‘Enough is enough’: blaze engulfs ‘Grenfell-style’ London tower block
The Canary UK

‘Enough is enough’: blaze engulfs ‘Grenfell-style’ London tower block

More than 100 firefighters tackled a blaze that ripped through a 19-storey London tower block. It’s believed to be covered in “Grenfell-style” flammable cladding. So, people are already asking how the government allowed this to happen. And a Grenfell survivors group has said “enough is enough”. New Providence Wharf As PA reported, on Friday 7 May residents called the London Fire Brigade (LFB) to the New Providence Wharf development. It’s near Canary Wharf in Poplar, East London. The LFB said 100 firefighters and 20 engines were at the scene of the fire, which engulfed three floors: Firefighters are tackling a fire at a 19-storey block of flats in #Poplar…

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7 May 2021
Voter apathy lost Labour Hartlepool, not Jeremy Corbyn
The Canary UK

Voter apathy lost Labour Hartlepool, not Jeremy Corbyn

The Tories won the Hartlepool by-election by a fairly large majority. The kickback within the Labour Party, along with possible analysis, has been swift. But the real story of the by-election was not that Labour lost because of Jeremy Corbyn’s legacy. It was that people in their thousands simply didn’t vote. Not that this problem is anything new. Hartlepool turned blue The result on the Hartlepool by-election that was held on 6 May was as follows: Hartlepool, parliamentary by-election result: Con: 51.9% (+23.0)Lab: 28.7% (-9.0)Ind: 9.7% (+7.5)RefUK: 1.2% (-24.6)Grn: 1.2% (+1.2)LDem: 1.2% (-3.0)Oth: 6.1% (+4.9) Con GAIN from Lab. — Britain Elects (@BritainElects) May 7, 2021 So, Labour…

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7 May 2021
Modi under pressure to impose lockdown amid coronavirus surge in India
The Canary UK

Modi under pressure to impose lockdown amid coronavirus surge in India

Indian prime minister Narendra Modi is facing growing pressure to impose a nationwide lockdown amid a coronavirus surge. Record-breaking Many medical chiefs, opposition leaders, and some supreme court judges have suggested the lockdown seems to be the only option. Hospitals are being forced to turn patients away while relatives scramble to find oxygen. Crematoriums and burial grounds are also struggling to handle the dead. People watch burning funeral pyres of their relatives who died of Covid-19 in New Delhi (AP) On Friday, India recorded a new record of 414,188 confirmed cases in the past 24 hours. Its tally has risen to more than 21.4 million since the pandemic…

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7 May 2021
For Starmer fans, Hartlepool is everybody’s fault but their own
The Canary UK

For Starmer fans, Hartlepool is everybody’s fault but their own

The Labour Party has lost Hartlepool to the Tories in a by-election landslide. You might expect a failure of this scale to start a round of soul-searching. Nope. Keir Starmer’s backers are blaming everybody but themselves for this latest disaster. Hartlepool, parliamentary by-election result: Con: 51.9% (+23.0)Lab: 28.7% (-9.0)Ind: 9.7% (+7.5)RefUK: 1.2% (-24.6)Grn: 1.2% (+1.2)LDem: 1.2% (-3.0)Oth: 6.1% (+4.9) Con GAIN from Lab. — Britain Elects (@BritainElects) May 7, 2021 Blairite Wes Streeting was one of the first to wade in, projecting blame on to the previous leadership in what has quickly become a pattern of buck-passing. I’m so sorry for @PaulWilliamsLAB and the brilliant team who’ve been…

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7 May 2021
Labour falls to ‘shattering’ defeat in Hartlepool by-election
The Canary UK

