PIP And Universal Credit Claimants Warned About Face-To-Face Meetings

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has dropped a bombshell on hundreds of thousands of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claimants, announcing they’ll need to show up for face-to-face assessments. The DWP is cranking up the number of in-person evaluations, it told benefit recipients this week.

This move follows objections, which indicated the surge in virtual meetings was leading to too many approvals.

Face-to-face assessments took a nosedive after COVID hit, and the existing Labour government has taken a swipe at Tory-agreed contracts that specified 80 per cent of assessments be done virtually.

The DWP has confirmed plans to ramp up the percentage of in-person assessments. For PIP, the percentage will leap from 6 per cent in 2024 (57,000) to 30 per cent of all assessments, while the Work Capability Assessment (WCA) will jump from 13 per cent in 2024 (74,000) to 30 per cent.

In addition, the DWP is stretching out the time between check-ups to see if a claimant’s condition still qualifies them for PIP. This move, it says, will free up health professionals to conduct more face-to-face assessments and deliver more WCA reassessments.

It said it underscored the crucial role of reassessments in tracking how changes in health conditions and disabilities impact people over time.

All told, the DWP considers these steps will pocket the UK taxpayer a cool £1.9 billion by the close of 2030/31. This comes hand-in-hand with employment initiatives targeting sick or disabled people, including Connect to Work and the deployment of 1,000 additional work coaches.

Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden commented: “We’re committed to reforming the welfare system we inherited, which for too long has written off millions as too sick to work.

“That is why we are ramping up the number of assessments we do face-to-face and taking action to tackle the inherited backlog of people waiting for a Work Capability Assessment.

“These reforms will allow us to save £1.9 billion, creating a welfare state that supports those who need it while helping people into work and delivering fairness to the taxpayer.”

Of course, some people are work-shy and don’t want to work, but the system works; people will always fall through the cracks because those who work in DWP are not infallible, and I suppose that makes the system flawed to a point.

You also have to remember that not everyone claiming a benefit is a blagger and is actually in need, even if it’s not observable, but once the brush is tarred, people believe that everyone is a blagger, but that’s what our government want you to believe, and don’t even believe that they don’t mess with the numbers!

However, making them do a face-to-face like they’re the Starzi is not the way to go about it. There has to be a more compassionate way? What will it be next? Burning people at the stake, or submerging them in water, and if they don’t drown, they’re not benefit scroungers. Better still, why don’t they all get them to do a lie detector test? Not the claimants, the people who work there!

Flight Of The Wild Geese

Dozens of wild geese have been killed for the Christmas dinner table in a spate of shocking attacks, it is believed.

The bodies of 70 birds were dumped in Norfolk and Cambridgeshire earlier this month, some of which had their breasts removed.

In the first incident, 39 pink-footed geese and one pigeon were left on the roadside in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, on December 7.

Their necks were tied with blue string, and they had been butchered for their breast meat. Another 31 greylag geese were discovered in a similar condition and reported to the council at Terrington St Clement, Norfolk, on December 15.

King’s Lynn and West Norfolk council environment committee member Sandra Squire said: ‘We don’t know whether they were humanely killed, we don’t know how they were butchered and whether it was hygienic, so we don’t know if they are fit for human consumption.

‘That level of meat is more than just for personal use. It’s definitely organised, and we’re hoping it doesn’t happen again.’

Police in Norfolk said no wildlife offences had been committed because geese can be shot legally.

Meanwhile, residents in Newport, South Wales, have set up a Goose Watch group after five privately-owned geese disappeared last week.

Allan Morris, a councillor from the city’s Liswerry ward, said: ‘Over the past week I’ve been contacted by the owner, and he’s concerned that five of his geese have gone missing and people are taking them for food.

‘They’ve significantly reduced the numbers, and it’s no coincidence that Christmas is coming up, times are hard, and the geese are getting nicked. But if you want geese for your Christmas dinner, go to a supermarket or butchers,’ he added.

According to the British Poultry Council, about 250,000 geese are eaten at Christmas in Britain, a figure dwarfed by the estimated nine million turkeys that share the same fate.

However, goose is widely viewed as the more luxurious choice, prized for its more decadent flavour, with the average bird feeding approximately six people.

Mr Morris later issued a stern warning in an online post, writing: ‘Seriously, it’s not funny.

‘If you see anyone harassing or trying to capture one of the geese or ducks, please challenge them or ring one of the ward councillors and we will notify the owner.’

This is startling, yet it had to be expected given the expanding population.

Now in our country, nothing is safe, and our birds are being tortured. Is there nobody in our government capable of saving our country?

When we were children, our parents would take us to feed the geese and ducks; now we want to kill and eat them!

