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New York Post
14-07-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
King Charles schedules Trump state visit for when UK parliament is in recess
King Charles has unveiled the dates of President Donald Trump's upcoming state visit — and it just so happens to fall on when the UK parliament is in recess. The monarch, 76, extended an unprecedented invitation to the commander in chief and First Lady Melania Trump earlier this year following his election win, with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer even hand-delivering His Majesty's note to Trump. After Starmer went against the King's wishes by moving up Trump's visit by many months, Buckingham Palace has now revealed that the visit will be taking place from 17 to 19 September. 6 King Charles will welcome President Donald Trump at Windsor Castle for his second state visit to the UK in September. Getty Images However, it was immediately noticed that these dates coincide with the House of Commons' traditional recess for the annual party conferences. This means that the POTUS will not be able to address parliament — unlike French President Emmanuel Macron's visit last week. While the palace hasn't addressed the reasoning behind the specific dates, several Members of Parliament (MPs) had recently urged House of Commons speaker, Lindsay Hoyle, to deny Trump of the honor. Last week, a total of 15 Labour MPs, as well as five others, signed a motion calling on the speakers to not allow Trump to address parliament. 6 The monarch, 76, extended an invitation to the commander in chief earlier this year following his election win. REUTERS 6 UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer hand-delivered His Majesty's note to Trump in February. REUTERS Peter Mandelson, the British ambassador to the US, told the Times of London that Trump will nonetheless we welcomed with open arms in September. 'He should expect a warm reception because he really does love Britain. He hugely admires it,' he told the outlet. 'He trusts Keir Starmer. It's not a question of expressing our gratitude. My lodestar here is to demonstrate respect, not sycophancy. I don't think the administration has any problem with that.' 6 Buckingham Palace has revealed that the visit will be taking place from 17 to 19 September. @theroyalfamily/Instagram In an official statement Sunday night, Buckingham Palace announced the official dates of Trump's impending visit. 'The President of the United States of America, President Donald J. Trump, accompanied by the First Lady Mrs. Melania Trump, has accepted an invitation from His Majesty The King to pay a State Visit to the United Kingdom from 17 September to 19 September 2025,' the statement said. 'His Majesty The King will host The President and Mrs. Trump at Windsor Castle.' 6 Trump has made his admiration for the royal family known on many occasions, saying in March that he 'loves King Charles.' REUTERS Similar to Macron's recent state visit, Trump will be welcomed at Windsor Castle as Buckingham Palace is currently undergoing an extensive renovation that's due to end in 2027. Planning for the official state visit began last month, with a hand-signed formal invitation from the King — also known as the Manu Regia — being hand-delivered to Trump at the White House. Start your day with all you need to know Morning Report delivers the latest news, videos, photos and more. Thanks for signing up! Enter your email address Please provide a valid email address. By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Never miss a story. Check out more newsletters In February, Starmer presented Trump with the royal invitation from King Charles during their meeting in the Oval Office, with the president quickly accepting. The answer is yes,' Trump responded. 'On behalf of our wonderful first lady, Melania, and myself, the answer is yes, and we look forward to being there and honoring the King and honoring, really, your country.' 6 The royal family had recently welcomed French President Emmanuel Macron at Windsor Castle. via REUTERS 'Your country is a fantastic country, and it'll be our honor to be there,' he added. Trump has made his admiration for the royal family known on many occasions, saying in March that he 'loves King Charles.' Following his inauguration in January, it was reported that senior members of the Firm were being lined up for a US visit in 2026.
02-07-2025
- Politics
'Lost Canadians' citizenship bill tabled as court deadline looms
Immigration Minister Lena Diab tabled legislation Thursday to restore citizenship to the lost Canadians after a court found the existing law unconstitutional. The term refers to people who were born outside of the country to Canadian parents who were also born in another country. In 2009, the federal Conservative government of the day changed the law so that Canadians who were born abroad could not pass down their citizenship if their child was born outside of Canada. That law was deemed unconstitutional by the Ontario Superior Court in December 2023 and the Liberal government did not challenge the ruling. The government received its fourth deadline extension to pass legislation to address the issue in April. It applied for a one-year extension, but Justice Jasmine Akbarali set a Nov. 20 deadline, saying that should be enough time for the government to implement remedial legislation if it makes it a priority. Akbarali has criticized the government's handling of the legislation in her decisions to grant extensions, citing the harm that could follow if the Stephen Harper-era law were to be declared invalid without replacement legislation. NDP immigration critic Jenny Kwan said the bill was delayed in the last session of Parliament by the Liberals' failure to act in a timely fashion and a Conservative filibuster that stalled the House of Commons' work for months. The court has given the government yet another extension, and it would be incumbent on this Parliament to make sure that legislation is passed, Kwan said. The previous lost Canadians citizenship bill died on the order paper when the House prorogued earlier this year. The Senate was engaged in an early study of the legislation to help it become law quickly. The new legislation, Bill C-3, proposes giving automatic citizenship to anyone denied citizenship under the current law. It also would establish a new framework for citizenship by descent going forward. The legislation proposes Canadian citizenship could be passed down to people born abroad, beyond the first generation, if their parents spent a cumulative three years in Canada before the child's birth or adoption. Those were the two primary goals of the original lost Canadians bill. David Baxter (new window) · The Canadian Press
Wales Online
11-06-2025
- Business
- Wales Online
Wales coal tips will never be safe because the money needed is 'so enormous'
Wales coal tips will never be safe because the money needed is 'so enormous' MPs were told the current funding allocated to coal tip safety in Wales just 'scratches the surface' The site of a landslide at a coal tip in Tylorstown in February 2020 (Image: WalesOnline/Rob Browne ) There will more than likely never be enough funding for the risk posed by disused coal tips in Wales to be taken away, MPs have been told. Representatives from three Welsh councils appeared in front of the House of Commons' Welsh affairs committee on Wednesday morning (June 11) and explained why funding announcements for coal tips are welcome, they only "scratch the surface" of the scale of the problem within their local authorities. The committee was held just hours before chancellor Rachel Reeves announced that the UK Government will give Wales £118m over the next three financial years to "keep coal tips safe in Wales". Wales' First Minister Eluned Morgan explained that the amount pledged by the UK Government was the maximum they had asked for from their UK Labour counterparts. The Welsh Government previously said £600m is needed to remediate the dangerous legacy of mining in the south Wales valleys and is carrying out mapping of recorded coal tips in order to provide a more up-to-date cost estimate. That figure is not yet available. However, adding together the UK and Welsh Government money, the total allocated to making coal tips safe in Wales currently sits at £221m. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here Article continues below The Welsh Government had long said it shouldn't have to foot the bill for issues arising from something that happened before devolution. You can read more on that here. Mark Williams, representing Caerphilly County Borough Council, told the committee that it is unlikely that funding allocated to coal tip safety will be enough to completely eliminate any risk from the tips. He added that the the funding does not currently address any remediation costs and just "scratches the surface" in terms of monitoring and maintenance. He said: "The funding that the Welsh and UK Governments have passported through in terms of tips has been very helpful. It enables us to manage the sites that we have - monitor them, undertake any remedial or emergency works to avoid problems in the future - perhaps an Aberfan or a Tylorstown. "What it doesn't do is allow the risk to be completely taken away. I'm not sure we'll get there because the bill is absolutely enormous." Nicola Pearce, from Neath Port Talbot Council, explained that the majority of the £14.48m of funding which has been allocated to her local authority since 2020, has only been spent on one scheme for one tip. She told the committee: "The funding we've had since 2020 has allowed us to undertake significant