Pressure Government to sort out poverty pay

Willie Carson (pictured), former jockey, 77; Frank Bruno, former boxer, 58; Steve Bould, coach and former Arsenal footballer, 57; Diana Krall, singer and pianist, 55; Paul Scholes, former footballer, 45; Danny Wallace, actor, filmmaker and writer, 43; Maggie Gyllenhaal (pictured), actress, 42.

IN the sixth richest country in the world, it is totally unacceptable that so many workers in the public and private sectors are struggling on poverty pay, often with devastating effects on their physical and mental health.

Ken Loach’s film, ‘Sorry We Missed You’, brings this home very powerfully.

Though the film focuses on the gig economy, I think its message can be applied increasingly to many other workers and is a terrible warning about what can happen when cut-throat bosses in all sectors, are prepared to see workers go under to make and save money.

We must do all we can to support workers in struggle and put pressure on governments to reverse these cruel, neoliberal policies that are destroying workers and their families and undermining our vital public services.

Remaining will mean continued servitude

AFTER three-and-a-half years of unremitting Remain propaganda it seems strange to recall that everyone understood what Leave meant before the 23 June 2016 Referendum.

No one popped up to say “what does Leave mean?” back then. Leave means total separation from the EU. No more, no less. Both campaigns, and all the leading politicians said so.

Yet despite doom-laden warnings from the Remain campaign, we still, thankfully, voted by a majority of 52:48 to Leave. That’s because we do not need to be ruled by the EU to trade with the EU. And we can be friends of friendly countries such as Denmark and Poland, but not of the EU empire which sees the UK as “a colony” and a cash-cow.

But both Barry Sheerman and

Thelma Walker have tried to overturn the near 55:45 Kirklees vote to Leave so they can force us to pay for our servitude to their EU.

Mr Sheerman compounds his sell-out by describing his Leavevoting constituents as “uneducated”, a damning indictment of the state education sector in which Mrs Walker was a teacher. Will they come to blows over this disagreement, or will Mr Sheerman just stand rooted to the spot getting redder and redder as he did recently in Parliament? We deserve better.