Poverty has been normalised in the UK

Walking the streets of London, it is impossible not to be struck by the number of homeless people. Groups around train stations, in doorways, under bridges. People walking past, some engaging, maybe giving money. The whole thing seems like a scene from Dickensian England, yet the situation seems to have been normalised. Not seen for what it is, which is an affront to a so called civilised society. There are teams if people from local authorities and charities, who seek to intervene to help those forced to live this way. But fundamentally, there is something wrong in such a rich society (fifth largest economy in the world) that so many are forced to live in this way. Homelessness has been normalised in the same way as food banks. Neither should have a place in a society that boasts over 150 billionaires and countless others doing very nicely thank you. Many no doubt stepping over the homeless in their path. These problems can be addressed. At the time of the COVID pandemic people were taken off the street and housed. When the pandemic passed they were shoved back onto the street. Thousands of properties across the UK remain empty. If the political will were there, then poverty in it's many forms could be addressed. At present a vague charitable response seems to be acceptable to most people. So they may give to homelessness charities or put some cans in the food bank container at the supermarket. Something that always strikes me as the height of irony, given the billions made in profit by those same supermarkets. Not that these actions are not good and virtuous but are they also the price that people are willing to pay in order to put up with homelessness and millions going to food banks in such a rich society Why not over the coming year really address the causes of poverty? Set an ambitious goal of providing a roof over everyone's head, a universal basic income and food to eat, without the need to resort to charity? Yes, it will cost money. It will likely mean higher taxes but why is that a bad thing? Why is welfare in its limited sense attacked when aimed at the poor? The welfare received by the rich in terms of low tax provision for their expensive and often damaging lifestyles don't seem to attract the same opprobrium. There needs to be a levelling of society. The gross inequalities that exist at present are what cause many of the problems, not least poverty. The Labour Government has started to address inequality by upping the minimum wage, removing the two child benefit cap and increasing some taxes. But these are tiny steps More is needed, with a reshaping of the economy based on the common good, not always the bottom line. Only then will we start function better as a civilised and grown up society.

How West Ham's European glory sparked a slow decline

So West Ham enter 2026 staring relegation from the Premier League in the face. West Ham fans had hoped for better when the season began back in August. The board had decided to stick with Graham Potter as manager, despite an underwhelming display for the second half of last season - when he was in charge. Potter's results record was almost identical to that of his predecessor Julen Lopetegui. The summer transfer window brought a mixed bag, with Mateus Fernandes, Soungoutou Magassa, El Hadje Diouf, Callum Wilson and Kyle Walker-Peters representing varying degrees of success. The signing of Leicester keeper, Mads Hermansen was the one outstanding failure. He played just four error strewn games before being replaced by Alphonse Areola. The season began badly, with West Ham losing four out of the first five games. The board then decided to sack Potter, bringing in Nuno Espirito Santo. His tenure in charge has represented a mixed bag. Two wins, five draws and seven defeats. There have been a number of games where the team should have won or at least got a point. Tactically, Espirito Santo has been keen to defend, once his side gets ahead. Shut up shop, bring on defenders. But many pundits claim that this team is simply not good enough to do that. Their record of retaining possession is among the worst in the league. There are positive signs, though, with Espirito Santo more willing than any recent manager to give home grown youngsters a chance. So, Freddie Potts has become a regular in midfield. Ollie Scarles and Ezra Mayes have appeared at full backs. And George Earthy is often on the subs bench. Things have tightened at the back, though, not enough. One of the biggest problems is the lack of a central striker. German international, Niclas Fullkrug, has moved on, without ever really making an Impact. Wilson has been effective, but the manager seems reluctant to give him much more than half a game. The team is over reliant for goals on captain Jarrod Bowen - who must be thinking about his own future, given the growing relegation prospects. It all seems a far cry from that halcyon day in 2023, when Bowen scored the winner, as West Ham won the Europa Conference League in Prague. Few, would then have predicted the demise that followed, yet it was at this time that the seeds were sown. Talisman, Declan Rice, left for Arsenal, for what is increasingly looking like a cut price £100 million. The board decided to appoint Tim Steidten over David Moyes to take care of transfers. Steidten seems to have been a divisive influence. He never had a great relationship with Moyes, eventually being banned from the training ground by Moyes in his final months as manager. (The same scenario later played out with Lopetegui.) His record, signing players, was mixed, with some successes, like Aaron Wan Bissaka and Mohammed Kudus but more failures, like Fullkrug and Max Kilman. The responsibility for the present situation, though, lies squarely at the door of the board, who have mismanaged the club. Since Moyes left, they have employed Lopetegui, Potts and now Espirito Santo. The paying up of sacked managers contracts, alone, must have cost way over £20 million. There are some amongst the supporters now clamouring for Espirito Santo to go. But why should that work and why would those making the decision on the next manager get it right at the fourth time of asking? What the present board should be asking themselves is why they ever got rid of Moyes? He'd won a trophy, secured European qualification for three seasons and pushed the club forward. West Ham finished ninth in the Premier League and reached the quarter finals of the Europa League in Moyes final season. What if they'd trusted Moyes, not employed Steiden and let the manager decide? Unfortunately, these questions only now seem relevant to 'what if' quizzes down the pub. But the West Ham board have questions to answer and there is a growing campaign calling for change. In terms of the immediate future, the club should stick with Espirito Santo. They must back his judgement and secure the players he wants in the January transfer window. Supporters also should entertain the idea that the manager may know what he's doing. Whether, it will be enough to keep West Ham up, only time will tell. What is for sure is that there needs to be fundamental changes in how West Ham United are run as a club, if they are to remain amongst the elite of the Premier League. published - morning star - 5/3/2026

