type here...
Home Blog Page 18

It’s Time To Reclaim The English Flag Once And For All

Hamish Hallett
-
0
It’s Time To Reclaim The English Flag Once And For All

Over the past month, England was united as one great country and supported the Men’s football team at the Euros.

This country has gone through tremendous pain, suffering and division because of the pandemic, the last few elections, and Brexit.  

Yet, seeing people at pubs, fan zones and Wembley stadium, the country was together as one. And yes, the Euros was ruined by England losing in the final and the horrendous racial abuse towards Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka after the match. But what isn’t being spoken enough about is the togetherness of the country after the abuse they received. People supported these players on social media with endless tributes and messages. There were gatherings around Rashford’s mural, illustrating that this country is more united than divided. What also stood out the most during the last couple of weeks was the barrage of red and white crosses. Regardless of where you came from, who you were and your political alignments, the expression of patriotism through the flag of St George was embraced by everyone.

Marcus Rashford mural messages of support to be preserved - BBC News
Marcus Rashford’s mural was covered with messages and England flags after he received racial abuse online after the Euros final. Image courtesy of BBC News

However, as the weeks go by and the Euros becomes a distant memory, I anticipate that the English flag will be placed back into people’s closets.

The flag will start gathering up dust, and the next time England plays at a major tournament, the flag will come out again and be used for a short period.

I am against this, and it is not because I am a “flag-shagger.”

I believe that the English flag deserves a lot more than being a sporting symbol.  

The English flag should be put up regardless of the occasion without any judgement.  

But for this to happen, we must reclaim the English flag once and for all.

The best Euro 2021 England flag pictures from around the country - now send us yours
According to a YouGov Poll in 2018, close to a quarter of Brits (24%) have an unfavourable view of people who wave the English flag. Image courtesy of The Telegraph. 

The reason behind this is because over the last few years, showing off Englishness through the flag has been looked down upon. Before England fans went off to Russia for the 2018 World Cup, Mark Roberts, who was the head of football policing, said that fans should leave their flags at home because they could “come across as imperialistic and cause antagonism.” The Royal Mail stopped staff from hanging England flags on their vehicles during the recent Euros, and Flakefleet Primary school had to remove a video from its Twitter page that showed children waving the flag. One parent called the idea of children showing their support for England via waving the flag “mindless hooliganism.”

Ian Dale questioning why there is a reluctance to show patriotism in England. Video courtesy of LBC.

From these examples, it seems like, as Ian Dale has suggested, that “if you rally round the Union Jack or the flag of St George, some people think there’s some sort of fascistic reason.”

But why is this the case?

My answer is that the fringes of society have claimed our flag for their dishonest gain.

When I say the fringes of society, I mean the EDL, the BNP and the National Front. They have taken our flag and have twisted the flag to be seen as an ethnic-nationalistic symbol. And so, when one tries to showcase the flag outside of sporting occasions, I am not surprised to see resentment towards those who do this. This is because the fringes of society have poised this symbol. Whereas when you compare us to other countries, like Scotland, Wales and France, to name a few, when their citizens showcase their flags, there are not many connotations of “mindless hooliganism.” But this isn’t the first and probably won’t be the last time you hear of extremists claiming symbols.

Look at the swastika – this symbol used to be a sign of peace and good fortune, but it is now regarded as the manifestation of Nazism. The hammer and sickle is another example- this symbol represents the union between the peasantry and the working class, but thanks to the leadership of Joseph Starlin, some people see the symbol as the manifestation of extreme authoritarianism. The English flag is now interpreted as a sign of antagonism because radical individuals or groups have claimed this symbol. But we shouldn’t accept this.  

It shouldn’t be the case that fans are warned not to bring the flag of St George to games due to the actions of the few. Companies like Royal Mail shouldn’t be stopping employees from showing support to their country. And what shouldn’t be the case is the idea that if you go round waving a flag, that this automatically makes you a racist, a xenophobe or a fascist. More people are coming out saying that they are now proud to wave the English flag, thanks to the fantastic performances of our men’s football team. It is fantastic to hear that people like Amar Singh, who wrote for the Independent, no longer see the English flag as a “warning sign” but a flag that they can claim to be their own.

So, what better time now to start questioning why there is this uneasiness to express our patriotism by waving the English flag. 

We all disagree with each other one way or another within this country, but what we need to agree on is our flag.

And not just that, but more importantly, what the flag stands for and the values that comes with it.  

In my eyes, England is a country that should stand for values of tolerance, liberty, and multiculturalism.    

For these values to come through, we must reclaim the flag away from the racists and away from the fringes of society.                   

The Arab World Owes Reparations Alongside The Western World

Shaun Flores
-
0
The Arab World Owes Reparations Alongside The Western World

In my previous article, “Jamaica demanding reparations will fall on deaf ears”, I explored Jamaica’s call for reparations was made again previously in 2015 & and currently in 2021. I reiterated the need to move past it and determine our own future, as we will not be compensated.

Jamaica demanding reparations will fall on deaf ears

The call for reparations excludes the Arab world, which was complicit in horrific acts of slavery centuries before Europeans. Due to the dominant narrative of European chattel slavery, the Arab slave trade has remained hidden in society.

When discussing what Islam has perpetrated in the African world, it can stoke up ideas of Islamophobia, this is not the case, this is purely telling history from an objective lens. This sensitivity has prevented us from challenging history and its atrocities for many years. History is uncomfortable, but we must confront it. Arabs also enslaved Europeans, and in 2016, an estimated 520,000 men, women, and children were living in modern slavery in the Arab States. 

‘Slavery was extremely popular in the 17th century when Islam was gaining notoriety in North Africa. Seven centuries before Europeans came to the continent ten centuries before West Africans were sold across the Atlantic to America.’

Arab Muslims in East and North Africa captured Africans and sold them to the Middle East, where they worked as teachers, field workers, or harem guards. This is why the castration of male slaves was practised. Muslims, on the other hand, including African Muslims, were not allowed to be enslaved, according to Islamic legal views. They had to convert to not be enslaved. The military power of Europe ended the expansion of Islam, which created a shortage of slaves, Arab Muslims had to look for other ways to find slaves, which was black Africa.

The Arab world owes us reparations as well

Arabs were the first major slavers of the African people, in what is known as the “Trans Sahara trade“, existing for over 13,000 years. Otherwise known as “the Veiled genocide”, a term coined by French-Senegalese author Tidiane N’Diaye.

Justifying Slavery | History Today
“The Veiled genocide”. “Selective Theses on the Arab Slave Trade” a book written by French-Senegalese authorTidiane N’Diaye.

