It's got to be admitted that the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme has been one of the most effective contributions in addressing the problem of how to support those whose livelihoods have been most affected by the pandemic. Set up quickly, easy to claim and requiring no knowledge of tax whatsoever, it has now processed more than five million claims, and been a real lifesaver to those who have successfully claimed. It isn't without its flaws - anyone who started self-employment after 5 April 2019 is excluded, as well as a sizeable proportion of those who started during the 2018/19 tax ...
Peter Kellner says Britain is about to discover the dismal reality of Brexit: "On October 16, the prime minister warned that the UK might enter 2021 without a deal on the future relationship with the EU and be forced to trade on World Trade Organization terms. With no hint of doubt or irony, he advised Britons to embrace this prospect "with high hearts and complete confidence. This was the economic equivalent of promising to stop the tides. King Cnut would never have believed such nonsense." "In the days after the disaster, Lord Robens, chairman of the National Coal Board (NCB), ...
A small dip in infection rates across the Shropshire unitary area suggests we are not heading for tier 2. The situation is not so comfortable in Telford and Wrekin where the seven day infection rate remains stubbornly above 100, averaging around 160 during the last week. The biggest jump in cases is centred around Harper Adams University west of Newport. There the seven day infection rate has been above 900. That compares with areas in Liverpool now in Tier 3 lockdown. There is no change for Ludlow which has a low level of cases. Infection rates to 24 October. The ...
It has been a scrabble to find the funding and get a working scheme in place at short notice, but Cllrs Marian James & Jenny Batt were determined to make up for the Government's failure to extend Free School Meals over half term and get Sutton Council to put a scheme in place. There was [...]
Ordinary People won the Oscar for Best Picture of 1980, and won three others, Best Director (Robert Redford), Best Supporting Actor (Timothy Hutton, the youngest ever winner in this category, as Conrad, presented by his co-star) and Best Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium (Alvin Sargent). It had only two other nominations, Judd Hirsch as Dr Berger also in Best Supporting Actor and Mary Tyler Moore, beaten by Sissy Spacek for Best Actress. The other Oscar-nominated films were The Elephant Man, which I have seen, and Coal Miner's Daughter, Raging Bull and Tess, which I haven't. Ordinary People is ...
Once again it is 24th October, United Nations Day, and once again so far I have seen no mention if it in the newspapers or on the radio (I don't watch television until the evenings, so maybe there's been something there.). As so many countries in the world drift into self-centredness, nationalism and crude populism it is vital for progressive forces, albeit on the back foot in these countries, to keep the post-war vision of peace, harmony and international co-operation alive. It is tempting to write off the UN with a shudder, especially as four of the Permanent Five members ...
Ben Bradley is solidly middle class. His parents sent him to Derby Grammar School, which despite its name is an expensive private school. Its current fees the sixth-form students are £14,233. Ben Bradley is as much a career politico as it is possible to be. When he was elected to parliament at the age of 27 he had a degree in politics, was a member of Nottinghamshire County Council and Ashfield District Council, and was working at Westminster as a political researcher. So why do people regard him as a working-class outsider? How does he get away with being the ...
Opposite Amsterdam's main railway station is a large hotel called the Victoria, built in late 19th Century Parisian style, awkwardly out of keeping with more traditional Dutch houses around. I must have passed it a hundred times over the years but had only half-noticed the bizarre indentation in its facade in which two old-style Dutch [...]
Fri, 12:56: No Irish unity referendum for five years because of Brexit - Micheal Martin https://t.co/YevR0sAOoe Not that it's the Taoiseach's decision, but it's a sensible line to take. Fri, 13:19: One of the briefest but most interesting chapters in the history of Brexit will look at how UK failed to mobilize potential allies like Ireland and Belgium, which had most to lose from a bad outcome. This sort of comment illustrates why it didn't happen, and was never going to. https://t.co/41Q5pQe13S Fri, 13:56: In The Shadow Of No Towers, by Art Spiegelman The image of the glowing tower, about ...
If it were not bad enough that Conservative MPs, includuing 13 in Wales, voted en masse to deprive poorer pupils of a decent meal over the school holidays, the government is poised to commit yet another faux pas. The Guardian reports that face masks and gloves will cost more from the end of this month after the government said a temporary waiver of VAT on personal protective equipment (PPE) would not be extended. They say that the Treasury has confirmed that the 20% sales tax would once more apply to protective equipment bought by firms and consumers from November, after ...
This week, Daisy Cooper had her first chance to question the Prime Minister at PMQs and the issue she chose was one close to Liberal Democrat values – helping children in poverty by providing them with free meals during holidays until next Easter. This can only be sensible when many of their parents will be struggling to make ends meet because of the current situation. Here she is, highlighting how Welsh Lib Dem Education Secretary Kirsty Williams was the first to do this: At #PMQs @libdemdaisy pushes Boris Johnson to follow the lead of the Welsh Government & Kirsty Williams, ...
i) births and deaths 24 October 2005: death of Robert Sloman, who co-wrote The Dæmons (Third Doctor, 1971), and was credited as sole author of The Time Monster (Third Doctor, 1972), The Green Death (Third Doctor, 1973), and Planet of the Spiders (Third Doctor, 1974) - the season finales for all but the first of the Pertwee years. ii) broadcast anniversaries 24 October 2016: Broadcast of The Woman Who Lived, in which Ashildr from last week's episode turns out to be still alive and young in the 17th century, now going by the name of "Me". Aliens and a highwayman ...
Residents have remarked how superb the new mural on the SSE electricity sub-station at Magdalen Green is! It is opposite the bottom of Windsor Street and was completed on Thursday. Another great mural by Paco Graff and grateful thanks also go to Russell Pepper of West End Community Council for making this happen and to SSE for its support of the project.
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