Redbridge council must do better in addressing biodiversity and climate emergencies

So how has Redbridge Council risen to the biodiversity challenges over the past few years? When first elected councillors for Wanstead Village in 2018, Councillor Jo Blackman and myself sought to raise environmental issues up the council agenda. We were starting from a very low mark. Jo and myself were on the Nature and Environment Task and Finish Group. This group took evidence, did some site visits and came up with a plan. Among the recommendations was a review of the Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation (sinc) around the borough, implementation of grow zones (wild areas), phasing out of pesticide usage, managing sites as wetlands for biodiversity and promoting wildlife corridors. A new Urban Landscape policy was adopted as part of the overall strategy. We also brought a Climate Emergency motion to the council in June 2019. This was duly passed. A corporate panel was established to come up with recommendations. These are now in process of implementation The biodiversity strand has been regarded by some of us as the poor relation to climate, lacking the same urgency. This is wrong ofcourse, given the two are inextricably linked. There have been successes. Grow zones have extended, with 10,000 square metres covered. Another 400,000 square metres has been given to wild space. Some 850 tree pits have been adopted in the last year, with 7,000 trees planted in the same period. Less encouraging is the failure to take forward the Nature & Environment Task & Finish report's SINC recommendations. There has been an increasing involvement from residents, operating on a voluntary basis. Groups like the Wrens and Wanstead Community Gardeners have contributed immensely. The River Roding Trust has done great work in cleaning up the river, whilst bringing private and public bodies to account. Council has been supportive but has it done enough itself? This is an emergency, demanding rapid action, not back-burnering of issues, until funds allow. It has been an ongoing frustration of my eight years on the council that there seems to be different interpretations of what the word emergency means. My own perspective is that the present biodiversity and climate emergencies demand responses at least on a par with COVID. Obviously the response thus far is nowhere near that sort of level. National government could help by making the need to address biodiversity and climate emergencies a statutory duty on councils. Things need to change. There are two initiatives that offer hope. The first is the London Local Nature Recovery Plan, which offers guidance on how things should progress in the future. The second is a call for a nature emergency motion to be passed by the council. This would not be offering mainly vague aspirations but definite measurable benchmarks, which must be met. Things like committing to 30% of council land for nature recovery by 2030. And, the extension of the duty on developers to provide 20% biodiversity net gain in their projects. The culture also needs to change, so the comprehensive nature recovery strategy is embedded in all policy and plans of the council. A petition calling for just such an initiative has been collecting signatures over the past few months. It is now nearing the 1500 mark, which would enable the issue to be debated at the council. If you have not signed, please do so at chng.it/S8TYXnTpB. These moves will help ensure that a more comprehensive plan is laid down for the future. The next question will be what the shape of the new council to be elected next May. The election is another important opportunity to make clear to those seeking office how important it is to address the environmental emergencies. For my own part, I will not be standing for election as a Labour councillor come next May, though, will be seeking to do all I can to ensure that climate and biodiversity are at the top of the agenda. Given the political will, garnered from grass roots pressure, we can really accelerate efforts to confront these crises. All is not lost, with many positive things going on, but time is running out.

