Yearly Archives: 2025

Keir Starmer prepares to miss key green target in effort to keep energy bills down

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https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/oct/22/keir-starmer-green-pledge-2030-energy-bills

The prime minister committed to the target in his ‘plan for change’ last year. Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA

Exclusive: Promise to remove almost all fossil fuels from UK’s electricity supply by 2030 may be quietly abandoned over cost

Ministers are considering dropping one of their central green pledges in an effort to keep energy bills down, sources have told the Guardian.

Government insiders say Keir Starmer is prepared to miss his own target of removing almost all fossil fuels from the UK’s electricity supply by 2030 if doing so proves much more expensive than building gas power instead.

The issue will come to a head within weeks as Ed Miliband, the energy secretary, decides how much renewable energy to commission for the next few years. Allies say Miliband is willing to buy less than experts say is needed to hit the 2030 target, if paying for them would push energy bills much higher than their current levels.

Concern is growing in Downing Street that the cost of living is fuelling the rise of Reform UK, which leads national polls and is predicted to take the Welsh Senedd seat of Caerphilly in a byelection this week.[Hehehehe]

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Article continues at https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/oct/22/keir-starmer-green-pledge-2030-energy-bills

Continue ReadingKeir Starmer prepares to miss key green target in effort to keep energy bills down

Growth won’t justify climate damage in airport plans, say MPs

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https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c62exx578lzo

A second runway at Gatwick has been approved by the government, as well as a third runway at Heathrow

Planned airport expansion that would result in hundreds of thousands of extra flights a year could risk the government’s own net zero goals, a committee of MPs has found.

The report from the cross-party Environmental Audit Committee said the government had also “not demonstrated” that the negative climate impact of expansion would be outweighed by the economic growth created.

The government has approved several airport expansion schemes, most recently a third runway at London Heathrow and a second runway at Gatwick.

The Department for Transport said airport expansion plans would “only go ahead if it aligns with our legal obligations on climate change”.

Ministers are expected to announce which of two rival proposals is preferred for the expansion of Heathrow within weeks.

The Gatwick decision could lead to an extra 100,000 flights per year. If Heathrow gets permission to build a third runway, that could mean another 276,000 flights a year, with approval for an expansion of Luton airport also potentially adding tens of thousands.

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Article continues at https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c62exx578lzo

Continue ReadingGrowth won’t justify climate damage in airport plans, say MPs

‘No harmful intention’ behind Stonehenge protest

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https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1k04v1kz7ro

Three people are in court accused of damaging Stonehenge

A Just Stop Oil supporter accused of spraying Stonehenge with orange powder told a jury he had “no intention to do anything harmful”.

Rajan Naidu, 74, and Oxford University student Niamh Lynch, 22, are accused of using two fire extinguishers filled with cornflour, talc and an orange dye to spray the prehistoric stones on June 19 last year.

They are on trial at Salisbury Crown Court, along with Luke Watson, 36. The three defendants deny charges of damaging an ancient protected monument and causing a public nuisance.

Giving evidence, Mr Naidu said it was “vital” the group got their message across as the planet was in “a climate and ecological crisis”.

Mr Naidu told the court he had “no intention to do anything reckless or harmful in any sense” to the “sacred” monument.

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Article continues at https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1k04v1kz7ro

Continue Reading‘No harmful intention’ behind Stonehenge protest

Fahad Ansari ruling shatters legal privilege — and every lawyer should be alarmed

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Fahad Ansari ruling shatters legal privilege — and every lawyer should be alarmed

London – The High Court has today denied interim relief, granting police access to the work phone of solicitor Fahad Ansari – a clear violation of legal privilege and confidential client material. This is an egregious violation of privacy rights and an unprecedented assault on the legal profession, striking at the very foundation of legal privilege and the public’s trust in the justice system.

The decision follows a secret hearing held under the UK’s discredited closed material procedure, from which Mr. Ansari, his lawyers, and the public were excluded while so-called “evidence” was presented in private. The use of this system – which is long condemned by rights groups and even senior judges, means that the state was able to make allegations that Mr. Ansari could neither see nor challenge.

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Continue ReadingFahad Ansari ruling shatters legal privilege — and every lawyer should be alarmed

One in 12 secondary pupils put in isolation rooms at least once a week, study finds

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https://www.theguardian.com/education/2025/oct/23/one-in-12-secondary-pupils-put-in-isolation-rooms-at-least-once-a-week-study-finds

The use of isolation, and in particular isolation booths, has become a growing source of concern among some parents. Picture posed by model. Photograph: Westend61/Getty Images

Children with special educational needs more than twice as likely to be put in isolation, say Manchester researchers

One in 12 secondary pupils report being put into school isolation rooms at least once a week where they often spend in excess of eight hours, missing more than a full day of lessons, according to research.

Children with special educational needs were more than twice as likely to be placed in isolation, otherwise known as internal exclusion, while students from low-income backgrounds were also disproportionately affected.

Pupils on free school meals were more than one-and-a-half times more likely to be placed in isolation than their wealthier peers, researchers found from self-reported data provided by pupils.

Children who identified as LGBTQ+ were nearly twice as likely to be in isolation, while Black, Asian and mixed heritage children were also more likely to be in isolation than their white British peers, the research from the University of Manchester found.

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Article continues at https://www.theguardian.com/education/2025/oct/23/one-in-12-secondary-pupils-put-in-isolation-rooms-at-least-once-a-week-study-finds

Keir Starmer says that the Labour Party under his leadership is intensely relaxed about assaulting those least able to defend themselves - the very poorest and most vulnerable.
Keir Starmer says that the Labour Party under his leadership is intensely relaxed about assaulting those least able to defend themselves – the very poorest and most vulnerable.

dizzy: While they are in a very vulnerable situation, I would suggest that pupils try to pursue their human rights in such circumstances. They should not be – but of course are – subjected to arbitrary punishment without a fair hearing and without being advised that they have any option to object, defend themselves or appeal. Human rights apply to all including school students.

Continue ReadingOne in 12 secondary pupils put in isolation rooms at least once a week, study finds