Displaying items by tag: British Isles

Ireland’s foreign minister, Simon Coveney, has warned Boris Johnson against any move to change the Northern Ireland protocol. He said, ‘What we can’t do is accept that the British government would act unilaterally, they would pass legislation to effectively breach international law, to set aside elements of a treaty that this prime minister designed and put in place. That would cause more problems than it would solve.’  Foreign minister Liz Truss, announcing a new law to change the post-Brexit trade deal for Northern Ireland, insisted it would be legal under international law. She said the proposed legislation would make changes to the deal - rather than scrapping it - to resolve ‘the grave situation in Northern Ireland’. But in response, the EU said it would ‘need to respond with all measures at its disposal’ if the UK went ahead with the legislation. Pray that all decisions will be according to God’s plans.

Rishi Sunak implemented a 5p per litre cut in fuel duty in March, but retailers are taking profits of 2p per litre more than before the cut. The RAC said it seems some of the cut is being swallowed up by increased profits. Tory MP Robert Halfon, who has campaigned for fuel duty cuts, demanded action from his party’s leadership, saying these companies are fleecing motorists; nobody else is doing well out of the war in Ukraine and the cost-of-living crisis. The chancellor’s 5p cut has not been reflected at the pumps: ‘Time and time again we see global prices go up and overnight they’re reflected in pump prices. When it’s the other way round, it takes much longer.'

Health campaigners accused Boris Johnson of ‘playing politics’ with children's health after the department of health said it plans to defer the bans on multi-buy deals for junk food and pre-watershed TV advertising for a year. Officials will assess the impact on household finances as families struggle with the increasing cost of living. Curbs on junk food placement in stores will still go ahead in October. Public health minister Maggie Throup insisted the Government remains committed to tackling the issue of childhood obesity. Prof Graham MacGregor, a cardiologist who is chairman of Action on Sugar, said the delays contradicted the ‘levelling up’ agenda.

Justin Welby is encouraging Christians to pray in the lead-up to this gathering of Anglican bishops that only happens once in ten years. He said that the conference theme, 'God's Church for God's World', reminds us that we are called upon to pray for the needs of the world. There are many needs: world peace, global climate crisis, the effects of the pandemic - to name but a few. Please pray that as they meet and consider their shared mission and ministry, that they hear the call from God, and that they call others to make a difference for Christ in the world. The chaplaincy team has developed a prayer guide with contributions by religious communities from across the world. This invites people to devote a day to prayer on Trinity Sunday (12 June) and to continue praying during the summer.

Good News for Everyone (formerly the Gideons) distribute Bibles in hospitals, hotels, education, public services, clubs and prisons. A Bible in Andy’s cell at Aylesbury Young Offenders Prison turned his life around. ‘While in prison, I decided to take my own life. My situation had become so hopeless I had lost the will to live. I made a noose and decided to fix it to the window then let myself hang to death. At that moment a quiet voice spoke to me “Just read that Bible”. On the shelf sat a copy of the New Testament and Psalms. I started reading at the beginning of Matthew. At Luke, the story of the lost son, my tears began flowing, my hopelessness disappeared, and the wretchedness I suffered went. If no Bible had been in that cell, I would be in hell right now, instead of living my life in the joy of the Lord!’

Some medical students need to work multiple part-time jobs to afford to complete their degrees. Final year students have stopped training because they don't have enough money to survive.

For that year, they get a bursary to live on (maximum £6,458). It is not enough - especially for those from low-income backgrounds. They are campaigning for better NHS bursaries. Penny Sucharitkul hopes to be a vascular surgeon, but the money does not even cover her rent. She is from a single-parent family, and relying on Universal Credit after her father lost his job during the pandemic. On top of studying full-time, she works as a martial arts instructor and a clinical research assistant. She says working-class students are treated unfairly. ‘We're getting up at 6 am, training all day, then going to work again. It’s incredibly taxing on our mental health. We're burning people out before they've even started in the NHS.’

Over eighty complaints of assaults, neglect, and sexual abuse have been made about after-school clubs in the past five years. In one incident, an eight-year-old boy had to clean his younger sister who had special educational needs, after she soiled herself: see The Department for Education says every child should feel safe in such clubs. Parents rely on them, and breakfast clubs, to provide childcare outside school hours. Many are not regulated, as providers do not need to register with Ofsted unless they offer childcare for more than two hours. They can register voluntarily with Ofsted in England, but only 10% are inspected a year, meaning they might not be inspected for nearly a decade. The mother of the two siblings said it was difficult for parents to know about the quality of safeguarding, saying, ‘After-school clubs are blind spots that need to be addressed.’

The attorney general has been advised that it would be lawful to override parts of the Northern Ireland Protocol, the post-Brexit arrangement which requires some checks on goods between Britain and NI. This angers both Unionists and the EU. There has been no power-sharing executive for several months after the DUP withdrew in protest against the protocol. In the recent election Sinn Féin, whose goal is for NI to become one country with the Republic of Ireland, won the most seats and needs to form a government. It cannot take up the office unless the DUP nominates a deputy first minister. The DUP's leader said his party would respect the election result, but changes needed to be made to the protocol. Boris Johnson has said the most important treaty is the Good Friday Agreement, which established a cross-community power-sharing government to end decades of violence. 

Tory MP Lee Anderson has said that poor people use foodbanks because they cannot cook properly; they haven’t got the skills to budget appropriately or do a proper weekly shop, ‘like we did back in the day’. Mr Anderson said he was not ‘being a nasty Tory.’ ‘The point I was making was that there are a lot of people out there who with the right help, the right support, and the right education, would be able to fend for themselves.’ The Trussell Trust foodbank network said, ‘Foodbank need in the UK is about lack of income, not food.’ Mr Anderson’s expenses claim last year was £220,000. The Independent Food Aid Network wrote to the chancellor warning they are close to ‘breaking point’ after an unsustainable surge in demand due to the cost of living crisis.

As Russia staged a military parade marking its defeat of Nazi Germany, the defence secretary accused Russia of hijacking their ‘forebears' proud history’ and said their generals must face war crimes trials. Mr Wallace said, ‘Russia is not interested in occupying Mariupol; he is simply destroying it. Russia's brutality in Ukraine could send incredibly dangerous messages if Putin was successful. It would indicate to powers around the world that they ‘just need to be more brutal than others to achieve their aims. If Putin is successful in Ukraine, then watch out.’ He also said the Government was in this ‘for the long haul’ and would continue providing Ukraine military and financial support, plus more sanctions targeting £1.7bn of new import tariffs on Russian goods used to make parts for mobile phones and computers. Export bans will target chemicals, plastics, rubber and machinery. It takes the value of products subject to UK sanctions to over £4bn.