Brexit

Attempted right-wing takeover of National Trust backed by Nigel Farage fails!

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The anti-woke group, Restore Trust, had launched a renewed campaign to win seats on the Trust’s council this year after failing in their attempts last year, and this time they had the likes of Farage, along with the right-wing press backing them. 

An attempt by a right-wing group to take over the National Trust, the UK’s largest charity, has failed after the candidates backed by the likes of Nigel Farage and Jacob Rees-Mogg, failed to secure a place on the National Trust’s council in this year’s elections.

The anti-woke group, Restore Trust, had launched a renewed campaign to win seats on the Trust’s council this year after failing in their attempts last year, and this time they had the likes of Farage, along with the right-wing press backing them. 

Why do the National Trust’s elections matter? Because what was at stake was the future not only of the UK’s largest charity but also one which owns more than 1,300 farms, 775 miles of coastline and 250,000 hectares of land, making it Britain’s largest private landowner. The right recognises the importance of an institution like the National Trust, and did all it could in the council elections to help its candidates.

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https://leftfootforward.org/2023/11/attempted-right-wing-takeover-of-national-trust-backed-by-nigel-farage-fails/

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UK to loosen post-Brexit chemical regulations further

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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/nov/14/uk-to-loosen-post-brexit-chemical-regulations-further

Experts warn UK’s regulations now lag behind those of the EU and that Britons will be exposed to more toxic chemicals as a result

The government is to loosen EU-derived laws on chemicals in a move experts say will increase the likelihood of toxic substances entering the environment.

Under new plans the government will reduce the “hazard” information that chemical companies must provide to register substances in the UK. The safety information provided about chemicals will be reduced to an “irreducible minimum”, which campaigners say will leave the UK “lagging far behind the EU”.

The UK’s scheme, called UK Reach, is falling behind the EU’s as it is. The UK has not been part of the bloc’s chemicals regulations scheme, EU Reach, since 2021. Eight rules restricting the use of hazardous chemicals have been adopted by the EU since Brexit, and 16 more are in the pipeline. The UK has not banned any substances in that time and is considering just two restrictions, on lead ammunition and harmful substances in tattoo ink.

Campaigners have called for the government to follow EU chemicals regulations as standard, diverging only if and when there is a good reason to do so. This would free up time and money for regulators and mean dangerous chemicals banned by the EU do not enter the environment before there is time to ban them.

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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/nov/14/uk-to-loosen-post-brexit-chemical-regulations-further

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Post-Brexit UK water quality standards set to be much lower than EU standards

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‘The UK’s decision to diverge from EU water quality standards is yet another blow in a string of post-Brexit setbacks.’

Image of a burst water main.
Image of a burst water main.


https://leftfootforward.org/2023/11/post-brexit-uk-water-quality-standards-set-to-be-much-lower-than-eu-standards/

The UK government is to diverge from the EU’s standards for monitoring the quality of water in England.

An exclusive report by the Guardian this week revealed that instead of being covered by the EU’s water framework directive (WFD), as it was when the UK was in the European Union, the government will use its own, as yet undisclosed, methodology to assess the quality of England’s waterways. Under the WFD, a national chemical and ecology survey was carried out every year. But from 2016, the government made the decision that water quality under WFD would only be tested every three years, instead of annually.

The last time a full water assessment of England’s rivers took place was in 2019, when just 14 percent were found to be in good ecological health. None however, met good chemical health standards. 

According to the report, government officials told stakeholders about the change at a meeting. A source from an NGO who had attended the meeting said: “When asked how this would affect assessments against the target set out in the government’s environment improvement plan, officials commented that this data would no longer be used for that purpose, and that Defra were looking to use the Natural Capital and Ecosystem Assessment (NCEA) process to assessment performance. I question how developed the work on the NCEA is and whether this is suitable.”

Campaigners have warned that diverging from EU environmental standards will lead to England’s rivers and waterways becoming even more polluted if the new measuring methods are less rigorous. They also warn that it may make it more difficult for the state of England’s rivers to be compared with those in the EU, meaning the public will be left in the dark about water pollution and sewage.

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https://leftfootforward.org/2023/11/post-brexit-uk-water-quality-standards-set-to-be-much-lower-than-eu-standards/

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Here’s how the Tories will continue their war on the less well-off in the King’s speech

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One of the many occasions climate change denier and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak uses a private jet.
One of the many occasions climate change denier and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak uses a private jet.

https://leftfootforward.org/2023/11/heres-how-the-tories-will-continue-their-war-on-the-less-well-off-in-the-kings-speech/

On 7th November, King Charles III will open the next session of the UK parliament. It is likely to be the last before the general election expected to take place towards the end of 2024.

The King’s speech, written by the government, is the key part of state opening of parliament. It sets out the government’s policy priorities and legislative programme. So what can we expect, or not expect, the Conservative government to do to save its skin?

After 13 years in office and five Prime Ministers the government is spent and is unlikely to reverse any of its economic policies that have resulted in the highest ever public debt of £2.6 trillion (97.8% of GDP) and highest rate of inflation for 41 years.

The government won’t end austerity and real wage cuts. The average real wage is lower than in 2005. 14.4m were living in poverty in 2021/2022. 3.8m people experienced destitution in 2022, including around one million children. In the period 2012-2019, government imposed austerity caused nearly 335,000 excess deaths (nearly 48,000 a year) in England and Scotland.

A government obsessed with privatisation, outsourcing and cuts to public spending may pay lip-service to public investment, but won’t do much to deal with crumbling schools and public buildings. Parts of the National Health Service have been privatised by stealth and the government won’t do much to relieve the healthcare crisis. Some 7.8m people in England are waiting for hospital appointment (1 in 7 of the population). Some .2.6m are chronically ill and unable to work. In the five years to 2022, around 1.5m died whilst awaiting a hospital appointment.

The government is trapped by its subservience to defunct ideologies. It won’t modify Brexit and reach out to Europe to boost investment, trade and jobs. It won’t increase investment in infrastructure. In an OECD league table of investment in productive assets, the UK is ranked at number 35 out of 38 countries.

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https://leftfootforward.org/2023/11/heres-how-the-tories-will-continue-their-war-on-the-less-well-off-in-the-kings-speech/

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Demand to reverse Brexit hits ‘highest ever level’

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https://leftfootforward.org/2023/10/demand-to-reverse-brexit-hits-highest-ever-level/

A poll in May also revealed that both Tory and Leave backers feel that Brexit has been a failure.

The demand to reverse Brexit has hit its ‘highest ever level’, according to a new poll which shows a staggering level of disillusionment with the decision to leave the EU.

The poll from WeThink, affiliated with Omnisis, shows that 63% of those surveyed believe that the UK should now reverse the referendum result, and return to its previous trading relationship with the bloc. Just 37% of voters want to stay out of the EU.

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The Brexit vote has resulted in a 4% hit to the economy over the medium-to-long-term, which amounts to £40bn in tax revenues.

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https://leftfootforward.org/2023/10/demand-to-reverse-brexit-hits-highest-ever-level/

Continue ReadingDemand to reverse Brexit hits ‘highest ever level’