Gabrielle Pickard-Whitehead

Spain

Writer, Editor and Journalist at Freelance

Writer ~ Editor ~ Journalist ~Socialist ~ Northerner ~ Remainer.

Articles

Bank of England governor says UK must do “everything we can” to improve trade with EU

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

Andrew Bailey, the Bank of England governor, has called for the UK to “rebuild” its trading relationship with the European Union, urging that everything possible be done to strengthen long-term trade ties. His comments follow this week’s UK-US trade deal, which Bailey hopes will be the first of many steps toward easing global trade tensions.
Woke bashing of the week - Reform to ban councils from flying ‘woke’ flags

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

No, this isn’t a headline from Texas or Alabama, it’s straight out of the Telegraph. In what feels like a direct knockoff from Trump’s culture war playbook, Reform has announced that councils under its control will now be banned from flying anything other than the Union Jack or St George’s Cross. Party chairman Zia Yusuf declared that ‘no other flags’ would be permitted on flagpoles, balconies, reception desks, or council chamber walls.
Trump eyes Rwanda for migrant deportations, echoing UK’s controversial scheme

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

Donald Trump is reportedly exploring plans to deport migrants from the US to Rwanda, the New York Times (NYT) has reported. The proposal appears to borrow directly from Britain’s highly controversial Rwanda asylum scheme, one that the NYT notes has drawn intense domestic and international criticism. Images of former UK home secretary Suella Braverman grinning during a tour of Rwandan detention facilities continue to haunt many observers.
Right-wing media watch - Immigration panic drowns out India trade deal

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

Rather than celebrating what looks to be a landmark UK-India trade agreement, the right-wing press have instead used the moment to ramp up anti-immigrant sentiment and, naturally, attack Labour. Headlines across the conservative media on May 7 homed in on a specific clause in the agreement, framing it as a betrayal of British workers — a tax exemption when Indian workers are seconded to the UK on short-term visas, both they and their employers should be exempted from NICs for up to three years.
Farage: who are the guilty men (and women)?

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

“Faragemania simply cannot last – these European elections will be the crest of his power,” declared author and broadcaster Steve Richards in 2014. He was wrong, of course. ‘Faragemania’ hasn’t just lasted, it’s mutated, rebranded, and returned with a vengeance. Like a recurring rash, Farage keeps coming back, louder and more emboldened each time.
Northern women face deep inequalities and urgent need for change, report warns

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

Women living in the North of England are missing out on a staggering £158 million in wages every week compared to their counterparts in other regions. They are also more likely to be out of work due to disability or long-term illness, according to alarming new research by Health Equity North. The findings confirm that regional inequality remains entrenched, and in many cases, is getting worse.
Woke-bashing of the week - Trump’s holy snitch hotline!

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

Just when we thought US culture wars couldn’t get more surreal, Donald Trump has summoned his base with a new bizarre brief – to report anti-Christian co-workers. Following the grim xenophobic visa crackdowns targeting students from Muslim-majority and African countries, team Trump has its sights set on the federal workforce with a mission to sniff out supposed anti-Christian bias.
Ending poverty could save Britain £75bn a year, says charity

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

9.3 million people in the UK, including 3 million children, are currently experiencing hunger and hardship. New research warns that Labour’s tough position on welfare and planned benefit cuts, risks costing the economy more than £38 billion a year while pushing more people into poverty and putting further pressure on public services.
Kemi Badenoch’s call for ‘massive Margaret Thatcher statue outside Parliament’ met with brutal mockery

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

With so much going on in the world politically – the local elections, the US-Ukraine minerals deal, Israel’s latest airstrikes near Syria – you might expect the leader of the opposition to stay focused. Instead, Kemi Badenoch turned attention to an unexpected priority – the erection of a ‘massive’ statue of Margaret Thatcher outside Parliament. This would be in addition to the existing statue of the former prime minister located inside the Palace of Westminster.
Right-wing media watch - Mail reaches for the trans panic playbook

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

In this week’s leading contender for most absurd political hit job, the Mail on Sunday outdid itself with a breathless front-page ‘exclusive’ that read: ‘After the PM’s years of dithering over the true definition of a woman, a new book reveals… Keir Starmer’s ex-girlfriend is a pro-trans judge.’ Curious to find out more about the book, I turn to page six, only to learn that the article is based on a new biography of Keir Starmer by none other than Lord Ashcroft, former Tory Party deputy...