work on one large pit, Dyffryn Rhondda Tip , which was a concern due to its instability. "Out of the £14.48m of funding that scheme, which is still being delivered, will have cost £12m by the time it's completed - and that's just one scheme. "We have 617 tips within Neath Port Talbot so that gives you an understanding of the cost of remediating these tips and making them safe compared to the scale of the problem we have in Wales - there is quite a disparity." Ms Pearce, Mr Williams and Jacqueline Mynott, representing Rhondda Cynon Taf Council, all told the committee that they welcome funding and the Disused Mine and Quarry Tips (Wales) Bill introduced by the Welsh Government, but said greater funding for coal tip safety was needed from the UK Government as a priority. Ms Mynott said climate change causes a particular problem for coal tips, including those that were remediated in the 1970s and 80s. "We need to review those sites in the context of climate change and rain forecasts to revise the risk and that needs funding," she explained. Mr Williams agreed that former tip sites remediated years ago still need to be monitored. " The tips are still there so with climate change, water management and drainage can become an issue. "The major challenge is the amount of water and drainage issues that tips can throw up with climate change, which is obviously what happened with Tylorstown." Article continues below
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
‘Why should we have to downsize?': How boomers became the victim generation
We're looking for readers in different generations to talk about change within their families, such as a grandparent and grandchild's experiences of buying their first home. To get involved, email us at money@ Baby boomers have nothing to complain about. Bumper pensions. Free university education. House prices that have gone through the roof. Some of them even got to see The Beatles. This, at least, is the idea that's caught fire over the last 20 years, a period in which the debate about inequality in Britain has been reframed as a tug-of-war between generations. Boomers – the post-war cohort born between 1946 and 1965 – are blamed for hoarding wealth after winning the economic lottery. The losers are said to be Generation Z and millennials – born between 1980 and 2009 – who face sky-high mortgages and record-breaking rents, stagnating wages, massive student debt and outrageous student loan repayments, plus an unstable jobs market. There is a stigma attached to being a 'boomer', which has become shorthand for greedy, entitled and out of touch. Boomers have been accused of 'stealing their children's futures' by taking more than their fair share. Many believe they are unfairly victimised – pilloried for their wealth, and told to downsize out of their house to make way for younger families. But are they right to feel that way? A report by the House of Commons' Women and Equalities Committee in February confirmed what many older citizens have experienced first-hand. It found 'clear evidence' of ageist stereotyping across British media, with debates about intergenerational fairness tending to pit younger and older generations against each other in a 'perceived fight for limited resources'. The report went on: 'Older people are also frequently stereotyped as wealthy 'boomers' living comfortable lives in homes they own while younger generations struggle on low incomes, unable to afford to enter the housing market and struggling with high rents.' These 'narratives', the committee said, have fuelled 'divisive and harmful tensions in society'. This resentment doesn't come from nowhere. Recent figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed that boomers are by far Britain's richest cohort. The average wealth of households aged 65 to 74 is £502,500 – more than 30 times that of Gen Zs aged 16 to 24, who typically have £15,200. Boomers' wealth is also 4.6 times greater than those aged 25 to 34, who are mainly younger millennials, with £109,800. This may not seem very surprising given older people have had a lifetime to accumulate savings, homes and pensions. 'There's an extremely strong life-cycle component to wealth,' says Simon Pittaway, a senior economist at The Resolution Foundation think tank. 'Most people start working lives with very little, build it up through peak working years then run it down in retirement. 'This has been the case for a long time. But we're seeing that profile getting starker.' The gap between the generations has grown since the financial crisis, which is often blamed on the boomers, who, the argument goes, were steering the ship at the time. A Resolution Foundation study found that between 2006-08 and 2018-20, median wealth among Britons in their 60s rose by 55pc in real terms, but median wealth for those in their 30s fell by 34pc. At the same time, the share of Britain's wealth held by the under-40s has fallen from 7.5pc in 2010 to 4pc today. It's statistics like these that mean boomers are often implored to give away their hoarded wealth, or downsize into smaller properties to make room for young families. John Griffiths, 80, insists his generation is in fact supremely generous – and shouldn't be discriminated against for having done well. 