FREE! Take five: A news summary for anxious times
Still lost your appetite for rolling news? I don't blame you...
Every month from now on, I’ll do one essay and one news summary - like this! - for free. If you find it useful and you’re not yet a paid subscriber, please consider joining and supporting the work that goes into it. And if you’re already a member? Well, thank you!
Hello, and welcome to the first Take Five of 2023 – which so far, looks likely to continue to in the vein of chaos, confusion and nonsense that has so far dominated the decade.
The world is tiring right now. But of course, that’s sort of the point of this weekly missive, which is designed to help you disconnect from rolling news while staying informed of the stories most impacting women and marginalised communities in the UK and beyond.
As such and as ever, below you’ll find five critical (and often underreported) news stories from the last seven days, as well as five good news stories to lighten the load, and five long reads, interviews, columns or essays which got my brain ticking this week. Let’s get cracking…
The headlines
1. Strike talks continue as government vows to get tough on unions
The RMT and TSSA met with rail industry executives yesterday amid reports they could be close to reaching a deal to end eight months of strike action by Network Rail staff.
Meanwhile, health secretary Steve Barclay met with BMA leaders to try to dissuade doctors from joining nurses, paramedics, 999 call handlers and physiotherapists who’ve walked out over the NHS staffing and funding crisis.
The Conservatives have this week put forward a new bill aimed at limiting the right to strike of workers across a host of key industries – a bill which unions have criticised as “undemocratic, unworkable and illegal”.
Meanwhile, a row over Rishi Sunak’s healthcare is continuing to rage, with his claim he is “registered with an NHS GP” not enough to dispel the suggestion he uses private healthcare.
Read more here and here
2. Legal change could block asylum claims from refugees arriving on small boats
Ministers are contemplating a legal change that would make the asylum system “inadmissible” to refugees who arrive in Britain on small boats.
The move would amend current rules which mean refugees can only be blocked from claiming asylum if there is an agreement with another country to which they can be moved.
The change is expected to be included in new legislation next month, designed to meet Rishi Sunak’s pledge to ensure those “who arrive in the UK illegally” are “detained and swiftly removed”.
Read more here
3. Whip removed from Tory MP who compared Covid vaccine to the Holocaust
Conservative MP Andrew Bridgen was this week suspended from the party for spreading misinformation about Covid vaccinations on social media.
It came after the North West Leicestershire MP, who was already on a five-day suspension from the Commons for breaching the MP’s code of conduct, posted a tweet that compared vaccines to the Holocaust.
Tory chief whip Simon Hart said the comments had “crossed a line” and caused great offence, while PM Rishi Sunak described the comparison as “utterly unacceptable”.
His removal from the party means there are now 15 independent MPs in the House of Commons – more than there are Lib Dems.
Read more here
4. Johnson aides accused of having sex during Downing Street parties
Some of Boris Johnson’s aides are reported to have had sex during a party at 10 Downing Street, held during lockdown and on the eve of the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral.
The Times claims two couples were seen by numerous witnesses becoming intimate with each other during the gathering of aides and officials, previously best known for having featured a suitcase full of alcohol.
It follows revelations in an ITV podcast that Boris Johnson described one alcohol-fuelled leaving do as “the most unsocially distanced party in the UK right now”.
A privileges committee’s investigation into the Downing Street parties is expected to begin early this year.
Read more here
5. Andrew Tate loses appeal to end detention as UK rape allegations emerge
A Romanian court has rejected Andrew Tate’s appeal to end his 30-day detention and halt the seizure of his assets.
Tate, his brother, Tristan, and two other defendants will now remain in detention until at least the end of January as police in Bucharest continue to investigate them on suspicion of human trafficking, rape and forming an organised crime group.
The hearing follows reports that police have seized supercars and properties worth an estimated $5million as part of the case.
Meanwhile, it was revealed that Tate was arrested in the UK in 2015 following complaints of rape and strangulation from three separate women. In 2019, the CPS declined to prosecute.
