06 July 2017 Week In Brief: UK Government AUSTERITY: The government’s austerity policy has come under renewed pressure with demonstrations against the 1% limit on increases to public sector pay and cuts to the real education budget. The 1% pay cap has been in place since 2013, before which time there was a freeze on… Continue reading Issue 112: 2017 07 06: week in Brief: UK
Category: Week In Brief UK
Issue 111: 2017 06 29: Week In Brief: UK
29 June 2017 Week in Brief: UK From the Brexit kitchen QUEEN’S SPEECH: Last week’s Queen’s speech, a two-year programme of 27 measures, 8 of which related to Brexit, omitted many manifesto pledges. Gone was the proposal to means test winter fuel allowance; gone were the plans to replace free school lunches with breakfast;… Continue reading Issue 111: 2017 06 29: Week In Brief: UK
Issue 110: 2017 06 22: Week in Brief UK
22 June 2017 Week In Brief: UK NEWS Fire GRENFELL TOWER: The Prime Minister has been heavily criticised for failing to empathise with victims following the disastrous fire at Grenfell Tower. Although she visited the site shortly after the tragedy there was resentment that she spent her time with the emergency services rather than with… Continue reading Issue 110: 2017 06 22: Week in Brief UK
Issue 109: 2017 06 15: Week in Brief: UK
15 June 2017 Week in Brief: UK Fire HIGH RISE FIRE: Grenfell Tower, a 24 story residential block of flats in West Kensington, caught fire in the early hours of Wednesday. The block, which was built by the Kensington and Chelsea Borough Council in 1994 and refurbished last year, contained 120 flats. It was gutted… Continue reading Issue 109: 2017 06 15: Week in Brief: UK
Issue 108: 2017 06 08: Week in Brief: UK
08 June 2017 Week In Brief: UK Terrorism LONDON ATTACKS: On Saturday night three terrorists murdered seven people and injured another 48 in an attack on London Bridge and Borough Market. It began when they drove their white rental van into pedestrians on the bridge. The van was abandoned just outside Southwark Cathedral, the men using… Continue reading Issue 108: 2017 06 08: Week in Brief: UK
Issue 107: 2017 06 01: Week in Brief: UK
01 June 2017 Week In Brief: UK NEWS Terrorism TERRORIST THREAT: Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley, who is in charge of the investigation into the Manchester bombing, has said that a large part of the network supporting the bomber has been successfully wound up and that the threat of further outrages has been contained. The difficulty… Continue reading Issue 107: 2017 06 01: Week in Brief: UK
Issue 106: 2017 05 25: Week in Brief: UK
25 May 2017 Week in Brief: UK Terrorism EXPLOSION IN MANCHESTER: 22 people were killed and 59 others injured in a terrorist attack on a pop concert at the Manchester Arena. The blast occurred just after a performance by the American singer Ariana Grande and many of the victims were teenage fans. It is understood… Continue reading Issue 106: 2017 05 25: Week in Brief: UK
Issue 105: 2017 05 18: Week in Brief: UK
18 May 2017 Week In Brief: UK Election news LABOUR MANIFESTO: Following leaks of a draft, the Labour manifesto was launched on Tuesday, pledging, amongst other things: that tuition fees and zero hour contracts would be scrapped and fracking for oil abolished; that the triple lock on pensions would be retained; that 10,000 new police… Continue reading Issue 105: 2017 05 18: Week in Brief: UK
Issue 104: 2017 05 11: Week in Brief: UK
11 May 2017 Week In Brief: UK Royal news DUCAL RETIREMENT: Prince Philip has announced that he will step down from his public role at the end of the summer, shortly after his 96th birthday. From then on, although he may himself decide to attend public events from time to time, other members of the… Continue reading Issue 104: 2017 05 11: Week in Brief: UK
Issue 103: 2017 05 04: Week in Brief: UK
04 May 2017 Week in Brief: UK Brexit JUNCKER’S DINNER: German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine carries reports that a dinner at Number 10, which Mr Juncker described as “a constructive meeting”, was in reality nothing of the sort. Rather, it is suggested that the occasion was fractious with “megaphone diplomacy” and that it left him sceptical… Continue reading Issue 103: 2017 05 04: Week in Brief: UK
Issue 102: 2017 04 27: Week in Brief: UK
27 April 2017 Week In Brief: UK Science NEAR STRIKE: Asteroid 2014 JO 25, more than 1.3 km wide and travelling at 75,000 mph, passed 1.1 million miles from earth last week. It is at least 30 times the mass of the meteor which exploded over Chelyabinsk in 2013 causing injuries to more than 1400… Continue reading Issue 102: 2017 04 27: Week in Brief: UK
Issue 101: 2017 04 20: Week in Brief: UK
20 April 2017 Week in Brief: UK Government GENERAL ELECTION: The government has called a general election on 8 June. Under the Fixed Term Parliament Act that had to be endorsed by a two thirds majority of the House of Commons but, since Mr Corbyn has already said that he would back an early election,… Continue reading Issue 101: 2017 04 20: Week in Brief: UK
Issue 100: UK News Week In Brief
13 April 2017 Week In Brief: UK NEWS Foreign Affairs BORIS STAYS AWAY: Boris Johnson cancelled this week’s visit to Moscow to the apparent irritation of his Russian hosts. Tweets from the Russian Embassy refer to him as Donald Trump’s “lieutenant.” It is assumed that the cancellation was designed to strengthen the hand of US… Continue reading Issue 100: UK News Week In Brief