Empire unravelled

David Olusuga's Empire documentary does an excellent job of linking the history of the British Empire to the immigration debate today Historian David Olusuga has produced a fascinating series of three programs linking the often censorious approach to the history of the British Empire to the immigration debate today. Olusuga runs through the history of the empire from its founding mother, Queen Elizabeth I, to the closing acts under Queen Elizabeth II. So the role of the East India Company in the colonisation of India is contrasted with the settlement approach and slave trade of the empire to the west in America.The role of tobacco and sugar as cash crops, accompanied by the brutal slave trade, also feature. The way in which so many English colonialists got rich via involvement in the likes of the East India Company, then repatriating their wealth to Britain, where it helped secure land and influence, is another highlight. One fascinating story is that of John Gladstone, the father of William, who created the Indian indentured Labour system. This came about as a result of the abolition of slavery, resulting in Indian workers being brought into replace the slaves in places like Guyana. The high point of the empire comes post World War I when colonies belonging to the defeated powers cede to Britain. But this is also the start of decline. The independence movements grow. A central theme of this series is the effective airbrushing of history to present a positive image of empire. Nowhere is this better illustrated than with the exposure of Operation Legacy. This has involved removing and destroying many documents associated with British atrocities in the likes of the Kenyan war of independence. Olusuga exposes how weeks before the declaration of Kenyan independence in 1963, planes left Nairobi with loads of documents destined for London. The whitewashing, Operation Legacy, relating to the whole empire, went on well into the 1990s. This process has helped build a view of the Empire being a great British civilising venture. Olisuga nicely pulls things together in the final episode, highlighting how the immigration debate particularly requires that people know the truth about empire. One particularly poignant and relevant vignette is when he examines post war migration. So there are Irish, Black and European people coming to help reconstruct Britain after World War II. But at the same time more people are emigrating out of Britain, with the encouragement of government, to Australia and New Zealand. This is nicely illustrated with details of the passengers on the ship Miloja leaving Tilbury on 10 June 1948 destined for Australia, just 15 days before the Windrush docked. The Miloja carried nurses and other hospital workers, just 25 days before the NHS opened its doors. A service at that time hamstrung with skills shortages. This story nicely juxtaposes with the debate over immigration today, in a country with an ageing population and skills shortages. Olusuga packs a lot of information into these three one hour programs but there is a good momentum about the narrative. A number of talking heads of mainly young people whose histories are tied up with empire help elucidate the story. Olusuga and the BBC got some stick from the right wing press for being anti-British. Both, though, deserve credit for putting the series together - it goes some way to explain, in accessible form, the real history of the British Empire and why that is so relevant today. Empire is available on BBC I-player

