Paul Browne heard Oleksandra Matviichuk, the Ukrainian winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, address the Cambridge Union: "Perhaps the most chilling aspect of Russia's occupation of Ukraine she described is the tens of thousands of Ukrainian children who have been abducted and sent to Russia for adoption and re-education. This makes Russian President Vladimir Putin, in her words, 'the biggest child kidnapper in the world'." Sian Norris and Sophia Alexandra Hall speak to a whistleblower about the impact on vulnerable young people of the increasing privatisation of foster care: "Andrew (not his real name) told us that, during his time ...
Embed from Getty ImagesA gift bag designed for menopausal women working for Avanti West Coast has been denounced, fairly as far as I can see. as "'demeaning" and an "insulting gimmick" by the rail unions. According to the Guardian: The pack included a fan for hot sweats, a jelly baby sweet "in case you feel like biting someone's head off", a tissue "if you're feeling a bit emotional" and a paperclip "to help you keep it all together". The cards and accompanying small items, including chocolate and teabags and a pencil "to write down things you might forget", were handed ...
Apologies for the fruity language in the heading, but don't blame me, I'm simply referring to the customs and habits of one of global sport's most successful teams – the New Zealand rugby team. It adopted the policy in 2014, it's discussed so frequently it's often shortened to NDH. For professional rugby players, not being ... Continue reading Rochdale preview: A No Dickheads Policy
In the aftermath of 9/11, the global surge in Islamophobia has cast a pervasive shadow over my experiences as a Muslim navigating through these mysterious and confusing times. Growing up during the war on terror years meant that my childhood was far from ordinary. The constant fear, fueled by negative perceptions of my chosen faith, transformed seemingly simple tasks like walking home alone at night into daunting challenges. No child should bear the weight of such fear merely due to their religious beliefs. Witnessing far-right politicians exploit Islamophobia for their gains adds another layer to this complex journey. A striking ...
Last night I brought a group of people together representing local residents and businesses with some people from a wider background especially in the music business from the rest of the city. I want to try and use the fact ... Continue reading →
Today's news that annual profits at British Gas have soared more than tenfold after it tried to recoup costs from the energy crisis, while its parent company announced another £144m payout to shareholders, should come as no surprise to anybody. The big energy companies have been raking in the cash at the expense of poorer customers for a long time now. The question though, is why are the government allowing them to get away with this behaviour when people are struggling to make ends meet and vulnerable pensioners and others are unable to adequately heat their own home? The Guardian ...
There's an intriguing story in Rotten Boroughs in the current Private Eye about two Labour councillors from Brighton, Bharti Gajjar and Chandni Mistry, who have been expelled from the party amid questions about whether they live in the city at all. Both have roots in Leicester. You can find more about the story on The Brighton Seagull: When asking around the local party about councillors Gajjar and Mistry, words like 'mysterious' seem to come up. This rings some alarm bells, as most councillors tend to be active both in their party - having held local officer roles, or been an ...
Today Lord Bonkers has holts and hangers on his mind. Wednesday This modern habit of giving storms names does not appear well advised to me: it Gives Them Ideas. The last one that passed over Rutland did more damage to my woodlands than Mr Gladstone with his dander up. If they ever name one after the first Lady Bonkers, it really will be a signal to batten down the hatches. Lord Bonkers was Liberal MP for Rutland South West, 1906-10. Earlier this week in Lord Bonkers' Diary... The board of Thames Water, Mauricio Pochettino and Nigella LawsonThey could most fairly ...
As well as the two Parliamentary by-elections, we had five principal authority council by-elections too. Four out of five had Lib Dem candidates, which is one up on the last time these wards were up. First up, a cracking result in Hull, extending the run of electoral success that previously saw the Lib Dems take control of the council from Labour: Avenue (Kingston upon Hull) council by-election result: LDEM: 45.7% (+4.3) LAB: 39.7% (-8.4) GRN: 7.6% (+0.0) IND: 5.3% (+5.3) CON: 1.7% (-1.3) Valid votes cast: 2,594 Liberal Democrat GAIN from Labour.https://t.co/YQOPwv2qmV — Britain Elects (@BritainElects) February 16, 2024
We recently received concerns about the functioning of the junction of Blinshall Street and Douglas Street around a minority of drivers failing to give way. We raised this with the City Council's Traffic and Road Safety Team Leader who has responded as follows : "We will have a look at this location as soon as possible. I have had a look at the accident record and we have two slight accidents at this location in the last 5 years. However, both these accidents have occurred in the 2023. I am going to have a look at this as I suspect ...
