Biggest rail strikes in 30 years go ahead as RMT slams government for ‘telling a pack of lies’
‘The rail companies have now proposed pay rates that are massively under the relevant rates of inflation’
Left Foot Forward
Downing Street admits pressuring The Times to drop explosive Carrie Johnson story
Downing Street has admitted that members of the Prime Minister’s team intervened before an explosive story about his wife Carrie Johnson was withdrawn from publication in The Times.
Voices on the Left: 5 blogs from the left you need to read this week
A roundup of progressive news…
Accusations of a ‘cover up’ after Times pull damning story about Boris Johnson and Carrie
The piece, written by veteran journalist Simon Walters, claimed that Johnson tried to appoint his now-wife Carrie as his £100,000-a-year chief of staff while he was foreign secretary in 2018
Michael Gove faces backlash over new law ‘re-criminalising’ rough sleeping
“They want to conceal the consequences of their failing economic policies.”
Predatory financing of care homes has led to the sector being stripped to the bones in the name of profit
Predatory financing of the care sector is also driving poor outcomes for workers and service users.
The debate about Scotland’s future needs to go beyond independence vs the union
‘The way forward must be an open and civil debate that examines the issues and has all options for Scotland’s future on the table.’
Tory crackdown on protests prompted by oil-funded think tank, investigation finds
Report shows that Policy Exchange, which called for the criminalisation of Extinction Rebellion and is funded by US fossil fuel giant ExxonMobil, influenced government clampdown on protest rights.
It’s time for the UK to introduce a wealth tax
There are now a record 177 billionaires in the UK. A wealth tax is a necessary step for reducing inequalities and building a society that enables everyone to live a fulfilling life
Government is creating ‘hostile environment’ for protestors, say MPs and peers
‘This latest raft of measures is likely to have a chilling effect on the right to protest in England and Wales.’