Given that the average Brit wouldn’t know where to start in plucking, boning and portioning the breast off a chicken, let alone a goose, perhaps our authorities should be looking in other directions.

Evidently, many of these people don’t observe Christmas, so they’re not killing them to eat, but they’re killing them to peddle to anybody who wants to buy the meat.

Greylag geese are a common species of wildfowl seen throughout the UK, and they can only be legally hunted during open shooting seasons. Clear regulations shroud the shooting of greylag geese that must be observed.

So, yes, geese can be shot legally, which opens up a whole new opportunity for Christmas dinner in Rachel Reeve’s overtaxed, cash-strapped Britain.

Government Wants To Restrict Parking

The Government is set to impose sweeping restrictions on parking spaces in a bid to facilitate ‘sustainable transport’, new plans have revealed.

The Prime Minister is considering the measures, which would oblige councils to set a cap on the number of spaces on new housing developments, according to documents obtained by the Daily Mail.

The goal of the regulations is to deter drivers from using cars in favour of more environmentally friendly options like bicycling or public transportation.

Critics say it is a further warning to motorists, who will be squeezed for already limited and often expensive parking options. 

Some campaigners also warn that shortages for off-road spaces could mean drivers resort to more dangerous or even illegal parking practices.

The documents in the Government’s National Planning Policy Framework said they intend to ‘better support opportunities for active travel’ like walking, cycling, and wheeling.

The documents also state that the new parking restrictions will be a requirement, ‘rather than simply suggesting this as an option’.

The plans stated: [The policy] also introduces a more permissive approach to maximum parking standards, removing the requirement for ”a clear and compelling justification’ where such standards support sustainable transport, optimise development densities in accessible locations, or manage local road networks.’

It added that the plans ‘include new provisions for incorporating facilities that prioritise sustainable transport and add explicit references to meeting the needs of older people, children, and people with disabilities.’

Labour says the Government’s proposed overhaul of England’s national planning policy framework (NPPF) and the new reforms will help the party hit its target of building 1.5 million new homes by the end of this parliament. 

The changes are a part of a consultation that will continue until the spring of the following year.

Back in 2011, the coalition government ditched council-imposed limits on parking spaces for new housing developments since it unfairly impacted car users.

In 2015, regulations were tightened further, with councils only being allowed to impose parking limits where they had a ‘clear and compelling’ reason, but under Labour’s new proposed plans, this will be totally overhauled.

Councils will be required to set parking limits – without the need to prove any reason for doing so.

It has been met with backlash by campaigners, who say the plans will allow councils to raise more money from drivers, and that if it backfires, then there could be a rise in dangerous parking as a result.

Brian Gregory, of the Alliance of British Drivers, told the Telegraph: ‘This is a continuation of Labour’s intensifying war on road users.

‘They are quite happy to take billions a week from road-user taxation, while the roads are falling apart and there already isn’t adequate parking in many towns and cities.

‘This offers councils the ability to raise more money for parking charges and enforcement. It is just another way of extracting more money from road users by making it difficult to park.’

This is a ridiculous idea, but then Labour are obsessed with thinking up silly ideas to make them even more money and being more disliked, which will make Reform look an even better option.

This is just an attack on ordinary people, especially elderly people who are now supposed to just hop on a bike, or wait ages for a bus or unreliable train.

This is literally George Orwell’s ‘Animal Farm’ coming to life before our very eyes. In the end, the only people who will be allowed personal transport will be, you guessed it, the politicians.

First of all, we need sustainable transport. Not everybody lives in a major city where buses run every nine minutes or so. People in rural areas often lack regular bus services and therefore rely on a car to get around, especially for work.

This current crop of MPs, including our Prime Minister, is anti-car, anti-British, anti-prosperity, anti-farmer and anti-Landlord.

The people in our government are idiots.

THE INMATES HAVE FINALLY TAKEN OVER THE ASYLUM!

Three More Jailed Over Huge Sikh Gang

Three men have been jailed over their roles in a machete and gun fight at a Kabaddi tournament that led to the shocking execution of a DPD driver the following day.

Chaos erupted at the international sports event in Alvaston, Derby, when two rival groups armed themselves with blades and at least six firearms, before a ‘pre-planned and organised’ mass brawl broke out in front of hundreds of horrified families.

The scenes were later likened to a ‘medieval battle’. 

Police raced to the incident following reports of shots being fired as the mobs confronted each other in August 2023.

Footage caught one of the defendants, Boota Singh, chasing other men as part of a group. Although the 35-year-old was unarmed during the melee, officers later pulled over a car and discovered two machetes stashed in the boot.