From around AD 1000, Islam made Africa into a slave-trading nation. Arab merchants captured around 180 million African people selling them into slavery.

Historian Paul Lovejoy estimates that some 9.85 million Africans were shipped out as slaves to Arabia.

Lovejoy said: “Between AD 650 and 1600, an average of 5,000 Africans was shipped out by the Arabs. This makes a rough total of 7.25 million. Then, between 1600 and 1800, another 1.4 million Africans were shipped out by the Arabs. The 19th century represented the highest point of the Arabian trade where 12,000 Africans were shipped out every year. The total figure for the 19th century alone was 1.2 million slaves to Arabia.”

Forgotten slavery: The Arab-Muslim slave trade | FairPlanet
Images of Africans who were enslaved during the Trans Sahara slave trade

Merchants of Arab slavery were focused on concubines, capturing women and girls turning them into sex slaves. In the European “New World ”, a measure of a man’s stature was contingent upon the ‘physical dimensions of an empire built upon the foundation of forced masculine labour’. Contrastingly within the Islamic Orient wealth prestige was the marker of wealth. Young women were favoured as the vessels of the male pleasure ground, as they were viewed as malleable material shaped to the will of the master.

Author John Dewar Gleissner in his book In “Prisons & Slavery,” writes: “The Arabs’ treatment of black Africans can aptly be termed an African Holocaust. Arabs killed more Africans in transit, especially when crossing the Sahara Desert, than Europeans and Americans, and over more centuries, both before and after the years of the Atlantic slave trade. Arab Muslims began extracting millions of black African slaves centuries before Christian nations did. Arab slave traders removed slaves from Africa for about 13 centuries, compared to three centuries of the Atlantic slave trade. African slaves transported by Arabs across the Sahara Desert died more often than slaves making the Middle Passage to the New World by ship. Slaves invariably died within five years if they worked in the Ottoman Empire’s Sahara salt mines.”

The Arab Slave Trade continues today

According. to the Global Slavery Index in 2018, Africa had the highest rate of modern-day enslavement. Slavery has not stopped because it is such big business. “Globally, slavery generates as much as $150bn (£116bn) in profits every year, more than one-third of which ($46.9bn) is generated in developed countries, including the EU”.

Additionally as recent as 2019, BBC news Arabic conducted an undercover investigation exposing that domestic workers are being illegally bought and sold online in a booming black market in Kuwait. The mere horror that the slave trade continues, but receives minuscule grains of attention is symbolic of social justice movements not holding the Arab world to the same moral, financial and accountable standard as the West.

The Truth Behind Modern Slavery in Kuwait
images of children trafficked into slavery in Kuwait
source: BBC News Arabic

Slave traders in the past had to consider the price of journeys and high mortality rates, now in the modern world exploiters have less to worry about, due to the advancement in transportation and technology. Combined with the flows of migration, now a larger supply of exploitable and vulnerable people is used in the world’s global supply chains in agriculture, fashion, beauty, and sex industries.

The Arab world must also pay its debts and its time more people knew of the atrocities committed. We continually ask the European and the American societies to pay reparations, but the same standard is not held towards the Arab world. We must challenge the legacy of slavery in its entirety. By no means is this a comparison of the slave trade, but a mere calling to the double standard and no true sense of accountability we hold the Arab world too. The Arab world continues countless inhumane, morally reprehensible practices, but the challenges are lacklustre as we do the European and American world.

Is The Black Lives Matter Really Apolitical?

Aaron Fenton-Hewitt
-
0
Is The Black Lives Matter Really Apolitical?

Following the United States’ embargo on Cuba, Black Lives Matter protestors have found themselves in the midst of controversy after appearing to support Cuba, which received significant backlash from academics and organisers.

Activists, organizers and economists have harshly criticized the embargo and the country’s Soviet-style, centrally planned economy, holding both it and the US embargo mainly responsible for the situation it finds itself in, with the added pressure of the pandemic exacerbating the crisis.

In a statement, the organisation said, “The people of Cuba are being punished by the U.S. government because the country has maintained its commitment to sovereignty and self-determination.”

A letter to NBC News read, “We also understand that Anti-Blackness exists within Cuba and is a Global issue. We struggle for and alongside Black people across the diaspora for liberation and self-sovereignty.”

Aston Villa and England centre-back Tyrone Mings blasts Home Secretary Priti Patel for seemingly condoning fans who booed players who took the knee before games.

The issue regarding racism was not unique to the Caribbean island however, as England found itself in the midst of its own controversy regarding racism against black people.

The Euro 2020 final between Italy and England was decided on penalties, after an early Luke Shaw goal was cancelled out by a Bonucci tap-in during the second half.

Three black players – Jadon Sancho (of Borussia Dortmund), Marcus Rashford (of Manchester United) and Bukayo Saka (of Arsenal) all missed their penalties, as Italy went on to lift the trophy.

Following this, there was a tirade of racist abuse aimed at not only those three players but black people in general across the capital. It raised debate as to whether or not England still has a racist culture, despite the overwhelming support for the players.

Aaron’s thoughts

Amidst recent events concerning Black Lives Matter and the gesture of kneeling, it is harder than ever to make the argument that BLM – as both an organisation and a movement – aren’t political; or at the very least, aren’t related in some way, shape or form.

Some have speculated that BLM represents the pursuit of equality for black people across the globe and a direct opposition and challenge for racial injustices (e.g. police brutality, especially in the United States); nothing more and nothing less.

Others have accused the movement of being an anti-white, far-left movement with Marxist-inspired philosophy and protest methods, some of which involves direct and violent action.

Irrespective of the details of these opinions, it’s undeniable that the organisation and movement are inherently linked and political in nature, and as such the narrative of it being apolitical has been demonstrably proven to be untrue and fraudulent.

BLM blasted for praising the Cuban regime. Video credit: Fox News

It’s understandable why genuine anti-racist campaigners might think it’s not political. To them, equality for black people is not a political issue, it’s a human issue. To be anti-racist in and of itself isn’t associated with allegiance to any political party or organisation.

In any case though, their aim is for equal rights for black people, meaning they will pressure governments to pass legislation and introduce schemes to achieve said aims. If they require laws to be changed, some of which might (and have) affect other demographics, it is clearly political, by definition.

Their fight for equal rights might be a noble one, but it does not exempt them from other political affiliations and the environment in which they live. To be anti-racist does not automatically put an individual in a bubble. They live in a society of many other people, and therefore are still subject to debate, criticism, scrutiny and even direct opposition.

It’s a package deal.

Whether it’s for a noble cause or a revolutionary cause, it can no longer be accepted that both the movement and organisation have no political status. Attempting to shield genuine fights for equality from political opposition simply due to its noble nature is not viable. History has proven this.

It’s time to end the myth of BLM being apolitical.

Some would argue why is black lives matter being debated at all?

CheVaughn’s thoughts

Who determines whether something is political or not: People, society, or institutions? Showing basic morals and decent respect towards another human being is not politically driven. It is understandable why someone would think that Black Lives Matter is a political organization.

A lot of their actions are to change the political laws that promote the inequality of black people. However, anybody who thinks that this is the sole case fails to analyze the reason for the movement.


Simply put, black lives matter. It is not saying black lives are superior to other lives. It is not saying that the other lives do not matter. The movement wants to convey that black life is valuable. There is nothing political about the statement black lives matter. One can believe in the mission without physically being a part of the organisation.


Initially, Colin Kaepernick was making a statement when he decided to kneel at a preseason NFL game. His reasoning was to speak out against the unjust killings of African Americans and police brutality. At the time, this had no connection to BLM, nor was it meant to be political.

The black lash and global notoriety evolved the simple action into a political statement used in association with the BLM. Much like Kaepernick, Black Lives Matter initially started because the founders were sick and tired of police brutality and black Americans dying.

A person who supports or appreciates the overall goal of BLM can say and mean just that. They do not have to go to meetings, go to rallies, or lobby for laws to be changed. People can say black lives matter without necessarily being a part of the movement; they can believe black lives matter.

Until a legitimate change is made, statements need to continue to happen. Interlinking the organization and the movement as one political entity is a stretch and an inadequate assessment of the true meaning behind BLM.

Jamaica demanding reparations will fall on deaf ears

Shaun Flores
-
0
Jamaica demanding reparations will fall on deaf ears

Jamaica will be readying the call to demand reparations from Great Britain in a bold attempt to undo the colonial injustices of the past. A lawsuit will be filed against Great Britain due to the nation’s role in the transatlantic slave trade and slavery in the former colony.

“We are hoping for reparatory justice in all forms that one would expect if they are to really ensure that we get justice from injustices to repair the damages that our ancestors experienced,” Olivia Grange, Jamaica’s minister of sports, youth and culture, told Reuters.

Jamaica was seized from the Spanish by the English in 1655, remaining a British colony until its independence in 1962.  Millions of Africans were forcibly imported and were forced to work on plantations tending to a variety of crops. Labouring in terrible conditions, whipped, raped and killed whilst their owners were amassing fortunes.

600,000 Africans were shipped from Africa to Jamaica, according to the National Library of Jamaica.

Under the Slavery Abolition act, 1833, the British government raised £20 million from taxpayers to pay out for the loss of slaves as business assets to the registered owners of the freed slaves. £10 million of the compensated money remained in British society.

Reuters reports Jamaican lawmaker Mike Henry, a member of Jamaica’s Labour Party, declared the price tag of reparations could be valued at $10.5 billion. 

Henry engages in tripartite stakeholder discussions on job security | Loop Jamaica
Jamaican lawmaker Mike Henry, a member of Jamaica’s Labour Party, declared the price tag of reparations could be valued at $10.5 billion. 

He continued: “I am asking for the same amount of money to be paid to the slaves that were paid to the slave owners,” he told Reuters. 

The petition for reparations will be filed pending advice from the attorney general and several legal teams.

“Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.”It’s not the first time Jamaica has asked

In 2015 Sir Hilary Beckles author of “Britain’s Black Debt: Reparations for Caribbean Slavery and Native Genocide” and Chair of the Caricom Reparations Commission, led calls for the former Prime minister David Cameron to start talks on making amends for slavery.

By Hilary Beckles Britain's Black Debt: Reparations for Caribbean Slavery and Native Genocide [Hardcover]: Amazon.co.uk: Hilary Beckles: 8601410489182: Books
Sir Hilary Beckles author of: “Britain’s Black Debt: Reparations for Caribbean Slavery and Native Genocide”

In an open letter in the Jamaican Observer, Sir Hilary wrote:

“We ask not for handouts or any such acts of indecent submission. We merely ask that you acknowledge responsibility for your share of this situation and move to contribute in a joint programme of rehabilitation and renewal,

“The continuing suffering of our people, Sir, is as much your nation’s duty to alleviate as it is ours to resolve in steadfast acts of self-responsibility,”

Jamaica: David Cameron Says No to Slavery Reparations | Time
Jamaican Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller meeting David Cameron in 2015

David Cameron ruled out slavery reparations urging Caribbean countries to ‘move on from the painful legacy of slavery’.

Cameron himself originated from a family where they benefited from slavery. His wife Samantha also has slave-owning links. The dirt is on their hands. How many times do we have to be refused to understand we will not get reparations? We have the accept the things we can not change. Britain won’t change their stance on reparations.

Can we quantify our trauma?

The abuse that the Black Diaspora endured under slavery has a lasting impact on today’s generations. The ‘historical’ or ‘collective’ trauma affects entire communities simultaneously, seeing the colonial globalized African think and act differently. 

Evidently, this trauma has been a gaping wound in the collective psyche of the Black African diaspora. The state perpetuated this trauma and downplays its effects and damage caused.

In turn, this has created a politics of stonewalling, refusing to accept traumatizes those trapping them in a psychic tomb. The recipient of the crimes do not grieve the loss whilst the perpetrator does not acknowledge the crime.

A plausible link between the lack of recognizing the atrocities of trauma, and the denial creates a racialized nationalised traumatic identity as the trauma presents itself at the level of the community, where the horrors enacted are kept in a collective psychic tomb, passed on in silence. In turn, this results in no real closure and the wound festers inside haunting the future. A recognition of trauma could make freedom opportune, but it must be a reciprocal process and recognized by the other and by one’s self.  It is not reciprocal.

Philosopher Achille Mbembe once said:” To be black is to be stuck at the foot of a wall with no doors thinking nonetheless that everything will open up in the end”.

Presidential Lecture in the Humanities: Achille Mbembe – Stanford Arts
Philosopher Achille Mbembe:” To be black is to be stuck at the foot of a wall with no doors thinking nonetheless that everything will open up in the end”.

The continuing demands for reparations have fallen on ears who are not willing to listen.

For too long we have waited for others to open the door for reparations. It will not open. Whilst we can accept slavery debilitated our people psychologically, socially and economically, we know it will not be acknowledged. Perhaps I am a pessimist dressed up as a realist. We can not continue to rely on the ideas of reparations to fix the damage done by the British Empire.

