Latest news with #Newsmaker
New Statesman
22-05-2025
- Politics
- New Statesman
Letter of the week: The case for immigration
Photo by Chris Ware/Keystone Features George Eaton (Newsmaker, 16 May) exaggerates the Blair-era liberalism on immigration and is too generous to Keir Starmer. As Blair's home secretaries, David Blunkett talked of schools being 'swamped' by immigrant children, while John Reid attacked 'foreigners… stealing our benefits'. Eaton suggests that it is 'overwrought' to find echoes of Enoch Powell in Starmer's 'Island of Strangers' speech, as he has spoken positively about the role of migrants in our society. Yet these token words are overshadowed by his assertion the 'open borders experiment' caused 'incalculable damage'. This is unforgivable pandering to the racist narrative of the far right and tabloid press. Labour must reframe the story about immigration as making an 'incalculably' positive contribution to our society. Immigrants are essential to the NHS, social care, universities, construction, manufacturing, hospitality and sport. Labour's failure to make the case for immigration will not stop Reform – why vote for the copy over the original? – and their hostile rhetoric and punitive policies will push progressives into the arms of the Greens or the Lib Dems. Gideon Ben-Tovim OBE, Liverpool No strangers here George Eaton describes many similarities in Labour thinking at the time of Enoch Powell's 1968 speech (Newsmaker, 16 May), but omits one critical difference. Harold Wilson's Local Government Act 1966 had introduced a system of financial support for local authorities, enabling them to design and deliver special programmes to assist with integrating new immigrants to the UK. So-called Section 11 services grew in scale, scope and impact, providing many highly acclaimed programmes that aided integration and greatly improved new citizens' grasp of written and spoken English. The austerity years ushered in by David Cameron and George Osborne stripped away so much of the remaining adult education provision vital to the process of integration. Without such services, Nigel Farage can lament sitting on a train and not hearing English spoken, and Keir Starmer can express concern about an 'Island of Strangers' – but it doesn't have to be like that. Les Bright, Devon Keir Starmer's 'Island of Strangers' speech reminds me of a line attributed to the poet WB Yeats: 'There are no strangers here, only friends who haven't met yet'. Brendan O'Brien, London N21 Osborne again Thanks to Will Dunn for his exposure of how George Osborne's austerity mantra still shapes Rachel Reeves' and Labour's thinking (Cover Story, 16 May). First, they came to make it harder for children in families with more than two children, then for countless pensioners to keep warm, then for huge numbers of disabled people. No wonder non-Reform voters are fleeing Labour for the Lib Dems and the Greens. If Labour is serious about winning the next election, it must ditch Osbornomics. Colin Hines, Twickenham It is rare for there not to be an illuminating piece of information or statistic within the New Statesman. But one in Will Dunn's Cover Story screamed at you from the page: 'The specialist bank advising on the deal [to purchase the technology company Arm in 2016] made £96m in fees for a few weeks' work.' The man who waved through this deal, George Osborne, said as chancellor that we were 'all in this together'. But the numbers tell a different story and epitomise what is wrong – what is rotten – about the state of our country. Michael Haskell, Broughton The awful truth I read your editorial with despair (Leader, 16 May) that, indeed, the heinous collateral damage of the war in Gaza are the innocent men, women and children who, if they are not killed by an indiscriminate bomb, will likely die from starvation. It breaks my heart to see images of emaciated infants and children, and, as is rightly stated, this is all happening in plain sight of the world's leaders. It is correct, too, that Hamas are unlikely to be vanquished. Our government could play its part, as it has done in trying to broker peace in Ukraine. Our leaders must facilitate some sort of denouement to this utter disaster. The dreadful events of 7 October still resonate profoundly, but the end game is becoming so horrific that it is a total humanitarian tragedy. Judith A Daniels, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe A new Pope Gordon Brown's view that 'we've got to persuade people that generosity should extend further' than those close to us (The NS Interview, 16 May) echoes both Pope Francis's letter to American bishops, prompted by Trump's excesses on migrants, and Pope Leo XIV's putdown of JD Vance's misuse of ordo amoris. Francis's letter said: 'Jesus Christ, loving everyone with a universal love, educates us in the permanent recognition of the dignity of every human being, without exception.' In February, before becoming Pope, in a shared article Cardinal Prevost wrote four words: 'JD Vance is wrong.' He added: 'Jesus doesn't ask us to rank our love for others.' The new Pope and Brown might get on well. David Murray, Surrey Much as I enjoy Finn McRedmond's columns, I wonder if she was not overthinking Pope Leo's choice of attire for his first appearance on the St Peter's Square balcony (Out of the Ordinary, 16 May). After all, it had been a hard day for Robert Prevost: maybe he reached into the papal wardrobe and pulled out the first thing