'It's a gimmick in the financial media to blame the boomers,' he says. 'It's not our fault property went up the way it did in the 60s and 70s. [The house price rises] drove most of us out of London.' Griffiths was born shortly after VE Day in May 1945, putting him right on the cusp of the boomer bracket. 'I tend to count myself as one of them,' he says. After training as a chemical engineer, he spent 20 years in the gas industry and the North Sea designing and building offshore oil facilities. He went on to found his own marine energy consultancy, advising clean energy firms and governments on how to best harness the power of waves and tides. He retired five years ago at the age of 75. His successful career has allowed him to pass on lump sums totalling £500,000 to his three children, who are in their 40s and 50s and have children themselves. A large part of his financial security derives from property wealth. The house in Wimbledon that he bought with his wife Valerie in 2006 for £545,000 is now worth £1.3m. Homeowners aged 60 and over hold more than half of the nation's owner-occupied housing wealth, totalling an estimated £2.89 trillion, according to estate agents Savills. Two thirds (67pc) of homeowners aged 65 and over have two or more spare rooms in their property, even as a shortage of affordable housing prevents young families from buying their first home. The Tony Blair Institute think tank has called for larger properties to be taxed more to encourage owners to downsize. But Griffiths believes pressuring older people to vacate their homes is unfair. 'It doesn't sit well with me. I don't think older people are hoarding. They stay where they are because they're afraid of change. 'Many don't have supportive families to help them, and are stuck where they are.' Dr Jennie Bristow, a reader in sociology at Canterbury Christ Church University, traces boomer bashing back to the collapse of traditional political frameworks at the end of the 20th century. 'From the 1990s, we started trying to explain societal problems that went beyond Left and Right,' she says. 'It's still playing out now in the culture wars.' It was a time when demographic anxieties were spreading across the Western world. Ageing populations mean relatively fewer younger workers supporting the swelling ranks of elderly pensioners through the welfare system. Old-versus-young became the salient faultline. 'The narrative that emerged was that the 2008 financial crisis was due to policy decisions, and also cultural individualism, that was personified by the baby boomer generation. These are the people who are hoarding wealth and will benefit from big pensions. 'For the Right, it's an argument for restructuring the welfare state. And for the Left, it's used as a reason for more welfare and less Thatcherite individualism. It brought those two opposites together.' Bristow believes anti-boomer sentiment peaked in 2010, the year that David Willetts, a former Tory MP turned public intellectual, published an influential book called 'The Pinch: How the Baby Boomers Stole Their Children's Future'. She says the tendency to blame the boomers has turned into a 'frenzy' that ignores inequalities within generational cohorts. 'The boomers associated with the 1960s generation, born straight after the war, did reap a lot of the benefits of that time. There were a lot of possibilities, economic opportunities, and they ended up with good pensions. But not everyone was part of this. It was actually quite a narrow section of society. 'Younger boomers came of age in the far more pessimistic 1970s. Yes, people got grants for university, but only 7pc of the cohort went.' Richard Merry was born in 1955, putting him right in the middle of the boomer generation. After leaving school at 16, Merry joined the armed forces, eventually becoming a member of a special army unit that sent him all over the world during a 50-year career. He has worked hard to retire three years ago in relative comfort, but acknowledges that younger generations have a tougher ride in many ways. 'People just don't earn that sort of money any more,' the 69-year-old says. 'I get a little bit sick with the boomers saying that it's young people's own fault for not getting on the property ladder.' Merry bought a three-bedroom semi-detached house in south-east London for £77,000 in 1990. It is now worth over £1m. It was easily affordable on his salary of around £32,000, equivalent to £80,000 today. 'My children, both in their 30s, work incredibly hard and lead tough lives. You simply can't compare property prices and deposits now to what they were.' But it's not all plain sailing for his generation. Care costs, for instance, are 'crucifying' the boomers, he says. His own mother's old age care cost £320,000 over three years – money that would have gone to Merry and his sister. They had to sell their mother's home to pay for it. 'All the talk is that boomers are hoarding wealth, but we're going to be skinned alive when it comes to care costs.' On tax and earnings too, it hasn't been the easiest of rides. 'People at the bottom benefitted from increases in the minimum wage, but middle earners like me have had the stuffing kicked out of them.' On the contrary, Angus Hanton, of the Intergenerational Foundation think tank, believes boomers have 'heavily rigged the game in their favour' over decades by repeatedly voting in governments that have given them a good deal. 