Malcolm X once said: “You can’t separate peace from freedom because no one can be at peace unless he has his freedom.” It is time we moved on from the ask for reparations and continue to work together to create our own freedom, as no one holds our freedom, but ourselves. Neither can we wait for them to recognise their wrongdoing, we must seek to make it right, we are the authors of our own destiny and the captain of our ships, we were set to sink, but now we swim.

Tik Tok In The Hot Seat Over Ziggi Tyler’s Exposé

Hamish Hallett
-
0
Tik Tok In The Hot Seat Over Ziggi Tyler’s Exposé

TikTok has been in the headlines over the last couple of days over its Creator Marketplace. Phrases that included “Black” and “Black Lives Matter” was flagged as “inappropriate content” on the platform. Ziggi Tyler, a 23-year-old content creator, posted a video showing that he was flagged for putting these phrases in his bio. On the same day, he posted a follow-up video that showed phrases like “I am a neo-Nazi” and “I am an anti-Semite” not being flagged.  

Tyler’s two videos on this matter have already gained around a million views.

TikTok has apologised for what has happened and has suggested that they are working on this issue.

@ziggityler

#greenscreenvideo I’m going live in 30 minutes to answer questions. Y’all need to get this message out. Please. #fypシ #fyp #wrong #justice

♬ original sound – Ziggi Tyler

How did this happen?

Tyler first noticed his content being flagged when he attempted to update his bio page in TikTok’s Creator Marketplace. This is a beta feature on the platform that allows creators to partner with branded sponsors, and the feature has been up since last year. While trying to update his bio to include phrases like “Black Lives Matter,” “Pro-Black”, or “Black Success,” a message popped up saying that Tyler’s bio contained “inappropriate content”. Later, Tyler used words that included “supporting white supremacy” or “pro-white”, and those terms were not flagged.

In an interview with Forbes magazine, Tyler wanted to highlight his racial background within the marketplace so that advertisers looking to focus on racial justice or expand their ads would choose him. TikTok has explained that their algorithms flagged Tyler’s bio due to him including the word “audience” within his bio. Because their AI tools were taught to flag bios that included the word “die”, the algorithm would also flag words that included “die” within specific phrases like “audience”. The platform has also said that their algorithms would draw attention to any combination of words like “die” and “Black”.

A Spokesperson for the app has come out and suggested that their Creator Marketplace protections “were erroneously set to flag phrases without respect to word order.”

TikTok has said that they were still developing the Marketplace section of the app and that they have since promised to correct the AI issues that caused these phrases to be warned.

“Our TikTok Creator Marketplace protections, which flag phrases typically associated with hate speech, were erroneously set to flag phrases without respect to word order. We recognize and apologize for how frustrating this was to experience, and our team has fixed this significant error. To be clear, Black Lives Matter does not violate our policies and currently has over 27B views on our platform.”

TikTok spokesperson in a statement to NBC News

Algorithms and content creation

This isn’t the first time that algorithms have been mention regarding creating or posting content on social media platforms. Last year when Black Lives Matter protests were occurring, multiple Black creators claimed that TikTok had suppressed content about George Floyd’s death. The company said that there was a “technical glitch”, which was their reasoning behind why there was suppressed content. In May, Media Matters, a non-profit media watchdog, found that TikTok’s algorithm promoted homophobic and transphobic content to viewers. The watchdog found that likening one anti-LGBTQ+ video on an account led to TikTok recommending more videos of that kind. There have been forms of algorithmic censorship happening on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook over the last few years. The most recent example of this was with what was going on in Gaza and the violence towards Palestinians earlier this year.  

Away from algorithms, Black creators on TikTok have started to go on strike to call out dance appropriation.

Charli D’Amelio and Addison Rae were criticised for not crediting Black creators when performing TikTok dances on their platforms or during televised appearances.

TikTok’s algorithms have once again raised question marks over these social media platforms and how they allow content on their sites.  

It also raises concerns over racial biases within the technology sector, which has been a widely discussed issue.  

This story proves that regardless of how technically advanced society is going, we are struggling to meet the demands that come with it.  

5 Black Tik Tok Stars You Really Should Know About

Mike Omoniyi
-
0
5 Black Tik Tok Stars You Really Should Know About

In just a couple of years since being available for worldwide use, TikTok has skyrocketed in popularity. More than 800 million users call the platform home, and already there are several standout TikTok influencers.

TikTokers share their messages through short 15-second videos on any topic under the sun. Most TikTok influencers choose to focus their videos on a single niche like comedy, beauty, fitness, etc. Even when choosing a niche, however, many TikTokers also participate in challenges on the platform. This gives them the opportunity to reach an even broader audience while still bringing their own personality and style to the challenges.

Viral videos (videos that get really popular) are shown on each user’s “for you” page. This page is what shows up when you open the app and uses TikTok’s algorithm to show you content similar to the content you’ve watched and engaged with in the past. It’s likely you’ll find that your “for you” page is filled with people very similar to you.

Having said that, it’s important to mention that TikTok, like Youtube, has a bit of a diversity problem. Not that the users of the platform aren’t diverse—they are. But, Black creators have pointed out that their content has largely been left out of the “for you” pages, even for other Black creators with similar niches.

TikTok has pledged to take steps to ensure that this gets remedied, but in the meantime, how do you find Black TikTok influencers who are creating the content you want to see?

In this article, we’re showcasing 5 Black TikTok influencers across niches like comedy, music and dance, fashion and beauty, food, and fitness.

Black TikTok influencers are well-represented across multiple niches on the platform. And, what’s really fantastic about TikTok’s algorithm is that the more you follow Black TikTok influencers and like the content they create, the more they’ll show up on your “for you” page. This makes them a lot easier to find. Here are our picks for the top Black TikTok influencers you need to go follow right now.

The hashtag “BlackTikTokStrike” has been viewed more than two million times on TikTok. Source:  Amna Ijaz

1 . @DREW2WAVY

2. @ANNATORIA__

3. @HTTP.JXSON

4. @ITSJUSTNIFEE

4. @VCTRKNDA

Is This The Beginning Of A Labour Resurgence?

Richard Bolton
-
0
Is This The Beginning Of A Labour Resurgence?

The Conservatives winning Hartlepool, which Labour had held since 1974, made it look like the modern-day Labour party was not fit for purpose. So when the Batley and Spen By-Election came around  23rd of May 2021, embattled Labour leader Keir Starmer’s head was on the chopping block. Killed Labour MP, Jo Cox’s sister, Kim Leadbeater won by a miserly 323 votes and did little to abate the critics. It didn’t help that former PM, Tony Blair, has been weighing into the discussion, declaring “Labour could cease to exist” as commentators have been touting a “de Gaulle-style comeback”.

