Latest news with #CharlotteNichols
Yahoo
16 hours ago
- Health
- Yahoo
MP attends Warrington support group meeting for those with bipolar
A SUPPORT group has marked nearly a decade of helping people. Charlotte Nichols, MP for Warrington North, attended the Warrington Bipolar UK Support Group (WBSG) to mark its nine and a half years of supporting individuals with bipolar disorder. The visit followed recent discussions around Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and gave Ms Nichols the chance to take part in a typical group meeting. (Image: Supplied) Ms Nichols said: "Thank you to the Bipolar UK support group in Warrington for inviting me to join their meeting tonight, and for everyone's openness in speaking about their experiences of the condition and how it impacts their lives. "The conversation was really wide-ranging, with people with a variety of different backgrounds, and in a really safe, supportive and welcoming environment. "I was shocked to learn tonight that it takes on average 9.5 years to get a correct diagnosis of bipolar and there is a misdiagnosis an average of 3.5 times." The group was founded in 2016 by former mayor of Warrington Geoff Settle, who used funds from his mayoral charities. Mr Settle said: "I became a facilitator because I wanted to share my experiences and help others. "When new members join, they often say that they have never talked to another bipolar person and that no one understands how they feel. "Some break down crying when they tell their story but when it's time to leave they usually depart with a smile on their face." He has taken courses to better support members, including suicide prevention training with Warrington-based charity Papyrus. Mr Settle said: "Suicide is the elephant in the room. "Mental health has always been low on the list of priorities and services, so I need to be prepared." (Image: Supplied) The group meets regularly to provide a safe space for individuals to share experiences and support one another. Ms Nichols said: "That is about 1.3 million people in the UK, but despite this it isn't well-understood and access to effective treatment and support can often be patchy." More information and resources for those affected by bipolar are available at Support is also available by emailing info@ or calling 0333 323 3880.
BBC News
02-07-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Warrington: Town's MPs abstain from welfare bill vote
Two Labour MPs representing Cheshire's largest town said they chose to "neither support nor oppose" the government's welfare bill as they believed it could be Hall and Charlotte Nichols, who represent the two constituencies in Warrington, were previously among 120 Labour MPs who threatened to vote against it. The government offered a last-minute concession, saying it would not change personal independence payment (Pip) rules until the findings of a a joint statement, the Warrington MPs said they were "still not happy" with the bill but as there were "promises to address this properly" they had chosen to abstain from the vote. Ministers had already said people currently receiving Pip, the main disability benefit, would not be affected by the new rules, but the 11th hour pledge now also delays their introduction for future claimants pending a a joint statement, the Warrington MPs said changes meaning no existing claimants would lose Pip were "a step forward", but they said it was "still not enough".Hall and Nichols said there was now "an opportunity to amend and improve the bill" as it goes through the next stages, before its final added they wanted to see changes so 18-22 year olds "do not fall through the cracks as we fear they currently do".The government won the vote by 75 votes, although 49 Labour MPs still voted against the March, the government announced plans for a shake-up of the benefits system, including measures to limit eligibility for Pip and freeze the health-related element of universal promised a £1bn package of support to help disabled people and those with long-term conditions into said there had been a steep rise in claimants and the changes were needed to ensure the system remained sustainable. Hall and Nichols said there were "positive" elements of the bill around helping people into work, but the original details were "not acceptable to us".Mid Cheshire's Andrew Cooper and Connor Naismith from Crewe and Nantwich also signed the amendment last week. 'Dignified system' Cooper and Naismith both voted for the bill following the said: "I want to be absolutely clear, I did not vote for cuts. I did not vote to remove support."I voted to protect the gains we've secured so far, and to keep fighting for a benefits system that is fairer, more flexible, and rooted in dignity."Naismith said he had received "cast iron assurances from the top of government" that there would be no cut off of current support before a review of Pip eligibility was completed."These assurances had been hard fought for, and I am immensely proud of every colleague who has supported efforts to get here," he said. Hall and Nichols said: "Our loyalty will always be first and foremost to our constituents, and we are committed to getting the best legislation we can."There can be no decisions about disabled people without including disabled people, and we will fight for a supportive, dignified and sustainable welfare system."Cheshire Labour MPs Samantha Dixon, Justin Madders, Tim Roca and Sarah Russell voted for the bill, while Conservatives Aphra Brandreth and Esther McVey, and Reform's Sarah Pochin all voted against the bill, which will return to the House of Commons on 9 July. See more Cheshire stories from the BBC and follow BBC North West on X. For more local politics coverage, BBC Politics North West is on BBC One on Sunday at 10:00am and on BBC iPlayer.