More than a tick box approach needed for those with disabilities

Internationally renowned poet Raymond Antrobus has written a fascinating book on living with deafness. The Quiet Ear chronicles Antrobus's life growing up as a mixed race male with deafness in 1990s Hackney. The struggle was, at first, be accepted - this led to confusion and isolation. Things improved when he went to a school for deaf children, Blanche Nevile in Hackney. Several teachers made a real difference to Antrobus's life. He continued with his writing. In the end, Antrobus came to recognise deafness as almost a way of life, rather than a condition to be endured. Something, even, to celebrate. What the book brings home is how antiquated British society is when it comes to dealing with conditions like deafness. At best you get the there, there pat on the head type approach. More usual, though, is to totally ignore those with the condition. A real tick box mentality pervades the culture. Yet, so many have hearing issues, from those like Antrobus born with deafness to the many who lose hearing along the way. A more inclusive society would recognise hearing issues. If people speak directly, clearly and visibly then many people will be able to hear better. There is assistance. Hearing aids, hearing loops signing all help. The NHS tries but the approach is often token. Dish out the hearing aids and then the person can get on with it. Come back again in four years. A lack of care. monitoring and support. The lack of resourcing is reflected in the fact that there are now more people with hearing difficulties, yet fewer schools and other support institutions than 20 years ago. It has not been easy being a councillor on Redbridge council with hearing difficulties over the past few years. A fellow councillor, with a number of disabilities is Rosa Gomez of Churchfields ward. Rosa lost most of her sight and use of her hands, after being shot 11 years ago in Columbia. Yet, this did not stop Rosa becoming a powerful advocate for the community. Her popularity resulted in an increased majority at the last election. Life has not been easy for Rosa trying to fulfil her role as a councillor. She has cncountered many obstacles along the way. There is much to be learnt to make things easier and more inclusive for future councillors with disabilities. The likes of Rosa Gomez and Raymond Antrobus are champions for those with disabilities. They show what can be done. However, much more needs to be done if the UK is to become a genuinely, inclusive caring society for everyone living here.

UK attitudes on immigration symptomatic of an increasingly insular country on retreat into international isolation

The present febrile atmosphere surrounding the immigration debate has led some to refer to the return of the no blacks, no Irish, no dogs era. This was the time when boarding houses would put up such notices in their windows to warn off immigrants, whilst displaying blatant racism. Irish and Black people have been on the receiving end of British racism for centuries. The treatment of dogs has probably improved! Most recently there were the Irish, who came to build Britain's roads, work in the NHS, teach in schools and a wide range of other occupations. Famously, there was then the Windrush generation, recruited from the Caribbean to work on the likes of London Transport. They were, in turn, vilified and abused. The most recent discriminatory acts came with the return to the Caribbean of many of these hard working people, who had made a home here, at the behest of an ungrateful British state. The Irish ofcourse suffered a further wave of discrimination throughout the conflict in the North of Ireland. Generally, the Irish were regarded as a suspect community. So what has brought the country to the present impasse, where a Home Secretary seems determined to treat all migrants as suspect, with the most desperate (asylum seekers) seemingly labelled criminals? Are even the Irish, born outside Britain safe? There have always been racist tendencies in Britain, towards incoming migrants, as alluded to earlier. But the genie was really taken out of the bottle, with the Brexit vote. This was largely achieved on anti-migrant, anti-European sentiments. The likes of Reform leader Nigel Farage and Tory leader in waiting Boris Johnson helped convince the population that their problems were largely caused, not by austerity policies pursued by Coalition and Tory governments, but Europe and particularly migrants. This myth was also fostered by a right wing media, whose ownership were also keen for the UK to leave the EU. The leave vote was seen as vindication for the take back control of our borders and sovereignty crowd. It was though also seen as beginning of open season on migrants, as the indigenous population turned everywhere more inward on itself. Fast forward a few years and the cheerleaders for Brexit are once again banging the anti-migrant drum. This has led to the absurd position where many in the population consider immigration one of the top issues effecting their lives. Not, poisoned waterways, a crumbling NHS, a fifth of children living in poverty and an under- resourced education system but a few people coming in on boats seeking refuge. The 38,000 who have arrived on British shores via the boats this year represent less than a full Premier League football stadium. It is not an invasion, neither is everyone coming a criminal set to prey on the innocent. What is required is safe routes and a speeding up of processing claims. The ludicrous efforts of Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood to stop people coming are bound to fail. She talks of push and pull factors. Never mentioned are the push factors of war and climate change.These are not being countered, indeed, British arms companies contribute more than their fair share to fuelling conflict around the globe. Other countries like Germany and France, let alone Turkey take far more refugees than the UK. Then their are those who come to work, filling skills shortages amid an ageing and increasingly sick population. And the overseas students who over recent years have increasingly funded the further education system. They apparently are also to be targeted by this government. So, TFL workers doing vital jobs on the transport system are to be thrown out because they don't earn enough to meet the latest arbitrary threshold introduced by government. Visit any hospital or care home and see who does the work. It is mainly migrants. The present obsession with creating an even more hostile environment for migrants will backfire. Eventually, many of those with the vital skills needed in the UK will not come here. They will go to more welcoming places, like Canada or Germany. Indeed, little is made in the immigration debate of the thousands actually leaving the UK. Recent figures show this phenomena rising. More widely, the British obsession with immigration shows an increasingly insecure, inward looking country. One seemingly happy to move ever further into isolation in an increasingly interconnected world. So having left the EU, the febrile right also want to withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights and Refugee Conventions Such moves will have international implications. If undertaken they mean more isolation A reminder to the flag wavers: Britain does not and has not had for sometime an empire, nor does it have the power of somewhere like the US to go it alone. As Britain moves further in to isolation, Ireland moves in the opposite direction, putting itself at the heart of the EU and other international bodies. Yes, there are concerns about immigration in Ireland but nothing of the order of Britain. The Home Secretary faces substantial opposition, from both inside and outside Parliament, for her latest package of draconian measures. Irish born Labour MP Damien Egan put it well, when he said: "Controlling our borders and knowing who comes here is essential, not least to integration. "What can the Prime Minster say to my constituents that will give them an assurance that the reforms that he and the Home Secretary are proposing - which I support- will be firm, but also fair?" What needs to happen is for the case to be made for immigration, rather than follow down the Reform UK direction of travel. A more balanced debate could in the longer term take some of the heat out of the discussions and just maybe focus on dare I say it more pressing issues. Ofcourse, there needs to be a functional system for coming and going from the UK, securing borders, but not the frankly racist constructs now being contemplated. Meantime, where is that Irish passport?

