iDaniel Film Maker Ken loach is supporting Labours Momentum. This is what he has to say: 

From Ken Loach: 

Why you should support Momentum

There isn't much time, and we have a lot to do. For the first time in a generation, there is a real alternative to the status quo. But this election is being dominated by spin, fear and a media run by elites. Ordinary people are being shut out. The media doesn't decide who will govern Britain: you do. A third of the Sunday Times Rich List may be donating to the Tories, but hundreds of thousands of people are out campaigning for Labour. And research shows that the most effective way to win elections is still for people to have real conversations. If we get tens of thousands of people to have hundreds of thousands of conversations on the doorstep, we can win this.

We have a plan to make this happen.

Campaign Weekends - Every weekend we’re organising campaign weekends in marginal constituencies across the country. We’ve already organised 16 in just two weeks, and we plan to do 50 by June 8th. In many places the turnout for canvassing sessions has more than doubled, with some seeing hundreds attend.

My Nearest Marginal - Canvassing takes time. So why not make it count? We’ve launched the new tool mynearestmarginal.com, you enter your postcode and it reveals your nearest marginal and upcoming campaigning sessions - and gives you the opportunity to carpool to and from each marginal. In the Stoke by-elections we used a similar app that meant every door was knocked on and every voter spoken to. Within 24 hours of launching the tool we had 300,000 visits!

Call for Labour - Momentum has nearly 24,000 members. If each of us have ten conversations on the doorstep, we’ll make a huge difference. With Call for Labour, our members call other supporters from the comfort of their living room and get activists living near marginals trained up and out on the doorstep. In the leadership election we used a similar app that made over 100,000 calls. This campaign we can do even more.

Bernie Sanders organisers - We’re lucky enough to have senior organisers over from the Bernie Sanders campaign. This means we’ve been able to run trainings to introduce new Labour supporters to doorknocking, and make existing activists even more effective. We’ve already done this for hundreds of activists across the country, and we plan to run at least 30 by June 8th!

With your help, we can take this people-powered movement and cutting-edge technology further and keep mobilising activists to have the conversations that will win this election.

We’ve got four weeks to beat Theresa May. Four weeks to elect the Labour party on a socialist platform.

If you’ve never donated before, now is the time. If you’ve donated before, we need your support again.

This is urgent. We’ve got less than a month. Put our plan into action. Stop Theresa May.

According to the Tory Party manifesto about 900,000 children from struggling families will lose their right to free school lunches more than 600,000 young children recently defined as coming from “ordinary working families”.

The move risks punishing exactly the kind of families the prime minister has promised to help and will cost families about £440 for every child hit by the cuts.

The money saved will be used to see off a looming Tory rebellion over school funding. This move is likely to be seen as highly unpoular. With the gap closing between labout and the Tory's some Conservative candidates are expressing concern. 

The Brexit Secretary David Davis appeared on LBC the morning after Theresa May revealed her party’s manifesto for the forthcoming general election. 

Part of the document proposes removing the triple lock which was brought in by the coalition government in 2011. 

The policy guarantees the annual rise in the basic state pension by either a minimum of 2.5 per cent, the rate of inflation, or average earnings growth - whichever one of the three is the largest.

Now, the party wants to cut the 2.5 per cent element from 2020, leaving what’s known as a “double lock”. 

The plan has left some pensioners concerned that they could be left worse off, but appearing on LBC, Mr Davis offered reassurance that many wouldn’t even notice a change. 

He told Nick: “Your pension will never go down and it will gradually go up over time. The problem with the triple lock is that over decades it will cost billions.

“If you take the Office for Budget Responsibility forecast, it will actually make very little difference at all in the next five years, we’re not budgeting any cost savings for it.

“So it’s a long-term thing, it’s a piece of responsible government, it won’t harm pensioners, they will always be up there with average incomes and inflation.”

The number of Scots out of work has fallen further, with new figures showing the unemployment rate falling 1.7% over the year to 4.4% - lower than in England, Wales or Northern Ireland. Scotland’s unemployment rate is lower than the rate for the UK as a whole. The figures, for January to March 2017, also show that the Scottish employment rate rose by 0.9% over the year to 74%.

Commenting, SNP candidate for Airdrie and Shotts Neil Gray said:“These are highly encouraging figures that show the SNP’s focus on jobs is paying off. We'll continue to work hard to make Scotland the best country it can be.“But with the Tories preparing to inflict yet more austerity and risk tens of thousands of Scottish jobs through their plans for a damaging Brexit deal, there’s no room for complacency.“We’ll always welcome falling unemployment and rising employment – but many working families are being hammered by Tory cuts to working tax credits and the biggest squeeze on wages since the Second World War."

