Headlines: Weca controversy and dementia misdiagnosis
Here's our daily pick of stories from local websites in the West of England, and highlights from social media.
Weca mayor candidate Arron Banks has defended calling Bristol "little Somalia". Bristol Live reported that the Reform candidate said he did not think it was racist to blame Somalians for crime in the city, which has had a huge response locally.
A woman in Bristol who thought she had dementia realised she was actually in the middle of the menopause in her 40s. The i newspaper spoke to Lauren Chiren about leaving her job, and reported that one in three women leaves, or considers leaving her job, due to unmanaged menopause symptoms.
Burnham-on-Sea's classic car show is coming back to the town centre this summer. Dozens of vintage vehicles from across the decades will be parading along the high street on 7 June.
A piece in the Swindon Advertiser in defence of the town has been its most popular post. Swindon "may not be the poshest place to live, but we're trying hard" said readers.
MP Dan Norris arrested on suspicion of child sex offences and rape
Chippy apologises for prices as fish costs surge
Work on long-awaited bypass given green light
MP Adam Dance's post on the "first Sunday bus service in Yeovil in over 10 years" was very popular. The new 376 service runs between Yeovil and Bristol.
Tewkesbury Abbey has announced it's voted to join the Inclusive Church network, which "advocates the full acceptance and participation of all people" particularly in regard to sexual orientation and gender.
A girl has allegedly been assaulted in Swindon by another girl, who repeatedly punched her in the head. A post on the Swindon Community Notice Board said there were "at least eight to 10 boys and girls all stood round watching".
A student looking into the history of rubber vulcanisation in Bradford-on-Avon is appealing for people's wellies. Anna Digby is tracing the evolution of rubber boots from 19th Century fashion, through wartime necessity to their modern-day use.
Follow BBC West social channels in Bristol, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Water sector needs ‘root-and-branch' reform, MPs say
The water sector is in need of 'root-and-branch reform', a committee of MPs has said as it called for 'much more regulated management' of bonuses for senior bosses. The cross-party Environment, Food and Rural Affairs committee has said that the industry is 'failing', but that water companies are 'deaf to the crisis' that it is facing. In their report, Priorities For Water Sector Reform released on Monday, the MPs argue that the Government 'should feel able to use its temporary nationalisation powers' when needed. They also said the system should 'ensure that more money gained from investors and through customer bills is directed towards investment in water infrastructure and service delivery' and less towards debt repayment or financial rewards for executives. The system of fines and rewards should also focus on a reduction in pollution incidents, responsible ownership and the need for the sector to have long-term resilience, the MPs said. 'Despite some initial success after privatisation in 1989, root-and-branch reform of the water sector is now needed to improve the sector's culture,' the committee said. As part of their investigation, the MPs found that 'public disquiet has increasingly turned to outrage' at the way water companies and their bosses are benefiting from the sector. 'Over hearings with 10 of the largest water companies and Ofwat, we regularly encountered a culture that is deaf to the crisis thesector is facing,' they said. Committee chairman Alistair Carmichael, a Liberal Democrat MP, said the sector 'must not shy away from bold proposals' and that it has a 'serious culture problem'. He said: 'Water companies' complex and sometimes impenetrable financial structures, with their myriad subsidiaries, holding companies and parent organisations, seem to suggest that their purpose is less to provide a good service to their customers and more to allow them to juggle their finances and their increasingly unsustainable levels of debt. 'Meanwhile, an ineffective regulatory system has failed to protect customers, the environment and the financial stability of the sector. 'It has failed to ensure that companies invest in essential infrastructure and it has not encouraged long-term thinking. 'This has got to stop now. Trust and accountability in the water sector are very low. 'It is not acceptable that it has fallen to commendable citizen scientists to expose issues with local water resources. 'Environmental protection and the delivery of reliable and safe water must be the first priorities of water companies and regulators.' A Defra spokesperson said: 'Our rivers, lakes and seas are polluted, and our water system is broken. 'As part of the plan for change, new legislation has banned unfair multimillion-pound bonuses for bosses at six water companies and launched a record 81 criminal investigations. 'This Government has also secured the largest investment into the water sector in history, with £104 bn in private sector investment to clean up rivers, lakes and seas and cut sewage by nearly half by 2030.' A Water UK spokesperson said: 'Everyone agrees that the water system is not working, and we have been calling for fundamental reforms which allow investment to get quickly to where it needs to go. 'In the meantime, companies are focused on investing a record £104 billion over the next five years to secure our water supplies, end sewage entering our rivers and seas and support economic growth.' Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
UK MPs eye decriminalising abortion for women in all cases