Meanwhile, Damanjit Singh, 35, and Rajvinder Takhar Singh, 42, were both seen brandishing big knives as the violence erupted.

All three men denied wrongdoing, but a jury at Derby Crown Court found them guilty after a trial last month.

Seven men have already been jailed following an earlier trial into the incident, which ended in 2024.

Father-of-two Boota Singh, 35, who was convicted of violent disorder, having already admitted having an offensive weapon at the beginning of proceedings, was jailed for a total of four years.

Damanjit Singh was handed prison sentences adding up to three years and four months after being convicted in his absence of violent disorder and possession of a bladed article.

Rajvinder Takhar Singh, 42, was found guilty of violent disorder and having an offensive weapon. He was sent to jail for a total of three years and 10 months.

Judge Jonathan Bennett, sentencing, said: ‘This was undoubtedly planned violence, and not a case of two groups falling out and spontaneous violence breaking out.

‘Many of the participants travelled long distances, and brought weapons to the scene. Most have families and are employed, yet travelled to take part in organised violence in front of a huge crowd of families.’

He told Boota Singh and Rajvinder Takhar Singh, who listened via videolink from prison, that the trouble involved around 40 men, six firearms and led to four people requiring hospital treatment.

The judge added: ‘It is only due to good fortune that no fatalities occurred.

‘The cause of the incident remains unknown. No defendant has chosen to explain this. There has been a conspiracy of silence as the origin among the defendants.’

The judge said that a defendant in the earlier trial had told police: ‘All I know is it involves “Izzat” – honour. I did not question it. I felt justified to get involved.’

He told Boota Singh that he played a ‘significant role in this shocking incident’ and was ‘inextricably linked with machetes’ in the case.

Claire Fraser, prosecuting, said the three men being sentenced today were all ‘active’ participants in what took place, and attended a ‘pre-meet’ at a local community centre.

She told the court: ‘On August 20 2023, over 1,000 people gathered to watch a Kabaddi tournament in Derby, and present were children and families.

‘At around 4 pm, police received calls reporting shots had been fired.

‘It could be seen from the footage that there was a large-scale disorder between two groups, both sides armed with guns, machetes and blades. It was pre-planned.

‘The reason for the disorder remains unknown. All defendants participated in the organised violence. A pre-meet had been organised by Boota Singh prior to the attendance at the Kabaddi event.’

Ms Fraser said Boota Singh, who owns a building firm, carried out a ‘leading role’ in the trouble, and was at the front of a group that confronted other men at the event before later disposing of weapons and clothing, and encouraging his partner to conceal machetes.

She added Rajvinder Singh was at the ‘front and centre’ of the violence, while Damanjit Singh – who is still absent – encouraged others to leave the pre-meet, wore a scarf over his face, and carried a bladed weapon throughout.

The hearing was told Boota Singh, of Derby, and Rajvinder Takhar Singh, of Huddersfield, are both British citizens, with Indian passport holder Damanjit, of Tipton, in the UK as part of the ‘Leave to Remain’ scheme.

Judge Bennett said he could now be facing deportation, with the issue ‘ultimately a matter for the Secretary of State’.

Detective Inspector Chris Barker, of Derbys Police, said: ‘These men deliberately armed themselves with weapons at this event, which should have been a fun, family-friendly sporting tournament.

‘However, their actions and the levels of violence demonstrated on this day meant that it instead turned into a huge violent disorder which left multiple people injured and many people fearing for their safety.’

Detective Constable Stevie Barker, who led the investigation, said: ‘The mindless violence displayed by these men on this day completely ruined what should have been a fun sporting event.’

The Derby brawl marked one of several flashpoints in a long-running feud between groups of young men of Indian origin – hostilities that culminated in the slaying of 23-year-old DPD driver Aurman Singh just 24 hours later.

Aurman, who was born in Italy and understood to be of Indian Sikh origin, lived in Smethwick with his mother and younger sister.

Although Derbyshire Police had not marked him as a suspect in any disorder, his killers are thought to have recognised him from footage broadcasting on social media.

On the morning of his murder, Aurman left home for his depot in Stoke-on-Trent, clueless, a coworker, Sukhmandeep Singh, 24, had leaked his delivery route to the gang.

Mehakdeep Singh, 24, who had been at the Kabaddi event, and 26-year-old Sehajpal Singh drove to Shrewsbury in a white Mercedes, accompanied by Harpreet Singh and Harwinder Singh Turna, who remain at large.

Following behind in a grey Audi were four others: Arshdeep Singh, 24, Jagdeep Singh, 23, Shivdeep Singh, 27, and Manjot Singh, 24.