Misleading job advertising is unfortunately becoming a familiar problem in the world of work. In this case, the ASA found in favour of the recruitment agency. Would you agree with their findings…? We can see why the complaint was brought to the Advertising Standards Authority. 

An ad posted by Bright Sparks Recruitment on Reed.co.uk for a role, seen in November 2016, was headed “GRADUATE SCHEME - MANAGEMENT CONSULTANCY - FULL TIME”. Further below the listing text stated “ROLE OVERVIEW This is a 2 year graduate training scheme that will involve a number of placements, training activities and development…£28,000 basic with a component based on company performance …”.

Issue

The complainant, who contacted the advertiser and was advised to attend an assessment day in London and when they attended was told about another job at a reduced salary rather than the advertised job, challenged whether the ad was misleading.

Response

Bright Sparks Recruitment Ltd t/a BrightSparks said the job listing was genuine and provided a client brief as evidence in support of this. They also explained that the complainant undertook a phone interview based on their application to the Oxford role and was subsequently invited to attend an Assessment Centre Day at their London offices. They provided documentary evidence in support of this invitation. They explained that Assessment Centre Days could be bespoke, if one particular client was looking for a number of graduates, or general where several or perhaps no clients were present and candidates in attendance had applied for a mixture of roles. They explained that the Assessment Centre Day that the complainant attended was a general one and the candidates in attendance were given a general introduction to graduate roles offered, which was why jobs in a lower pay bracket were mentioned. They believed they had demonstrated the role was genuine and that the ad was not misleading.

Assessment

Not upheld

The ASA considered consumers would interpret the ad as advertising an available job. The evidence produced by BrightSparks showed that the ad related to a genuine vacancy. We were satisfied with the advertiser’s explanation of their recruitment process and that although the Assessment Centre Day related to more than one job it included the advertised position. We therefore concluded that the ad was not misleading.

Here’s an interesting solution to Labour’s Jeremy Corbyn conundrum says a Politico journalist: MP Frank Field, Chair of the DWP Select Committee a party veteran, reckons MPs could elect their own leader in parliament and form a group called “People’s Labour” if the party suffers heavy losses in the June 8 election. Field has stated that if a majority of MPs backed a parliamentary leader, they could seek to declare that person the official leader of the opposition. 

With Labour, significantly behind in the polls, there has been rife speculation that Labour MPs may try to unseat Corbyn or break away after the election. Frank Field has been in Parliament for 38 years and he holds a lot of respect from fellow Labour parliamentarians. 

National poverty charity Turn2us is drawing attention to the high numbers of people in work who need help to pay their rent and has voiced concern that one in five people entitled to Housing Benefit are not claiming. It points to figures from the Department for Work and Pensions that show that there were 1,039,420 Housing Benefit claimants who were in employment in November 2016, the most recently available figures.

The charity says that this is an indication of how financially vulnerable many people in work are and demonstrates why it is important for those in work who are struggling financially to find out what support they can apply for.

Turn2us also says that it is important that those in work who are struggling to make ends meet are aware that they could be entitled to Housing Benefit or housing support through Universal Credit. The charity provides a free Benefit Calculator on its website, turn2us.org.uk, where people can find out what they may be entitled to apply for.

Support with housing costs can pay for part or all of the rent. How much people get depends on their income and circumstances, making it all the more important for people to check what they could receive.

Click here to access the website:

A woman whose disabled mum took a fatal overdose hours after learning that her benefits appeal had been rejected has accused the Tories of having blood on their hands.

Susan Roberts, 68, was found dead at home, metres from a heartbreaking 11-page letter she had written to benefits chiefs detailing her suffering.

Hitting out at the Government’s cruel cuts, daughter Hayley Storrow, 47, said: “I just want Theresa May to know that her rules and regime are killing the most vulnerable people in society.

“With the election coming up it is so vital that things change. I feel any vote for the Tories is going to lead to more deaths.”

Susan, a grandmother of eight who had survived four heart attacks, died £4,000 in debt.

Before taking a fatal dose of morphine, she placed DWP paperwork turning her down for the Personal Independence Payment, a Do Not Resuscitate note and her unsent letter on her dresser.

 Image: The letter from the Department of Works and Pensions (Photo: Philip Coburn)

She began her letter by writing: “Dear sirs, first of all, I request that you read this through carefully – this is my life after all.”

Hayley said: “When my brother went to mum’s flat after she died, he found 37p in her purse. Even with DLA she was living day to day, scraping by. She was found dead with the PIP refusal letter placed strategically on a dresser.

“She was a poorly woman and this ­decision tipped her over the edge – she was in a desperate situation. I feel if it wasn’t for PIP and the Tory Government, my mum would still be alive.

"They failed her like they have failed thousands.”

Article courtesy of the Daily Record

Theresa May was confronted over disability benefit cuts this afternoon, during a rare appearance in public. Cathy Mohan, who lives in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, berated the Prime Minister over cuts to help people with learning disabilities. 