UK MPs are expected to vote Tuesday on an overhaul of abortion laws in England and Wales which would end contentious prosecutions of women for terminating a pregnancy. Currently, a woman can face criminal charges for choosing to end a pregnancy after 24 weeks or without the approval of two doctors, under laws which technically still carry a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. The issue has gained attention in the UK due to recent court cases. In one a woman was cleared by a jury at trial, while another was released from prison on appeal. A proposal put forward by Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi seeks to change the law to ensure that no woman would be committing an offence by terminating her own pregnancy at any time. "Women are currently being arrested from hospital bed to police cell and facing criminal investigations on suspicion of ending their own pregnancy," Antoniazzi told AFP. "My amendment would put a stop to this," she said, adding it was "the right amendment at the right time". Abortion in England and Wales is a criminal offence under the Offences Against the Person Act, passed in 1861 during the Victorian age and which carries carrying a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. The Abortion Act 1967 made terminations legal in certain circumstances, including by permitting it up to 23 weeks and six days of gestation if done by an authorised provider. Abortions are allowed in limited circumstances after this time, such as if the mother's life is in danger or there is a "substantial risk" the child could be born with a serious disability. An update to the law introduced during the Covid-19 pandemic allows women to take abortion pills at home up to 10 weeks into a pregnancy. In May, Nicola Packer was acquitted after taking prescribed abortion medicine when she was around 26 weeks pregnant, beyond the legal limit of 10 weeks for taking such medication at home. The 45-year-old told jurors during her trial, which came after a four-year police investigation, that she did not realise she had been pregnant for so long. "It was horrendous giving evidence, absolutely awful," she told The Guardian newspaper last month. The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children has however called the proposed amendment "the greatest threat to unborn babies in decades". - 'Optimistic' - Antoniazzi's amendment would not change any of the laws regarding the provision of abortion services, including the time limits. And anyone assisting a woman in getting an abortion outside the remits of the law, such as medical practitioners, would still be liable for prosecution. Some 50 organisations, including abortion providers, medical colleges, and women's rights groups, have backed the amendment. They say six women have appeared in court in England charged with ending or attempting to end their own pregnancy outside abortion law in the last three years. Carla Foster was jailed in 2023 for illegally obtaining abortion tablets to end her pregnancy when she was between 32 and 34 weeks pregnant. The Court of Appeal eventually suspended her sentence. Some 140 MPs in the 650-seat parliament have publicly backed the change. It "has widespread support from MPs across the political spectrum and I am optimistic the Commons will support it," said Antoniazzi. Lawmakers will have a free vote, meaning they can decide based on their views, not what their party tells them. Northern Ireland decriminalised abortion for women in 2019. Scotland is currently reviewing its abortion laws. pdh/jkb/giv
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
Tories will 'wield claymore' on spending, says Findlay
Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay has pledged to save £650m from the Scottish budget if elected at next year's Holyrood election. Findlay said he would achieve this by introducing a Taxpayer Saving Act to "cut red tape and get a grip on spending" alongside a Scottish Agency of Value and Efficiency (Save) to "wield a claymore" on waste. Findlay told the party's conference in Edinburgh he would put "streamlining" the Scottish government at the heart of his plans if elected next year. He urged voters to back the Scottish Conservatives over Reform UK, adding a vote for Nigel Farage's party would only result in "another five years of SNP government". In his keynote speech to members, Findlay accused John Swinney's government of "wasting untold sums of public money". He said the party would shut down government quangos, reduce the number of ministers and advisors and cut the size of the civil service to levels last seen 10 years ago in order to "deliver better value". Badenoch calls for end to oil and gas windfall tax Why Reform was the other big winner in the Hamilton by-election Money regained from the Taxpayer Saving Act would be used to reduce taxes, he told the conference at Murrayfield Stadium. Save, which would be run by business leaders, would be tasked with cutting government "waste," while an Accountability and Transparency Index would be introduced as a way of "shining a light" on organisations which receive public funding. He also said a £20,000 pay rise for ministers would be reversed. Findlay told party members: "There will be no more jobs for the SNP boys. "Putting a stop to wasteful spending is top of our agenda. "We need to urgently streamline bloated government." He added: "Improving services means treating people's money with respect." Findlay also revealed plans to scrap the SNP's 2045 net zero target and replaced the Just Transition Fund with an Affordable Transition Fund aimed at supporting oil and gas workers. On Friday, the UK Conservative leader, Kemi Badenoch, used her speech at the conference to call for an end to the windfall tax in the North Sea. Findlay said residents would be given new powers to oppose "mega-pylons" and would end the current presumption against new nuclear energy in Scotland. The Conservative leader claimed pupils in schools were being "written off" and that "woke ideas" were being pushed on children "at the expense of vital knowledge". Findlay said his party offered a "common sense vision" for Scotland. But he said those considering abandoning the party in favour of Reform would only help the SNP hang on to power. Aberdeenshire councillor Lauren Knight became the latest Conservative councillor to defect to Reform on Friday, stating she felt "let down" by the party. Reform also finished ahead of the Conservatives in the recent Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election, which saw the Tory vote fall by 11.5%. Findlay described Farage's spending plans as "fantastical" and said only his party could "shake up Scottish politics". He said: "Reform pretend they can do it, but all they'll achieve is another five years of SNP government. "As we saw at the General Election, and as every poll shows, Reform increases the chance of the SNP winning." He added: "Maybe it's because Nigel Farage says he's not worried about the SNP getting another five-year term. "Well we are worried about the SNP, Nigel, because we live here. "But we can't spend our time focusing on Reform because it's what we do that matters most."
