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Who is Jim Ratcliffe, the pro-Brexit billionaire promised €700m from UK government to build ‘carbon bomb’ in Europe?

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https://leftfootforward.org/2024/03/who-is-jim-ratcliffe-the-pro-brexit-billionaire-promised-e700m-from-uk-government-to-build-carbon-bomb-in-europe/

Environmental campaigners warn that Ratcliffe’s controversial ‘Project One’ will bring ‘US-scale plastic production to Europe.’

Jim Ratcliffe, Britain’s pro-Brexit billionaire, hit the headlines this week with news that the government is providing a €700m guarantee for him to build the biggest petrochemical plant in Europe in 30 years. The plant will turbocharge the production of plastic.

Left Foot Forward takes a look at who Ratcliffe is, and how his controversial ‘Project One’ that will bring ‘US-scale plastic production to Europe’ is recieving significant financial guarantees from the Tory government.

Ratcliffe’s story is one of capitalist meritocracy, of someone who grew up on a council estate in Failsworth, Manchester, and went on to become the wealthiest man in Britain. He studied chemical engineering at Birmingham University and gained an MBA from London Business School in 1980. Having worked as a chemical engineer, in May 1998 he founded Ineos. The multinational is one of the largest chemical producers in the world and plays a significant role in the oil and gas market.  According to the 2023 Sunday Times Rich List, the company’s owner, Ratlcliffe, is worth £27.9bn.

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This week, it was announced that the government is providing a €700m guarantee for Ratcliffe to build a huge petrochemical plant in Europe. The site will import fracked shale gas from the US to provide the ethane which will produce 1450 kilotons of ethylene – the building block of plastic – a year.

The plant is being constructed by Ineos in the Belgian city of Antwerp. Environmental campaigners have described the petrochemical plant as a ‘carbon bomb,’ warning that it will turbocharge plastic production on a scale not seen before in Europe, at a time when countries are hoping to negotiate a binding global treaty to tackle plastic pollution. The ‘Project One’ plant has faced a long-running legal battle by environmental groups. In the summer of 2023, the building of Ratcliffe’s €3bn plant was halted after a landmark court victory by the NGOs. A new legal challenge argues that the true impact of the development on people, nature and the climate has not been considered.

“There is a huge problem of plastic pollution from nurdles already in Antwerp and the Netherlands. This plant will bring US-scale plastic production to Europe,” said Jeroen Dagevos, of the Plastic Soup Foundation, one of the NGOs challenging Project One.

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https://leftfootforward.org/2024/03/who-is-jim-ratcliffe-the-pro-brexit-billionaire-promised-e700m-from-uk-government-to-build-carbon-bomb-in-europe/

Continue ReadingWho is Jim Ratcliffe, the pro-Brexit billionaire promised €700m from UK government to build ‘carbon bomb’ in Europe?

Over half of Universal Credit recipients do not have enough money for food, research finds

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https://leftfootforward.org/2024/03/over-half-of-universal-credit-recipients-do-not-have-enough-money-for-food-research-finds/

A petition calling on the government to take urgent action to support the introduction of an Essentials Guarantee was presented to political parties in Westminster this week.

Research commissioned by the Trussell Trust has found more than half of recipients of Universal Credit do not have enough money for food.

The study was carried out by YouGov on behalf of the Trussell Trust. It found that 2.4 million claimants (37 percent) had fallen into debt because they could not keep up with essential bills. Two in five (42 percent) reported being behind on one or more household bill.

The research suggested that 780,000 claimants of Universal Credit had been driven to use a foodbank during the month December 2023 to January 2024. More than half of the recipients who were surveyed said they had run out of food. In the previous 12 months, 22 percent of Universal Credit claimants reported being unable to cook hot food as they could not afford to use their own or other utilities. 52 percent said they were behind on their bills and credit commitments or were finding keeping up with them a constant struggle.

From April, the £90 weekly Universal Credit standard allowance is £30 less than the weekly cost of essential items for a singly person, says the charity. It is calling on the Chancellor to provide greater support for people on the lowest incomes in next week’s Spring Budget, including an extension to the Household Support Fund. 