The group, which was armed with weapons including an axe, a knife, a shovel and a hockey stick, pursued Aurman through Shrewsbury before ambushing him at Coton Hill in the town at about 1 pm. His injuries were so catastrophic that he died at the scene, while his killers escaped before being arrested.

In April last year, Arshdeep Singh, of Tipton, Jagdeep Singh, of Dudley, and Shivdeep Singh and Manjot Singh, both of Smethwick, were sentenced to life in prison with a minimum of 28 years each for Aurman’s murder.

Sukhmandeep Singh, of Peterborough, was convicted of manslaughter at the same time and sentenced to 10 years in jail.

This April, Mehakdeep Singh and Sehajpal Singh, both of Tipton, were also convicted of murder and imprisoned for life with minimum terms of 28 years before they can be considered for release.

This is no longer our nation. Take a stroll through London’s Whitechapel, which is teeming with immigrants. I must admit that I have forgotten what it’s like to be British.

In addition to seizing control of our nation, these individuals are fighting like animals on our streets.

Our country now has no rules, and because of that, we have lost any semblance of law and order.

We shall become a third-world nation as a result of allowing third-worlders to enter our nation.

I understand that things change, but in this case, it’s not for the better.

Of course, some were born here, but those who were not should be deported, and if they were born here, then they should act as if they belong here.

The UK is becoming more and more sectarian as the world’s conflicts are being played out on our streets, and this is just the beginning. We are a multicultural nation with all its inherent difficulties and dangers that we never asked for, and whatever we said, we still got it, and whatever a Kabaddi tournament is, it evidently has no place in the UK.

Activists Target King’s Throne

Left-wing activists have staged a protest targeting the King’s throne in the House of Lords. 

Campaigners climbed over barriers during a tour of Parliament before displaying a banner that said: ‘Replace the Lords.’

They are thought to be members of the newly established protest organisation Assemble.

The group said some of its members were detained by the Metropolitan Police but later released. 

Images showed people attempting to unravel their purple banners as police intervened.

One of the activists, named Rayal, was quoted as saying: ‘After taking part in the creation of the People’s Charter, I am inspired to share the idea with the people.

‘They hold the power, not the Lords.’

Assembly’s so-called ‘People’s Charter’ is described by the group as ‘a new democratic mandate for the UK’.

It demands the dissolution of the House of Lords and the establishment of a permanent citizens’ assembly. 

A spokesman for Assemble said: ‘This is not a protest against the monarchy.

‘The King has a symbolic role in government, but the Lords have real power, and they’re corrupt as hell.

‘It’s time to replace them with a fair and democratic citizens’ assembly.’

Protest organisations, including Just Stop Oil, Take Back Power, and Youth Demand, are also part of the Assemble movement.

A House of Lords spokesperson said: ‘Earlier today, three members of the public who had accessed the Estate as part of a commercial tour briefly protested in the House of Lords chamber before security officers and police dealt with the incident and tours recommenced.

‘The security of Members, staff and the visiting public is our highest priority. While we cannot comment on the specifics of our security, we work closely with the police, security services and others to ensure that our security measures are effective.

‘These measures are always, and will continue to be, under constant review.’

The throne in the House of Lords is from where the monarch delivers the annual King’s Speech setting out the Government’s priorities for the year at the State Opening of Parliament.

Earlier this month, activists covered a glass case holding the Crown Jewels at the Tower of London with apple crumble and custard, leading to the arrest of four people.

The campaigners, who identified themselves as members of Take Back Power, then unfurled a sign saying: ‘Democracy has crumbled – tax the rich’.

Take Back Power said it was a new, non-violent civil resistance group demanding the UK government establish a ‘permanent citizens’ assembly – a House of the People, which has the power to tax extreme wealth and fix Britain’.

The Metropolitan Police said four people had been arrested on suspicion of criminal damage on July 6, while the Jewel House at the Tower of London was closed to visitors while officers investigated.

This would be funny if it weren’t so serious. Raising our country’s flag isn’t allowed now, but vandalising museums, art institutions, banks, and the Lord’s throne appears to be progressive.

Have these cretins got nothing better to do with their time? But in a way, I would agree if they had been British – they have no right trying to tell us how to run our country, that is for the wonderful British people to do – this lot just look like they got off a dinghy, and it’s time to call in The Army Reserve because we are being invaded, and there is a clear and present danger here!

Deputy PM David Lammy Claimed Almost £7,000 For Help With His Tax Returns

David Lammy has charged taxpayers nearly £7,000 for help with his tax return.

The senior Labour MP used his Commons expenses to pay accountants’ fees 10 times before the practice was outlawed last year.

Figures published by the Parliamentary pay body reveal that he first used public money for the service back in 2012, with a £936 claim for ’60 per cent of accountants’ fees’.