The woman asked Mrs May what she would do to help people with learning disabilities before suggesting that “the fat cats keep the money and us lot get nothing”.

She also launched an attack on the Government’s Personal Independence Payment (PIP) system as she said she wanted disabled people to “not have their money taken away from them”.

Image: Theresa May 

The Women’s Equality Party has launched its General Election manifesto which contains plans for universal free childcare, investment in a caring economy that values social as well as physical infrastructure, a just immigration system that values the work of migrants and a final vote on the Brexit deal to ensure women’s rights are protected.

“If implemented these policies would transform the countries of the UK into the most-gender equal in the world,” said Sophie Walker, party leader and its candidate for the seat of Shipley. “Our manifesto sets out plans for 40 hours of free childcare each week for every family from the end of parental leave right through to primary school. This is the single biggest idea on offer in this election.”

She continued: “It is one of the most ambitious proposals since the creation of a national health service. Families will be able to make real choices about how to balance work and family life, they will have more disposable income to invest in the local economy, and women and single parents will never again be trapped at home unable to afford to work.

“We will also implement a fully equal system of parental leave so that each parent gets three months away from work on 90 percent of pay and an additional three months that they can share. No more must men drop out the family when they become fathers, as so many women drop out of the workplace when they become mothers.”

The party is also calling for a reimagining of the value of migration. “We will take a radically new approach, building an immigration system that sees women, and has social justice at its heart,” said Walker. “We will protect the rights of EU citizens already living in the UK, and ensure that those who have taken time off to care are not denied indefinite leave to remain. We will also end the government's categorisation of women as dependents.”

And on Brexit, Walker was clear that there should be a vote on the content of any final deal. “We will insist on a meaningful vote to ensure that the final deal reduces inequalities rather than increasing them — and whereby we can reject any deal that is not fair for all,” she said. “Our manifesto sets out a new vision for fairer and more transparent trade deals, as well as bringing back to Parliament power over EU-derived secondary legislation. We will not allow women’s rights and protections to be rolled back.”

She added that the party’s seven constituency candidates would be fighting for every vote on 8 June. “This election could see the first feminist party win a seat. The first collaborative party, willing to work with progressives on both sides to bring about equality for everyone. We are on the brink of making history.”

In Brief:

The Women’s Equality Party has an eight point plan for a flourishing economy and an equal society that works better for everyone:

1. A caring economy — WE offer a fresh approach that will  build a sustainable caring economy that works for everyone.

2. Shared parental leave — WE will implement a fully equal system of nine months shared parental leave on 90% of pay, with a 3-month use-it-or-lose-it provision for each parent.

3. Free universal childcare — WE will implement full-time, high quality, free childcare for all children from the end of shared parental leave.

4. An end to violence against women — WE will repair the broken funding model for specialist services, including services that are for and led by BAME women. WE will put prevention, protection and provision at the heart of all our policies and WE will not rest until all women and girls are free from violence and harassment.

5. Unleashing women’s talent — By reforming our education system and tackling the reductive and often hypersexualised depiction of women in the media, WE will unleash the talent of all.

6. Equality in health and social care — WE will make sure our healthcare system works for women and men  alike, putting the furthest from equality first, and ensure that social care is recognised not as an adjunct to economic activity but as its underpinning.

7. Brexit — WE will build an immigration system with gender equality and social justice at its heart. WE will design trade deals that work for everybody. WE will make sure Brexit does not turn back the clock on gender equality through secondary legislation.

8. Invest in what matters — WE will invest in what matters and make sure our social infrastructure works as well as our physical infrastructure. WE will invest in homes, not houses, and restore our education, health care and social care systems. All our policies are costed and will not increase the burden on low and average income households.

The Women’s Equality Party has now announced a total of seven general election candidates:

•Sophie Walker - Shipley

•Nimco Ali - Hornsey and Wood Green

•Harini Iyengar - Vauxhall

•Sally Carr MBE - Manchester Withington

•Kirstein Rummery - Stirling

•Sharon Lovell - Vale of Glamorgan

•Celine Thomas - Tunbridge Wells

The Women’s Equality Party was established to highlight and dismantle obstacles to gender equality in the UK: a political and economic architecture rigged against women and diversity, an education system riven with unconscious bias and gender stereotyping, a media that reinforces these stereotypes, a society that assigns little value to caregiving and therefore assumes it to be women’s business, that underpays women and invests less in women's health and permits endemic harassment and violence against women.

The Party currently has 65,000 members and registered supporters. It aims to put equality for women at the top of the national political agenda by being an electoral force that also works with other political parties; in addition to party membership it also offers joint memberships to members of other political parties.

You can download the manifesto here: