Madam President, Dear Prime Minister, Dear President Tusk, Dear Estonian Vice-President of the European Commission, well-known in this country, dear Andrus, Ladies and Gentlemen, Tere õhtust! For those who are less fluent in Estonian than me that means “good evening”. … read more
Thank you Angela. This morning we had a good discussion even though some of us arrived late because we were caught in the Berlin rain. We talked very intensively about trade issues; that is important for G20. I reported on … read more
Commenting on the news that talks to restore power-sharing at Stormont have been extended to Monday, Owen Smith MP, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, said:
“I am concerned that a deal has not been reached for today’s deadline but I welcome the news that the parties are continuing their intensive discussions over the next few days. It is the right decision by the Secretary of State to hold open the door for further negotiations if there is a chance that a deal can still be reached.
“If there is no further progress over the weekend, however, the Secretary of State must come to Parliament on Monday to explain what additional steps he intends to take to ensure a stable government can be re-established at Stormont.”
Jeremy Corbyn, Leader of the Labour Party said:
“The Conservatives survived by the skin of their teeth today, supported by the DUP, but this is a government in chaos.
“The Conservatives are all over the place on Brexit, with ministers contradicting each other. On public sector pay, they say one thing and then do another, voting yesterday to continue the cutting the pay of our nurses, firefighters, police and other public sector workers. And today, they were forced to finally promise that women from Northern Ireland will no longer have to pay for abortions on the NHS under opposition and public pressure.
“This Government is out of control, with no mandate for continued cuts to our schools, hospitals, police and other vital public services or for a race-to-the-bottom Brexit. Labour will oppose these policies every step of the way.
“Labour offers a clear alternative, laid out in our manifesto, which would put wealth, power and opportunity back in the hands of the many not the few.”
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29 June 2017
A Green Party councillor has vowed to continue protesting against Sheffield Council’s tree-felling programme, despite the council threatening her with legal action.
Alison Teal received a notice on June 27 [1], where the council warned it would seek a High Court injunction to stop her and others protesting. Teal has been ordered not to enter or park her car in certain areas of the city, otherwise the council will begin legal proceedings on July 12.
Teal and six others were arrested in February while taking part in a peaceful protest against the tree-felling but charges were later dropped [2].
Teal said:
“I will not be intimidated by a council intent on trying to steamroller its opposition into silence. I’ll keep protesting because this act of environmental vandalism is completely unconscionable and I know how valuable these trees are to the surrounding communities.
“Thousands of Sheffield residents have now spoken out in defence of the perfectly healthy trees under threat and their concerns have been completely ignored. Support for our work is growing rather than shrinking and not just from people who care about trees but people who care about democracy as well.
“If anything, the council’s heavy-handed approach has fuelled our anger – it’s completely unacceptable to be threatening residents with legal action, suspending opposition councillors and allowing dawn raids on pensioners all to continue destroying our green spaces. This is not what a healthy democracy looks like.”
Notes: