Radical Roundup: 10 stories that have got buried – Week 3, October 2021
The news you didn’t see this week…
Inequality
Prof Prem Sikka: The government’s claims of not being able to lift retirees out of poverty are not credible
‘Even before the proposed suspension of the triple-lock, 2.1 million retirees (18%), including 1.25 million women, live in poverty compared to 1.6 million (13%) in 2012-13.’
Radical Roundup: 10 stories that have got buried – Week 2, October 2021
The news you didn’t see this week…
5 major crises facing the UK as Boris Johnson jets off to holiday in Spain
Industry leaders have warned that factories face closure within days without government help.
Prof Prem Sikka: The government’s obsession with neoliberalism isn’t creating prosperity or happiness
‘The government could help households by freezing rents, energy and train fare prices. It could eliminate profiteering by bringing vital industries such as gas, water, electricity and railways into public ownership, but that is not on its agenda.’
‘Completely out of touch’: Edwina Currie’s levelling up ‘is working’ comments evoke outcry
The former Conservative MP’s clash with Gary Neville on GMB went viral, with people rejoicing as Neville ‘destroyed’ Currie in a row on Universal Credit that proves how out of touch the Tories are.
How we can end bogus self-employment which condemns millions to a low income
‘False or bogus self-employment is a major reason for low pay’.
Weetabix engineers strike over fire and rehire plans that could see them lose up to £5,000 a year in wages
‘Last year Weetabix’s profits went up by almost 20% to more than £81 million’.
Boris Johnson cannot disown the mental health impact of the Universal Credit cut
‘I’ve seen how policy is developed at the highest levels of government, but also how it plays out in the day-to-day lives of people at the margins of our society. Decisions made in the abstract at the top have painfully real consequences at the bottom.’
Universal credit cut breaches human rights law, says UN envoy
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation says that the universal credit cut will impose the ‘biggest overnight cut to the basic rate of social security since the foundation of the modern welfare state.’