Breaking: Starmer says he will NOT change 2-child cap impoverishing 1.5 million kids

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Original article republished from the Skwawkbox for non-commercial use

Image of Keir Starmer and a poor child.

At least 1.5 million children are living in poverty because of the Tories’ two-child benefit cap – many of them going hungry – damaging their health, their education and their chances throughout their entire life and leaving them stigmatised and traumatised.

Keir Starmer has previously caused outrage by refusing to commit to ending the cap if Labour gets into government. But this morning on the BBC he went a step further and confirmed that he will not end the cap:

https://videopress.com/embed/YzqpIHOc?cover=1&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=1&hd=1

On everything else the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg asked him, Starmer refused to answer one way or the other, using the excuse that he’s ‘not going to write our manifesto here’.

But lifting at least 250,000 kids out of poverty and giving another 1.25 million a massive leg-up to being out of poverty that they are suffering through no fault of their own?

No – on that, Starmer was more than happy to ‘write the manifesto here’, confirming that Labour has no interest in those children or their 400,000 families, most of them working, let alone their relatives who will be equally horrified. Presumably, he thinks poor people don’t vote – or that he doesn’t need them if he can suck up to enough Tories and big business.

A Starmer win means another five years of Tory government, just as much as would a win for the blue version.

Original article republished from the Skwawkbox for non-commercial use

Continue ReadingBreaking: Starmer says he will NOT change 2-child cap impoverishing 1.5 million kids

Morning Star: It’s Labour’s conservatism that is out of touch in our crisis-ridden world

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Image of Keir Starmer sucking up to the rich and powerful at the World Economic Forum, Davos
Image of Keir Starmer sucking up to the rich and powerful at the World Economic Forum, Davos

https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/e/its-labours-conservatism-out-touch-our-crisis-ridden-world

KEIR STARMER says that “if we simply patch up and keep going, then we won’t fix the fundamentals and that’s why reform is so important.”

It’s ironic that this line is deployed not to propose far-reaching change, but to reject it.

Starmer has broken so many pledges he must be running out, but he managed to sacrifice another commitment as an offering to the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg yesterday, saying Labour will not end the two-child benefit cap.

Anger at Labour’s abstention when the Tories introduced this revolting policy, which punishes innocent children for being born into large families, was a watershed in Jeremy Corbyn’s run for the Labour leadership in 2015.

Seen as a sign that Labour had lost its soul, it infuriated activists and helped mobilise the campaign for a leader who actually cared about ending child poverty and standing up for the vulnerable. Starmer’s latest betrayal should motivate the left to fight again today: campaigns for the policy changes we need must be built from the grassroots, since nobody at Westminster is putting them forward.

https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/e/its-labours-conservatism-out-touch-our-crisis-ridden-world

Continue ReadingMorning Star: It’s Labour’s conservatism that is out of touch in our crisis-ridden world

Young people stage climate protest at Starmer’s office: ‘stop breaking promises’

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Original article republished from the Skwawkbox for non-commercial use.

Anti-environmentalist Starmer finds climate-change protesters on his doorstep

Green New Deal protest Keir Starmer's office 14 July 2023.
Green New Deal Rising protest Keir Starmer’s office 14 July 2023.

‘Tree-hugger hater’ Starmer – who posed as climate-friendly as part of his con to get Labour members to vote him in as party leader then u-turned to enable the government to pass laws that will criminalise climate and other protesters and even said he hates ‘tree-huggers’ – had a little surprise on his constituency office doorstep yesterday.

Dozens of young ‘Green New Deal’ activists pitched up outside his office to demand that he stop breaking promises – Starmer has shown that his aren’t worth the air he emits to pronounce them – and decorated his office window to remind him they were there, as they explained on their Twitter feed:

The activists also staged protests at the offices of deputy leader Angela Rayner and the appalling Ian Murray in Scotland.

Tory-enabler Starmer has repeatedly fled from climate change protesters and reacted like an awkward robot when they protested at his speech last week.

But while the protest was good-natured, there is nothing remotely funny about Starmer’s contempt for protest, democratic and civil rights – and the environment. Unfit to run a tombola, let alone a political party or, worse still, a country.

