Latest lockdown measures highlight UK and devolved governments’ failure

Across the UK yesterday, further lockdown measures were announced and plans for a break in the restrictions have been curtailed. As Christmas week looms, the latest measures further highlight the Government’s total failure to contain the virus which has killed tens of thousands across the country since March. Despite repeated lockdowns the country remains in the grips of the deadly virus.

Communists slam Brexit talks as ‘confected theatre’

Britain’s Communists have sounded a sceptical note about the extension of post-Brexit trade talks between the British government and the EU. Addressing the party’s executive over the weekend, Alex Gordon said the continuing talks have “an air of confected theatre about them, although these are performances that not many people might pay to watch”.

Communists welcome COVID-19 vaccine but slam Tory ‘shambles’

Tony Conway, the Communist Party’s Anti-Racism Anti-Fascism Officer, launched a stinging all-round attack on the Tory government’s record at a meeting of the Party’s Political Committee yesterday evening (2 December 2020). After welcoming the swift development and approval of the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine, he said it should not divert attention from the government’s “deadly mismanagement” of the coronavirus crisis.

Mass COVID-19 testing scheduled for parts of Britain

In England, following on from the countrywide lockdown, people living in Tier 3 will have access to mass testing- even if they currently show no symptoms of the Virus. This amounts to over 23 million people across England and represents one of the largest mass testing programmes in Europe. Unlike other countries, such as Slovakia, which tested two-thirds of the entire population in two days, England’s scheme is voluntary.

Scottish Parliament unanimously passes Period Poverty Bill

This evening, 24 November 2020, the Scottish Parliament unanimously voted to become the first country in the world to pass legislation making period products freely available to all. The Bill, which was proposed by Monica Lennon, Scottish Labour spokesperson for Health and Sport, is the result of years of campaigning from anti-poverty campaigners.