Green party leader Zack Polanski

Sugababes, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Wolf Alice and more to play all-star charity concert for trans rights

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https://www.theguardian.com/music/2025/nov/28/sugababes-sophie-ellis-bextor-wolf-alice-and-more-to-play-all-star-charity-concert-for-trans-rights

Sophie Ellis Bextor performing in 2023. Photograph: Tin!y/Alamy Live News/Alamy Live News.

Organised by Olly Alexander and the Mighty Hoopla festival to ‘fight back against the politics of fear and exclusion’, Trans Mission will take place at Wembley Arena in March

Artists including Sugababes, Wolf Alice, Romy, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Christine and the Queens, Beth Ditto, Beverley Knight, Jasmine.4.T, Kae Tempest and more will perform at an all-star charity concert at Wembley Arena in support of trans rights next year.

Organised by Olly Alexander and the Mighty Hoopla festival, Trans Mission will also feature appearances from figures including Green party leader Zack Polanski, actor Ian McKellen, comedian Grace Campbell, author Shon Faye, actor Mawaan Rizwan, model Munroe Bergdorf and actor Nicola Coughlan.

The concert will raise funds for the Good Law Project, a charity that uses the law to push for change and government accountability, and trans-led charity Not a Phase.

Alexander said in a statement: “I believe that in these times, community action isn’t just important – it’s essential! We need real and lasting change. Through solidarity, creativity and collective fundraising, we can fight back against the politics of fear and exclusion and build a world where everyone can thrive.

“I am very fortunate to know and work closely alongside incredible trans and non-binary people whose creativity and presence are essential to the cultural fabric we all share. Trans Mission is going to be a special and unforgettable night, and I’m excited to share the stage with so many wonderful people I hugely admire.”

Organisers said the show was in response to rising hate crimes and discrimination against trans people, particularly after the UK supreme court’s ruling on biological sex and the subsequent interim advice of the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

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Continues at https://www.theguardian.com/music/2025/nov/28/sugababes-sophie-ellis-bextor-wolf-alice-and-more-to-play-all-star-charity-concert-for-trans-rights

Donald Trump decrees forbidden terms denying sexual diversity
Donald Trump decrees forbidden terms denying sexual diversity
Continue ReadingSugababes, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Wolf Alice and more to play all-star charity concert for trans rights

Gatwick given green light for £2.2bn second runway plan

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https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/sep/21/gatwick-given-green-light-for-22bn-second-runway-plan

Gatwick says its plans will generate an additional 14,000 jobs. Photograph: Gareth Fuller/PA

Heidi Alexander approves expansion to allow 100,000 more flights a year

Gatwick airport’s £2.2bn second runway plan has been given the go-ahead by the transport secretary, Heidi Alexander.

With the privately financed project, the West Sussex hub is aiming to increase its capacity by 100,000 flights a year.

Gatwick will move its emergency runway 12 metres north, enabling it to be used for departures of narrow-bodied planes such as Airbus A320s and Boeing 737s.

The new runway is expected to add 14,000 jobs and as much as £1bn in extra economic activity.

Alexander backed the scheme as a “no-brainer” for economic growth, a government source said on Sunday, suggesting flights could take off from the new full runway by 2029.

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https://www.theguardian.com/business/live/2025/sep/22/rachel-reeves-gatwick-second-runway-growth-jobs-environmental-disaster-business-live-news

“A second runway at Gatwick is a disaster”

Environmentalist have slammed the government’s decision to approve a second Gatwick runway.

Green party leader Zack Polanski has said:

“Signing off on a second runway at Gatwick is a disaster. It ignores basic climate science and risks undermining efforts to tackle the climate crisis. Labour keeps wheeling out the same nonsense about growth, but at what cost? What this really means is more pollution, more noise for local communities, and no real economic benefit.

Expanding Gatwick is a tired, 20th-century answer to a 21st-century crisis. Labour’s obsession with ‘growth at all costs’ is driving us deeper into a climate breakdown and social inequality crisis.”

Rosie Downes, head of campaigns at Friends of the Earth, argues that the economic case for the expansion is ‘massively overstated’:

“With emissions from aviation rising as climate extremes increasingly batter the planet with more intense floods, droughts and wildfires, it’s a struggle to see how the government can conclude expansion at Gatwick is a wise move.

“The Secretary of State says a second runway is a “no-brainer” for the economy, but the economic case for airport expansion is massively overstated. Any growth in air passengers leaving the country is likely to mean more UK tourists using their spending power overseas than anything we might gain from visitors.

Continue ReadingGatwick given green light for £2.2bn second runway plan