'Boomers have fought tooth and nail to protect their interests,' he says. 'We can see that most starkly in how the tax system is structured – what's taxed heavily is earned income. Younger working people pay income tax at a high rate from a low level of earnings, plus National Insurance and student loan repayments, which is basically a tax. 'But unearned income is taxed very lightly – money in Isas and Sipps, and capital gains tax is half the rate of income tax.' Hanton, a boomer himself, rejects the idea that the focus on competing age groups squeezes out other factors from the conversation – like class, race or gender. 'Generational inequality is a really important lens and we shouldn't refuse to look through it just because there are other lenses available.' Evidence suggests that many younger people are looking at the world – and their claim on the material wealth of their elders – through this lens. Research by Moneyfarm, an investment platform, found that two in five millennials fear their parents were frittering away 'their' inheritance, while a fifth said their 'spendthrift' parents were selfish for failing to consider their children or grandchildren's economic wellbeing. Meanwhile, 61pc of Gen Z feel they have to work harder than their parents did, according to YouGov polling. The reality is that many young people will benefit indirectly from the economic success of their parents and grandparents. A much-cited report from estate agents Knight Frank found that millennials are set to become the 'richest generation in history', thanks to the steep rise in the value of property assets accumulated by the generations before them which will be passed on when they die. Yet Bristow points out that even if millennials as a group are in line for a huge windfall, the only ones who will actually benefit are those with well-off parents who rode the property wave. Boomers, too, all tend to be tarred with the same brush. 'You can look at it two ways, generationally,' she says. 'Not all older people are wealthy. So saying boomers have stolen their children's future doesn't stack up.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
The Hindu
21-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Former Labour Party leader to table bill for inquiry into U.K.'s role in Israel-Gaza Conflict
Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn will table a bill seeking a formal inquiry into the U.K.'s role in the Israel-Gaza conflict since October 2023. The text of the bill, which was released on Wednesday (May 21, 2025), comes as the U.K. and some of its key allies shifted positions on Israel. Mr. Corbyn, now an independent MP, has repeatedly accused the U.K. Government, currently run by the Labour Party, of being complicit in genocide in Gaza. Mr. Corbyn will present the 'Gaza (Independent Public Inquiry) Bill' on Wednesday (May 21, 2025) 4th June, under the House of Commons' Ten-Minute-Rule Bill, his office said. This bill 'make a provision for establishing an independent public inquiry into U.K. involvement in Israeli military operations in Gaza', a statement from his office said. Mr. Corbyn will be permitted a 10-minute speech, under parliamentary rules, when he presents his bill. The proposed bill comes after a letter from Mr. Corbyn to U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, asking him to institute 'a comprehensive inquiry with the legal power to establish the truth' around the U.K.'s role in the West Asia conflict since October 2023 (when the current phase of the Israel-Hamas conflict began). Close lose to 40 MPs have added their names to the request subsequently. The June 4 bill wants the proposed inquiry 'to consider any U.K. military, economic or political cooperation with Israel since October 2023, including the sale, supply or use of weapons, surveillance aircraft and Royal Air Force bases'. It also seeks to vest the inquiry with the power to question ministers on their involvement in decisions around the conflict, as per a statement from Mr. Corbyn's office. On Monday (May 19, 2025), the U.K., along with Canada and France, issued a statement condemning the latest phase of Israel's 'extensive' operations in Gaza announced over the weekend. On Tuesday (May 20, 2025), the U.K. announced sanctions on specific individuals and organisations connected with violence against Palestinian communities and illegal settlements in the West Bank. London also announced a pause in trade talks with Tel Aviv. 'It's quite simple: you cannot say you oppose Israel's renewed military operation if you keep providing them with the weapons they need to carry it out,' Mr. Corbyn said in a quote emailed to The Hindu in response to a question on the shift in the U.K. Government's position on Israel. 'There is only one way the government can cease its complicity in genocide – and that's by ending military cooperation with Israel and imposing sanctions, now,' he added. On Tuesday (May 20, 2025), a high-ranking United Nations aid official, Tom Fletcher, said 14,000 babies in Gaza were at risk of death in the next 48 hours if humanitarian aid did not reach them.
