25 August 2016
Week In Brief: UK
Government
FREE SPEECH: Concerns over the impact on free speech are leading to delays in laws to silence hate preachers such as Anjem Choudary. Despite his conviction, hate videos, spread by his acolytes, are still being found on YouTube. As many as 5 associates of Mr Choudary have been placed under anti-terror controls and are banned from London. The government’s counter-extremism plan is reportedly being shunned by nearly half of those though to be susceptible to Islamic State ideology. In a Home Office review, self-styled prison emirs are said to be radicalising inmates and bullying them into converting to Islam. This has prompted calls for greater segregation, although ministers have vetoed plans for a ban on Friday prayers.
MAYORS: The Prime Minister wants to ditch the policy of directly elected mayors for city regions, partly to avoid Labour using this as a platform for revival in its heartlands. Elections in Manchester and Liverpool are still likely to go ahead. Andy Burnham accused the PM of betraying voters.
IMMIGRATION: The number of east European workers in the UK has risen to over 1 million. It has doubled since 2010, and is 20 times greater than 2004 when these countries joined the EU.
DOUBLE COUNTING: Journalist Charles Moore was reported to the police after writing that he had voted twice in the EU referendum in protest at lax voting rules. He spoiled his second ballot paper.
MORE STRIKES: An 83% majority of Communications Union workers in the post office voted to go on strike over the closure of 60 branches and 2,000 job losses. The date is still to be set. Southern Rail commuters face a further 48 hour strike in September.
LANDLORDS PROFIT: Private landlords are getting £9 billion a year from housing benefits due to rising rents and a shortage of affordable housing, up from £4.6 billion last year.
BILL OF RIGHTS: The justice secretary, Lynn Truss, has promised a UK Bill of Rights to replace the Human Rights Act.
MIND THE GAP: The Institute of Fiscal Studies has shown that working mothers face a growing pay gap with their male colleagues. The gap widens from 6% for a young woman without children, to 30% ten years after giving birth.
Opposition
TALK TO ISIS: Leadership candidate Owen Smith said that we must engage in talks with ISIS to try to end the Syrian war. Jeremy Corbyn used this to call into question his fitness to hold high office. See comment Which War, Mr Smith?.
A JUMP TO THE LEFT (WITH A SKIP TO THE RIGHT): A coalition of 5 hard-left groups has been formed to ensure that Jeremy Corbyn is re-elected and strengthened in the first stage of a plan to pull society to the left. Within parliament a group of Labour MPs is uniting to coordinate a mass defiance of Jeremy Corbyn’s hard-left policies if he wins the leadership, prompting talk of a “party within a party”.
OH MR CORBYN: Jeremy Corbyn posted a video of himself sitting on a train to highlight levels of over-crowding – only for Virgin trains to release CCT footage of him passing empty seats and then sitting in a seat after his video was taken.
ANOTHER REFERENDUM: Owen Smith has said he will commit Labour to block formal talks to leave the EU unless Theresa May pledges to put the final Brexit deal to another vote.
Health
SWEET ENOUGH: Theresa May has decided that the economy must take priority, so measures to tackle obesity and promotional deals on junk food have been scrapped. The levy on sugary drinks is the one remaining commitment. Jamie Oliver accused her of “betraying the nation’s children”. See comment Fit To Be Fat.
DRUG DENIAL: Some critically ill breast cancer patients could be denied a prolonged life under plans to stop providing a drug which costs £2,670.
HRT: Hormone replacement therapy is more that twice as likely to cause breast cancer than previously thought, following a study of 39,000 women.
TEEN DEPRESSION: The number of middle-class teenage girls suffering from depression or anxiety has risen 10% in a decade in a government study of 30,000. They are twice as likely as boys to suffer, and social media has been blamed in part.
ABORTION HALT: Care Quality Commission concerns that under-18’s may not be giving proper consent for procedures at Marie Stopes clinics have led to the suspension of abortions. The clinics carry out 70,000 abortions per year, 10,000 of which are paid for by the NHS.
SAME AGAIN PLEASE: Adults are to be told that it is fine to drink in moderation, with the risks no greater than driving a car. This is contrary to the message that the Chief Medical Officer, Dame Sally Davies, issued earlier this year.
Education
OFF TO UNI: A record number of university places, 420,000, were awarded following this year’s A level results, despite a marginal fall in the number of top grades awarded. Clearing places at Russell Group universities were also at a record of over 5,000, with only Oxbridge not taking part. Cambridge is to bring back its entrance exam after 30 years. The numbers of European students attending UK universities rose 11% in the last 12 months, as they took advantage of fees of £9,000 vs £12,000 for non-EU students.
FEES TO RISE: Some universities, such as Exeter, are already increasing their fees to £9,250, which will apply to both new and second year students. New graduates could end up paying £100,000 by the time the clear their loans as the interest rate on them is due to rise to 4.6% next month.
EXPENSIVE ESSAYS: Students who buy essays from “essay mills” should face fines of £5,000 and the threat of expulsion, in recommendations from a report requested by the universities minister Jo Johnson.
MIND YOUR LANGUAGE: The numbers studying languages at A level hit an all-time low, with French students down 6.4% at 9,672. This compares with 31,261 in 1992.
Economy
BACK TO WORK: Unemployment hit its lowest level in 11 years, at 4.9%, in July, with wage growth seen to be continuing.
PILE IT HIGH: Retail sales rose 1.4% following a dip ahead of the referendum. Sales were helped by falling prices, cheap credit and warm weather.
BECAUSE YOU’RE WORTH IT: The ONS has calculated the human capital value of the UK as £19.2 trillion, with the average employed person having a “human capital stock” of £471,000, up £18,000 from 2014.
LIMITED RECEIPTS: Public finances were £1 billion in surplus last month, but this was less than the £1.9 billion expected and £1.2 billion last year. This is likely to lead to a change in the government’s borrowing forecasts in the Autumn Statement.
Sport
YET MORE OLYMPIC SUCCESS: In the final week of the Rio games, Team GB exceeded their LONDON 2012 medal haul, hitting 67. The Brownlee brothers got gold and silver in the triathlon, Jade Jones gold in Taekwondo, Mo Farah repeated his feat of 5,00 and 10,000 metres wins and Nick Skelton finally won an Olympic gold in show-jumping at his 7th games. Many are expected to receive honours in the New Year. Some members of the French and German cycling teams raised questions as to how the UK was able to do so well – implying that we cheated.
See comments The Lessons of Rio and Didn’t We Do Well?!, and feature The Olympics.
1966 AND ALL THAT: Members of England’s World Cup winning team are still awaiting full payment for attending last month’s golden anniversary dinner.
Other News
TUNNELING: The world’s longest road tunnel, up to 20 miles long, could be built under the Pennines to link Manchester with Sheffield. A new route from Oxford to Cambridge has also been proposed.
ALL NIGHTER: The London Underground night tube started at the weekend on the Central and Victoria lines. 100,000 passengers were expected over the first 2 nights. The Piccadilly and Northern lines should be added by year-end.
SEA DEATHS: 7 people were swept to their deaths in string winds, high tides and surging seas at various points around the country.
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