Keir Starmer’s fortune is Labour’s misfortune: Labour won’t revive simply by changing leadership, while no one is stepping up to take his job. The consensus is squarely he faces a Sisyphean task to both keep progressives happy while appealing to the wider public, especially those stung by the spectre of anti-Semitism.

Starmer was the answer to ‘how to get rid of the last guy’ but not ‘how to get Labour into Power after 16 years’, according to one former Labour adviser. A former public prosecutor and central figurehead supposed to unite a bitterly divided Party.

It is difficult when you lack a strong consensus message. And harder yet when you must contend with one of the World’s best vaccine rollout programmes by your incumbent opposition.

Sir Keir Starmer accused the Government of trying to stoke ‘a culture war’ (House of Commons/PA)
Sir Keir Starmer accused the Government of trying to stoke ‘a culture war’ (House of Commons/PA) / PA Wire

English politics has shifted when wider problems emerge that the current government of the daily struggles to contend with adequately in the public view. 1973’s oil crisis to the 2008 crash has seen changes in our government between Red and Blue. Tony Blair’s 1997 victory was more to do with Tory infighting and the Labour unity behind Blair and ‘Thatcherism continue with a veil of Social Democracy’ (the colloquial Red Tory). But Labour can’t imitate the egalitarian drive of swathes of the country left behind in the 1990s when the Tories are on a spending spree, but they do need to find the unity. Current purges of the Left Wing are entrenching the divisions and harming a united front against the Conservatives.

Labour need a clear message on the economy and culture They are succeeding in focusing on issues that people care about, seeing their mayors elected in town centres like Sadiq Khan in London, Andy Burnham in Greater Manchester and Dan Norris for West of England.

Without a clear agenda, and unified behind any suitable leader, Labour will simply have to wait out until Boris mania passes. The Downing Street flat fiasco and Dominic Cummings’ scathing attacks are merely denting Boris’ armour, but failing to deliver the decisive blow because he is seen to be competent in a time of national crisis.

Starmer isn’t doing a bad job, all things considered, but he needs to wait for the Churchill-esq “wartime” sheen to rub off before his Party can make their move. Remaining relevant after an economic rebound and vaccination programme won’t be easy, but requires biding time and surviving despite the heavy cost.

Cumming’s 20-Year Vendetta Against the Establishment

Richard Bolton
-
0
Cumming’s 20-Year Vendetta Against the Establishment

British Prime Minister’s Right-Hand Man has been on a mission to destroy his former boss. Since being sacked in November he has pursued what appears to be a personal vendetta against his former employers. He has declared our leaders “blind leading the blind”, has released text messages and WhatsApp exchanges of senior Tories during the early stages of the Pandemic and spoken before Select Committees on his work as an adviser while taking the opportunity to be hypercritical of those around him. Cummings has been a disruptive force throughout the Brexit Campaign and later while advising Boris while in power. The decisive shift seems to have been when Boris became a Centrist incumbent politician propping up the established order instead of continuing to dismantle it alongside Cummings.

Track Record

Dominic was a senior aide to Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith and was not afraid to call his boss a “muppet” hopelessly out of his depth. He resigned and publicly ousted the Tory leader as “incompetent”, and needing replacing. He also wasn’t very kind toward the Conservative Party, which he labelled as lacking in “understanding, talent, will and adaptation.”

Likewise, he went after David Cameron, declaring he “bumbled from one shamble to another without the slightest sense of purpose.” Cummings blamed Cameron for dragging his feet on schools reform and a distinct lack of priorities.

Throughout his advisory career, the same theme has emerged: he is hypercritical of a system that is dissuading speaking truth to power. Whitehall for Cummings should be a place where you can prioritise and own up to mistakes, yet in practice lacks the backbone for fear of fierce reprisals.

<p>‘Behind each mask lies another mask’ – Dominic Cummings on Boris Johnson</p>
‘Behind each mask lies another mask’ – Dominic Cummings on Boris Johnson
(Reuters)

His recent lambasting of Boris Johnson and Cabinet leaders has been around the sycophantic self-congratulatory aura surrounding a meek Covid response.

Cummings has shed light on the uncomfortable truth that many talented civil servants are stuck in the mud of structural dysfunction, at the beck and call of politicians running around like headless turkeys at Christmas with little rhyme or reason as to what they’re doing as they jump from Secretary of Education to Health and come full circle to Environment.

According to Mr Cummings, where Duncan-Smith was incompetent, Cameron shambolic, Johnson is unethical and below the competence and integrity, Britain deserves, bordering on breaking the law.

Refurbishing his flat by Tory donor directly breached sleaze and stifling inquiries into a suspect who was close friends with his fiancée should be grounds for compromised leadership in normal circumstances. But are we, under war on Covid, turning the other way on the misgivings of a Churchill-esq PM.

Cummings’ Vendetta, then, is nothing new. Just the scope of the assault. We are being drip-fed WhatsApp messages and now emboldening a Whitehall leak of Health Secretary Hancock’s office-based affair. Cummings’ attacks, whether personal slight or his character, are opening doors thought previously closed to the British public and giving a voice to all those Civil Servants squashed under the weight of idle threats and layered bureaucracy.

While it casts a bad light on Whitehall and harms our trust in our political leaders, British people respect transparency above all else. If it leads to better decisions, less waste of taxpayer funds, and breaking the stranglehold of the entrenched establishment elite; more power to him I say.

Why Were Queen Victoria and Elizabeth II statues toppled in Canada?

Aaron Fenton-Hewitt
-
0
Why Were Queen Victoria and Elizabeth II statues toppled in Canada?

There were unsettling scenes in the city of Winnipeg, in Canada, as protestors forcibly pulled down two statues – one of Queen Elizabeth II and Queen Victoria – in reaction to the recent discovery of hundreds of unmarked graves of indigenous children,

The grim discovery was made at Marieval Indian Residential School in Saskatchewan, where at least 750 unmarked graves were found. Unfortunately, another 215 bodies were found buried in Kamloops Indian Residential School in British Columbia.

The history of these children goes as far back as 1876, as over 150,000 Indigenous children were forcibly taken from their families, in order to make them assimilate to Canadian culture and Christianity at a few select Catholic residential schools.

Sue Caribou, a survivor of the ideal, in a report to the Guardian, said that she was snatched from her home at the age of just seven years old. She reports being raped, being called ‘a dog’, physically abused, forced to eat rotten vegetables and forbidden to speak her native language of Cree.

Murray Sinclair, a former member of the Canadian Senate, said that “Canada clearly participated in a period of cultural genocide.”

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said, “[he] condemned any defacing of statues of the Queen.” A No.10 spokesperson said, “Our thoughts are with Canada’s indigenous community following these tragic discoveries and we follow these issues closely and continue to engage with the Government of Canada with indigenous matters.”

Canadian protestors tear down statues of the Queen. Video credit: ITV News

Rioting Is The Language Of The Unheard

Whilst it’s never acceptable to deface and destroy public property, one would have to possess a heart of stone to not understand and sympathise with the anger that people have.

Many people rightfully feel that it’s about time that Canada deals with its history, especially with such a grim and grisly result.

There is also a growing sentiment amongst sections of society that pulling statues down is a way of protesting against a system that many feel is unjust, and to a certain extent, this is true. Every government has skeletons in its closet.

The late Martin Luther King Jr. said ‘rioting is the language of the unheard, and it is the case that many of these voices were unheard, due to their untimely deaths.

It’s interesting to see protestors tagged statues of Britain’s royal matriarchs, relating to Britain’s role in colonialist attitudes that influenced Canadian culture to target and wipe out Indigenous culture. Similar scenes occurred in the UK, starting last year with the Black Lives Matter protests in London.

Catholic Church in Morinville, Canada suspiciously burned to the ground. Video credit: Edmonton Journal

There have also been reports of protestors targeting churches for arson.

It’s important to ask ourselves – what does pulling down statues actually do? What point does it prove? It’s understandable to demand answers and investigations from governments, but criminal damage and arson is not the way to do things.

This is a time where two things are required to resolve this issue – accountability and reconciliation. The latter requires healing, the willingness to forgive (not forget), and to learn from past sins so as to not do it again.

Respectfully, tearing down statues won’t change history. History is not always a nice thing to look back on. It’s not the utopia we want it to be. Trying to rewrite history by tearing down statues won’t solve anything.

Instead, it will simply cause division between the Indigenous population and Christians who have no part in the atrocities that took place. The last thing we need in this sensitive situation is conflict and tribalism. Cooperation is paramount.

Cephas Williams Asks What Does It Mean To Be Black, Living In The UK?

Mike Omoniyi
-
0
Cephas Williams Asks What Does It Mean To Be Black, Living In The UK?

In this major public exhibition, Cephas Williams – artist, photographer, speaker, activist and campaigner – poses a timely and poignant question: ‘What does it mean to be Black, living in the UK?’

Portrait of Black Britain is me taking control of my narrative – asking other Black people to join me in the reintroduction of our presence and stories in the 21st century.’

Cephas Williams

Portrait of Black Britain is a major public exhibition at Manchester Arndale that will profile a range of Black people living in the UK today, the contributions they make and the roles they play in society. Created at a time when candid conversations and dialogue about the Black community are taking a long-overdue centre stage, Portrait of Black Britain centralises Black-led representation on what it means to be Black in the UK right now. It is a reminder of the beauty in identity and diversity, the fact that the Black community is not a monolith. It is a moment to give the spotlight to the community to which this conversation belongs. And it is a powerful and positive affirmation that Black Lives Matter: not just in news stories about trauma or tragedy, nor just during Black History Month – but every day.

Conceived and created by Cephas Williams, creator of 56 Black Men, Letter to Zion and the Black British Network, Portrait of Black Britain doesn’t focus only on high-profile people and success stories – it captures as many people from as wide a range of society as possible. These are not all faces you’ll recognise, but they are indelible images you won’t forget.

This is the first phase of a project that will ultimately lead to Cephas Williams building the largest collection of photographic portraits of Black British people ever created. We’re thrilled to be bringing it to you this summer.

A bold new work offering a vision of Black achievement in the UK – a journey that starts in Manchester

A community project with vast scope, Portrait of Black Britain makes a difference to everybody. “This is me taking control of my narrative,” says Williams, “and asking other Black people to join me in the re-introduction of our presence and stories in the 21st century.
Manchester Arndale, 1-18 July, free, no ticket required

Williams told The Guardian “I aim for this to be the largest portrait series of Black British people ever taken before,” Commissioned by Manchester international festival, the first set of images feature the faces of Manchester residents who responded to Williams’s invitation to take part. “This interest in making Black people visible is not just to see their face, but for us also to hear their voice,” he says. “A lot of our contributions, a lot of achievements, and actually our very existence can sometimes go unnoticed”.

Driving all Williams’s ambitious, large-scale projects is a sense of real urgency. In 2018, Williams unveiled 56 Black Men: billboard-sized portraits of accomplished Black men, all wearing black hoodies. In the words of David Lammy MP, one of Williams’s subjects, it seeks “to liberate Black men from invisibility”. The murder of George Floyd in 2020 galvanised Williams further – he heard the news when he was expecting the birth of his son, shattering his hopes that his baby might be born into a world in which a Black man could walk down the street without fear. Subsequently, he published Letter to Zion for his son, outlining his vision for global dialogue, representation and equality. The same year, he developed the Black British Network, a platform for tangible change, which has drawn support from such industry giants as Sony, Clear Channel and Sainsbury’s.

Boris Johnson To Set Out England’s Final Covid Lockdown Easing

Mike Omoniyi
-
0
Boris Johnson To Set Out England’s Final Covid Lockdown Easing

Prime Minister Boris Johnson and new Health Secretary Sajid Javid will hold a press conference this afternoon to announce plans for 19 July

Boris Johnson will confirm his plans to “restore people’s freedoms” with an update on restrictions later today.

The Prime Minister will lay out the details for England’s final step out of lockdown, currently scheduled to take on effect on 19 July.

He is expected to announce that the one-metre social distancing rule and the legal requirement to wear a face mask will be scrapped.

He is also expected to reveal the next steps for care home visits and provide an update on the formal advice to work from home wherever possible.

While coronavirus cases are soaring across the country, the vaccination roll-out has significantly reduced the number of people suffering from serious illness or dying from the disease.

The fourth and final stage of the government’s roadmap out lockdown in England was delayed last month to no earlier than 19 July.

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are in charge of their own coronavirus rules, and the Scottish government has suggested it may retain some basic measures, including wearing masks, at its next review in August.

The chairman of the British Medical Association, Dr Chaand Nagpaul said it “makes no sense” to stop wearing face coverings in enclosed public spaces amid a rising number of cases of the Delta variant.

Will Mas Wearing Continue?