The good news
1. Earth’s ozone layer on track for recovery within decades, UN reveals
The Earth’s protective ozone layer is on track to recover within four decades, closing an ozone hole that was first noticed in the 1980s, according to a UN report released on Monday.
The progress follows the landmark Montreal Protocol of 1987 which banned the production and consumption of chemicals that were found to be depleting the ozone layer.
The upper atmosphere layer is necessary to protect Earth from the sun’s ultraviolet radiation, which is linked to skin cancer, cataracts, immune system conpromise and land damage.
Read more here
2. Blustery year sets new record for British wind power generation
Great Britain produced a record amount of wind-powered electricity in 2022, according to new statistics from the National Grid.
More electricity came from renewable and nuclear power sources than from fossil fuels gas and coal, with wind accounting for 46-59 per cent of all UK electricity generation during the past week.
Replacing fossil fuels with green power is a core way for the world to tackle climate change as well as to reduce fuel bills for households in the long term.
Read more here
3. Tobacco companies pay to clean up cigarette butts in Spain
Tobacco companies will be obligated to pay to clean up cigarette butts following the introduction of new legislation across Spain.
The environmental rules, which came into force last Friday, are expected to cost tobacco firms somewhere in the region of €1bn.
The new regulations, which also include new bans on plastic straws and cutlery, come amid growing awareness of the dangers frequently disposed plastics pose to wildlife.
Read more here
4. Farmers to receive public funds for adopting greener practices
Farmers who plant hedgerows, produce food more sustainably and work to protect the environment are to be given a greater share of public money in the UK.
The increased payments have been unveiled in a bid to encourage more farmers to sign up to the new environmental land management scheme (ELMS), replacing the EU’s common agricultural policy.
It is hoped the change in distribution of funds will encourage a greater proportion of smaller farm owners to invest in green practices amid a climate of rising costs.
Read more here
5. Women over 60 prove to be the big winners at Golden Globes
Michelle Yeoh, Jennifer Coolidge and Angela Basset this week made history at the Golden Globes by each claiming a top acting prize for a woman in her 60s.
Yeoh, 60, claimed the best actress trophy for her role in Everything Everywhere All At Once, while Coolidge, 61, won best supporting actress in a limited series for her role in The White Lotus and Basset took home the best supporting actress in a movie prize for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
“I think all of you women understand this as the days, the years, and the numbers get bigger, it seems like opportunities start to get smaller as well,” Yeoh noted in her acceptance speech. “I’m just going to stand here and take this all in.”
Read more here
The best of the rest
1. Gwen Stefani: “I Said, ‘My God, I'm Japanese’”
Fourteen years after the debut of her Harajuku Lovers fragrance collection, Allure asked Gwen Stefani about the praise, the backlash, and the lessons she’s brought into her most recent beauty venture. What she said left her interviewer stunned…
It is economically rational for ambitious women to try as hard as possible to be thin (Warning, this piece made me want to chew my own fist off in rage)
3. Republicans, having learned nothing, are coming for abortion post-midterms-flop
The GOP is using its first week in power to push two anti-abortion measures. Meanwhile, the Alabama attorney general says the state can prosecute women who use legal abortion pills to end pregnancies
4. Has Hollywood finally realised women don't vanish at 40?
Three women over 60 won a Golden Globe this week. Let's hope that's not a one-off, writes the brilliant Sam Baker
5. You were never going to go to Noma anyway
‘I can’t bring myself to mourn Noma’s upcoming closure, because nothing is being taken from me’, writes Jaya Saxena
How are you feeling about this past week? I’d love to hear your thoughts here…
Meanwhile, if you find these news summaries useful, please do subscribe and share
Agreed it's great that three women aged 60+ won Golden Globes, but I'd say they look extremely young 60-year-olds, and rather atypical. Not sure the same criteria would apply to men aged 60+?