LABOUR’S plans to democratise Britain by devolving political and economic power from Westminster are incompatible with the party’s ongoing “purge of the left,” campaigners warned today.
Grassroots group Momentum largely welcomed Sir Keir Starmer’s proposals to “unbind the country from a centre that has not delivered,” but stressed the move must happen within a “pluralistic party culture.”
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The Scottish Greens argued the concession would “do nothing to halt the momentum for independence” north of the border, while Plaid Cymru slammed the report for failing to tackle “inequalities across the UK.”
Momentum tweeted: “Reforming Britain’s antiquated and unequal democracy is the right goal — that must mean abolition of the House of Lords.”
However, the group stressed the need for a “pluralistic party culture,” adding: “You can’t democratise Britain while purging the left.”
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Category: politics
Labour plans to democratise Britain incompatible with purge of left, campaigners warn
Just Stop Oil disrupt traffic to demand an end to new oil and gas
Image: Just Stop Oil Just Stop Oil supporters have stopped traffic on key routes in Central London today to demand that the government halts all new oil and gas licences and consents.
At 8:00am, around 15 Just Stop Oil supporters wearing hi-vis vests walked onto the road at Bricklayers Arms roundabout in South London and proceeded to march slowly along the Old Kent Road, causing delays to rush hour traffic. The march continued through South London, followed by at least 3 police vehicles and up to 10 police officers.
A further march followed at Bank junction in the City.
Sam Griffiths, 47, a Dad and designer from London said:
“I feel sick seeing how little is happening to address climate breakdown, the biggest crisis humanity has ever faced. And our Government is actively making things worse. Granting over 100 new oil licences is indefensible and goes against everything that science says we need to do.
“I started actively supporting Just Stop Oil after we had 40°C in the UK for the first time in recorded history. It scared the shit out of me. I looked at my boy and realised I couldn’t just continue to do nothing.
“I’m sick of the weasel words of our politicians. Fake crying at COP then getting back home to sign more oil deals. It’s disgusting and will kill everything we love… if we let it happen. I’m no longer prepared to just stand by and watch.”
Image: Just Stop Oil Margaret Reid, 51, a former museum professional from Kendal who recently spent 7 weeks in prison for taking action with Just Stop Oil said:
“We are in a climate emergency right now. We no longer have the luxury of delay and indecision – that time is over. Against all humanity, morality and basic common sense, the government and the fossil fuel industry are taking actions that will continue to destroy us. They’ve been doing it for decades. So now, here, in 2022, we have to stand up for our own futures – and we have to take our own immediate action to stop them.
“The climate crisis will affect all of us and it will destroy all our futures so, like it or not we’re all in this together. We need to act right now, to act decisively and to act together. We have so little time left, I am willing to try anything that might work.”
Children in care 10 times more likely to end up in prison by age 24, figures suggest
HMP Wormwood Scrubs, London. Image: Chmee2, CC BY-SA 3.0
File:Main gate to the HM Prison Wormwood Scrubs in spring 2013CHILDREN in care are 10 times more likely to end up in prison by the time they reach 24 than those who grew up outside the system, official figures suggest.
The study by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) published today found that looked-after children were more at risk of coming into contact with the criminal justice system during early adulthood than their peers.
Looking at children in care who were born in the academic year ending 1994, the ONS found that more than half had received a criminal conviction by the time they turned 24.
This compares to 13 per cent of children who were not in care.
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Prison reform campaigners said the figures show more needs to be done to address the criminalisation of children in care.
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Home Office condemned over refusal to disclose numbers on Manston detainees potentially held unlawfully
THE Home Office has been accused of hiding figures on the number of people it detained at Manston for longer than the legal limit in order to avoid paying them damages.
Potentially thousands of ex-detainees held at the notorious asylum-processing facility in Kent may be eligible for compensation, campaigners have claimed.
This is because asylum law requires asylum-seekers held at facilities like Manston to be released within 24 hours.
However, inspectors found that many had been detained for well over the limit, including families who’d been at the site for four weeks, putting the government in breach of the law.
It’s unclear how many asylum-seekers were potentially held unlawfully at Manston after numbers at the site swelled to 4,000 in early November, well over the maximum capacity of 1,600.
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France sees its hottest year on record as temperatures across the globe continue to soar to dangerous levels
Image: Luis Graterol / Creative Commons
https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/w/france-sees-its-hottest-year-on-record-as-temperatures-across-the-globe-continue-to-soar-to-dangerous-levelsFRANCE has experienced its hottest year since records began, the country’s national weather service said on Wednesday.
This comes as temperatures across the globe continue to soar to dangerous levels.
Extreme weather has devastated communities across the globe this year, including sweltering heat and drought conditions across Europe.
France saw temperatures surge repeatedly in successive heat waves from May and into October, accompanied by extreme events like wildfires in areas like north-western Brittany.
“[This year] will be the hottest year recorded in France since measurements began, so since at least 1900, that is a certainty, even if December is very cold,” said Matthieu Sorel, a climatologist at Meteo France.
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