Fascinating insight into the UN's forgotten Secretary General - U-Thant

Peacemaker by Thant Myint-U Published by Atlantic Books £22 An important book about an almost forgotten former UN Secretary General who did so much during the 1960s to promote peace around the world. Written by Thant Myint-U, the grandson of former UN Secretary General U-Thant, this book reveals the key role played by the UN in helping resolve the Cuban missile crisis, war in the Congo and the India/Pakistan clash over Kashmir in 1965. U-Thant had less success in trying to stop the six day war in 1967, when Israel backed by the US invaded Egypt and beyond. More than a bit of a sense of deja vu relating to what has happened in Gaza over the past two years. Notably, U-Thant endeavoured to bring resolution and peace to Vietnam from the outset in the early 1960s. He was ignored and vilified for his efforts by the Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon administrations. Though, it was U-Thant who was finally vindicated by history. A one time Burmese headmaster, U-Thant became acting UN General Secretary in 1961. He was made permanent later that year, going on to serve two terms. The UN was then a fledgling organisation, whose power and influence U-Thant did much to advance. He managed to forge important relationships with the John Kennedy Whitehouse and the Soviet Union. These links proving crucial during the Cuban missile crisis. In fact overall, whilst putting much effort into trying to cultivate relationships with successive US administrations, the Soviets probably proved more consistently supportive. Relations were never good with Johnson due to differences over Vietnam, whilst Nixon had no time for the UN or its Secretary General The role seemed to be one of getting the blame for much and the credit for little. But U-Thant did make an immense impact with his use of soft power. An interesting read, that goes some way to righting the historical record, with regards to the role played by the UN and one of its outstanding Secretary Generals in creating and maintaining world peace in particularly turbulent times.