Headlines: Bristol Weca controversy and menopause misdiagnosis
Here's our daily pick of stories from local websites in the West of England, and highlights from social media.
Our pick of local website stories
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.
Our top three from yesterday
What to watch on social media
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.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Herald Scotland
4 hours ago
- The Herald Scotland
Scots food and drink firms reveal net zero funding challenge
Nearly three-quarters (73%) of those surveyed said it was 'challenging' or 'very challenging' to secure the finance required to develop such plans, with around one-third (31.7%) saying that had not received any support. The overwhelming majority (88.9%) said that unlocking more financial support would help their business move towards net zero. The survey comes as the validity of net-zero policies and the drive to tackle climate change are coming under pressure from forces on the political right, including the Trump administration in the US and Reform in the UK. President Trump signalled his support for the oil and gas industry with a pledge to 'drill, baby, drill' during the last US Presidential race, while energy giant BP recently diluted net zero targets and ramped up fossil fuel production, sparking criticism from climate campaigners. Food giant Unilever drew flak from the environmental lobby last year for watering down environmental and social targets. Support for an increase in domestic oil and gas production, including in the North Sea, has also come into focus in the wake of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which contributed to a major hike in wholesale gas prices in 2022. The Scottish Government has a target of achieving net zero emissions of all greenhouse gases by 2045. Read more: Despite funding challenges, the Scotland Food & Drink Partnership's Net Zero Commitment said firms are embracing change and realising the commercial benefits of operating more sustainably. Some 92% said they have made energy efficiency savings already or plan to this year, while 73% have improved their local sourcing plan or intend to. Iain Clunie, director of the Scotland Food & Drink Partnership's Net Zero Commitment, said: 'The findings of our business support survey demonstrate the scale of the task at hand to support Scotland's food and drink industry to reach net zero by 2045. While there are still too many businesses that don't yet have a codified net-zero strategy, they are still making material changes to their business operations to operate more sustainably – whether that's moving to renewable energy, creating efficiencies or reducing waste. 'The identification of funding as a fundamental barrier to businesses achieving net zero is unsurprising. Currently, funding windows are often too short, which SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) find challenging due to available time. We would like to see longer funding windows and more diverse funding options for SME food producers. SMEs make up more than 97% of all food and drink businesses in Scotland, so supporting them is critical to achieving our shared net zero-goals. 'Our national 2045 target is important and we clearly all need to accelerate the pace of change to achieve it, but for individual businesses, the key targets are those of their customers. Over the last 12 months, we have engaged with all of the major retail and foodservice providers in the UK to understand their commitments and the support that they can offer to producers. We published a guide earlier this year to help food and drink businesses understand those targets and what steps they need to make to maintain existing suppliers and to grow their businesses. 'The imperative to future-proof our businesses, operate sustainably, and reduce our emissions are not only commercial. This spring was the hottest on record. January was the driest on record. Climate change is real, and it is happening before our eyes. 'If we want Scotland to continue to be renowned globally for its incredible food and drink, we have to protect the environment that enables us to grow, farm and process our world-famous products.'
South Wales Argus
7 hours ago
- South Wales Argus
Councillor Anthony Hunt on working with not against staff
In our NHS looking after patients. In our emergency services responding to calls. In our schools helping our young people learn. In social care helping keep young and old people in need of care safe and well. Collecting our bins, looking after our local environment, running vital community services like libraries, and so much more. As a leader, my firm belief is that you get the best services by working with these dedicated staff, not against them. By helping equip them to deliver better services, not by grinding them down. Which is why I was so alarmed by the language coming out of Reform's Nigel Farage and Richard Tice recently. After they took control of some English councils in May, Farage said staff working from home, on climate change or diversity initiatives should start 'seeking alternative careers very, very quickly'. Then his deputy, Richard Tice, announced that new employees at councils controlled by Reform UK will get less generous pensions, and called defined benefit pension schemes 'an outrage'. Now, I get that many people in other jobs have had it tough recently. Pay hasn't kept up with rising costs, so people feel the pinch. But dividing private and public sector workers won't help anyone. To start with, the idea that local government staff have had it easy just doesn't ring true. They've seen their pay eroded by 20 per cent in real terms in the past 15 years, and each of them is having to do more work thanks to cuts and rising demand. Several areas are encountering recruitment difficulties. These people are not bureaucrats and pen pushers – they're people who work hands-on in our communities, keeping vital local services afloat. An 'X' site called 'DOGE Wales' has been set up, which seeks to further these attacks – as if the ineffective and destructive policies of Trump and Musk are a good example for us to emulate. This took aim at one of our staff in Torfaen – someone who works in our schools with Gypsy Traveller children to help them engage and achieve. It asked if the cost of this work was value for money. I'd say that staff member is worth their weight in gold, just like other members of staff in our schools who help children, from the high achievers to those with disabilities or additional needs. We need more of these local stars in our communities, not less. So I reject these divisive attacks – they may grab cheap attention, but they are no way to run sustainable local services. We need to build our public services and back those who work in them, not attack them. Councillor Anthony Hunt is leader of Torfaen County Borough Council.
Times
13 hours ago
- Times
Water review will not recommend changes to ownership structure
The head of the Independent Water Commission will not recommend that the government change the ownership structure of water companies in his review of the sector. Sir Jon Cunliffe, a former deputy governor of the Bank of England, has served as the chairman of the commission since it was established in October 2024, after Labour came to power, to make recommendations on reforms to the water sector. Speaking to MPs on the Commons environment, food and rural affairs committee, Cunliffe suggested that questions about the ownership structure of water companies were outside the commission's terms of reference. Challenged on how he could assure MPs he would look at other models of ownership given the sector's failings, he said the commission could do so only in certain circumstances. 'What we won't do is say 'We need to move the whole sector to a different model', for two reasons. If the question is, will we recommend a wholesale move to another [ownership] model?' He added: 'I don't think looking at the models, the evidence we have, it's not a big data set, but I don't think the conclusive evidence is there to make a big change like that.' Cunliffe's commission published an interim report this month, and a final version is expected in July. In the interim version, it said that there were 'deep-rooted, systemic' problems in the water industry in England and Wales. However, the report added that there was 'no simple, single change, no matter how radical, that will deliver the fundamental reset that is needed for the water sector'. • Feargal Sharkey: Cunliffe report won't make one atom of the UK's water any cleaner The former civil servant has suggested his final report could include recommending better water planning across river basins and new laws on the health of wild swimmers. Cunliffe also told MPs that his commission had not looked at the security aspects of foreign ownership, and that, due to time limits, his report was less exhaustive than it could have been. 'Without sounding like a Treasury official, there's a trade-off here between how fast we do this and how detailed we are, and how much we leave with a direction for other people to do after us,' Cunliffe said. 'We're probably about eight months in total for a report this size. You could argue that you could take two or three years dealing in detail with everything that is here.'
