conservatives

UK ministers asked to explain fourth delay to Covid wine cellar report

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https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/dec/29/uk-ministers-asked-to-explain-fourth-delay-to-covid-wine-cellar-report

Labour accuses government of holding back data on use of official alcohol stock between March 2020 and 2022

Crates of wine being delivered to No 10 in January 2020. The last official statement on the ‘usage, value, costs and stock levels of the wine cellar’ was made in July 2021. Photograph: Leon Neal/Getty Images

Ministers have been asked to explain why a report on the UK government’s consumption of wine during the Covid pandemic has been delayed four times over the last year.

Labour said the Foreign Office, which holds the government’s wine collection, should publish the data on its stocks for 2020 to 2022 immediately, as the delay was causing suspicion about how much had been used.

The stock list was originally meant to be published in “early 2023”, was subsequently scheduled for July and then ministers later said it would appear in the autumn.

The last update was from Andrew Mitchell, a Foreign Office minister, who answered a parliamentary question saying it would be published “before the Christmas recess” – but it never materialised by the end of the parliamentary term.

The delays mean it is now two and a half years since the last official statement on the “usage, value, costs and stock levels of the wine cellar” was made in July 2021.

The yet-to-be-published data should cover the period March 2020 to March 2022 – the whole course of the pandemic. Given the cellar is supposed to be used only “to provide guests of the government, from home and overseas, with wines of appropriate quality at reasonable cost”, the report would be expected to show a decline in consumption, given the curbs on indoor gatherings and international travel caused by the Covid pandemic.

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https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/dec/29/uk-ministers-asked-to-explain-fourth-delay-to-covid-wine-cellar-report

dizzy: It’s tempting to imagine a cover-up of that pisshead Boris raiding the wine cellar.

Continue ReadingUK ministers asked to explain fourth delay to Covid wine cellar report

Rishi Sunak Meets Murdochs More than NHS Figures in Latest Lobbying Revelations

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Rishi Sunak Meets Murdochs More than NHS Figures in Latest Lobbying Revelations

Rishi Sunak met media representatives more than any other sector of the UK economy between July and September, analysis by Byline Times shows. 

The Prime Minister met senior executives from Rupert Murdoch’s media empire alone four times in the space of three months, compared to just once for NHS representatives. 

Sunak met Daily Mail editors twice in that time, while meeting housing sector figures once. Several of the meetings were listed as “social”, meaning they are unlikely to have been minuted. That includes meetings with the departing News Corporation CEO Rupert Murdoch, and separately, his son Lachlan who is taking over at the helm. 

Every single one of the PM’s eight media meetings in that time is with right-leaning media outlets. 

Journalism professor and Byline Times contributor Brian Cathcart said: “These depressing figures reveal just how close the connection is between the right-wing billionaire press and our multi-millionaire prime minister.

“Forget democracy and forget parliament: this is where the real power in this country resides, and worse still, what we see is just the tip of the iceberg. Contacts of this kind are maintained at every level of Government and are so intensive it’s impossible to say where press influence ends and Government begins.”

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https://bylinetimes.com/2023/12/20/rishi-sunak-meets-murdochs-more-than-nhs-figures-in-latest-lobbying-revelations/

Image of an iceberg
The tip of the iceberg
Continue ReadingRishi Sunak Meets Murdochs More than NHS Figures in Latest Lobbying Revelations

Coming soon … What does it mean to be a climate denier?

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Image of UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak reads 1% RICHEST 100% CLIMATE DENIER
Image of UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak reads 1% RICHEST 100% CLIMATE DENIER

Hopefully soon an article looking at what it means to be a climate denier. There aren’t any real climate deniers anymore – the science is so clear and easy to understand. It’s a simple message, humans create climate-destroying gases, mostly Carbon Dioxide CO2 through burning (using) fossil-fuels that destroy the planet. There’s also the alternative that using renewable energy resources – the Sun, Wind, water and tidal, etc does not create the climate-destroying gases and so does not destroy the planet. That’s so simple and straightforward that even Nigel Farage can understand it.

So if there’s no problem understanding that, how and why do we still have climate deniers and what does it mean to be a climate denier? What does it mean for Rishi Sunak to say that he’ll take every last drop of oil from the North Sea?

Why does the government, newspapers and Tory TV attack climate activists? It’s because they’re climate deniers which raises the further question why are they climate deniers intent on damaging the planet?

Continue ReadingComing soon … What does it mean to be a climate denier?

National Trust warns of climate change ‘chaos’ for UK wildlife  

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https://leftfootforward.org/2023/12/national-trust-warns-of-climate-change-chaos-for-uk-wildlife/

Changes in climate and unpredictable weather patterns are causing “chaos” for nature, the National Trust has warned, as it calls on politicians to prioritise tackling the climate and nature crisis ahead of the elections.

At the end of what is predicted to be the warmest year on record, the governing body of protected sites is “sounding the alarm” for UK wildlife in its audit report which has laid out an extensive list of species affected by climate change in 2023.

Warmer year-round temperatures have affected the traditional seasonal shifts, which has had a serious knock-on effect for flora and fauna across the country, the National Trust has highlighted.

From low rainfall causing the river Derwent in the supposedly wettest area of England to dry out for the third consecutive summer, to storm Babet and storm Ciaran battering parts of the country with flooding, the extremes in weather are having serious consequences on habitat and wildlife.

https://leftfootforward.org/2023/12/national-trust-warns-of-climate-change-chaos-for-uk-wildlife/

Continue ReadingNational Trust warns of climate change ‘chaos’ for UK wildlife  

Brexit supporting Daily Express mocked after throwing hissy-fit at UK being excluded from EU rail project

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https://leftfootforward.org/2023/12/brexit-supporting-daily-express-mocked-after-throwing-hissy-fit-at-uk-being-excluded-from-eu-rail-project/

The Daily Express is shocked that the EU has decided to build better infrastructure only in countries which are members of the EU.

The pro-Brexit Daily Express is being brutally mocked after complaining about the fact that the UK is being left out of an EU rail project scheme, designed to connect more major cities across the continent.

A keen supporter of Brexit, which has blasted those who wished to Remain, the Express is shocked that the EU has decided to build better infrastructure only in countries which are members of the EU.

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The Daily Express was furious that the UK had been left out of the plans, and ran a story with the headline: “Scheming EU countries leave UK out of ‘landmark’ transport plans as map reveals betrayal.”

Commenting on the article, one social media user posted on X: “The Express helpfully pointing out the EU hasn’t included the UK in their major transport links, because we are no longer part of the EU. 

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https://leftfootforward.org/2023/12/brexit-supporting-daily-express-mocked-after-throwing-hissy-fit-at-uk-being-excluded-from-eu-rail-project/

Continue ReadingBrexit supporting Daily Express mocked after throwing hissy-fit at UK being excluded from EU rail project