All posts tagged: Britain

Ed Balls Skips Good Morning Britain Interview Amid Conflict Of Interest

Ed Balls Skips Good Morning Britain Interview Amid Conflict Of Interest

Published by Sam

ITV were flooded with thousands of complaints in August after Balls joined in a grilling of the home secretary. At the time, GMB bosses defended the decision to let the interview go ahead. “Following a weekend of rioting and national unrest, GMB featured a range of interviews and discussion around this national emergency on today’s programme which included James Cleverly, shadow home secretary, and Yvette Cooper, home secretary,” a spokesperson said. “We are satisfied that these interviews were balanced, fair and duly impartial.” But on GMB this morning, viewers were informed that there had been a change of heart. Balls’ co-presenter Susanna Reid said: “Still to come, as the government doubles the money it’s putting in to tackle people smuggling gangs, it is still facing criticism after a record month for crossings in October. Joined by the home secretary Yvette Cooper next.” Balls then said: “Who as you know, she’s my wife. so I’ll sit this one out.” Source link

Why has there been a sharp rise in health-related benefits claims in Britain but not in similar countries? Expert Q&A

Why has there been a sharp rise in health-related benefits claims in Britain but not in similar countries? Expert Q&A

Published by Sam

Since 2019, real-terms spending on health-related benefits in Britain has increased by £12 billion and is set to continue growing, according to a new report from the Institute for Fiscal Studies. However, comparable countries, such as France, Australia and the US, have not experienced similar increases in spending. The Conversation asked Ben Geiger, a professor of social science and health at King’s College London, to explain these rises and suggest potential solutions. What are the key findings from the new IFS report? Two findings have received a lot of attention. First, more British people are claiming working-age health-related benefits than before COVID (out-of-work incapacity benefits such as universal credit are up 28%, and extra-cost disability benefits such as personal independent payment, or Pip, are up 39%). And while guessing the future is difficult, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecasts this will keep rising. But we knew most of this already, partly from the IFS’s previous great work. What’s really new is that they show the UK’s rise in claims is sharper – much sharper …

Using ‘Fall’ For ‘Autumn’ Isn’t Actually American

Using ‘Fall’ For ‘Autumn’ Isn’t Actually American

Published by Sam

“In the UK, we call this season ‘autumn,’” TikToker Amber Kacherian began her viral video, walking alongside some auburn leaves. She (correctly) said the name stems from “the Latin word ‘autumnus’, which means ‘harvest season’,” while the UK national anthem rang out in the background. Then, she superimposed her face onto a lolloping cartoon character, and her accent became American. “We call it fall because leaf fall down!” she exclaimed, highlighting the difference between UK and US terms for the season. It’s a funny video, but if dictionary Merriam-Webster is to be believed, it’s not quite accurate. After all, not only does “spring” (“leaf spring up!” if we want to follow the creator’s logic) very much exist in British English, but “fall” wasn’t actually an Americanism word to start with. So where does the term ‘fall’ come from? “Fall” is not a term that independently sprung up in American English, it was actually born in the UK. Merriam-Webster writes that prior to the 1300s, English speakers didn’t even use the word “autumnus”, which later became …

Britain to be hotter than Morocco as weather maps show exact date of sizzling 27C spell

Britain to be hotter than Morocco as weather maps show exact date of sizzling 27C spell

Published by Sam

A striking weather map has revealed that parts of the UK are set to enjoy temperatures as high as 27C, with the mercury even surpassing the warmth of holiday hotspot Morocco. As high pressure sweeps in from the south, the UK is gearing up for a significant temperature hike. Weather experts predict that Wednesday afternoon will see the mercury hit 27C, with dry conditions expected across the country, with the Met Office’s website stating: “Very warm with sunny spells in the southeast on Wednesday.” They also forecast that the warm weather will persist into the weekend and humidity levels will soar by Monday. The forecast suggests “Drier and brighter through the period as higher pressure builds into the weekend. Lighter winds than of late with temperatures near or just above average for the time of year,” reports the Mirror. Areas set to experience the peak warmth include east London, Essex, and Kent, while the East of England can anticipate 26C and the East Midlands is looking forward to 23C sunshine. However that doesn’t mean that …