He continued to claim back more than £600 a year for ‘parliamentary accountancy’ for much of the next decade, with a final claim for £247 in March 2024.

In total, his claims came to £6,604 before the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) declared that it would no longer ‘accept any claims relating to preparing a self-assessment tax return’ from the 2024-25 tax year onwards.

A spokesman for Mr Lammy, who is now Deputy Prime Minister and Lord Chancellor, insisted his claims were made and declared in line with rules set out by IPSA.

But John O’Connell of the TaxPayers’ Alliance campaign group said: ‘Taxpayers up and down the country are finding the tax burden ever more burdensome with successive chancellors raising rates, freezing thresholds and layering on complexity.

‘With the Deputy Prime Minister’s Government being the worst culprit of this, he should be considering how this will look to his constituents.’

And independent tax consultant David Whiscombe said: ‘I’m sure that many MPs with income and gains from non-parliamentary sources have complicated tax affairs which warrant taking professional advice. But that has never been a reason, in my view, to expect the cost to be funded by the public.

‘Being an MP does not of itself complicate an individual’s tax affairs to the extent that it makes it necessary to take professional advice. In my view, IPSA’s change of practice is justified and overdue.’

It just goes to show that some MPs are screwing the taxpayer, and we’ve still got three and a half years of these Labour cheats – roll on 2029.

However, before they’re gone, they will have us paying tens of billions more to the EU that we will be tied into for decades, even though Labour keeps on finding even more black holes that we, the taxpayers, have to fill and that will not benefit the UK or its people.

Not only that, they are giving away our freedoms, and the population here will have risen by another 10 million, as they said they wanted to welcome another 5 million foreign workers, even though we have millions unemployed here, but they still keep receiving them, rather than doing anything physical to stop them.

Being a small nation, we are unable to support both those who are already here and those who are being welcomed by our government.

Our MPs have been creaming the system for years, even before Labour. Looks like they’re not as stupid as they look, especially Diane Abbott, who always looks miserable – does the woman ever smile? But then, cunning and intelligence are not the same because they are all self-serving, odious parasites who should be serving prison time.

WWII Codebreaking Hero Ruth Bourne Dies Aged 98

Codebreaker Ruth Bourne, who worked alongside Alan Turing to crack the Germans’ Enigma code, has passed away aged 99.

After joining the Wrens (Women’s Royal Naval Service), Ms Bourne, from High Barnet in north London, worked at locations around Bletchley Park in Buckinghamshire as a Bombe machine operator and checker.

She was chosen to work at the secret location to decode intercepted Nazi messages.

In 2018, she was awarded the Legion d’honneur – France’s highest military honour – in honour of her service.

The Taxi Charity for Military Veterans wrote on Facebook: ‘Ruth’s contribution to the monumental task of breaking the Enigma cypher was truly historic.

‘Ruth was a remarkable woman with immense charm and charisma, and she will be dearly missed by all who had the privilege of knowing her.’

Millions of lives were saved during the war when codebreakers used the Bombe machine to crack the Nazis’ Enigma code, which was employed to encrypt messages.

Their work allowed British intelligence to move more quickly and act upon the data the Bletchley team gave them, contributing to a number of fundamental military successes during the war.

Additionally, it led to the industrialisation of codebreaking and paved the path for the earliest modern computers.

Having signed the Official Secrets Act, Ms Bourne, who was raised in a Jewish family from Birmingham, kept silent about her work for more than 35 years.

Ruth was just 17 years old when she was a trainee member of the Women’s Royal Naval Service, when she was told that she would be joining the Women of Bletchley Park.

She had to sign a contract that bound her to endless hours of work, no social life and no way to leave once she had agreed.

Ruth was recruited to be a member of the team at HMS Pembroke V as part of the SDX special duties. Bletchley Park workers consisted of two different teams, the ‘y station’, who were the women responsible for picking up the German Enigma code, and the ‘x station’, who were responsible for bombe operation, like Ruth herself.

Most of the ladies hired were blind-sighted and had no prior experience with bombe operations.

The workers were only shown a few machines for training purposes for the recruitment of the job. They were told not to ask any questions.

The position itself included preparing the machines each day, turning the drums on the front and plugging up the boards at the back according to settings laid out in a menu.

While Ruth was a checker, she would be in charge of waiting for data to come through as ‘confirmed.’ When this occurred, she would then have to make a call to report the stop on the code menu, which would be checked by other members of Bletchley.

Ruth had little time for breaks because her job required her to be on her feet all day.

There was a term ‘mustard’, which meant that workers at Bletchley Park were told what they were going to do without any debate or choice of their own. From the very first day of her work as a bombe operator to when her time at Bletchley ended, Ruth did what she was told on request. Her work as a bombe operator started in early 1944 and continued until the end of the war in 1945.

