BORIS SAYS NEW MILITARY KIT WILL MAKE ARMED FORCES MORE LETHAL
The Guardian reports that Britain’s army, navy and air force will all be cut back over this parliament despite promises made by Boris Johnson during the election campaign not to be cutting the armed services in any form. A five-year defence review, published on Monday, confirms the army target size will be cut by 9,500 to 72,500 by 2025, its lowest level since 1714. The number of navy frigates and destroyers will drop from 19 to 17 in the next 18 months. A third of the army’s Challenger tanks will be scrapped, while 148 will be upgraded, at a cost of £1.3bn. A string of ageing RAF planes will be retired in the next couple of years, including 24 first-generation Typhoon bombers, as well as nine chinook helicopters, 14 Hercules transporter aircraft and 20 Puma support helicopters. Navy warship numbers are not expected to reach 20 until the end of the decade, as new type 26 and 31 frigates are built. An emphasis on countering the rise of China in the Indo-Pacific region will be achieved by basing two small patrol vessels in the region from 2021 and a Royal Marine unit from 2023. The plan is to concentrate investment in replacing Trident and other hi-tech rearmament – which Johnson said earlier on Monday “would give the military the kit to make them all the more useful, all the more, I’m afraid, lethal, and effective around the world”.
DISTURBANCES CONTINUE IN BRISTOL
The Daily Mail reports that Police Officers with riot shields and helmets were called in to clear College Green in the centre Bristol at 10pm Tuesday evening. Around 150 protesters had earlier erected tents on the green in a protest at how the police crime sentencing and courts bill will impact on travellers, squatters and the homeless. They had ignored calls to comply with Covid regulations and to go home. Around 100 riot police were then called in to force crowds away from the tents and move them further back with dogs and officers on horseback. As of 11pm, there was a sit in protest by some 30 protesters who crouched down in front of a line of officers and refused to move. Two female protesters told how they were sitting down on the green when police came in with force. Police were seen wrenching tents away from people as they forced them back. The protesters were chanting slogans like Whose streets? Our streets! and ‘Kill the Bill’ but officers didn’t appear to have been pelted with any missiles like at Sunday’s protest. Shortly before 11pm, police said protesters had been moved off College Green but that a ‘significant number’ remained on Deanery Road ‘and continued to refuse to leave the area’.
REPORT SUGGESTS PROBLEMS AHEAD
The Daily Mail reports that Britain faces a Covid decade with the profound social damage caused by the pandemic set to dog the country. A grim report urges a major policy overhaul to help the country recover from the impact of coronavirus on health, education and economic prospects. The assessment from the British Academy – funded by the government but independent – was launched on the anniversary of the first lockdown. It warns significant intervention will be needed to avoid more extreme inequality and ongoing misery for swathes of the population.The report highlights a number of interconnected trends which include low and unstable levels of trust in the national government that undermine the ability to mobilise public behaviour, widening geographic inequalities in health and wellbeing, local economic risk and resilience, and poverty and worsening social development, relationships and mental health and cautions that following a short-lived initial increase, faith the UK government and feelings of national unity are in decline.
ANOTHER COVID SURGE IS INEVITABLE SAYS PROFESSOR CHRIS WHITTY
The Telegraph reports that another surge in coronavirus cases is inevitable Professor Chris Whitty warned, as the country marked a year since the first lockdown began. England’s chief medical officer said there would be bumps and twists on the road possibly including the emergence of new variants and shortages in vaccine supplies. Speaking at a public health conference organised by the Local Government Association and Association of Directors of Public Health, Prof Whitty said: This is a sad day, really. The path from here on in does look better than last year but there are going to be lots of bumps and twists on the road from here on in. There will definitely be another surge at some point, whether it’s before winter or in the next winter, we don’t know. Variants are going to cause problems, there will be stock-outs of vaccines and no doubt there will be multiple problems at a national level but also at a local level – school outbreaks, prison outbreaks, all the things that people are dealing with on a daily basis.”
