The Morning Star has an article discussing how the left should respond to Starmer. One comment: The next general election is expected in 17 months or so, I suggest that it’s the sooner the better if there is to be a party challenge to Starmer’s.
In prioritising oil and gas over renewables, ministers are doing the bidding of the polluters. And we’ll all pay the price
Money for the criminals, prison for the heroes: this, in brief, is the government’s climate policy. If something is damaging to the public interest, it’s likely to be rewarde
Money for the criminals, prison for the heroes: this, in brief, is the government’s climate policy. If something is damaging to the public interest, it’s likely to be rewarded and subsidised. If it’s beneficial, it will find itself in a hostile environment.
This government represents the denouement of the Pollution Paradox: as dirty money has the greatest incentive to invest in politics, it comes to run the whole system. Across these 13 years of misrule, we have seen the perversities of Conservative government multiply and intensify.
Thursday was supposed to be “green day”, when the government, forced to act by a court ruling, would unveil a new, more detailed plan for achieving net zero emissions. Instead, the occasion has been rebranded “energy security day”.
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Call comes on eve of revised net zero strategy that allows drilling in North Sea and boosts ‘unproven’ carbon capture
Hundreds of the UK’s leading scientists have urged the prime minister, Rishi Sunak, to halt the licensing of new oil and gas developments in the UK, ahead of his anticipated launch of a revised net zero and energy security strategy on Thursday.
The scientists, who include Chris Rapley, former head of the Science Museum and professor at UCL and Mark Maslin, professor of earth system science at UCL, warn that there must be no new developments of oil and gas, for the world to limit global heating to 1.5C above preindustrial levels.
The call, backed by more than 700 scientists, comes on the eve of the government’s “energy security day”, when a new net zero strategy will be published.
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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/mar/29/uk-strikingly-unprepared-impacts-climate-crisis
Government’s official advisers point to ‘lost decade’ in efforts to protect lives and livelihoods
The UK is “strikingly unprepared” for the impacts of the climate crisis, according to the Climate Change Committee (CCC), which said there had been a “lost decade” in efforts to adapt for the impacts of global heating.
The CCC, the government’s official climate adviser, said climate damages will inevitably intensify for decades to come. It has warned repeatedly of poor preparation in the past and said government action was now urgently needed to protect people and their homes and livelihoods.
The extreme heatwave in 2022, when temperatures surpassed 40C for the first time, was both an example and a warning, the CCC said. More than 3,000 people died early and 20% of hospital operations were cancelled at the peak of the heatwave, while rail lines buckled, wildfires raged and farmers struggled with drought. “It won’t be long before those kinds of very hot summers are a normal summer,” said Chris Stark, CCC chief executive.
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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/mar/29/uk-strikingly-unprepared-impacts-climate-crisis
https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/b/sky-high%20stress-could-cause-nhs-exodus
MORE than three-quarters of NHS staff are considering quitting due to stress, burnout and anxiety, according to shocking figures published today.
A massive 78 per cent of the 2,500 NHS workers surveyed by campaign group Organise reported experiencing stress and over half (55 per cent) had taken time off because of stress, anxiety or burnout as the crisis in the NHS deepens, with 25 per cent staying away from work for more than a month.
Most NHS workers pointed to the impact that this was having on patient care, with over half saying that patients had experienced “medication errors, delays in procedures and a compromised quality of care.”
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Organise head Nat Whalley said: “NHS workers are exposing a ticking time bomb at the heart of our healthcare system.
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“We don’t need empty promises, we need tangible investment in the NHS that allow workers to thrive in their roles without suffering from stress, anxiety and burnout.
“Listen to us, invest in the well-being of our NHS workforce and ensure the future of the NHS.”
https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/b/sky-high%20stress-could-cause-nhs-exodus