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https://leftfootforward.org/2024/03/over-half-of-universal-credit-recipients-do-not-have-enough-money-for-food-research-finds/

Continue ReadingOver half of Universal Credit recipients do not have enough money for food, research finds

[Morally bankrupt] UK Conservatives: Edited video attack ad on London Mayor was not misinformation

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https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-conservatives-edited-video-attack-ad-london-mayor-was-not-misinformation-2024-02-16/

London Mayor Sadiq Khan walks on the day he gives evidence at the COVID-19 Inquiry, in London, Britain, November 27, 2023. REUTERS/Belinda Jiao Purchase Licensing Rights

LONDON, Feb 16 (Reuters) – Britain’s governing Conservative Party on Friday brushed off criticism of an attack video it posted on social media that misrepresented comments by a senior opposition politician to make it look like he was proud to be antisemitic.

In a television interview on Thursday, London Mayor Sadiq Khan said Labour was “proud to be both anti-racist but also antisemitic – I beg your pardon, tackling antisemitism.”

Later, the Conservative Party posted the clip on X without including the part where he clarified the comment. The caption said “Sadiq Khan says the quiet part out loud.”

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https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-conservatives-edited-video-attack-ad-london-mayor-was-not-misinformation-2024-02-16/

Continue Reading[Morally bankrupt] UK Conservatives: Edited video attack ad on London Mayor was not misinformation

Sunak’s extremism speech 1 to 5

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Not decided if I’ll do more (but I probably will because I enjoy telling him how it is ;).

Response to Rishi Sunak's extremism speech at Downing Street 1 March 2024.
Response to Rishi Sunak’s extremism speech at Downing Street 1 March 2024.

Response to Rishi Sunak's extremism speech at Downing Street 1 March 2024.
Response to Rishi Sunak’s extremism speech at Downing Street 1 March 2024.

Response to Rishi Sunak's extremism speech at Downing Street 1 March 2024.
Response to Rishi Sunak’s extremism speech at Downing Street 1 March 2024.

Response to Rishi Sunak's extremism speech at Downing Street 1 March 2024.
Response to Rishi Sunak’s extremism speech at Downing Street 1 March 2024.

Response to Rishi Sunak's extremism speech at Downing Street 1 March 2024. Second version of this image with text slightly altered.
Response to Rishi Sunak’s extremism speech at Downing Street 1 March 2024. Second version of this image with text slightly altered.
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Devolved leaders reject shortlist for climate watchdog chair over Tory links

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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/mar/01/devolved-leaders-reject-shortlist-for-climate-watchdog-chair-over-tory-links

Lord Deben, the Climate Change Committee’s first chair, was environment secretary under Margaret Thatcher and John Major. Photograph: Dorset Media Service/Alamy

Refusal by Welsh, Scottish and Northern Irish leaders to approve candidates means whole recruitment process may have to be rerun

Ministers in Westminster have been accused of trying to blunt the teeth of the UK’s net zero watchdog by appointing a Tory loyalist to the post of chair of the Climate Change Committee (CCC).

The leaders of the devolved governments in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have refused to approve any of the six shortlisted candidates, saying they are all too close to the Conservatives and lack diversity.

The row has significantly delayed the UK government’s attempts to appoint a successor to John Gummer (Lord Deben), the committee’s first chair and a former Tory minister, who repeatedly challenged ministers for being insufficiently radical in their policies on combating global heating.

Since the CCC has a statutory duty to oversee climate policies for the UK government and all three devolved administrations, the shortlist requires consent from all four nations.

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In a row that mirrors allegations about cronyism over appointments to chair the BBC and Ofcom, he said the UK government knew that Deben’s successor would be in post for 10 years.

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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/mar/01/devolved-leaders-reject-shortlist-for-climate-watchdog-chair-over-tory-links

Continue ReadingDevolved leaders reject shortlist for climate watchdog chair over Tory links