BORIS WANTS ANOTHER THREE MONTHS OF CORONAVIRUS RESTRICTIONS
The Times reports that Boris Johnson will address Tory MPs as he attempts to persuade them to back another three months of coronavirus restrictions amid warnings that further delay will not be tolerated. The prime minister will attend the 1922 Committee of backbenchers before a vote on coronavirus regulations on Thursday amid a backlash over the pace at which the lockdown is being eased.
MANDATORY JAB FOR CARE WORKERS DISCRIMINATORY
The London Evening Standard reports that care groups and unions have said they do not think vaccinations should become mandatory for care home staff after the Government confirmed it is looking into the option. Care home workers in England could be legally required to be vaccinated against Covid-19 under plans being considered by the Government, according to the Health Secretary. Matt Hancock said that no final decision has been taken amid a review into vaccination passports, which is considering a range of issues. The National Care Forum, Independent Care Group, Four Seasons Health Care, Unison and the GMB union all expressed concern over compulsory vaccination. The plans have emerged amid concerns of low uptake of staff in care homes looking after those who are among the most vulnerable to the virus. But it would prove controversial, with the Prime Minister’s official spokesman previously accepting it would be discriminatory to force people to be vaccinated. Mr Hancock said that there was still further to go in vaccine uptake in care staff, with around 76% of workers in elderly care homes vaccinated, and more than 90% of residents.
YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT COULD RISE TO OVER ONE MILLION
The Guardian reports: Numbers of young people out of work in the UK have reached new highs – with young people accounting for nearly two-thirds of job losses since the pandemic, according to official figures. The regional employment figures from the Office for National Statistics show that long-term unemployment has risen 40% over the same period to 215,000 young people out of work for six months or more. Of all 16- to 24-year-olds who are currently unemployed, 74% have been unemployed for at least six months. It comes as a report published on Tuesday by the National Youth Agency and Youth Employment UK, seen exclusively by the Guardian, says without a fundamental change in how young people are supported, far too many will be left behind. The government needs to be honest with young people: we simply cannot create enough job opportunities,said Leigh Middleton, the chief executive of National Youth Agency. Without concerted action, we fear youth unemployment could rise to over 1 million when furlough ends.
STURGEON SURVIVES NO CONFIDENCE VOTE
The Telegraph reports that Nicola Sturgeon has comfortably survived a vote of no-confidence in Holyrood, hours after it was confirmed that she had been found to have misled a parliamentary inquiry. A motion brought by the Scottish Tories was defeated by 65 votes to 31, in what was the first ever no-confidence motion in a sitting First Minister in the 22-year history of the devolved parliament.
BILL GATES SUPPORTS CHALK DUST PLAN TO HALT GLOBAL WARMING
From the Express: Plans have been drawn up to release a large balloon containing chalk this summer in a bid to slow down climate change. The project, which will be trialled in near the Arctic town of Kiruna, has received the tech magnate’s support. Sir David King, a former chief scientific adviser to the UK Government, said there should be a moratorium on rolling the technique out. Mr Gates, a long-standing advocate for climate change solutions, has recently published a new book where he outlines ideas for fighting global warming. In ‘’How to Avoid a Climate Disaster”, the billionaire highlights the importance of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050.
AND FINALLY
From the Independent: Residents of New South Wales in Australia, coping with the worst floods in 50 years, had another problem to deal with: swarms of wolf spiders seeking shelter in their homes to escape the deluge. Residents of NSW shared pictures of clusters and thousands of spiders trying to escape the floodwaters on social media, prompting comments from horrified users. Ms Williams also photographed the spiders carrying their egg sacks to drier areas to protect their babies. The spiders were later identified to be wolf spiders. Experts told local media that wolf spiders typically live underground in burrows but floodwaters have forced them out of their homes.
