Labour Party

Starmer breaks another promise: elite schools to retain ‘charity’ status and tax breaks

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Original article republished from the Skwawkbox

One more for the endless list of betrayals to please the obscenely rich

Yet another of Keith Starmer's pledges discarded. Image thanks to the Skwawkbox
Yet another of Keith Starmer’s pledges discarded. Image thanks to the Skwawkbox

It’s hard to imagine there were any promises left that Keir Starmer hadn’t already broken, but today he has added another to the list: the pledge to end the tax-perk ‘charitable’ status of elite private schools.

Starmer and his Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves have announced that the schools will now keep their charity status – allowing them and their donors/fee-payers more tax breaks – though as a sop Starmer says he will still charge them VAT if he becomes PM. As if anyone can believe that either.

Every day, Starmer and his toxic cronies show themselves more and more the creatures of the rich – and to be unhesitating in betraying and lying to ordinary people to please billionaires and corporations..

Original article republished from the Skwawkbox

Continue ReadingStarmer breaks another promise: elite schools to retain ‘charity’ status and tax breaks

Direction

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I will be suggesting that the appropriate response to UK government’s progressing with the Rosebank oil field is to refuse, block and frustrate it using all means and to campaign against any and all political parties – clearly including the Labour party – that support it. I suggest that it is correct to regard Rishi Sunak’s Conservative party to be indistinguishable to the fossil fuel industry. The Labour party should be regarded similarly. We have to make progress to net zero, that’s clearly not done by pursuing more fossil fuels.

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‘The worst kind of culture war’: Tories attack Rishi Sunak’s reversal on net zero

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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/sep/23/the-worst-kind-of-culture-war-tories-attack-rishi-sunaks-reversal-on-net-zero

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and former Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary Grant Shapps.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and former Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary Grant Shapps. Credit: Simon Dawson / 10 Downing Street, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

The prime minister’s attempts to turn the climate emergency into a US-style wedge issue have dismayed veteran MPs who champion green policies

Rishi Sunak’s decision to drive a “green wedge” between the Conservatives and Labour will take the UK into dangerous new political territory and “the worst kind of culture wars”, not seen for more than 30 years, senior Tory figures and political observers have warned.

Reversals and delays to net zero policy announced last week will be just the start of a general election campaign in which the UK’s longstanding cross-party political consensus on climate will be increasingly at stake. Emails sent to journalists from the Conservative campaign headquarters revealed lines of attack on targets including the independent Climate Change Committee and Labour’s proposed £28bn investment in a low-carbon economy.

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Lord Goldsmith, a former Tory minister, told the Observer: “It’s not so much the individual measures he’s announced. It’s more about the language and politics. This is a clear attempt to turn the environment into a wedge issue, as it is in the US. We have managed to avoid that until now, with disagreements mostly being about means, not ends. Sacrificing the environment to culture wars is cynical, devastating and wildly irresponsible.”

Sunak repeated many times that he was still committed to the UK’s legally binding target of reaching net zero by 2050, though experts said the policy changes were more likely to hamper than help. But Chris Skidmore, the Conservative ex-minister and author of the government’s net zero review, accused the prime minister of misleading voters. “It’s especially worrying that false claims and disinformation are being made about meat taxes that have never existed, or compulsory car sharing, or having seven bins. This is completely untrue, and is the worst kind of culture war politics, attempting to deliberately mislead,” he told the Observer.

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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/sep/23/the-worst-kind-of-culture-war-tories-attack-rishi-sunaks-reversal-on-net-zero

Continue Reading‘The worst kind of culture war’: Tories attack Rishi Sunak’s reversal on net zero

Abbott vows to fight back after Labour’s ‘fraudulent’ investigation

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/b/abbott-vows-to-fight-back-after-labour-fraudulent-investigation

Union leaders and MPs demand justice for first black woman MP

Image of Dianne Abbot
Dianne Abbot MP

DIANE ABBOTT has called on Sir Keir Starmer to prove his commitment to fighting anti-black racism amid growing anger over Labour’s “fraudulent” investigation into the left-wing MP.

Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, TUC president Matt Wrack and scores of socialist MPs and activists have joined the campaign to restore Britain’s first black female MP’s Labour whip.

Speaking to the Morning Star, Ms Abbott said: “I appreciate the support. But this is all about much more than me.

“The issues are Labour Party democracy and the leadership’s commitment to recognising and fighting anti-black racism.”

Labour faces increasing pressure to conclude its investigation into the Hackney North and Stoke Newington MP’s comments about racism after she branded the process “fraudulent” in a statement earlier this week.

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/b/abbott-vows-to-fight-back-after-labour-fraudulent-investigation

Continue ReadingAbbott vows to fight back after Labour’s ‘fraudulent’ investigation

Manchester launches first locally controlled bus service in four decades

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https://leftfootforward.org/2023/09/manchester-launches-first-locally-controlled-bus-service-in-four-decades/

“I hope it signals the start of a public transport revolution across the whole of England,” says Manchester Mayor, Andy Burnham.

Greater Manchester has retaken control of its buses after almost 40 years of deregulation.

As bus services were deregulated across the UK in 1986 – except in London where services remained under local control – the move represents the biggest change to public transport in a generation.

The privatisation of Britain’s bus sector was introduced by Margaret Thatcher’s government. At the time, the government predicted that the move would lead to “lower fares, new services, and more passengers,” while removing “any potential liability on the taxpayer.”

Instead, bus use has been in decline ever since, and today, much of the sector is in crisis, with taxpayers subsidising corporate profits. In Greater Manchester, the number of passengers using buses has fallen from 355m in 1986/87, to just over 182m at the end of 2019, just before Covid.

From September 24, a fleet of 50 zero-emission Bee Network-branded buses (ZEBs) will be in service. The buses offer a range of improved features for passengers, including two bays for wheelchair users, anti-slip flooring, audio and visual announcement systems, and hearing induction loops. Over the next two years, existing buses in Greater Manchester will be gradually upgraded to Bee Network buses.

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https://leftfootforward.org/2023/09/manchester-launches-first-locally-controlled-bus-service-in-four-decades/

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Continue ReadingManchester launches first locally controlled bus service in four decades