In 1945, when World War II ended, all of the workers at Bletchley Park were informed that they must continue to keep their work there a secret. It was not until 1974 that the book ‘The Ultra Secret’ was published. It was then that she, along with other Bletchley Park workers, was able to tell their families about their involvement in bringing down Nazi Germany.

Ruth explained what it was like when the news eventually broke, saying that ‘you got so used to not talking to anyone’, and that even after they were permitted to reveal their positions, she would still not talk about her experience in depth.

On 18 December 2025, it was reported that Bourne had died at the age of 99.

It’s amusing how we hand out honours to tattooed footballers, TV presenters and singers, but not to people who helped save our country.

We should be sanctifying all those who were code breakers, because without them, the outcome of the war would have certainly been different. These people were the brains of the war. In fact, we will never actually know how many lives these people saved, and we owe them a world of debt and gratitude.

It also makes me wonder what she thought of what has become of the country that she helped save.

What Did You Say?

It is widely acknowledged that effective communication is essential in all clinical consultations.

In all English-speaking nations, English must be spoken fluently.

Nurses and doctors should not be hired unless they are highly proficient in the language; otherwise, how can they demonstrate safe practice in their line of work?

In order to deliver high-quality treatment and practise in the UK, they must be proficient in the English language.

Clinicians who consult in languages other than English are not welcome. Patients, particularly the elderly, find it impolite in addition to perplexing.

Patients must be informed in an understandable manner, and it is absolutely inappropriate and disrespectful for health professionals to speak to one another in the presence of a patient in a language other than English, especially when the patient involved doesn’t understand that language.

One of the tenets of the medical profession is that physicians must always behave in the best interests of their patients.

To facilitate communication with patients, a physician or nurse should speak the same mother tongue.

The problem is, we are not an English-speaking country anymore, and most of the people that live here have little or no English comprehension, and that makes life very difficult indeed.

Some people would say that they don’t care that they can’t speak the language and that if they don’t like it, they should go home. Well, that might be the case, but while they are here, they should be entitled to some healthcare, but they should also be able to support themselves so that they can pay for it – we are not a charity!

Nigel Farage said that the NHS should not hire doctors who don’t speak very good English, and I agree with him, but then, on the other hand, he was probably ranting empty words which he knew would get him a ton of support from his target audience. After all, it doesn’t matter whether it actually makes any sense, so long as loads of his voters believe it does.

I’m not suggesting that doctors who don’t speak very good English are not highly qualified, I’m sure that they are, but all doctors in England should have the ability to communicate in English so that we can understand them because by not understanding them it doesn’t give the patient very much confidence in their doctor, and also having to ask over and over again, ‘What did you say?’

Builders Use “Swift Bricks” And “Garden-Grabbing”

Labour has disclosed additional sweeping changes to England’s planning rules as ministers scramble to build a promised 1.5 million new homes within five years.

Under what is declared to be the most significant planning shake-up in more than a decade, ministers said thousands more homes will be built faster in every region.

The Government said its latest update to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) would make the planning system ‘clearer’ and ‘more predictable’.

The proposed modifications are in line with earlier Labour-introduced policies from December of last year, and the NPPF outlines how planning regulations should be applied.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government pledged the latest modifications would bring ‘higher-density development’ and ‘simplified biodiversity rules’. 

But the Tories argued Labour was returning ‘garden-grabbing’ tactics and targeting green belt land due to a failure to build on brownfield sites.

Wildlife organisations also reacted negatively to the relaxation of biodiversity regulations.

This is how your neighbourhood might be affected by Labour’s most recent planning revisions:

More homes near train stations in the green belt

High-rise projects in towns and cities, as well as default permits for residences near rail stations, are among the suggested modifications to the NPPF.

Stations will be categorised as well-connected based on the number of train services available and the economic performance of the area.

Development within a 15-minute walk of the station will then be permitted, even if it is within the green belt.

The only prerequisite will be a minimum density of 50 homes per hectare.

Housing minister Matthew Pennycook said the default ‘yes’ approach will apply near stations ‘within existing settlements and around well-connected stations outside settlements’.

The same default ‘yes’ will apply to new homes building upwards in towns and cities.

Additionally, Labour promises to facilitate the construction of higher-density housing, such as contemporary apartments and flats, on smaller plots and, when suitable, underutilised land.

Ministers also promised to support a more varied mix of housing, including accessible homes for the elderly and disabled, as well as inexpensive dwellings in rural areas.

They promised to give special consideration to projects that boost regional economies and offer new services, such as stores, recreational centres, and food production.

