AdvertisementSkip to headerSkip to main contentSkip to footerThis year has seen police scandals, an NHS crisis and train services grind to a halt – it’s perhaps no surprise people think public services are in a bad shapeNHS workers demand better conditions and pay. Image: UnsplashMost people in the UK believe public services are in a bad state after more than a decade of austerity, with the NHS faring worst. YouGov asked Brits about 12 key public services, most of which are considered to be inadequate by the majority of people. A total of 86% of the public believe that the NHS is in a bad...…AdvertisementSkip to headerSkip to main contentSkip to footerThis year has seen police scandals, an NHS crisis and train services grind to a halt – it’s perhaps no surprise people think public services are in a bad shapeNHS workers demand better conditions and pay. Image: UnsplashMost people in the UK believe public services are in a bad state after more than a decade of austerity, with the NHS faring worst. YouGov asked Brits about 12 key public services, most of which are considered to be inadequate by the majority of people. A total of 86% of the public believe that the NHS is in a bad...WW…

AdvertisementSkip to headerSkip to main contentSkip to footerExperts at the IPPR are calling for an independent body to be set up to hold the government to account over the social security systemUniversal credit claimants have seen a drop to their benefits in real terms over the years. Image: PexelsBenefits are expected to fall to their lowest ever levels in real terms by 2030, new analysis has revealed. Out-of-work benefits were worth more than a fifth (20.1%) of a person’s weekly pay in 1971. But benefits are on a trajectory to be worth just 11.2% by 2030, according to research from the...…AdvertisementSkip to headerSkip to main contentSkip to footerExperts at the IPPR are calling for an independent body to be set up to hold the government to account over the social security systemUniversal credit claimants have seen a drop to their benefits in real terms over the years. Image: PexelsBenefits are expected to fall to their lowest ever levels in real terms by 2030, new analysis has revealed. Out-of-work benefits were worth more than a fifth (20.1%) of a person’s weekly pay in 1971. But benefits are on a trajectory to be worth just 11.2% by 2030, according to research from the...WW…

AdvertisementSkip to headerSkip to main contentSkip to footerShelter has warned renters over the age of 55 face a no-fault eviction every 16 minutes. Pensioner couple Alan and Lee Harries told The Big Issue the insecurity of renting has affected their health and seen them move home several times Lee and Alan Harries say they have received five Section 21 notices in the years since the Tories said they would scrap them in 2019. Image: SuppliedA pensioner couple have revealed they have received four Section 21 eviction notices in the space of a year as the wait goes on for the Renters Reform...…AdvertisementSkip to headerSkip to main contentSkip to footerShelter has warned renters over the age of 55 face a no-fault eviction every 16 minutes. Pensioner couple Alan and Lee Harries told The Big Issue the insecurity of renting has affected their health and seen them move home several times Lee and Alan Harries say they have received five Section 21 notices in the years since the Tories said they would scrap them in 2019. Image: SuppliedA pensioner couple have revealed they have received four Section 21 eviction notices in the space of a year as the wait goes on for the Renters Reform...WW…

AdvertisementSkip to headerSkip to main contentSkip to footerLibraries change lives, as Children’s Laureate Joseph Coelho knows. So, he got on his bamboo bike to join one in every local authority in the UK. Here’s whyWaterstones Children’s Laureate Joseph Coelho receives his membership card at Wrexham LibraryGrowing up in a single-parent household on an estate in South London, for Joseph Coelho the local library “was hugely important in so many ways”. It was within the wood-panelled walls of West Hill Library in Wandsworth that a summer reading challenge ignited his love of books, setting...…AdvertisementSkip to headerSkip to main contentSkip to footerLibraries change lives, as Children’s Laureate Joseph Coelho knows. So, he got on his bamboo bike to join one in every local authority in the UK. Here’s whyWaterstones Children’s Laureate Joseph Coelho receives his membership card at Wrexham LibraryGrowing up in a single-parent household on an estate in South London, for Joseph Coelho the local library “was hugely important in so many ways”. It was within the wood-panelled walls of West Hill Library in Wandsworth that a summer reading challenge ignited his love of books, setting...WW…

AdvertisementSkip to headerSkip to main contentSkip to footerRishi Sunak’s big net zero announcement looks like his plot to stay in Downing Street. But as party conference approaches, experts say it’s likely only to divide the Conservative PartyRishi Sunak is heading for an election by January 2025. Will attacking the cost of net zero save him?. Images: AlamyNo more “unnecessary and heavy-handed measures” to tackle climate change, Rishi Sunak promised the country in his big about-turn on net zero. It’s time to “ease the burden on working people”. Or, in the blunter words of home secretary...…AdvertisementSkip to headerSkip to main contentSkip to footerRishi Sunak’s big net zero announcement looks like his plot to stay in Downing Street. But as party conference approaches, experts say it’s likely only to divide the Conservative PartyRishi Sunak is heading for an election by January 2025. Will attacking the cost of net zero save him?. Images: AlamyNo more “unnecessary and heavy-handed measures” to tackle climate change, Rishi Sunak promised the country in his big about-turn on net zero. It’s time to “ease the burden on working people”. Or, in the blunter words of home secretary...WW…

Once upon a time, David Attenborough’s mellifluous tones comforted me. He hung out with gorillas, and fitted into that Richard Briers/John Noakes category of thoroughly good eggs. Now, though, whenever he’s on TV warning us of the mindless destruction humans have caused to the planet over a massive panoramic tracking shot of the Brazilian rainforest, it gives me a panic attack. So I’ve had to psyche myself up to watch Dynasties. Luckily, it looks good on my new big telly, which is quietly heating up the planet to the same temperature as a molten microwaved burger. And it was about PENGUINS...…Once upon a time, David Attenborough’s mellifluous tones comforted me. He hung out with gorillas, and fitted into that Richard Briers/John Noakes category of thoroughly good eggs. Now, though, whenever he’s on TV warning us of the mindless destruction humans have caused to the planet over a massive panoramic tracking shot of the Brazilian rainforest, it gives me a panic attack. So I’ve had to psyche myself up to watch Dynasties. Luckily, it looks good on my new big telly, which is quietly heating up the planet to the same temperature as a molten microwaved burger. And it was about PENGUINS...WW…

There’s a joke in the – really funny, you should watch it – new Sharon Horgan comedy Women on the Verge (W, Thursdays 10pm) – in which the character Katie’s parenting skills are criticised by her ex’s new partner. She tells her that her daughter would rather come round to her house “because you just watch the Bake Off and look at your phone”. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jB4kU_ip7U I have to say, I felt that burn like the singed edges on a biscuit chandelier, because that describes my weekly happy hour (and 15 minutes) with my son. We’re both at a difficult age – he’s 11 and growing...…There’s a joke in the – really funny, you should watch it – new Sharon Horgan comedy Women on the Verge (W, Thursdays 10pm) – in which the character Katie’s parenting skills are criticised by her ex’s new partner. She tells her that her daughter would rather come round to her house “because you just watch the Bake Off and look at your phone”. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jB4kU_ip7U I have to say, I felt that burn like the singed edges on a biscuit chandelier, because that describes my weekly happy hour (and 15 minutes) with my son. We’re both at a difficult age – he’s 11 and growing...WW…