Yearly Archives: 2024

General election debates: Greens in uproar over exclusion from Scottish leaders’ debate

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https://leftfootforward.org/2024/05/general-election-debates-greens-in-uproar-over-exclusion-from-scottish-leaders-debate/

STV is hosting a four-way debate on Monday

Leaders’ debates are now a key feature of General Election campaigns in the UK. So far, only one UK-wide debate has been announced. Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer will go head to head on ITV at 9pm on Tuesday, 4 June.

The day before, there will also be a debate between Scottish Party leaders on STV at 9pm. SNP leader John Swinney, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar, Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross and Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton will be taking part.

Notable in their absence from the Scottish debate are the Greens. While the Scottish Greens don’t currently have any seats in the House of Commons, they do have 7 MSPs – more than the Liberal Democrats – and they were until recently in government in Scotland.

The decision not to invite the Greens has led to outrage from key party activists and representatives.

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https://leftfootforward.org/2024/05/general-election-debates-greens-in-uproar-over-exclusion-from-scottish-leaders-debate/

Continue ReadingGeneral election debates: Greens in uproar over exclusion from Scottish leaders’ debate

Diane Abbott accuses Labour of ‘leftwing cull’ after two fellow MPs barred from standing

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https://www.theguardian.com/politics/article/2024/may/30/diane-abbott-accuses-labour-leftwing-cull-mps-barred-standing-election

Diane Abbott addressing supporters on the steps of Hackney town hall on Wednesday. Photograph: Guy Smallman/Getty Images

Diane Abbott has accused Labour of carrying out a “cull of leftwingers” after she and others were blocked or dissuaded from standing for the party.

The veteran Labour MP vowed on Wednesday to stay on for “as long as it is possible” after a deal for her to retire from parliament broke down.

The row, which has angered and frustrated some Labour MPs and staff, escalated on Thursday after two leftwing candidates were blocked from standing for the party in the general election.

Faiza Shaheen, who had been Labour’s candidate in Chingford and Woodford Green, told BBC Two’s Newsnight she received an email telling her she had been deselected after the decision was first made public in the Times.

Responding to the news on X, Abbott said: “Appalling. Whose clever idea has it been to have a cull of left wingers?”

Lloyd Russell-Moyle, the MP for Brighton Kemptown, announced he had been suspended from the party on Wednesday afternoon and would not be allowed to stand for Labour at the election.

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https://www.theguardian.com/politics/article/2024/may/30/diane-abbott-accuses-labour-leftwing-cull-mps-barred-standing-election

Continue ReadingDiane Abbott accuses Labour of ‘leftwing cull’ after two fellow MPs barred from standing

Jeremy Corbyn formally launches campaign to be independent MP for Islington North

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https://leftfootforward.org/2024/05/jeremy-corbyn-formally-launches-campaign-to-be-independent-mp-for-islington-north/

Corbyn said he wanted to be an “independent voice for equality, for democracy and for peace”

The former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn formally launched his campaign to be elected as an independent MP for Islington North last night (29 May). Corbyn is standing as an independent after being blocked from being a Labour candidate in the general election.

At a packed meeting, Corbyn started the launch by saying that he wanted to be an “independent voice for equality, for democracy and for peace” and slammed what he described as a “political system that is no longer, sadly, offering the hope to so many people that it should.”

Corbyn continued by saying: “Politics should be about hope. Politics should be about making sure that those that are silenced are heard, those that are pushed aside are brought back in, those whose needs are so often unmet. It short, it is about the hope that we can bring to people. That’s what politics ought to do.”

Among the specific policy areas Corbyn pledged to campaign on were scrapping the two child benefit cap, ending sanctions for benefits claimants, taking public services such as water and Royal Mail into public ownership and introducing rent controls in the private sector.

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Corbyn launches election campaign as an independent

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Mr Corbyn was suspended as a Labour MP in 2020 for his response to a report into anti-Semitism in the party.

Launching his campaign at a community centre in Crouch Hill, he accused Labour of “denying democracy” by not allowing him to stand for the party.

“Labour members were denied a vote. If you shut down that democratic voice then you’ve got problems. That’s why I’ve decided I will run,” he said.

He also said he had sent a message of support to Diane Abbott amidst the uncertainty over whether she will be allowed to stand for Labour and attempt to defend her Hackney North and Stoke Newington seat.

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Continue ReadingJeremy Corbyn formally launches campaign to be independent MP for Islington North

Faiza Shaheen left shocked after being blocked from standing as Labour candidate

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https://leftfootforward.org/2024/05/faiza-shaheen-left-shocked-after-being-blocked-from-standing-as-labour-candidate/

Further candidates deselected from Labour causes controversy

Faiza Shaheen announced last night that she will not be standing as a Labour candidate in Chingford and Woodford Green following ‘questions’ over past social media posts. 

In an emotional interview, Shaheen told BBC Newsnight on Wednesday that she had been deselected by Labour ahead of the general election. According to Shaheen, she had found out earlier that evening, firstly via the press, while she was out campaigning.

Shaheen has been Labour PPC for the east London constituency since 2018 and had already started drumming up support in the area for her general election campaign, taking on Iain Duncan Smith from the Conservative Party for a second time.

The decision was based on 14 tweets that raised concerns over her suitability as a candidate. Shaheen said one was about her experiences of Islamophobia within the party, and another about liking a sketch by a Jewish comedian that referred to critics of Israel coming under attack. She said she had since apologised at a disciplinary hearing about a tweet that “plays into a trope” about Jewish people. 

Speaking to Newsnight, Shaheen said she was in a state of shock at “being treated this badly after being such an active member of the party.”

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https://leftfootforward.org/2024/05/faiza-shaheen-left-shocked-after-being-blocked-from-standing-as-labour-candidate/

Continue ReadingFaiza Shaheen left shocked after being blocked from standing as Labour candidate

Hottest summer ever? Experts reveal what could be in store for Europe in the next few months

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https://www.euronews.com/green/2024/05/27/hottest-summer-ever-experts-reveal-what-could-be-in-store-for-europe-in-the-next-few-month

“One thing that is a massive, undeniable factor that cannot be ignored is that we are constantly breaking heat records,” says one forecaster.

Europe is bracing for its first spell of hot weather this summer as Germany and the Nordics are set for unusually high temperatures next week.

The risk of heatwaves at the Paris Olympic Games has left organisers sweating about the safety of athletes. Spain is bracing itself for another blistering summer, releasing a new map to help with more accurate heatwave predictions. Cities across the continent are preparing with adaptations for extreme heat.

We’ve now had 11 record-breaking months of heat in a row and sea surface temperatures in the North Atlantic have soared to their highest in at least 40 years.

So you can see why forecasts have warned that the continent could be in for another unusually hot summer – possibly even the hottest on record.

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Europe has been warming at twice the global average since 1991, according to recent data from the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) and EU climate agency Copernicus (C3S). The continent is “no exception” when it comes to the consequences of climate change with both agencies warning that Europe needs to do more to cut its emissions and transition away from fossil fuels.

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https://www.euronews.com/green/2024/05/27/hottest-summer-ever-experts-reveal-what-could-be-in-store-for-europe-in-the-next-few-month

dizzy: Moving away from fossil fuels is the appropriate way to address the climate crisis. Anything else is not addressing the problem. In the UK that’s no more oil or gas licences and stopping Rosebank i.e no new fossil fuels.

Continue ReadingHottest summer ever? Experts reveal what could be in store for Europe in the next few months