Housing Secretary Steve Reed said: ‘Right now we see a planning system that still isn’t working well enough.

‘A system saying ‘no’ more often than it says ‘yes’ and that favours obstructing instead of building.

‘It has real-world consequences for those aspiring to own a home of their own and those hoping to escape so-called temporary accommodation.

‘We owe it to the people of this country to do everything within our power to build the homes they deserve.’

A return to ‘garden-grabbing’?

In response to the NPPF changes, the Tories claimed that Labour was returning to ‘garden-grabbing’ tactics, where new housing is built on existing residential gardens.

Ministers were accused of obliterating planning protections introduced by the Coalition government, including the scrapping of a clause stating that local plans ‘should consider the case for setting out policies to resist inappropriate development of residential gardens’.

There are concerns that Labour’s changes could encourage developers to buy up swathes of homes and pack more properties into existing plots, including those on former gardens.

Sir James Cleverly, the shadow housing secretary, said: ‘Rather than holding their urban mayors to account, they are returning to John Prescott’s failed regime of garden-grabbing, with quiet suburban neighbourhoods facing the prospect of ugly apartment blocks being erected on their green spaces against their wishes.

‘In desperation at their own failure to build, Labour are now abandoning any pretence of caring about communities.’

‘Swift bricks’ in all new homes

All new homes in England will have to include ‘swift bricks’ to help protect endangered birds under Labour’s shake-up of planning rules.

The cavity bricks cost about £35 each and are installed in homes to provide vital nesting homes for migratory birds.

Swift populations in Britain are estimated to have slumped by 66 per cent between 1995 and 2022, which has been blamed on a reduction in their traditional nesting sites.

There are worries that there could be fewer than 25,000 breeding pairs left in five years without action.

Swifts fly north to Europe each summer, where they frequently make their nests in buildings, but they spend the winters in sub-Saharan Africa.

The nooks and crannies where birds have built their nests for centuries have been eliminated by modern insulation, especially on roofs.

Swift bricks will be considered a prerequisite for new homes under Labour’s plans.

The new planning rules say: ‘New builds to include nature-friendly features, such as installing swift bricks, to support wildlife – adding little to building costs whilst delivering a win-win for nature and housebuilding.’

Gemma Cantelo, head of policy and advocacy for RSPB England, said: ‘The Government’s plans to include nature-friendly design features, like swift bricks, into new build homes must be mandatory and enforced.

‘Guidance that can be ignored is not enough. We need to make nature integral to building new homes, not an afterthought or a corner to be cut.

‘If nature-friendly building design is to become the norm, not just for wifts but for hedgehogs, bats and pollinators, we need firm rules, monitoring and enforcement.

‘And we need an end to the UK Government’s anti-nature rhetoric for good.’ 

A weakening of biodiversity rules

Conservationists warned about new exemptions from England’s ‘biodiversity net gain’ (BNG) rules.

They said this risked hollowing out the emerging market in which developers have to pay not only to replace habitat lost to development, but to deliver a 10 per cent gain for nature.

Labour has frequently targeted bats, newts, snails and other wildlife as it outlines steps to free the planning system in its scramble to build 1.5 million new homes in England over five years.

Under BNG reforms disclosed as part of the planning changes, ministers proposed that smaller developments under 0.2 hectares should be exempt from the rules, with an additional targeted exemption for brownfield housing sites.

In order to support medium-sized projects, the government also promised to make BNG delivery off-site quicker, simpler, and less expensive.

The Wildlife and Countryside Link (WCL) coalition of environment and nature groups warned that exempting so many small sites, which dominate England’s planning system, could wreck the policy.

Richard Benwell, WCL chief executive, said: ‘To meet its electoral promise of halting wildlife decline, Government should strengthen green economy rules, not shrink them.

‘Rapidly applying net gain to all major infrastructure and stopping developers dodging their environmental responsibilities should be clear priorities, not more carve-outs.

‘So far, this has been a Parliament of delay and relentless deregulatory threats to nature.’

Beccy Speight, chief executive of the RSPB, said: ‘The decision to exempt sites under 0.2 hectares from BNG flies in the face of the UK Government’s promise to be ‘the most nature-positive government this nation has ever had’.

‘It’s a blow for nature, for local communities and for business confidence in the future of BNG.

‘BNG was designed as a win-win for nature and development, ensuring more wildlife and green spaces where people live.

‘By diluting this policy, failing to close existing loopholes and signalling its plans to consult on further exemptions, the Government has chosen developers’ profits over public health and wellbeing.

‘People in nature-poor towns and cities will suffer most, with clean water, healthy soils, and flood protection all at risk.

‘It also undermines fair competition for developers committed to doing the right thing.’