Telegraph
21-06-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Now ban the IRGC, Labour MPs tell Starmer
Sir Keir Starmer must now ban Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) after proscribing Palestine Action, Labour MPs have demanded. The Government announced it will list Palestine Action as a terrorist group after its activists breached security at an air base on Friday and damaged two RAF planes. Labour backbenchers are now calling on the Prime Minister to take the same approach towards the IRGC as Iran's war with Israel entered its second week. Initially founded as an ideological custodian of Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution, the IRGC has since become a major military, economic and political force. Labour called for the IRGC to be proscribed while it was in opposition, but has failed to commit to the move almost a year on from winning the election. Luke Akehurst, the Labour MP for North Durham, said: 'I thoroughly welcome the move to proscribe Palestine Action after their violent attacks on defence companies and, most alarmingly, on RAF Brize Norton. 'It's now urgent, given the conflict in Iran, that the Government moves to proscribe the IRGC, which is a terrorist organisation that represents a significant threat, including here in the UK.' Charlotte Nichols, the Labour MP for Warrington North, added: 'As much as I have no time for Palestine Action, it's quite clear who the bigger threat to our national security is. 'They should have done it a long time ago, but the second-best time is now.' The IRGC is openly supportive of the Iranian proxy groups Hamas and Hezbollah, both of which have been proscribed by the UK Government. Like Hamas and Hezbollah, it has a hardline Islamist ideology. The IRGC has also publicly stated its ambition to seize all Palestinian territories and Jerusalem from Israel. On Saturday, Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform UK, also threw his weight behind calls to proscribe the organisation. Mr Farage told The Telegraph: 'The Iranian regime has clearly been funding propaganda hubs and promoting terror throughout the UK. 'It's high time action was taken by the Government to safeguard our institutions and communities from Iranian influence. The Government must finally proscribe the IRGC.' Palestine Action is a direct action group that has conducted a campaign of vandalism and trespass against companies and property it claims are linked to 'Zionism' since the Oct 7 massacre of Israeli civilians by Hamas. The group was founded in 2020 and has targeted an Israeli-owned arms company as well as a number of universities. It claimed responsibility on Friday after two vandals broke into RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, spraying red paint into the engines of two Airbus Voyager aircraft. The attack is being investigated by counter-terror police. Proscription will mean that assets and money can be seized from Palestine Action, something that supporters of a ban on the IRGC argue would help efforts to fight Islamist ideology and terror plots on British soil. The Israeli military said on Saturday that it had killed a second commander of the IRGC's overseas arm during a precision strike on his vehicle in western Tehran.
Daily Mail
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
QUENTIN LETTS: Castration! The Secretary of State was desperate to depict herself as a toughie, so she aimed below the belt
Shabana Mahmood was eager to discuss castration. The Justice Secretary had just announced an unprecedented dilution of criminal sentences. All sorts of thugs will now serve a mere third of their porridge. Soft on crime, soft on the causes of crime. Yet Ms Mahmood was keen to depict herself as a toughie, so she aimed below the belt. Castration. 'I'm not squeamish,' she averred, narrowing her eyes like a farmer closing some gelding clamps on a bullock's knackers. Charlotte Nichols (Lab, Warrington North) had asked if chemical castration might suit sex maniacs. Ms Nichols remains utterly still when she speaks. There is something troubling about her, even when she is not proposing castration. Ms Mahmood said the idea had often been considered by her Tory predecessors but they (even Liz Truss, amazingly) had demurred. What was different this time? Well, none of them ever agreed to such an extraordinary release of convicts. None, therefore, needed to create a distraction by talking about sex pests' down-belows. Beside the Secretary of State sat a ministerial colleague Alex Davies-Jones, crossing her muscular forearms and shouting 'year-year' in a Rhondda baritone. Ms Mahmood had one last thing to say about castration. She wished 'to use every tool'. Blimey. That was one way of putting it. This announcement represented a Leftwards lurch in penal liberalisation. Labour and Lib Dem MPs (they are increasingly the same thing) approved; yet they did not want it applied to those guilty of violence against women. This was the crime that most gripped the Left. Not burglary. Not murder or terrorism. Not even BBC licence fee evasion. Count yourselves lucky they won't be giving us the snip for that. Robert Jenrick, shadow minister, sprang to the despatch box and unleashed a response that instantly drew fire from the Left. No one upsets them quite like Mr Jenrick. 'The Labour Party doesn't believe in punishing criminals,' he cried, his delivery salty, energetic, undeniably electric. Speaker Hoyle may not be a fan, mind you. He twice interrupted Mr Jenrick, ostensibly to hush the hecklers. This cost Mr Jenrick his flow. Then the Speaker told him off for saying Ms Mahmood was 'out of her mind'. When Ms Mahmood was back on her feet, the Speaker told Mr Jenrick to show more respect to the minister. Mr Jenrick harrumphed. A United Nations peace envoy may be needed to improve relations between Hoyle and Jenrick. Sir Desmond Swayne (Con, New Forest West) said nothing weakened justice more than knocking years off judges' sentences. Ms Mahmood seemed to agree, oddly. Sir John Hayes (Con, South Holland & The Deepings) noted that 'the Establishment, poisoned by liberal thinking' had long been at odds with public opinion on prison sentences. For this he was rewarded with further yelps of abuse from Labour and the Lib Dems. Which in a way rather confirmed the truth of Sir John's comment. 'I believe in prison,' said Ms Mahmood, even as she was letting cons go free. She complained bitterly, in just about every paragraph she uttered, about the previous government's failure to build enough prisons; yet her policy was based on a report by David Gauke, who served in that very government as minister in charge of prisons. Labour MPs kept attacking the old Tory government and praising Mr Gauke. They were the same thing, you numpties! With MPs now off for the Whitsun break, perhaps they could use their leisure to read Evelyn Waugh's story Mr Loveday's Little Outing, about an apparently reformed murderer who is let out of his lunatic asylum with predictable results. The story is short and horribly true. Which leaves room to touch, briefly, on another apparently inevitable tragedy. Amid rumours of her impending destruction, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy missed her departmental questions. She was at the World Expo in Osaka. In her absence she was theatrically upstaged by her deputy, Chris Bryant. Farage in France, Reeves in Canada, Nandy in Japan: Parliament's a tough old gig.
