Under pressure SNP in U-turn over SQA results scandal

Today (11 August 2020) in the Scottish Parliament, John Swinney, Deputy First Minister and Education Secretary, announced a U-turn over the SQA exam result fiasco which saw hundreds of thousands of grades downgraded. In Parliament, Swinney apologised for “getting it wrong”, and has pledged to launch an independent inquiry into the scandal.

Students prepared to fight Scottish Government on SQA results scandal

Yesterday (4 August 2020), Challenge covered how the Scottish Government and Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) had committed an clear class war against working class and deprived schoolchildren, awarding a significant number of children grades which were much lower than that which their teachers and preliminary grades had predicted.

Domestic abuse rates rise sharply during lockdown

Statistics released this week revealed a steep rise in domestic abuse during the coronavirus lockdown which has left existing services stretched. According to the charity Refuge in the first three months of the of the lockdown in Britain over 40,000 calls were made to the National Domestic Abuse Hotline.

CP Political Committee slams new ‘Cold War’ hysteria

“Labour should develop a genuinely independent foreign policy for Britain, not join the new Cold War hysteria against China and Russia driven by the US White House and Pentagon”, John Foster told a two-day meeting of the Communist Party’s political committee yesterday (23 July 2020).

YCL founds new Cheshire Branch

Last Saturday (18 July 2020) saw the foundation of another new YCL branch in the Northwest of England, this time among the young workers and students in the county of Cheshire.

Tory pay rise for public sector workers not all it’s cracked up to be

This morning (21 July 2020) Tory Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, announced that around 900,000 public sector workers are due to receive an “above-inflation pay rise”, for their “vital contribution during the Coronavirus pandemic”. From doctors to teachers to police and prison officers, all are being offered pay increases up to 3.1%.