Politics
First ever Sellafield firefighters’ strike to go ahead after talks fail
GMB members are angry enough to have given a mandate for the earliest possible strike date The first ever Sellafield Firefighters’ strike will go ahead this month after talks between GMB, the union for nuclear workers, and Sellafield Ltd broke down. Discussions lasted just 30 minutes – including two adjournments. GMB members are so angry they have given a mandate for the earliest possible strike date later this month. The Sellafield Strike Committee will decide tomorrow the date for the...
Watch – Chilcot said he doesn’t believe Tony Blair was “straight with the nation” over Iraq war
The Iraq war and the fall-out afterwards has left a dark stain on Blair's time as PM. His legacy will forever be tainted by the war and the reasons for it. Now the man who led the investigation into the war has broken his silence. Sir John Chilcot has said he doesn't think Tony Blair was “straight with the nation” about his decisions in the run-up to the Iraq war. The chairman of the public inquiry into the 2003 conflict...
Women shout “shame on you” as Tory minister says they should get apprenticeships when they lose pension
Tory Minister Guy Opperman was heckled today as the Tory party faced yet more splits - this time over robbing women in the 60s of their state pension. In a rowdy debate in Westminster Hall, MPs from all parties rounded on the government for leaving millions of women born in the 1950s without a state pension after laws to equalise the state pension age for men and women at the age of 65. This will rise to age 66 by...
Austerity-hit Britain can’t even fund jobs in Jobcentres as closures announced
Britain has become so strangled by government-driven cuts that it can't even fund jobs in Jobcentres. According to the Department for Work and Pensions 750 people are to be put out of work as Jobcentres across UK close in a big shake-up. A total of 68 smaller jobcentres will be merged with larger ones, and 40 others will be moved within local government buildings under efficiency savings. Four will be closed entirely. That means that The Jobcentre staff who help people look for...
Almost 2.5 million children hit by cruel public sector pay cap, says research
More than one million households with children suffering under ‘cruel’ Government pay pinch Shocking new figures from GMB, the union for public sector workers, show almost 2.5 million children are being hit by the public sector pay cap. Analysis of the latest ONS figures show an estimated 2.4 million children live in 1.4 million households where at least one adult works in the public sector as their main job. The average full time public sector workers in the UK has...
Wildlife campaigners fear Brexit will see record levels of dolphins washed up dead on British beaches
Wildlife campaigners fear that more dolphins will be found washed up dead on British beaches - because of BREXIT. Almost 200 dolphins and porpoises have been found dead on Cornish beaches already this year with the sharpest-ever rise recorded between January and April. Most of the protection for the mammals comes from the EU but once we leave campaigners say even more will die with no replacement legislation currently proposed. A petition urging Fisheries Minister George Eustice to put laws...
Tory MP appears in court for expense fiddling over election battle bus
A Tory MP and his two aides accused of misdeclaring expenses after breaching election campaign spending limits in the 2015 general election will face trial, a court heard today. South Thanet MP Craig Mackinlay, 50, is said to have not properly reported expenses in his local return. Mackinlay, his election agent at the time Nathan Gray, 28, and campaign specialist Marion Little, 62, were all charged under the Representation of the People Act 1983. The charges relate to allegations that...
ANOTHER u-turn! Govt reverses planned cuts to free school meals
The Conservatives make astonishing volte face over threat to deprive kids of school lunches. GMB, the union for school support staff, is celebrating news the Government has performed another massive U-turn – this time on the decision to take away free school meals. The Conservatives prompted outcry in May when they announced plans to take away kids’ school dinners. GMB research showed the move could see up to 17,000 school dinner staff face redundancy. But today during an urgent question...
Vote Leave director says vote to leave could be ‘an error’
The Vote Leave director who created the £350m NHS lie on a bus has admitted leaving the EU could be 'an error'. Mr Cummings’ u-turn came in a late-night Twitter exchange in which he was asked whether anything could happen to “wish Leave had not won the referendum?” In reply, he wrote: “Lots! I said before REF was dumb idea, other things shdve been tried 1st. In some possible branches of the future leaving will be an error.” He also described the...