UK Socialist blog

Tory ministers accused of ‘rigging the rules’ to help rail firm bosses get bonuses 

https://leftfootforward.org/2024/04/tory-ministers-accused-of-rigging-the-rules-to-help-rail-firm-bosses-get-bonuses/ Many articles from LeftFootForward today.

‘They are desperate to help their chums, the privateers, keep their private snouts in the public trough’

The Shadow Transport Secretary has accused the Tories of a “scandalous misuse of taxpayers’ money” after it was revealed that more rail operators have had their performance targets lowered, helping company bosses get bonuses. 

At least eight rail firms have had their performance targets lowered by the Government as Labour accused ministers of “rigging the rules” to reward “abject failure”.

In February it was reported that Tory ministers cut the standards for train cleanliness, ticketing, staffing and customer services at Govia Thameslink Railway, after the company had failed to reach service quality standards on most measures. 

Now the Mirror has revealed that a further seven other operators have had service standards on key measures lowered, after failures to meet targets. Government rule changes in 2020 mean that companies are now paid an annual fee for operating lines and have the chance to earn bonuses for performance on top. 

Rail bosses have raked in billions in bonus payments from the Government, with the two Chief Executive of First Group, which owns major stakes in South Western Railway, sharing a £1.3m bonus.

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https://leftfootforward.org/2024/04/tory-ministers-accused-of-rigging-the-rules-to-help-rail-firm-bosses-get-bonuses/ Many articles from LeftFootForward today.

Continue ReadingTory ministers accused of ‘rigging the rules’ to help rail firm bosses get bonuses 

Chris Packham takes apart UK Government’s climate policies

https://leftfootforward.org/2024/04/chris-packham-takes-apart-uk-governments-climate-policies/ Many articles from LeftFootForward today.

Chris Packham by Garry Knight from London, England - People's Walk for Wildlife 2018 - 04, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia image
Chris Packham by Garry Knight from London, England – People’s Walk for Wildlife 2018 – 04, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia image.

‘Our government’s policies.. are not only cooking the planet, they are justifying that by cooking the books’

Naturalist Chris Packham obliterated the UK Government’s climate policy achievements during a debate about the government’s record on tackling climate change.

It followed an interview with the Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho on Sunday where she defended the government’s approach to the environment and argued that Tories had a “very strong track record of delivery”. 

Speaking on the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Coutinho also repeated the Conservative Party line that it is tacking a “sensible and pragmatic” approach to achieving net zero, as she argued she didn’t want to “heap costs on families”. 

However environmental activist and broadcaster Chris Packham took apart the government’s rhetoric, accusing ministers of “cooking the books” over their climate policy achievements. 

“Our government’s policies at the moment are not only cooking the planet, they are justifying that by cooking the books,” said Packham. 

“She’s saying we’re ahead in all of our targets. That’s not actually the case, it’s the way that data is presented and analysed. 

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https://leftfootforward.org/2024/04/chris-packham-takes-apart-uk-governments-climate-policies/ Many articles from LeftFootForward today.

Continue ReadingChris Packham takes apart UK Government’s climate policies

A ‘car crash’ of different disasters has left UK with among the worst bathing conditions in Europe, campaigners warn

https://leftfootforward.org/2024/04/a-car-crash-of-different-disasters-has-left-uk-with-among-the-worst-bathing-conditions-in-europe-campaigners-warn/

Campaigners are attributing privatisation, extreme weather, and politics to collectively creating the water pollution crisis.  

Almost all of Britain’s waterways are polluted. In 2023, sewage spills into England’s waterways more than doubled. Recently released figures from the Environment Agency show that there were 3.6 million hours of spills compared to 1.75 million hours in 2022.

A separate report from the Rivers Trust confirms the ‘desperate state’ of the country’s seas and rivers.

The State of Our Rivers Report concluded that no single stretch of river in Northern Ireland or England is in good overall health. The report follows an earlier damning verdict by a House of Commons Committee report in 2022, which concluded that no river in England was free from chemical contamination.

Within Europe, Britain’s polluted waterways have been described by Loughborough University as an “anomaly,” which have fallen behind other European countries in reporting significant improvements in bathing water quality in recent decades. In France, for example, authorities have spent billions of euros improving storm water and sewage treatment in an effort to clean up the River Seine for Olympic swimming events this summer.

As research lays bares the deterioration of the state of the nation’s waterway quality, anger is mounting over the dumping of untreated sewage into Britain’s seas and rivers, which are now ranked among the worse countries in Europe for water pollution.

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https://leftfootforward.org/2024/04/a-car-crash-of-different-disasters-has-left-uk-with-among-the-worst-bathing-conditions-in-europe-campaigners-warn/

Continue ReadingA ‘car crash’ of different disasters has left UK with among the worst bathing conditions in Europe, campaigners warn

News that post-Brexit border checks to be delayed for fifth time sparks backlash

https://leftfootforward.org/2024/04/news-that-post-brexit-border-checks-to-be-delayed-for-fifth-time-sparks-backlash/

‘What a shambles!’

New post-Brexit border health and safety checks on EU imports have been pushed back once again to avoid what the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) admits is a risk of serious disruption.

A report in the Financial Times informs how, just two weeks before the physical inspections were set to begin, the government said that ‘challenges’ within the process for registering imports of food and animal products may cause the levels of inspections that could overwhelm ports. In a bid to avoid such delays, the government said it would ensure the rate of checks were initially “set to zero for all commodity groups.”

“There is a potential for significant disruption on day one if all commodity codes are turned on at once,” said Defra in a report to port health authorities that was seen by the FT.

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This is the fifth time that the implementation of border controls has been postponed since 2021, due to fears they could cause disruption, and fuel price inflation further. It is unclear how long the border checks will be suspended for.

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https://leftfootforward.org/2024/04/news-that-post-brexit-border-checks-to-be-delayed-for-fifth-time-sparks-backlash/

Continue ReadingNews that post-Brexit border checks to be delayed for fifth time sparks backlash