who sit within the House of Lords, centre around law making and governance.

According to reports, the forcing through of the legislation will finish reforms first introduced by the last Labour government.

Baroness Michelle Mone ahead of the State Opening of Parliament by Queen Elizabeth II. Lady Mone has admitted she did not tell the truth about her links to PPE firm Medpro, Sunday December 17, 2023. Picture: Alamy

In 1999 the party revoked the 700-year-old right of all hereditary peers to sit in the Lords.

This shake-up left just 92 hereditary peers in the House - a move that acted as an olive branch to the Conservatives.

The House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) bill is expected to pass through its second reading on Tuesday.

It comes as Lord Strathclyde, a Conservative peer and former leader of the Lords - who is one of the 92 set to be booted out of the Lords - condemned the move by Labour as a “high-handed, shoddy political act”.

The controversial book the government never wanted to see the light of day

Josh Milton

Published Oct 13, 2024

METRO UK

From state secrets to accusations of underhandedness, Spycatcher didn’t exactly give MI5 the best rep (Picture: PA/Getty)

A book by a retired British counter-intelligence agent on how he helped unmask a Soviet mole in MI5 sounds like an instant best-seller.

Well, it was in the US at least. Spycatcher, published in 1987, had been banned from being sold in the UK after legal action by the British government.

Courts even blocked newspapers from covering the memoirs, contending that its author, Peter Wright, violated the Official Secrets Act.

Magaret Thatcher, the then-prime minster, had been especially desperate to stop people from reading Spycatcher.

‘I am utterly shattered by the revelations in the book. The consequences of publication would be enormous,’ Thatcher scrawled on a briefing note, as unclassified files would later reveal.

But 36 years ago, the UK government lost a major legal battle that paved the way for Wright’s book to finally be read by millions of Britons.

Margaret Thatcher read the unpublished manuscript of Spycatcher in 1986 (Picture: AFP or licensors)

Spycatcher was, it’s safe to say, controversial.

Wright had served in MI5, the UK spy agency, for more than two decades before he retired in 1978 and moved to Australia.

His memoirs accused MI5 officials of all kinds of skulduggery; plotting against fellow spies, defaming the former prime minister Harold Wilson and top agents being communists.

All claims were largely discredited by the government but, at the time, fuelled speculation and criticism about MI5’s activity. After all, the government had long denied M15 even existed, despite the agency being founded in 1909.

The government did not want the book as anyone’s summer holiday read. Ministers succeded in blocking Spycatcher’s publication in the UK (though technically not in Scotland, as it has a separate legal system) in 1985.

Newspapers were handed gag orders – violating them would see journalists tired for contempt of court. Libraries were told stocking Spycatcher would similarly land them in legal hot water.

Wartime powers were employed to stop people from effectively smuggling the book into the UK. Trade and industry secretary Lord Young of Graffham warned the government that: ‘The use of these powers in the Spycatcher case could well be challenged.

Peter Wright (left) and Malcolm Turnbull at the launch event of Spycatcher in 1988 (Picture: Fairfax Media Archive)

‘I am also advised that, even if the book were banned, it would not in practice be possible to catch all copies of the book brought in from the United States either by mail or by individual travellers.’

Indeed, there was no trouble flogging the book across the pond given the First Amendment right to free speech; Spycatcher had sold 400,000 copies by late 1987.

And the government’s woes weren’t over yet. Officials took Wright to court in a bid to prevent his book from being sold in Australia only to be struck down – Downing Street then took its appeal to Australia’s highest court.

As Spycatcher was sold in Scotland, and Scottish papers were able to ‘substantially’ cover the UK’s legal proceedings in Australia, Thatcher’s private secretary Nigel Wicks worried how this situation looked to outsiders.

‘There is therefore much talk in the press about one law for the English, another for the Scots etc,’ Wicks said in a released document.

House of Commons Speaker Bernard Weatherill faced pressure from Solicitor General Sir Nicholas Lyell to ban MPs from discussing the contents of the Spycatcher.

Spycatcher had been banned in the UK, but a loophole meant it could be sold in Scotland (Picture: PA)

‘The speaker expressed concern about the “credibility” of his position given that “practically everyone he met” had already read the book,’ Sir Nicholas said.

‘I replied that most people in the country had not read the book and that every newspaper, bookshop and library was at risk of contempt proceedings if they published extracts, quoted from, or sold or stocked the book.’

In the end, however, in 1987, the government lost its desperate fight to prevent Spycatcher from being sold in Australia.

On October 13, 1988, Law Lords, who carried out the judicial functions of the House of Lords, at first seemingly handed the government a win when ruling over whether or not ministers could bar the press from reporting on Spycatcher.

Judges ruled that Wright’s text constituted a serious breach of confidentiality, given he wrote about the comings and goings of the nation’s secret service.