Telegraph
28-04-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Labour MPs sign pledge against ‘divisive' Supreme Court trans ruling
Four Labour MPs have signed a trans-rights pledge that appears to criticise the 'divisive' Supreme Court trans ruling. Charlotte Nichols, Kate Osborne, Olivia Blake and Nadia Whittome put their names to a statement that also said lesbian rights do not conflict with those of transgender people. It came after Supreme Court judges unanimously ruled that the terms 'woman' and 'sex' in the Equality Act referred to biological sex instead of acquired gender. The Left-wing backbenchers endorsing the pledge is the latest sign of ongoing tensions within the Labour Party over gender identity issues. The statement was drawn up for a Lesbian Visibility Week reception in Parliament last week, and reads: 'We, the undersigned, affirm our unwavering commitment to the dignity, safety and liberation of lesbian and trans people in all their diversity. 'In the wake of the UK Supreme Court ruling, we reaffirm that the rights of trans people do not conflict with the rights of lesbians. We reject attempts to divide our communities and stand united against all forms of transphobia, lesbophobia and misogyny. 'Our liberation is bound together. There is no pride in exclusion. No feminism without solidarity. We stand firm. We will not be divided.' 'Ruling does not provide clarity' Interim guidance issued by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) , published in the wake of the court judgement, said that trans women should not be allowed to use women's lavatories. It added that membership of an association with 25 members or more can be limited to gay men or lesbian women, saying a lesbian-only association should not admit trans women, and associations for gay men should not admit trans men. Ms Whittome said she was 'very concerned' in the wake of the judgement, warning that it 'does not provide clarity'. Ms Blake said she could 'understand that many people are anxious' about the potential consequences of the ruling, writing on Instagram: 'As an MP, I remain committed to campaigning for better, fairer services for everyone. We must tackle unequal access so as to ensure everyone, cis women and trans women, receive the support they need.' Days after the court ruling, Labour frontbenchers Dame Angela Eagle and Sir Chris Bryant were among Labour MPs who railed against remarks made by Baroness Falkner, who chairs the EHRC. She had said the ruling meant trans women would be banned from women's single-sex spaces. In a leaked WhatsApp message, Dame Angela warned that official guidance that would follow the ruling could be 'catastrophic' for transgender people. 'Let's meet about this when we get back from Easter recess to decide a way forwards,' she said. 'The ruling is not as catastrophic as it seems, but the EHRC guidance might be and there are already signs that some public bodies are overreacting.' Downing Street insisted it would not take any action because the Supreme Court judgement itself had not been criticised. Sir Keir Starmer said after the ruling that a woman 'is an adult female', but critics of the Prime Minister pointed out his past comments on the issue. In 2022, he had said trans women were women, declaring the following year that '99.9 per cent' of women did not have a penis. Sally Wainwright, from the campaign group Lesbian Persistence, said: 'Clarity is not division. It's the duty of elected parliamentarians, and especially of those in government, to uphold the rule of law, not to try to undermine the authority of the highest court in the land. 'MPs should be welcoming a ruling that makes crystal clear that lesbians, women and trans people all have our own, inalienable rights. Those rights are not in conflict, but are separately protected by the Equality Act. 'What is divisive is the trans lobby stirring up fear and alarm, particularly amongst vulnerable gender-questioning young people, by misrepresenting the meaning of the ruling. It is inappropriate for MPs to support such statements. They should be providing reassurance where it is needed instead.' A Government spokesman said: 'We have always supported the protection of single-sex spaces based on biological sex. 'This ruling brings clarity and confidence, for women and service providers such as hospitals, refuges, and sports clubs. 'Single-sex spaces are protected in law and will always be protected by this Government.'