As far as I am aware Nicola did mislead parliament, only it wasn’t classed as “knowingly”
To me that is only a verdict of not proven (available for some crimes in Scotland, although obviously not in this instance, there is no doubt that many Scots will come to this conclusion)
Overall the Scots will have to consider the shambolic conduct of their parliamentary affairs by this claque which is bent on forcing Independence down their throats.
In these circumstances it should be asked if this independence is in the real interests of Scotland and are these people to be trusted in carrying it out..
Particularly as they appear to only want independence so they can throw it away again immediately by rejoining that monster the EU, which is plainly the enemy of the U.K. – sounds barmy to me, especially when their finances are in such a dire state! Their education and health service are rubbish and the Covid 19 pandemic is being used by their leader as a daily publicity stunt.
Spot on Roger.
I doubt that the majority of Scots, even those living in Scotland, are really taken in by Sturgeons publicity stunts.
The problem is that they do not have an alternative party to vote for, that actually does work for Scotland’s benefit.
They need a Scottish version of the DUP!
England is in much the same predicament, seems to me.
Of course Blair brought it all about with his wonderful devolution. Him actually working on behalf of the EU.
Thanks Pauline, I’m pleased you took the trouble to reply to what I thought was an important event and I was only able to comment late yesterday evening
But even more, I’m glad you reminded me that it was Blair’s EU baby to “regionalise” preparatory disappearing Great Britain into being just so many Regions in the United States of Europe..
I know it didn’t go down very well with the voters no matter hard “Just John” (John Prescott of the right arm smash) pushed it.
But in essence Scotland being devolved was just such a region, separately affiliated to the EU, pity for them that ended with Brexit.
Perhaps that’s now I understand Nicola’s drive to regain independence for Scotland and chum up again with the EU, because Scotland devolved from the UK was already a sort of “special case” region of the EU.
Having read this through, I would point out that I am not making a case for Sturgeon, it could only be her who would seek to use such circumstances to push through her “big lie” to the exclusion of all common sense of her electorate.
That she should continue on this path “to the death” after the exposure of her and her governments incompetence is abominable.
Whatever happened to Boris’s water cannon when you need it?
Harry Again, you asked the same blasted question last week, and I gave you the answer then. So again, the water cannon purchased by the Metropolitan Police have been sold to an overseas buyer. Wake up man for goodness sake. Lord love-a-duck……….
Colin, you could have added ” for peanuts”. I think the purchase price was over £300k and went for about £20k. And Khan keeps whinging about money. Could’ve got more on Ebay.
Can’t think what the Guardian is getting at. Why has it picked 1714 to compare numbers in the army? That was the year Anne, the last Stuart monarch died and George the first of the Hanoverians acceded to the throne.
Was it George1 who because of language, could not control his Ministers, so needed Walpole to do the job for him?
Perhaps there is some sort of moral to that story!
“There will definitely be another surge at some point, whether it’s before winter or in the next winter, we don’t know. Variants are going to cause problems, there will be stock-outs of vaccines and no doubt there will be multiple problems at a national level but also at a local level – school outbreaks, prison outbreaks, all the things that people are dealing with on a daily basis.”
It’s being so happy and positive as keeps ‘im going, I reckon. Bloody doom merchant.
Yeah, Witless. I’m reminded of an ants nest when it’s disturbed. All mindlessly running in circles.
BILL GATES: Mad as a hatter except when it comes to counting his money. Best to do the opposite of what he calls for.
Can’t make head or tail of that one Jack. Does it mean a balloon with chalk inside it will be released? or does it mean the chalk dust will be released?
Either way, totally pointless. Is he going to raise umpteen millions to finance the idea? or what?
Evil is a better word
Mr Gates should spend his billions on research that might explain why global cloud cover is falling. Clouds are the control knob for climate regulation, not dust.
A few hundred millions on Salter’s cloud ships would provide the answer.
JF
Remind me Julian. Do we now have less cloud cover than X years ago? And does that mean heat will be lost into space? or does it mean the sun will warm us more?
Rain dance by North American Indians may do the trick!
Good idea Jake. So long as BLM and Antifa haven’t infiltrated them!