Labour falls to ‘shattering’ defeat in Hartlepool by-election

Keir Starmer’s hopes of leading a Labour revival have been dealt a crushing blow after the Tories romped to victory in the Hartlepool by-election. In a stunning result, the Conservatives took the seat – which had been Labour-held since it was formed in 1974 – with a majority of 6,940. Reaction pours in Shadow communities secretary Steve Reed admitted it was an “absolutely shattering” result as another brick in the party’s once impregnable “red wall” crumbled. (PA Graphics) Heavy defeat In a major boost for Boris Johnson, Conservative candidate Jill Mortimer gained 15,529 votes – more than half the total cast. Labour’s Paul Williams trailed on 8,589. (PA…

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7 May 2021
Fish-mageddon: Royal Navy deployed to monitor French fisherman
The Canary UK

Fish-mageddon: Royal Navy deployed to monitor French fisherman

Two Royal Navy vessels have been deployed to Jersey amid a row about post-Brexit fishing rights. French fisherman are angered by new licences issued in the wake of Brexit. These licenses are said to restrict the days shared waters can be fished. Until Brexit, a 200-year old treaty defined fishing rights. This is yet another example of how post-Brexit trade deal issues are causing friction between the UK and EU countries. EU support The EU backed the fishermen, saying that the changes to the licensing had not been carried out properly. The European Commission told the Guardian in a statement: The commission was notified on Friday 30 April…

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6 May 2021
Britain decides… to vote for whoever Murdoch tells them to
The Canary UK

Britain decides… to vote for whoever Murdoch tells them to

Image description This cartoon depicts a mock front page of The Sun newspaper. Next to The Sun masthead is a box with the words “Boris Backer” and a cartoon illustration of Boris Johnson. Underneath that is a main headline that reads “Britain decides” and beneath that a smaller sub-headline that reads “to vote for whoever Murdoch tells them too”. This is illustrated with a sign saying “polling station”. To the left of this is a side bar with an illustration of a roll of wallpaper, a baby’s dummy and a teddy bear. Beneath that it reads “Who cares? Who hasn’t has their nanny paid for and house decorate…

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6 May 2021
Captive lions aren’t the only winner in South Africa’s momentous ‘new deal’ for wildlife
The Canary UK

Captive lions aren’t the only winner in South Africa’s momentous ‘new deal’ for wildlife

The South African government made a momentous move on 2 May. It released and endorsed a report that, as Don Pinnock explained in the Daily Maverick, calls for “the protection of iconic wild animals” to take priority “over the cruelty of commercial exploitation”. The report’s recommendations include bringing an end to lion farming in the country. It also calls for a halt to many of the trades associated with such farming. This includes cub petting, ‘canned’ lion hunting, and the sale of lion bones. In short, implementation of the report’s recommendations would close South Africa’s controversial captive lion industry. The good news doesn’t end there either. The report’s…

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6 May 2021
Colombian security forces are massacring people on the streets
The Canary UK

Colombian security forces are massacring people on the streets

In Colombia the right-wing government of Iván Duque is killing people taking part in an ongoing national strike protesting the government’s economic policies and widespread human rights abuses. Since the strike began at the end of April, Colombian human rights groups have estimated that 26 protestors have been killed by the government’s infamous security forces.   In addition to the killings, there has been a major militarisation of cities, with reports of disappearances, sexual assaults on women protestors, and other abuses committed by the security forces. Local human rights organisations have registered 1,181 cases of police violence so far. Many Colombians are pleading for an end to this horrifying…

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6 May 2021
Home Office discriminating against Windrush generation’s families, High Court rules
The Canary UK

Home Office discriminating against Windrush generation’s families, High Court rules

The Home Office’s refusal to give the families of people from the Windrush generation preferential treatment when charging fees to enter the UK is unlawfully discriminatory, the High Court has ruled. Discrimination Lynda Mahabir, a 52-year-old woman who was born in Trinidad, suffered a “colossal interference” with her right to family life when she was separated from her husband and five children for more than two years, a judge said on 6 May. Judge Tim Smith ruled that the Home Office’s insistence that Mahabir’s family had to pay nearly £23,000 in fees to join her in the UK left her with “a thankless choice”. The judge said: Either…

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6 May 2021