They condemned the author as a traitor but found the government violated freedom of speech because of gagging orders against the Observer and the Guardian.

They said that the press could publish extracts from Spycatcher – the damage to MI5’s reputation was already done as Spycatcher was freely available abroad.

Wright died in 1995 (Picture: Fairfax Media Archive)

‘At long last our democratic system has reached the obvious conclusion that these were genuine matters of public importance that the public should be allowed to know about,’ said Donald Trelford, the editor of The Observer, outside court.

A secret note slipped to Tory MPs only a month after the ruling said that the Security Service Act, which for the first time saw the government MI15 existed, was introduced to ‘bolster public confidence and support’ in the secret intelligence agency.

Part of the ruling, however, barred Wright from cashing in royalties from sales of the book in the UK.

Yet the writer died a millionaire aged 78 on April 26, 1995, thanks to international sales of Spycatcher.

‘No British intelligence officer other than Kim Philby caused more mayhem within Britain’s secret services and more trouble for British politicians,’ an obituary in The Independent newspaper wrote, ‘than Peter Wright.’

How a Harris win in US election could depend on Democrats in London

Ben Quinn
Sun 13 October 2024

THE GUARDIAN

Matt Klaber with Tim Walz on the morning after his speech to the party's convention in Chicago on 22 August. Klaber, now in London, is a campaigner for the Democrats.Photograph: Matt Klaber

On a chilly afternoon in central London, the battle for the US presidential election is being waged with no less fervour than if the campaigners were on the other side of the Atlantic.

Surrounded by posters for the Democratic ticket of Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, volunteers at an office organised by Democrats Abroad have been hitting the phones, calling Americans living abroad, including wavering Republicans, to urge them to register to vote.

The event was just one that took place on a Day of Action at locations around the UK, estimated to be home to as many as 200,000 Americans.

By evening, the London activists had a surprise visit from Nancy Pelosi, former speaker of the House of Representatives, who had originally been billed to join a zoom rally which was joined by other chapters based in locations ranging from Scotland to English university cities.

“Many of us have been living abroad for years, even decades, but we care deeply about what’s at stake back home and we also want it to be a place that we still recognise when we return, whether that’s a country where democracy has been preserved or even one that is still safe when it comes to the rights of women, our sisters and our daughters,” said Kristin Wolfe, Chair of Democrats Abroad UK and a resident in London since 2007.

The potential role of overseas Americans voters – who do not appear in national polls – should not be underestimated. In 2020 their votes made all the difference when it came to delivering the key swing states of Arizona and Georgia to Joe Biden.

With the race so tight and the stakes this high – Wolfe’s voice cracks as she insists that US democracy is imperilled in a way not seen since the American civil war – Harris supporters in the UK have raised their game.

At bus shelters in parts of London with higher concentrations of Americans you’ll find adverts placed strategically by the group. For the first time too, digital advertising aimed at the community is being deployed on Google.

There are also efforts to reach out and encourage voter registration face to face, such as at freshers’ fairs in Oxford. On other recent weekend afternoons, activists set up open-air tables in Hyde Park and at Marylebone Farmer’s Market in London to catch any passing Americans.

Among curious passersby who stopped at the market table was the British pop star, Harry Styles, although the singer is not known to have a US passport.

That said, Democrats in the UK have suddenly found a local celebrity of their own in the form of Matt Klaber, who was a student at the high school where Tim Walz once taught and who recently spoke in London at a “re-watch” of the vice-presidential debate.

Klaber – a London-based software engineer and Democratic activist – also played a role in Walz’s own political “origin story” when he took students to see a George W Bush campaign rally in 2004, only for some of them to be turned away by organisers who believed they were Democrats. The experience led Walz to seek public office.

One of those students was Klaber, who insists that Walz’s wholesome public persona is exactly true to the one he and others have long known in person.

“My earliest recollection of Tim is of being in the school library and seeing him rush out with his jacket and briefcase because he was being activated as a national guardsman who was going to help lead the response to some flooding,” he says.

“The whole campaign metaphor of being a coach might have been a bit foreign to me as I wasn’t necessarily into sports, but actually they’ve nailed it. He is everybody’s coach, whether it’s what he was doing when he was a teacher, what he did in 2004 when there was the incident at the rally, or what he’s doing now by stepping up.”

Efforts by Democrats Abroad UK to mobilise US voters in the UK and elsewhere are taking on a new urgency as registration deadlines loom for states including Wisconsin (16 October) and Pennsylvania (21 October).

So too are efforts to counter misinformation in the form of misleading claims by Donald Trump that Democrats were somehow preparing to “cheat” and that ballots were being sent overseas without proper checks.

“That’s just so blatantly false because the truth is that processes of the most rigorous kind are in place,” said Wolfe, who accuses Trump of seeking to intentionally confuse and mislead because he is concerned about the potential impact of overseas voters.

