Monthly Archives: September 2023

These bombshell new polls are among the worst yet for the Tories

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https://leftfootforward.org/2023/09/these-bombshell-new-polls-are-among-the-worst-yet-for-the-tories/

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and former Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary Grant Shapps.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and former Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary Grant Shapps. Credit: Simon Dawson / 10 Downing Street, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

This would be an unprecedented wipeout

Tory polling woes continue this week. Three new polls have indicated Rishi Sunak’s party are on track to be obliterated at the next general election.

Polling firm Redfield and Wilton has Labour currently sitting on a healthy 18 point lead over the Tories. The company’s latest poll has Labour on 44%, the Tories on 26%, the Lib Dems on 14%, Reform on 6% and the Greens on 6%.

Polling aggregator Stats for Lefties has projected that if this were repeated in a general election, the Tories would be left with just 109 seats. Labour would have a stonking majority, bagging 426 seats.

That would be bad enough for the Tories. But another poll is even more damning. The latest poll from Ipsos gives Labour an even bigger lead of 20 points – with Labour on 44%, the Tories 24%, the Lib Dems 12%, the Greens 8% and Reform 4%.

Projecting what that might look like at the next general election (thanks to Stats for Lefties again) would see the Tories down to double digits of MPs. Labour would end up on 461 seats, with the Tories way behind on 72.

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https://leftfootforward.org/2023/09/these-bombshell-new-polls-are-among-the-worst-yet-for-the-tories/

Continue ReadingThese bombshell new polls are among the worst yet for the Tories

Rishi Sunak considers weakening key green policies

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Madness, Driving in My Car

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-66857551

Rishi Sunak is considering weakening some of the government’s key green commitments in a major policy shift.

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First, the government would push the ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars – currently set to come into force in 2030 – back to 2035. The 2030 date has been government policy since 2020.

Second, the government would significantly weaken the plan to phase out the installation of gas boilers by 2035, saying that they only want 80% to be phased out by that year.

Third, homeowners and landlords would be told that there will be no new energy efficiency regulations on homes. Ministers had been considering imposing fines on landlords who fail to upgrade their properties to a certain level of energy efficiency.

Fourth, the 2026 ban on off-grid oil boilers will be delayed to 2035, with only an 80% phase out target at that date.

In addition, Britons will be told that there will be no new taxes to discourage flying, no government policies to change people’s diets and no measures to encourage carpooling.

Mr Sunak is also likely to rule out what he sees as burdensome recycling schemes.

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https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-66857551

Continue ReadingRishi Sunak considers weakening key green policies

Dutch Climate and Energy Minister estimates NL’s fossil fuel subsidies at up to €46.4 billion a year, more than 4% of the Netherlands’ GDP. Campaigners call for phase-out plan

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Today the outgoing Dutch Minister for Climate and Energy Policy, Rob Jetten, published an analysis of the Netherlands’ fossil fuel subsidies, estimating these at between €39.7 and €46.4 billion a year, more than 4% of the Netherlands’ GDP. According to campaigners the analysis underlines the importance of an urgent phase-out plan, in line with the Dutch government’s long-standing promise to end these subsidies by 2025. 

Recent research by Dutch research and environmental organizations shows that this would allow the Netherlands to reduce its CO2 emissions by up to 20% by 2030, while creating space for innovative and sustainable businesses and freeing up billions that can be reinvested in climate justice and social protection measures. The conclusions of the impact analysis for companies of subsidy removal that were also covered in today’s government publication mainly emphasize the short-term impacts for a select group of large energy-intensive companies that run on cheap fossil energy. Researchers and campaigners say this is too limited a perspective and should not stand in the way of an urgent phase-out plan.

Continue ReadingDutch Climate and Energy Minister estimates NL’s fossil fuel subsidies at up to €46.4 billion a year, more than 4% of the Netherlands’ GDP. Campaigners call for phase-out plan

Braverman stopped immigration centre inspections despite safeguarding warnings

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Image of Fascists Mussolini and Hitler
Image of Fascists Mussolini and Hitler

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/sep/19/suella-braverman-stopped-immigration-centre-inspections-despite-safeguarding-warnings

Inspector says home secretary halted annual review of ‘adults at risk’ days after he raised concerns

Suella Braverman halted annual inspections of immigration detention centres such as Brook House last year, shortly after ministers received direct warnings that vulnerable people such as torture victims had been left unprotected, the immigration watchdog has disclosed.

In an article for the Guardian, David Neal, the independent chief inspector of borders and immigration (ICIBI), said the home secretary stopped his annual review of “adults at risk” held in removal centres last September.

The decision came days after Neal specifically warned the immigration minister, Robert Jenrick, that protections must be put in place for “vulnerable detainees” and necessary reforms were moving at a “glacial pace”, he wrote.

His comments come as a major inquiry reveals that people detained at Brook House immigration removal centre in 2017 were mistreated in “prison-like” conditions, with staff making dehumanising and racist comments and quick to use force.

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https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/sep/19/suella-braverman-stopped-immigration-centre-inspections-despite-safeguarding-warnings

Image quoting Suella 'Sue'Ellen' Braverman reads ‘Guardian-reading, tofu-eating wokerati’.
Image quoting Suella ‘Sue’Ellen’ Braverman reads ‘Guardian-reading, tofu-eating wokerati’.
Continue ReadingBraverman stopped immigration centre inspections despite safeguarding warnings