SubscriptionsAuthor: Sian Norris
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Slovakia’s Latest Attack on Abortion Rights is Part of a Worrying Trend
Across Central and Eastern Europe, legislators and protesters are launching attacks on women’s reproductive freedoms, Sian Norris reports
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Batley and Spen By-Election Sees Five Far-Right Candidates on the Ballot Paper
Individuals linked to neo-Nazis and far-right conspiracy theories are standing for Parliament in the forthcoming by-election, five years after MP murdered by far-right terrorist. Sian Norris reports.
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Fast Food Giants Latest Sector to Report Brexit-related Staffing Concerns
McDonalds joins restaurants, farmers and the meat processing industry with concerns that ‘reduced access to overseas labour would present a challenge to our business,’ reports Sian Norris
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£3.7 Million Campaign Launched One Month After Government Warned Reopening Schools Risked Increasing COVID Transmission
The Government’s £348,200,000 contract with a media planning and buying agency has been criticised by parents’ groups who called the campaign to encourage parents to send their children back to school during the Coronavirus crisis ‘misleading’
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GPs Facing Rising Abuse from Patients as Pressures on Surgeries Increase
Campaigners and NHS staff warn that GPs are contemplating leaving the profession as a result of physical and verbal violence from patients, reports Sian Norris
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Austrian Government Pulls Controversial ‘Muslim Map’ After Far-Right Attacks on Mosques
The Austrian Government’s war against so-called ‘political Islam’ has led to accusations of stigmatising the Muslim community and enabling neo-fascist violence, reports Sian Norris
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‘Completely Unmanageable’: COVID-19 has Plunged GPs Into an Even Bigger Crisis, Doctors Warn
Concerns about patient and staff wellbeing are being raised by campaigning groups, as GPs struggle to meet rising patient numbers and decreased staffing levels, reports Sian Norris
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Catch-Up Tutoring Outsourced to Dutch Company, While Funding Promises Fail to Add Up
The Government’s decision to outsource the National Tutoring Programme worth £218 million to a consultancy comes after a stealth cut to school funding worth an estimated £122 million, reports Sian Norris
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60% of Women and Children Accepted as Refugees would be Turned Away Under Government’s New Plan for Immigration
New data shows how the Government’s immigration reforms could lead to fewer women and children escaping war and persecution being welcomed into the UK
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Government Resettled Just 353 Refugees Last Year, Prompting Concern from Rights Groups
Refugee rights campaigners have expressed concern that the Government’s New Plan for Immigration lacks clarity on the future of the resettlement scheme, reports Sian Norris
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Why Johnson’s Meeting with Viktor Orbán Is Provoking Controversy
Hungary’s authoritarian Prime Minister will meet Johnson at Downing Street – but what will the pair find to talk about? Sian Norris sums up the controversies surrounding Viktor Orbán
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Report on Workplace Racial Disparity Contradicts Sewell Report and Government Narrative of ‘Agency’
Research by a recruitment consultancy shows that black employees are less likely to get pay rises than their white colleagues – even when they negotiate. Sian Norris reports.
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Matt Hancock Accused of Repeatedly Lying to Government Colleagues, Confirming Health Worker Concerns
The evidence presented by Dominic Cummings to MPs about Matt Hancock echoes accusations made by frontline health workers, reports Sian Norris
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Report into Conservative Party Finds Majority of Complaints Relate to Anti-Muslim Discrimination
The Singh investigation reveals that comments made by the Prime Minister gave an impression of insensitivity towards the Muslim community, Sian Norris reports
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Anti-Abortion, Anti-LGBTIQ Organisation Opens First University in Poland
A member of the UK’s House of Lords and a duchess linked to the British Royal Family will attend the launch of Ordo Iuris’ new university later this week
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‘Gaslit by Government’: NHS Staff Tell of Mental Health Impact of PPE Shortages
As the Good Law Project and EveryDoctor UK take the Government to the High Court over PPE, Sian Norris talks to staff working on the front line without protection
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BBC’s ‘Three Families’ Shows How the Fight For Abortion Rights in the UK Continues
A primetime drama about abortion in Northern Ireland shows that there is more work to be done to protect a woman’s right to choose in the UK, Sian Norris argues
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‘Home Office Wants to Make It Harder for Modern Slavery Victims to be Recognised’
Stealth legislation that will come into force on 25 May, along with the New Plan for Immigration, could lead to victims of modern slavery spending longer in immigration detention, reports Sian Norris
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Where The Axe Fell: The Impact of Austerity on Labour Areas
As we calculate Labour’s electoral losses, we need to look at the uneven impact of spending cuts over the last decade, says Sian Norris
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Who is Behind Spain’s Anti-Rights Movement?
In the first of a series, Sian Norris reports on the global network behind Spanish-founded anti-rights platform CitizenGO – friends with the far-right Vox Party
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Avoidable Sabre Rattling in Jersey Can’t Hide Brexit’s Impact on Fishing
Gunboats patrolling Jersey’s waters was avoidable, yet the fracas with France is one of many Brexit-related issues plaguing the fishing industry, David Hencke and Sian Norris report
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UNESCO Names Brexiter Arron Banks as ‘Prime Instigator’ of Online Harassment Against Female Journalist
A report into online violence against women journalists finds political actors and right-wing media play a significant role in spreading disinformation and inciting harassment, Sian Norris reports
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Government Cuts to Reproductive Health Funding Fit into an Anti-Rights Agenda
The international aid cuts to reproductive health services put women’s lives at risk and reflect the anti-rights positions of more than one Conservative donor, Sian Norris reports
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How Can Johnson Ask Donors To Fund Childcare as a Decade of Austerity Pushes Children into Poverty?