Prince Harry Says Battling Tabloids Was ‘Central Piece’ to Family Rift

Prince Harry Says Battling Tabloids Was ‘Central Piece’ to Family Rift

Published by Sam

new video loaded: Prince Harry Says Battling Tabloids Was ‘Central Piece’ to Family Rift transcript Back transcript Prince Harry Says Battling Tabloids Was ‘Central Piece’ to Family Rift In an interview airing on ITV on Thursday, Prince Harry talks about his marathon battle with British tabloids over privacy and the effect it had on his relationship with other royals. “To what extent do you think that your determination to fight the tabloids destroyed the relationship with your family?” “I think there’s — that’s certainly a central piece to it. But they — that’s a hard question to answer because anything I say about my family results in a torrent of abuse from the press. I’ve made it very clear that this is something that needs to be done. It would be nice if we did it as a family. I believe that, again, from a service standpoint, and when you’re in a public role, that these are the things that we should be doing for the greater good. But, I’m doing this, I’m doing this …

Labour told it will need to defeat ‘net-zero nimbys’ to decarbonise Britain | Renewable energy

Labour told it will need to defeat ‘net-zero nimbys’ to decarbonise Britain | Renewable energy

Published by skeptic

The government will need to “take on net-zero nimbys” and ramp up public investment to decarbonise Britain’s homes, transport and electricity system, a leading thinktank has said. With Keir Starmer promising a rapid transition to decarbonise the power system by 2030, a report by the Resolution Foundation said achieving the target would require more government spending and private investment. However, the thinktank said projects required to meet the goal – including new solar farms, battery storage, and onshore wind turbines – were likely to face resistance from local groups. It said many renewables projects would take place in wealthier parts of the country, and two-thirds of proposed solar projects would be in the richest 40% of neighbourhoods. “Doing this effectively will require overcoming opposition to development from net-zero nimbys, who often live in wealthier parts of the country,” said Jonny Marshall, a senior economist at the Resolution Foundation. “The government must be prepared to win these battles, which won’t be popular with some voters but are vital for the country as a whole.” The thinktank …

Fewer swallows grace summer skies in Britain amid changing climate | Birds

Fewer swallows grace summer skies in Britain amid changing climate | Birds

Published by skeptic

The proverb “one swallow doesn’t make a summer”, first attributed to Aristotle, sums up our love of this elegant bird. Swallows visit us for roughly half the year, between April and September, before travelling almost 6,000 miles (10,000 km) to South Africa, where they enjoy a second spring and summer. But unpredictable weather patterns are now affecting swallows throughout their lifecycle: in Africa, on their journeys south in autumn and north in spring, and during the breeding season here in the UK. A mixture of wet springs and summer droughts, leading to major falls in numbers of the flying insects on which they feed, has reduced the swallow’s breeding population by almost a quarter in the past 25 years or so. Anecdotally, many of my farming neighbours here in Somerset tell me they have far fewer nesting swallows than before; some have even lost them altogether. And a recent report confirms that those other familiar denizens of our summer skies, the house martin and swift, have suffered even greater falls in numbers over the past …

Labour’s offer: ‘dullifesto’ or a bold plan for Britain? | Labour

Labour’s offer: ‘dullifesto’ or a bold plan for Britain? | Labour

Published by skeptic

With “stable economic growth” at the heart of Labour’s manifesto, and wealth creation “the number one priority”, it would appear that Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves have agreed not only to Tory fiscal rules, but also to longstanding economic myths, still parroted by the government but discredited by almost all serious economists. As your editorial (13 June) states, persuading businesses to “behave very differently from the ways it has grown used to” is going to be difficult enough, especially as the last decade has seen a propensity to seek quick profits, a reliance on cheap labour, an absence of serious investment in training and technology, and an obvious over-rewarding of bosses. Even more difficult for Labour is persuading voters like those in East Thanet – who are “utterly ground down, mums who are doing three jobs, can’t get childcare”, to quote Polly Billington in Gaby Hinsliff’s article (Hope is not enough: people want to know that Keir Starmer can fix things, 14 June) – that the wealth created will “trickle down” to them, when, despite …

Azeem Rafiq talks racism, cricket, and leaving Britain; Philippa Perry offers advice on a painful crush; why Rory Stewart quit politics; and the big British bamboo crisis – podcast | Life and style

Azeem Rafiq talks racism, cricket, and leaving Britain; Philippa Perry offers advice on a painful crush; why Rory Stewart quit politics; and the big British bamboo crisis – podcast | Life and style

Published by skeptic

The former cricketer discusses the ramifications of his decision to speak out about racism at Yorkshire; a reader has developed an intense crush on an unavailable work colleague; Boris Johnson and Brexit weren’t the only reasons Rory Stewart left politics; and Simon Usborne on the destructive impact of bamboo How to listen to podcasts: everything you need to know Source link