Original article republished from the Skwawkbox for non-commercial use.

Hehe, “Unfit to run a tombola …”

Green New Deal Rising Events

Event nameEvent typeDateTimeLocationSign up
Keir Starmer Sit OutActionsEvery FridayLunch breakKeir Starmer’s Office, London, NW1 1TURegister at this link
Angela Rayner Sit OutActionsEvery FridayLunch breakAngela Rayner’s Constituency Office, Ashton-under-Lyne, OL6 7JURegister at this link
Ian Murray Sit OutActionsEvery FridayLunch breakMinto street constituency office, Edinburgh, EH9 2BTRegister at this link
Rachel Reeves Sit OutActionsEvery FridayLunch breakRachel Reeves’ Constituency Office, Leeds, LS13 2ETRegister at this link
Peter Kyle Sit OutActionsEvery FridayLunch breakCafe Nero, Hove, Brighton and Hove, BN3 2BARegister at this link
Pat McFadden Sit OutActionsStarts Friday 21stTBCCrescent House, Bilston, WV14 0BZRegister at this link
Jo Stevens Sit OutActionsStarts Friday 21stTBCJo Stevens’ Office, Cardiff, CF24 3RURegister at this link
Thangam Debbonaire Sit OutActionsStarts Friday 28thTBCBS32 0BQ


Continue ReadingYoung people stage climate protest at Starmer’s office: ‘stop breaking promises’

The climate credentials of Rishi Sunak’s cabinet :: Labour policy indistinguishable from Grant Shapps ‘bonkers’ policy

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Keir Starmer’s Labour Party are positioning themselves as the new red Tories and have committed to continuing whatever the Tories do about energy. Labour have adopted the Tories energy policy exctly, there is no difference between them.

https://labour.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Mission-Climate.pdf [my emphasis in bold].

Labour and the country value the contribution of all those working in energy, including oil and gas, to powering the UK now and into the future. That is why, as part of our approach, Labour will ensure a phased and responsible transition in the North Sea, partnering with business and workers to manage our existing fields for the entirety of their lifespan. As the North Sea Transition Authority (NTSA) itself indicates, oil and gas production in the North Sea will be with us for decades to come. The charts below show that the significant majority of proven gas in the North Sea lies in existing fields. In the case of oil, there are more potential new fields, but 80 per cent of our oil production is exported abroad.

Under Labour’s plans, North Sea oil and gas will continue for decades to come. We will not revoke licences. But we will also build alternative opportunities for workers that transition out of oil and gas, in decommissioning, carbon capture and storage, hydrogen, and renewables like offshore wind. Labour has committed to not handout new licences to explore new oil and gas fields, which we believe would not offer the right answer for the economy or the environment. We will act to ensure continued investment in our offshore infrastructure and workforce as the North Sea becomes home to new forms of energy production. Labour will work with offshore communities and trade unions to avoid a repeat of the mistakes of the past. As oil and gas workers consider the future of their industry, they should be in no doubt about Labour’s commitment to prevent a transition akin to the Tories’ closure of the coal mines of the 1980s. We will not let that happen again.

This is Grant Shapps bonkers policy. Bonkers, insane, mad because there can be no new oil or gas without trashing the planet.

https://www.ipcc.ch/2022/04/04/ipcc-ar6-wgiii-pressrelease/

Limiting global warming will require major transitions in the energy sector. This will involve a substantial reduction in fossil fuel use, widespread electrification, improved energy efficiency, and use of alternative fuels (such as hydrogen).

“Having the right policies, infrastructure and technology in place to enable changes to our lifestyles and behaviour can result in a 40-70% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. This offers significant untapped potential,” said IPCC Working Group III Co-Chair Priyadarshi Shukla. “The evidence also shows that these lifestyle changes can improve our health and wellbeing.”

Climate protestors march in Washington DC
Climate protestors march in Washington DC
Continue ReadingThe climate credentials of Rishi Sunak’s cabinet :: Labour policy indistinguishable from Grant Shapps ‘bonkers’ policy