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “We know that face masks are proven to reduce spread of this infection” and “can’t understand why – at a time where there are ‘exceptional high levels of cases’ – we would “knowingly want people to become infected”.

In comments released by Downing Street before the prime minister gives his update at 17:00 BST, Mr Johnson said he “must stress that the pandemic is not over and that cases will continue to rise over the coming weeks”.

But praising the successful vaccine rollout, he said he would “set out how we can restore people’s freedoms”.

Downing Street said step four would go ahead in two weeks time only if the government’s “four tests” for easing curbs had been met.

The verdict on those tests – on the jab rollout, vaccine effectiveness, hospital admissions, and new virus variants – would only be confirmed on 12 July following a review of the latest data, No 10 said.

The findings of reviews on the use of Covid certification – or vaccine passports – and on social-distancing measures are also due to be announced by Mr Johnson.

What Time Is The announcement?

Prior to this, Mr Javid will update MPs in the Commons at 3:30pm (or later, depending on the parliamentary diary).

They are expected to call for more eligible adults to go for their second vaccine dose before 19 July, to ensure they have the highest protection possible.

Mr Johnson said: “Thanks to the successful rollout of our vaccination programme, we are progressing cautiously through our roadmap.

“Today we will set out how we can restore people’s freedoms when we reach step 4.

“But I must stress that the pandemic is not over and that cases will continue to rise over the coming weeks.

“As we begin to learn to live with this virus, we must all continue to carefully manage the risks from Covid and exercise judgement when going about our lives.”

What About The Forgotten White Working Class?

Aaron Fenton-Hewitt
-
0
What About The Forgotten White Working Class?

The concept of ‘white privilege’ has always been controversial, and in some cases, a highly divisive – topic. It presupposes the idea that Caucasians automatically have an easier life due to their skin colour, meaning they have access to more resources and are less likely to be discriminated against on the basis of skin colour.

Many ethnic minorities believe this to be the case and point to historical cases of racism that affect many of their communities to this very day.

However many argue against the concept of white privilege, believing it to be a divisive and counterproductive narrative that will alienate entire sections of society.

An example of this is a recent study by the UK’s Department of Education (DoE), which found that, as of June 2021, the most at-risk and neglected class of pupils are white working-class boys.

In 2018/19, just 53% of free school meals (FSM)-eligible White British pupils met the expected standard of development at the end of the early year’s foundation stage, one of the lowest percentages for any disadvantaged ethnic group.

MPs aren’t convinced that white privilege isn’t the issue. Video credit: Sky News

In 2019 just 17.7% of FSM-eligible White British pupils achieved grade 5 or above in English and maths, compared with 22.5% of all FSM-eligible pupils. This means that around 39,000 children in the group did not achieve two strong passes.

The proportion of White British pupils who were FSM-eligible starting higher education by the age of 19 in 2018/19 was 16%, the lowest of any ethnic group other than traveller of Irish heritage and Gypsy/Roma.

Some of the statistics of this demographic make for grim and depressing reading. Due to the fact that white Brits are the ethnic majority of the UK, the fact that some are underperforming and falling behind ethnic minority groups is staggering.

Many feel it’s more of a class issue than a race issue, as many of the factors that contribute to this findings show a clear distinction between white working class pupils and white pupils as a whole.

“If you’re a working-class child, you’re starting the race halfway around the track behind the middle-class child”

This is a controversial issue to tackle. Whilst it’s undeniable that racism does and always will exist, it seems like it’s the most simplified and popular answer to societal problems. There is an increasingly hostile culture war that was imported from the United States, manifesting itself in the form of identity politics.

The concept of ‘white privilege’ in itself is subjective and depends on who you ask. The term ‘white privilege’, to some ethnic minorities (especially black people) means that white people will never have to suffer due to the colour of their skin. To some white people, it’s simply a tool in the arsenal of identity politics to blame them for all societal problems.

It’s a nuanced issue. However, it’s easy to get carried away by the racial politics of this. Society should take care to not distract itself from the problem that is the forgotten white working class.

BBC finds middle-class people still get better jobs than working-class people.

What happened to them? What factors contributed to their underperformance and downfall? What factors have to be taken into consideration to explain this?

Perhaps attitudes towards education? Many working-class people believe that the educational system does not give their kids a fair enough chance to succeed, and it’s hard to argue against this.

The lack of investment in working-class children is also a factor to consider. It’s important to understand that schooling alone is not enough to become an all-around candidate for entry into high-ranked universities or to compete for certain jobs.

Extra-curricular activities must be done outside the school environment, many of which cost money which working-class parents simply cannot afford a lot of the time.

In an article with the Guardian, Diane Reay, who is a professor at Cambridge University and grew up on a council estate, said, “If you’re a working-class child, you’re starting the race halfway around the track behind the middle-class child. Middle-class parents do a lot via extra resources and activities.”

Sky News interviews Dr. Lisa McKenzie about class wars. Video credit: Sky News

There are also pre-conceived ideas about the working class from middle to upper-class elites. Many of them tend to look down upon people who are from a different class to them. Even accents and mannerisms of those from certain backgrounds paint a stereotypical picture in the mind of an employer.

It’s as if they treat education in itself as a religion, and those who do not value it as much are enemies of the state.

The idea of looking down on working-class people is not a new phenomenon and permeates itself in other parts of society. There is a snobbish, elitist attitude that exists in higher echelons of society, akin to philosophies of the need for caste systems, prevalent in other countries.

There is certainly a need for diversity in the workplace, but in modern Britain, that rhetoric only seems to apply to the categories of race, gender identity and sexuality.

Dr. Sam Baars discusses the forgotten white working class. Video credit: The Centre for Education and Youth

BAME and LGBT people both have lobbies and political pull that white working-class people simply do not have. It is worse to be seen as racist and/or homophobic than classist. Therefore, it is obvious why the white working class have been forgotten.

With BAME people having more social capital than they’re willing to admit, combined with preconceived attitudes towards them, backgrounds of disadvantage and a failure to address low participation in higher education, the white working-class has no cards left to play. The odds are stacked against them.

Why Are States In the US Banning Critical Race Theory

CheVaughn Starling
-
0
Why Are States In the US Banning Critical Race Theory

Critical Race Theory (CRT) is a hot-button issue in both the USA and U.K. classrooms. Many educational institutions across both countries are starting to ban schools from teaching critical race theory altogether. A total of 23 states in the U.S. have either restricted or proposed legislation restricting the subject being taught. The U.K. Parliament spoke out against teaching CRT in schools and even went as far as stating any teachers who teach this subject are in breach of the law. While there is extreme pushback against teaching CRT in schools, much of it is grounded in a misunderstanding of what critical race theory is.

