Morning Star Editorial:: Another set of meaningless milestones: Starmer’s desperate relaunch falls flat
This article was originally posted 6/12/24 but was deleted, probably my mistake.
GOVERNMENTS are never officially “relaunched” because the term is a tacit admission that something has misfired or gone badly wrong.
Nevertheless, relaunches do happen. The last one in British politics was Rishi Sunak’s bizarre and fruitless attempt to present himself as a change agent, challenging the “30-year consensus” at the Tory Party conference in 2023.
But seldom, if ever, has a government had to relaunch itself just five months after its election. The speech by Keir Starmer in a tent in Buckinghamshire is, therefore, a measure of how far his administration has fallen and how fast.
Yet a host of evidence points to Labour’s failure. Starting from an anaemic election result of less than 34 per cent, it is now polling in the mid-twenties.
And the Prime Minister’s personal figures have slumped from a plus 20 positive rating to minus 30 or thereabouts.
It is a political fiasco for the ages and one that only the Tories and Reform UK, both under hard-right leadership, look set to benefit from.
Starmer’s response is encapsulated in the six milestones unveiled today.
These six milestones follow the five missions and the six commitments launched before the general election, which, of course, succeeded the 10 pledges in Starmer’s number-salad of forgettable, or reneged on, policy promises.
This is leadership in the style of a corporate management seminar as if announcing a plan were equivalent to achieving anything. And the increasing velocity with which each initiative follows its unfulfilled predecessor indicates that we are now at the point at which football fans would strike up the familiar chant of “you don’t know what you’re doing.”
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Millions will spend Christmas in ‘Dickensian conditions’
This article was originally posted 6/12/24 but was deleted, probably my mistake.
https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/millions-will-spend-christmas-dickensian-conditions
MILLIONS of people are spending a fourth Christmas in “Dickensian conditions” due to fuel poverty, a damning report revealed today.
Warm This Winter found that 16 per cent of adults, equal to 8.8 million people, in Britain live in cold, damp homes, exposed to the health risks of living in fuel poverty.
The campaign group has warned that the government’s Warm Homes Plan will come too late for one in 10 people who have frequently experienced dangerous mould levels in their homes this year.
Poorly insulated homes risk damp and mould spreading, which the NHS warns can lead to respiratory issues, infections, allergies and asthma.
Such conditions can also increase the risk of heart disease, strokes and other severe health problems.
Cold homes can cause and worsen respiratory conditions, cardiovascular diseases, poor mental health, dementia and hypothermia as well as cause and slow recovery from injury.
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End Fuel Poverty Coalition co-ordinator Simon Francis said: “The sheer numbers of people living in cold, damp homes this winter should send alarm bells throughout Westminster.
“These shocking figures have hardly changed since last year and with energy bills heading upwards again in January, the situation is now critical for the government.”
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Original aticle at https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/millions-will-spend-christmas-dickensian-conditions
Government forced to review ‘legally untenable’ F-35 exports
This article was originally posted 6/12/24 but was deleted, probably my mistake.
https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/government-forced-review-legally-untenable-f-35-exports
THE government has been forced to review its decision to export F-35 fighter jet components to Israel, legal groups announced today.
Global Legal Action Network (Glan) and Al-Haq wrote to the government last month, threatening to file an emergency injunction over its failure to revoke licences for all arms to the country as it continues its genocide in Gaza.
Labour eventually moved to suspend just 30 out of 350 arms exports in September, but components for F-35s, which have dropped 2,000lb bombs on Gaza, were exempt.
In the High Court last month, the government admitted that there was a “clear risk” that the components could be used by Israel to violate international humanitarian law.
But it continued to export them anyway after Defence Secretary John Healey warned that it would disrupt the global supply programme they are part of and “undermine US confidence in the UK.”
Glan and Al-Haq said that they have now been notified that the government is reconsidering its decision.
Glan lawyer Dearbhla Minogue said: “The position they took is, in our estimation, legally untenable and we hope they will finally do the only reasonable thing — stop the transfer of any British weapons for use by Israel against Palestinians.”
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Article continues at https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/government-forced-review-legally-untenable-f-35-exports
Netanyahu asks for shorter and fewer court appearances in corruption trial
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked yesterday to reduce the number of days and the duration of his appearances before Tel Aviv District Court in his trial on corruption charges. He is due to attend in court from next Tuesday to defend himself against several charges including bribery, fraud and breach of trust.
According to Israel’s Channel 12, the prime minister is asking if he can testify twice a week, instead of three times as decided by the judiciary. “In addition, Netanyahu is requesting that each session be shortened to 5 hours instead of 6 hours, starting at 10:00 and ending at 15:00 local time, instead of the scheduled time between 9:00 and 15:00.”
Netanyahu’s defence team justified this by arguing, “He works almost every day until late at night, whether due to cabinet meetings, security consultations, or the need to communicate with various entities abroad.”
The court has yet to decide on Netanyahu’s request.
Channel 12 reported that court judges had already approved Netanyahu’s request to relocate his trial from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv for security reasons, noting that the sessions will be held in a “secret underground courtroom.”
He was initially scheduled to appear in court last Sunday, but the court agreed to his request to postpone his appearance until next Tuesday, due to his busy schedule.
The Israeli Broadcasting Authority said that media outlets had submitted a request to the court to broadcast Netanyahu’s testimony live, but the court rejected the request.
The corruption cases in which he is indicted are known as Cases 1000, 2000 and 4000, with former Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit filing an indictment against Netanyahu in late November 2019.
Case 1000 involves Netanyahu and members of his family receiving expensive gifts from wealthy businessmen, in exchange for favours and assistance to these individuals in various fields.
Case 2000 involves accusations that Netanyahu agreed with Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper publisher, Arnon Mozes, to obtain positive media coverage in exchange for weakening a rival.
Case 4000 is considered the most serious, in which Netanyahu advanced regulatory decisions that benefited Shaul Elovitch, the controlling shareholder in the Bezeq telecom giant, amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars, in exchange for positive coverage from the company’s Walla news site.
Netanyahu’s trial in these cases began in 2020 and is ongoing. He denies all the charges against him, calling them a political campaign aimed at ousting him.
READ: Israel military warns 30 troops against travel abroad amid legal cases over Gaza war crimes