Responding to questions in the House of Commons on the planning reforms, Mr Pennycook rejected an accusation that he is ‘pitting nature protection against house building’ from Green Party MP Ellie Chowns.

‘I have never, and I will not pit development against the environment. This Government has sought a win-win for both,’ Mr Pennycook said.

The issue is that we will never be completely satisfied with any party that wins.

They pledge things that they plan to do as part of their campaign, and then go back on it, and do the complete opposite, which means they are breaking a verbal contract that they made with the British people. Their manifesto is more like a PR stunt than anything else, and they should not promise what they cannot deliver.

It’s admirable that they want to construct homes for people, but the problem is that they will fill them with millions of undeserving third-world immigrants.

The number of immigrants is still skyrocketing, and many of them bring their cultures with them. Immigration must cease, and individuals who are eligible for deportation should be returned, along with their large families.

These homes should be for British people! There has been enough of this insanity – England is full, there is no more room at the Inn.

We now live in an extensive urban sprawl, and extremely soon our villages and towns will be completely interlinked by housing estates, with not a blade of grass to be seen, but we need green belts to oxygenate the air that we breathe and to cultivate things – undoubtedly Labour doesn’t think so!

Our government won’t rest until our once beautiful country has been totally paved over and full of migrant people. Gone are the days of surnames like ‘Smith or Jones’, and the British people will be eradicated.

And who will buy these homes? Gen Z don’t have a pot to p*ss in, and most people are on the dole because there are no jobs for them.

We have an immigration crisis, not a housing crisis. We wouldn’t have to damage our countryside if we stopped allowing migrants to enter and sent those who shouldn’t be here back.

If migrants come to our country and they don’t have a job to go to or any financial support, then they should be sent straight back from whence they came.

Strike By The Metropolitan Police On New Year’s Eve

Metropolitan Police call centre staff will strike on New Year’s Eve, causing ‘delays to emergency call-outs’ in a dispute over pay.

Trade union Unite said 175 of its members were expected to walk out on one of the busiest days of the year, in a 25-hour-long protest.

The group admitted Londoners will have ‘concerns’ – but insisted there is ‘no choice’.

Protesters include members of the office staff who service and dispatch vehicles, such as police cars and motorbikes, as well as employees who record crime reports and technicians.

The walkout, due to start at 6 am, follows complaints from staff that they have not received a pay increase from the Met for this financial year.

Unite regional officer Keith Henderson said: ‘We know Londoners will be concerned to hear of strikes on New Year’s Eve, but our members at the Met feel they have no choice but to strike in their fight for a fair pay rise.’

It follows the news that resident doctors will also strike this week – putting patients at risk of ‘dying’ – despite a last-ditch endeavour by the Government to avoid bringing hospitals to a standstill.

Health secretary Wes Streeting criticised the announcement as ‘self-indulgent, irresponsible and dangerous’, warning of ‘fatal harm’.

Unite anticipates its Met call centre strike action will be ‘very disruptive’, causing ‘delays to emergency call-outs’.

Members say the Met has paid a 4.2 per cent pay rise to police officers and all other forces in the UK – but not to them.

Last year, policing New Year’s Eve cost the Met almost £2.3 million, according to the union.

Meanwhile, Mr Streeting has anticipated this week’s resident doctors’ strike will be ‘most painful for the NHS’.

He said: ‘The BMA has chosen Christmas strikes to inflict damage on the NHS at the moment of maximum danger, refusing to postpone them to January to help patients and other NHS staff cope over Christmas.

‘There is no need for these strikes to go ahead this week, and it reveals the BMA’s shocking disregard for patient safety and for other NHS staff.

‘These strikes are self-indulgent, irresponsible and dangerous.

‘The government’s offer would have halved competition for jobs and put more money in resident doctors’ pockets, but the BMA has again rejected it because it doesn’t meet their ask of a further 26 per cent pay rise.

‘Resident doctors have already had a 28.9 per cent pay rise—there is no justification for striking just because this fantasy demand has not been met.

‘I am appealing to ordinary resident doctors to go to work this week.’

Watch this space, next it will be Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves going on strike because it’s becoming a free-for-all under Labour.

The unfortunate reality is that there is no money – our government has spent it all, as they prefer to give it away on vanity projects, and I won’t even mention pensions!

Whether you believe in strike action or not, I believe that we can all agree that working people should receive a pay rise in line with inflation.

Anyone who’s paid by the taxpayer should not be allowed to strike!

Whatever their grievance, going on strike on such an important day merely demonstrates the unions’ lack of concern for public safety and services, and striking equates to blackmail.

THIS IS THE WINTER OF DISCONTENT!

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