The last Week In Politics has been quiet in comparison with a year ago but a lot has still happened, firstly, a spokesperson for Theresa May directly contradicted Phillip Hammond’s statement on a post-Brexit transitional period, Arsenal FC’s owner Stan Kroenke has come under fire after launch of hunting TV channel in the UK, think tank suggests farmer’s food subsidies should end, the truth of inequality has been unveiled by the Mirror, Jeremy Hunt promised an extra 21,000 new mental health jobs and the Conservatives have U-turned on their energy price cap manifesto pledge.
Meanwhile in the US, Donald Trump has sacked Anthony Scaramucci after just 10 days, revealed he dictated his son’s press statement over Russia meeting and reluctantly passed sanctions against Russia.
Elsewhere,
UK Politics
Jeremy Hunt has promised an extra 21,000 mental health jobs by 2021, however, the aim sets out to treat an extra million patients by that time. The promise has been branded unrealistic by the nurses’ union. The money is coming from an ‘extra’ £1.3 billion, although it is unclear where this has come from and the Royal College of Nursing has said that “if the nurses were to be ready in time” then they would have to be “starting training next month”, however, they further stated that since the nurse’s bursary has been cut they have seen a “sharp fall in university applicants”. These extra 21,000 jobs will also be placed on top of the current 40,000 needed to cover mental health needs in the NHS.
British Gas meanwhile hiked their bills by 12.5% and government ministers asked not to be blamed on policy, despite the fact it was in the Conservative manifesto as a pledge to cap energy prices. British Gas posted profits of £639 million in just six months, with British Gas Chief, Iain Conn, raising his own annual salary to £4.15 million.
A spokesperson for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) said: “Energy firms should treat all their customers fairly and we’re concerned this price rise will hit many people already on poor-value tariffs.” Further adding that “they are not ruling anything out”, event though they already promised to cap energy prices.
Recently a study by the High Pay Centre think tank and the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) revealed that it would take an average worker over a century and a half to earn the average annual salary of a company chief. An analysis of FTSE 100 chief executives revealed that the average salary is £4.6 million and is dominated by men with just 6 women on the list who earn an average £2.6 million, further highlighting gender inequality and wealth inequality. The pay ratio between FTSE 100 CEO’s and the average pay of their employers is 129:1 and on median pay (£28,000 annually) it would take 160 years for employees to earn what The CEO’s earn in a year.
World News
In the US, Donald Trump chaotic reign as president continues as he hired military general John F.
Kelly as chief of staff, after sacking Reince Priebus. When Anthony Scaramucci, head of communications went on an expletive rant about how he thought Priebus was behind the leaks from the White House, subsequently, Kelly’s first action was to recommend firing Scaramucci after just 10 days in the job. Trump also failed in his bid to repeal Obamacare with John McCain casting the final vote and signed a bill reluctantly placing sanctions on Russia, he described it as “seriously flawed”.
Turkey are beginning their largest trial of 490 individuals suspected of orchestrating the failed coup attempt last year from an air base outside Ankara. Following Macron’s nationalisation of a shipyard that was due to be bought by Italians, this has caused the relationship between the two nations to hit a low ebb, each nation’s finance ministers met and gave themselves until September to resolve it.
Finally, Venezuela’s problems deepen after a leaked document refuted the government claims of a 8m voter turnout to give the constitute assembly near absolute power, the document claimed 3.7m turned out. The voting machine were said to be tampered with and the opposition boycotted the vote with ten people dying in subsequent protests.