The news that Johnson ‘can’t afford to be Prime Minister’ rings hollow after a decade of austerity-driven child poverty, says Sian Norris
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Home Office Consultation on New Immigration Plans Labelled ‘Public Relations Exercise with Pre-Determined Outcome’
In an open letter, refugee rights and human rights charities have accused the Home Office consultation on changes to immigration policy as failing to consider the priorities of people seeking asylum
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PTSD In NHS Workers Linked to Lack of PPE
A groundbreaking study into the psychological impact of COVID-19 pandemic on NHS workers finds that PPE shortages were associated with severe mental health symptoms, Sian Norris reports
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Schools Face Government Stealth Cuts Worth Millions for Most Disadvantaged Pupils
The Education Secretary accused Labour of moaning and complaining, as schools express anger about changes to Pupil Premium funding
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‘A Kick in the Teeth’: Requirement for Schools to Provide Samples of Students’ Work for Exam Grades Sparks Anger Among Teachers
A blog published on the Government’s exams regulator website has been criticised for loading schools with extra work, while betraying a lack of trust in teachers
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‘A Deep Hostility to Women’s Equality’: More Accusations of Police Misogyny in the Spy Cops Inquiry
The latest hearing in the ‘Spy Cops’ inquiry revealed how officers infiltrated the Women’s Movement with a culture of institutionalised sexism that paved the way to sexual abuse, reports Sian Norris
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‘Most British Institutions Pander to the Mail’s Blackmailing and Racism’
As attacks by right-wing tabloids on female academics intensify, Sian Norris explores why they appear to be able to publish such material with impunity
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‘Depths and Depths of Dysfunction’: Are Universities Failing to Tackle Sexual Assault?
Sian Norris speaks to protestors in Warwick who are demanding that their university takes action on sexual assault – but is the sector as a whole failing to protect women students?
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‘Landmark’ Domestic Abuse Bill Does Not Protect Vulnerable Migrant Women
The Government voted against amendments to the Domestic Abuse Bill that would have improved access to justice for migrant women, Sian Norris reports
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Why Does the Home Office Respond Faster to Immigration Cases that Attract Media Attention?
When prominent campaigner Dahaba Ali tweeted that she had been refused settled status, the department responded quickly on social media – is this part of a pattern? asks Sian Norris
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Mainstream Conservatism and Far-Right Extremism – An Increasingly ‘Blurred Distinction’
The Council of Europe’s European Conservatives and Democratic Alliance brings together UK Conservative MPs with neo-fascist politicians, Sian Norris reports
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Race Report: Moving Away from ‘BAME’ Could Make Research into Structural Racism ‘Impossible’, Experts Warn
A recommendation to disaggregate the term ‘Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic’ risks creating a ‘league table’ of stigma of different minority groups, say campaigners and academics
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Potential Blood Clot Risk of COVID Vaccine Shines a Spotlight on Inequality Around Women’s Health
The news that under-30s will be offered an alternative to the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab has sparked a debate about women’s reproductive and contraceptive healthcare, reports Sian Norris
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How Starmer’s Visit to Jesus House Reignited a Row Over Conversion Therapy
From a Nigerian church to so-called ‘therapeutic counselling’ in Northern Ireland and Christian Right charities linked to UK MPs, Sian Norris reports on the tactics of anti-LGBTIQ groups The apology by Labour leader Keir Starmer for visiting a church accused of holding anti-LGBTIQ views has reignited a row about conversion therapy – the process of…
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‘Never Heard Of It’: Refugee Charities Respond Over Home Office Primark Spending on Asylum Seekers
The department has said it bought clothes in Primark for asylum seekers who would not have had appropriate clothing when arriving in the UK
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Poland vs England: World Cup Match in Racism Row
The President of Poland’s Football Association has criticised England players for taking the knee in protest at racism, reports Sian Norris
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‘A Missed Opportunity’: Women’s Groups Criticise Judges for Not Tackling Culture of Minimising Male Violence
The Court of Appeal heard four cases relating to domestic abuse and the family courts – but campaigners fear that the judges missed the chance to encourage real change, reports Sian Norris
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The Slippery Slope Towards an Unfree Press – Lessons from Hungary and Poland
In Hungary and Poland, journalists and commentators are losing their jobs for criticising the Government – while in the UK Boris Johnson wants the BBC to ‘move into line’ When Boris Johnson spoke to the 1922 Committee of backbench MPs on the one year anniversary of lockdown, it may have come as a surprise that…
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‘Treat Violence Against Women As A National Emergency’
With new data from the Office for National Statistics exposing the extent of sexual violence in England and Wales, Sian Norris explores possible steps forward
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Revealed: The Pay Disparities in Social Care
As the Supreme Court rejects an attempt to pay care workers for ‘sleep-in’ shifts, Sian Norris reports on the pay disparities in a highly gendered workforce
