Unision chief sounds the alram - sort of

[Evvy_dense]

I was just going to say what a good article this is. It’s good to see any criticism of Labour from the logsuffering the TUs, so it was quite good to read it from Unison’s newbie leader.

But en route to the keyboard it struck me, rather belatedly, that it pulls some big punches.

Couched in a narrow framework of control freakery, the article warns that

“The Prime Minister should know that this latest act of control freakery was, above all else, a mistake. He cannot afford any more.”

Only a mistake? She might have added that the carefully planned appointment of Blairite brainchild Starmer was a continuation of a longterm project fundamentally aimed at suppressing the poor and working classes, instigated in the 1990s by spiritual leader Blair himself (whose election was similarly engineered by the same powerful financial and geopolitical forces).

She could have gone a lot further. Reform don’t need to be in government to serve billionaires - due to the electoral threat (as they aren’t that far apart anyway) the other two main parties are adjusting so as to compete on Reform’s territory.- which IS to serve billionaires.

On Reform victory Andrea says:

“It would be a global victory for a billionaire-backed ethnonationalist project represented by the administration of Donald Trump, whose contempt for democracy was so brutally demonstrated by the murder of intensive care nurse Alex Pretti by ICE agents.”

Well said but…does this not also apply the election of Starmer in the first place?
Or rather - counting Blair - the second place.

ED

Starmer’s Control Freakery Is a Gift to Reform

By

Andrea Egan

[LocalYokel]

It’s not a gift to Farage as such, just a gift to the next batton carrier.

Reform aren’t helping themselves by absorbing Tories. And it’s being noticed. But don’t worry, we have at least two other replacements waiting in the wings.

[Rich]

Extreme poverty rate shoots up in UK – study

Nearly seven million people are living in severe hardship, the highest level on record, according the Joseph Rowntree Foundation

© Getty Images / Anadolu / Contributor

Poverty in the UK has worsened, with record numbers living in severe hardship and unable to afford basic necessities, according to an analysis by a leading charity.

More than one in five people in the UK – about 14.2 million – were living in poverty in 2023/24, the final year of the last Conservative government and the latest year for which official figures are available, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) said in a report on Tuesday. Of these, about half, or 6.8 million people, were experiencing “very deep” hardship, the highest number in 30 years.

Children, renters, disabled people, and those in insecure work were among the groups most affected. Nearly 4.5 million children lived in poverty in 2023/24, 600,000 more than during the pandemic and marking the third consecutive year of increases. Rates were highest in larger families, where 44% of children were affected. People renting privately faced greater risks than homeowners, while disabled people and informal carers were also disproportionately affected, the report noted.

The most severe cases are even more acute. About 3.8 million people, including around one million children, experienced destitution, being unable to afford basics such as heating, clothing, and food.

Read more
UK’s poorest have become poorer under Starmer – Telegraph

“Poverty in the UK is still not just widespread, it is deeper and more damaging than at any point in the last 30 years,” said JRF’s chief analyst Peter Matejic. “When nearly half of the people in poverty are living far below the poverty line, that is a warning sign that the welfare system is failing to protect people from harm.”

Poverty rates varied across the UK, with London and the West Midlands among the hardest-hit areas, according to the report.

Rising living costs and stagnant wages have contributed to the increase in severe poverty, the charity stated. Inflation for essentials such as food, energy, and rent has surged in recent years, while earnings for low-income households have barely increased, leaving many struggling to cover basic needs.

The poorest UK households have only become poorer under Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour government, despite promises to boost living standards, according to the latest data from independent research consultancy Retail Economics.

https://swentr.site/business/631648-uk-households-poverty-deepens/

[LocalYokel]

You are the carbon they want gone.

Interesting fact. First piece of legislation passed by Bliars government after 17 years in opposition was removal of the death penalty from the treason act.