25 February 2016

Week in Brief: UK

SUGAR: An investigation has found that hot flavoured drinks sold in outlets such as Starbucks and Costa Coffee contain very high levels of sugar – as much as 25 teaspoons which is the equivalent of 3 times the amount in a can of Coca Cola. Both companies said that they were committed to reducing the quantity of sugar in their products.

GAMBLING: Campaigners have warned about the increasing danger of compulsive gambling, especially at fixed odds betting terminals (FOBT). Players can place bets for as much as £100 every 20 seconds. There is concern that gamblers who lose money may fall deeper into debt and even become violent. In one incident, a punter smashed 5 machines after losing £1,000. There are also worries about the safety of workers in the shops: a manager was murdered in 2014 by someone who was a compulsive gambler.

PAEDOPHILIA: The PIE member, Tom O’Carroll, mentioned in our last summary, has been suspended from the Labour party and is likely to be expelled.

IMMIGRATION: Figures released recently estimate that there are over 2 million EU migrants working in the UK. The countries which have the majority of workers in the UK are Poland, the Baltic States, Romania and Bulgaria. These counties are in the van of those who wish to oppose David Cameron’s reform of the EU and its policy in respect of migrant workers.

EU REFERENDUM: David Cameron has returned to the UK with the text of an agreement which he has reached about Britain’s relationship with the EU. Debate has begun about the effect of the agreement and whether the UK should stay in or leave the EU. Boris Johnson, the mayor of London, has declare his support for the so-called “Brexit”. The debate is likely to become more and more heated in the months leading up the referendum which will take place on 23 June.  See comment ‘In or Out?’.

SERCO: The arrangements for the accommodation of asylum seekers in Glasgow has been entrusted by the Government to the private company Serco in a contract worth £175 million. Serco, in turn, have used sub-contractors under a contract worth £60 million. There have been allegations that the sub-contractor’s staff have not acted properly and have, in some cases, humiliated the people for whom they are providing accommodation.

JOINT ENTERPRISE: The Supreme Court has handed down a judgment which holds that the way in which the crime of joint enterprise has been interpreted is not correct in law and has been wrongly applied since 1984. There are fears that hundreds of prisoners who have been convicted of murder in a joint enterprise may have been wrongly convicted. This may lead to many such cases being reviewed by the Courts. The Supreme Court ruled that foresight that a killing would take place, was not sufficient: there had to be intent on the part of the accused.

GOVERNMENT BORROWING: It appears that the Government will not meet its borrowing target this year, despite a record surplus in January, the largest for 8 years.

SPECIAL ADVISER: Damien McBride, who resigned from Gordon Brown’s staff because of his involvement in the “Red Flag” blog which tried to smear Conservative MPs, has returned to politics as a special adviser to Emily Thornberry, the shadow Defence Secretary. She has not decided yet whether to commit the Labour Party to spending 2% of GDP on defence, as required by NATO.

YOUNG LABOUR: Supporters of Jeremy Corbyn have taken control of Young Labour. The group, backed by Momentum, took all 18 seats which were vacant in recent elections. If Momentum’s candidate is elected as the youth representative on Labour’s NEC, it would increase the number of Corbyn allies on Labour’s ruling council.

LASER ATTACKS: Calls for small, hand held lasers to be banned are becoming more persistent after a survey of eye specialists revealed that over 150 people have suffered eye injuries in the last 5 years. Reports of laser lights being directed at aircraft are increasing.

OBR: The Treasury select committee has criticised Treasury officials, a former Government minister and the Office for Budget Responsibility (“the OBR”) for being in breach of rules which are designed to ensure the independence of the OBR. The committee found that OBR had been subjected to political pressure and, as a result, had changed the text before publishing its economic outlook.

RBS: Criticism has been levelled at HMRC for allowing RBS to use investment in films as a means to avoid paying corporation tax. The scheme is similar to those which have been attacked by HMRC when used by individuals to reduce or avoid tax liabilities.

GLOBAL WARMING: Terence Mills, a Professor of Applied Statistics at Loughborough University, has written a paper published by the Global Warning Policy Foundation in which he predicts that the global average temperature will probably remain unchanged until the end of the century. His forecast is contrary to that of climate scientists who have warned that the temperature could rise by 4C˚. The Professor said that he had found no evidence to support the view expressed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change of the UN that there would be an increase.

 

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