What is Critical Race Theory?

Illustration from M. Scott Byers on critical race theory

Critics often believe that it targets white people in a very negative way. However, that is not the case at all. Simply put, CRT is the loosely organized framework of legal analysis based on the premise race is a social construct used to oppress and exploit people of colour. Critical race theorists hold the belief that the legal institutions and laws in western countries are ultimately racist. CRT states social institutions (I.e., the criminal justice system, education system, labour market, housing market, and healthcare system) are embedded with racism in their laws, regulation, rules, and procedures. These laws maintain the social, economic, and political inequalities between white people and people of colour, especially Black Americans, as they uphold white privilege and thus must be dismantled and revised to promote equality.

Why All The Opposition?

Gov. Ron DeSantis hopes to restrict critical race theory calling it “toxic”.

States such as Idaho, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Iowa, and New Hampshire have passed legislation that bans teaching CRT. The majority of the legislations restrict the discussion, training, and orientation that the U.S. is racist and any discussions about conscious and unconscious bias, privilege, oppression, and discrimination. The ban can extend to other areas such as gender and sexuality as well. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has spoken out against critical race theory stating CRT teaches children that the country is rotten and the nation’s institutions are illegitimate. He further believes that this theory is toxic and would have a negative influence on children. Other advocates for the CRT bans state critical race theory can become divisive and can be demoralizing for white children.

The Real Issue With the Ban is Racism

Baning CRT in schools creates a lack of knowledge for young people all over the country

States banning critical race theory because of its harsh rhetoric is not the issue. No, what they are afraid of is the truth. Critical race theory calls out institutions for what they are: racist—picking and choosing how the law can work for one group of people while oppressing another. The same intuitions that held people of colour down, especially Black Americans and Brits centuries ago, hold down people of colour today. It is not okay to halfway tell a country’s complete history. Racism is more than just slavery and the Civil Rights Movement.

If the government takes away CRT, it does a disservice to the education in these countries and aids the blatant racism already there. Talking about racism does not promote racism. It is essential, to be honest about the past of one’s country to progress and make a change for the future. Taking away CRT does not just affect the discussion of racism, but it will go further to ban debates on gender inequality, sex, and LGBTQ+ identity. A teacher should not be fined 5,000 plus dollars for teaching about racism, gender, and sexual inequality, especially when those issues played a pinnacle role in the history of the U.S. and U.K. Regardless of how one may feel about the ban, CRT forces teachers to have honest discussions on historical content that affected both countries equally and still affect the social construct today.

Three Ways The UK Government Must Prioritise Climate Change

Zohaib Sadiq
-
0
Three Ways The UK Government Must Prioritise Climate Change

In the run-up to COP26, what 3 actions can the UK take to tackle the climate problem?

The UK’s Climate Change Committee recently released a report stating the UK is not doing enough to meet its requirements to cut carbon emissions and tackle the growing problem of global warming. Chris Stark, the CEO of the Climate Change Committee, expressed deep concern at the UK’s lack of willingness to drive climate targets; “So very little has been done so far to deliver on them – the targets won’t be achieved by magic. Afterall, the UK government has made genuinely historic commitments to slash emissions, setting a target of a reduction of 78% by 2030 (from 1990 levels). It would be a shame and a missed opportunity if we fail to hit those targets”. Mr Stark isn’t the only authority figure in expressing a sincere tone on an incredibly relevant topic. Lord Deben, Chairman of the Climate Change Committee expressed similar sentiments, in asserting “the delivery just hasn’t been there”, referring to a lackluster willpower in areas of policy which have traditionally proven difficult to navigate, for example, consumer diet changes and demands for flights/holidays, areas which are becoming increasingly complex given corporate pressure from the sugar industry in post-brexit trade deals with the US, and high demands for holidays following COVID.

The concern from the Climate Committee is doubled by intense criticism from cross-party MPs on the hollowness and ineffectiveness of government policies, and a shameful hesitancy given the strong commitment made by the government during the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement.  Notably, the UK’s climate effort has repeatedly been scrutinised for its’ promoting of “quick fix solutions”, which in the short and long term, have been proven to harm biodiversity and are therefore in-fact counterproductive to the UK’s mission of achieving the targets.

The British government must develop a sense of deep conviction and commitment if it is to craft effective policies of a more holistic nature. Doing otherwise and continuing on the path of complacency risks jeopardising the UK’s position at the UN COP26 environmental and climate change summit in November of this year. A holistic approach requires a meticulously thought-through strategy to combat climate change and greenhouse gases over the short and long term. 

Climate change activists listen to speeches at their encampment blocking the road junction at Oxford Circus back in 2019 (AFP)

The UK can take steps in 3 areas, namely insulation efforts in residential and commercial sectors, electric technology charging and smart tree planning strategies. Firstly the government ought to re-introduce the recently scrapped Green Homes Grant Insulation Scheme, effectively subsidising installation for improvements in energy efficiency, including schemes such as wall insulation and solar panels, for homeowners and private landlords. The re-introduction necessitates a resolving of the futile components of the scheme which significantly reduced its effectiveness in tackling the climate crisis, leading to its scraping earlier this year. This includes tackling the unnecessary hurdles faced by businesses and households, including excessive red-tape and therefore significant time-lags, and the difficulty in accessing the scheme for households.  

The UK should also increase the availability of charging facilities for electric vehicles. Ease of access to free charging stations incentivises increased purchasing of electric cars, leading to consumer and environmental benefit; cost-savings on petrol and reduction in harmful petro-chemical pollutants and the demand for petrol and diesel falls. The electric car market has seen significantly increased demand year on year since 2012 and presents a plethora of opportunities for combatting greenhouse emissions. 

Thirdly, the UK could also explore a smart tree-planning strategy, a frankly common sense strategy proposed by Professor Camille Parmesan at Plymouth University. Such strategies entail planting a diverse set of seeds that are native to the respective land and region, instead of a homogenous one-seed strategy which doesn’t take the regional biodiversity into account, and thereby increases the chance of failure as issues spread faster in a forest of one breed. 

The combination of holistic environmentally-conscious solutions and the political willingness to ensure effective accessibility to solutions is vital to ensuring the UK remains in a favourable position in reaching the 2030 targets. 

1...171819...91Page 18 of 91

Editor Picks

Must Read

Hot Topics

About Us

Our mission is to make democracy healthier by creating spaces for people who disagree to have fruitful dialogue.

Contact us: hello@tcsnetwork.co.uk

Follow Us

© Copyright - Newspaper theme by tagDiv