‘Keirmala – Could a US election win for Harris yield a new special relationship?’

Ed Owen

13th October, 2024

Kamala Harris. Photo: Sir. David / Shutterstock.com

If the current polls are right and the swing states break to the Democrats, Keir Starmer will be calling Kamala Harris on the morning of November 6 to congratulate her as the 47th President of the United States.

Such a scenario – and one that few dare to predict at this stage – raises the intriguing prospect of two newly elected progressive leaders, one in the White House and the other in Downing Street, together in power for at least four years or more.

The implications, both for the transatlantic relationship and for wider, global economic and security issues the two countries face, are potentially significant. Many are speculating it could herald the beginning of a deeper engagement between Democrats and Labour as in the 1990s driven by Bill Clinton and Tony Blair’s shared commitment to “Third Way” politics.

Special relationship, personal relationship

As was the case three decades ago, the nature of the personal relationship between the two leaders will be crucial. Yet, oddly, given the roles Harris and Starmer have held for the last four years, the two have still to meet in person.

As leader of the opposition from 2020, Starmer, did not visit the US at all, and his three trips since the UK election in July have not included a meeting with the Democrat candidate – even though he dined with her Republican rival, Donald Trump, when in New York last month. As Vice President, Harris has only touched down in the UK once, almost a year ago, for Rishi Sunak’s AI summit.

So, if the stars align next month, the prospective President and newly installed Prime Minister will need to get know each from scratch. They will, however, have lots to talk about, not least their shared backgrounds as distinguished public prosecutors and political late developers.

Born within two years of each other in the first half of the 1960s, both graduated in law in their early 20s. Harris spent 12 years as an elected prosecutor, first as District Attorney of San Francisco and then as California’s Attorney General, while Starmer served as head of the Crown Prosecution Service for England and Wales between 2008 and 2013 after two decades as a renowned human rights barrister.

Both then transitioned into national politics in their 50s, a relatively late age in the UK and US. Starmer was elected as an MP for his home seat of Holborn and St Pancras in London in 2015, while Harris entered the US Senate to represent her home state of California a year-and-a-half later.

Finding common ground

This shared professional experience has had a profound impact on both, shaping two political leaders who possess remarkably similarly motivations, outlooks and leadership styles. It tells us much about their strengths, and their shortcomings too.

“Kamala Harris is by nature and instinct a lawyer and prosecutor,” says Jamal Simmons, who served as her communications director in 2022. “She’s driven by facts and the evidence, and interested in understanding what practical steps are needed to make change.”

It is an approach shared by Starmer, according to his former chief of staff, Sam White.

“Keir’s a pragmatic, evidence-led politician focused on outcomes,” says White, who worked for the Labour leader while Simmons was in the White House. “He’s analytical and cerebral rather than someone led by his gut.”

But is this deliberative, even judicious, style suited to a fast-moving political environment that often requires politicians to lead by instinct?

“That’s not the Vice President’s natural state but she’s an incredible learner who listens to advice. She has brought in excellent people from more traditional political backgrounds to advise and support her,” says Simmons.

Starmer is a “good learner” too, says White, but is suspicious of woolly, ill-defined political visions divorced from people’s lives. His five missions were his attempt to bridge the gap.

Yet, as Simmons acknowledges, “many people like to dream and to shoot for a big goal” and political leaders do need to be able to articulate that and to use it to effect change. Certainly, Harris has shown over the last three months she can move the needle in that direction when she needs to.

Without question, Harris and Starmer are bound, too, by a deep commitment to public service born from a deep-seated desire to improve the lives of people without a voice or power. So, while they are unlikely to spend much time exchanging airy notions of political ideology, they will be keen to share experiences and collaborate for shared benefit.

Close collaboration

The Harris campaign has already taken advice from some of the key figures behind Starmer’s election victory in July, and the Prime Minister’s new chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, was one of a clutch of senior Labour advisers at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August.

On foreign policy issues, too, there will be clear alignment. Harris has been resolute in her support for Ukraine and has pledged her steadfast loyalty to NATO and the US’s wider multilateral commitments.

There is also the real potential for new areas of areas of collaboration to open up between the UK and US on trade, clean energy transition and artificial intelligence. A Harris Presidency will be supportive of UK seeking to build a closer relationship with the EU too.

Of course, similarities in political leanings and personality are not sufficient in themselves to outweigh big strategic national interests, particularly those of the US. The long-term American shift in focus from Europe to the Indo-Pacific will continue, and an intensified competition with China will remain a challenging issue for the UK and Europe.

Even so, as well as the overwhelming sense of relief that would mark the avoidance of a Trump White House, the morning of the 6th November could be the start of something important. It will not necessarily be spectacular or extravagant because that’s not the style of either leader.

But a new “special relationship” between Harris and Starmer could provide a powerful boost to democratic politics across the West and help deliver real impact at home and abroad.

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment