4 mn read Earlier this year, Prime Minister Boris Johnson pledged that every adult in the UK would be offered their first dose of the vaccine before the end of 2021. And the government has been under immense pressure to deliver on its promise.
3 mn read Hong Kong democracy activist Honcques Laus’ book has been added to the Bodleian Library at the University of Oxford.
4 mn read In November 2015, it was announced by the UK government that the remaining fourteen coal power stations would be closed by 2025. The most recent to close was Aberthaw Power Station, which shut its doors on 31st March 2020, after half a century of business. At its peak in 2013, the plant generated enough electricity to illuminate 3 million homes every year. Carbon Brief deputy editor Dr Simon Evans tweeted about the closure, “Another UK coal plant is closing. 1,500MW Aberthaw B in Wales to close, citing “challenging” market conditions. Just FOUR remain: Drax, West Burton, Kilroot, and Ratcliffe.”
3 mn read The second lockdown in England is set to end at midnight on Tuesday, 1st December. Restrictions that will replace it draw similarities to the tier system imposed before lockdown was reinstated in November. However, many MPs are planning to vote against the regulations. After a month-long “circuit-breaker” across the mainland, Health Secretary Matt Hancock announced […]
4 mn read The UK sees England enter its second major, national lockdown of the year in a bid to combat the spread of COVID-19. What was once deemed an extreme, draconian move to save lives, has become an internationally recognised method to intervene in the fast-spreading nature of coronavirus. The newly dubbed “Lockdown 2.0” is expected to be observed across the whole of England, with restrictions on travelling to or from Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales, as well as other parts of the world.
4 mn read A UK government review shows almost a quarter of a million households who were at risk of or already homeless have been helped by the implementation of the Homelessness Reduction Act (HRA).
4 mn read Air pollution costs the UK £20 billion every year. But this just one of many problems for air quality policies in the country. Poor air quality causes approximately 34,000 deaths in the UK annually and there are many sources of pollution the government aims to address.
4 mn read The United Kingdom has promised to protect its citizens by complying with the World Health Organisation’s advice to reduce carbon emissions by at least 50%, by 2025.
4 mn read Honcques Laus (19) was exiled from Hong Kong after becoming aware that he was wanted under China’s National Security Law. Despite being exiled to the United Kingdom, Laus is keen to emphasise that he is still fighting for the civil liberty of Hongkongers. He has now written to Dominic Raab requesting the United Kingdom to apply Magnitsky sanctions to officials within the governments of Hong Kong and China. The new sanctions would be imposed on the likes of Carrie Lam for her involvement in the infringement on the rights of Hongkongers.
5 mn read The British government has officially stepped up its fight against single-use plastics by confirming that the carrier bag charge will be extended to all retailers from April 2021. The charge was first introduced in 2015, allowing the government to successfully prevent billions of plastics bags being sold and ultimately ending up in the environment.
