Gabrielle Pickard-Whitehead

6 days ago | leftfootforward.org | Gabrielle Pickard-Whitehead

After over a decade of broken promises, the vast gulf in investment between the North and South of England has been laid bare. New analysis from the think tanks IPPR North and IPPR reveals that if the North had received the same level of transport investment per person as London since 2009/10, it would have seen an additional £140 billion, enough to build seven Elizabeth Lines.

6 days ago | leftfootforward.org | Gabrielle Pickard-Whitehead

The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) has condemned Israel’s military strikes on Iran in the “strongest possible terms” and is urging the UK government to take immediate action. On June 13, Israel launched a series of intense attacks on Iran’s nuclear and military sites, claiming the strikes were necessary to prevent Iran from advancing its atomic capabilities. According to Iran’s UN envoy, at least 78 people were killed, including senior military officials and scientists.

1 week ago | leftfootforward.org | Gabrielle Pickard-Whitehead

The Scottish government has announced it will end the controversial two-child benefit cap, increasing pressure on Labour to commit to scrapping the policy across the UK. Introduced by the Conservative government in 2017, the UK-wide cap restricts families from claiming universal credit or child tax credit for more than two children, except in certain circumstances.

1 week ago | leftfootforward.org | Gabrielle Pickard-Whitehead

The Council of Europe, a body which aims to uphold human rights, democracy and the rule of law in Europe, has warned about the impact austerity measures have had on the UK’s ability to protect women from domestic violence. In a report published this week, the council warned that years of cost-cutting have left women’s shelters and vital support services “underfunded and understaffed,” compromising the country’s compliance with the Istanbul Convention.

1 week ago | leftfootforward.org | Gabrielle Pickard-Whitehead

You could be forgiven for thinking this recent headline in the Daily Mail was satire:‘Fishermen’s fury as ‘disaster’ octopus invasion destroys their catch thanks to woke rule allowing predators to ‘treat them like McDonald’s.’Yes, the right-wing, Brexit-cheerleading newspaper returned to familiar territory, howling the post-Brexit woes of British fishermen, while finding a new scapegoat in so-called ‘woke’ policy.