he could find. Perhaps he was just following Nick Cave's memorable advice about dressing for a gig: 'I'm kind of lazy and I don't have much interest in it… It's easy to put a suit on in the morning.' Swap St Peter's Square balcony for a stadium concert and there you have it. Like singer/songwriter, like Pope? David Perry, Cambridge Who do you think you are? Megan Kenyon says she dreams about the life of her 18th-century ancestor and wonders 'what of her there is in me' (Personal Story, 16 May). She could work it out. She inherited 50 per cent from each of her parents, 25 per cent from each of her grandparents, 12.5 per cent from her great-grandparents, and so on. By my calculation, she inherited just 0.78 per cent from her ancestor. Michael Bartholomew, Harrogate Write to letters@ We reserve the right to edit letters [See also: Gordon Brown: the moral economist] Related
New Statesman
30-04-2025
- Politics
- New Statesman
Letter of the week: Keep the faith
Photo by Robin Weaver / Alamy As a Catholic, I was most interested to read Finn McRedmond's Newsmaker (25 April) on whether Pope Francis's liberal reformation can survive. I profoundly hope that it will. To put the future pope back in the remote Vatican box would be an entirely retrograde step with untold repercussions. I am hoping and, yes, praying, that the conclave will be discerning and appreciate the bigger picture. Young people responded to Pope Francis in their droves and there is indeed a youth renaissance in attendance. Of course, there are divisions as in any large organisation, and Pope Francis didn't always get things right – especially on the role of women in the Church. But for all that religious hesitancy, his reaching out to the poor, marginalised and disenfranchised in our febrile and often callous world was his innate quality. He was a humble and unassuming pontiff, but one whose humanitarian reach extended far and wide. Judith A Daniels, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk To the power of four I agree with Andrew Marr's conclusion (Cover Story, 25 April) that we must brace for the Chinese century. However, he misses the most compelling reason this is so highly likely. China has over four times the population of the US – which means that for each highly intelligent and creative American scientist, China has four. Dr Peter Williams, Malton, Yorkshire State of the nation Rachel Cunliffe's excellent article (Inside Westminster, 25 April) made some interesting points about where Reform's weaknesses could be, particularly Farage's ties with America. Labour should look at the victory of the Liberal Party in Canada and realise that siding with Donald Trump is not a vote-winner. It should also stop proposing policies that alienate core Labour voters and put more energy into calling out the threat Farage poses to the NHS and our relationship with Europe, and his bragging about his ties to someone who could give us second-rate chicken in our supermarkets. I fear the local elections will show us that Keir Starmer's current direction isn't working. Rob Grew, Birmingham Rachel Cunliffe's piece on the fortunes of Reform, whose undermining of the Tory vote at the last election brought calamity to that party and a resulting boost for Labour, makes a glaring omission: the impressive advance of the Liberal Democrats (72 seats won in 2024 compared to 11 in 2019). Paul Watkins, London NW1 Across the Pond Jill Filipovic's columns on American politics were already required reading, but she surpassed herself in her latest one about how the American legal elites have bowed down to Trump (American Affairs, 25 April). Its last three sentences exhibit a cold anger that you rarely see in journalism today – and the piece was all the better for it. Jeff Howells, London SE25 We should be worried by Jill Filipovic's analysis of the Trumpian highjacking of the US democratic and legal process. The United States still? Margaret Atwood's brilliantly foreseen Gilead looms ever more. Steve Rothery, Clitheroe, Lancashire Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe Last orders I was about to research whether the bars in both Houses of Parliament were still subsidised when I read the final paragraph of Catherine Ashton's Diary (25 April). I thank her for saving my time. That this practice continues during an era when households struggle to buy food astounds me. Taxpayers fund our representatives' alcohol consumption while NHS expenditure on alcohol-related disease rises. If politicians want to avert cynicism about their profession, they should pay the same prices as their voters. Gabrielle Palmer, Cambridge Cycles of failure Pippa Bailey's cover story in your 4 April edition has deservedly elicited a lot of reader approval (Correspondence, 11 April). It was undoubtedly a well-written, insightful survey of the content of and fallout from the Gove reforms. It poses several, persisting questions, including: why do we examine so much at secondary and how does this impact on the nature and quality of teaching and learning? Why, despite years of reforms, do the same sort of kids continue to be 'failed' by schools? Why, despite what we know about creativity and how children learn, do we persist with ways of teaching that stress memorisation? The French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu, as Bailey rightly says, gave us – more than 40 years ago! – some analytical tools to address such questions. But the answers his approach anticipated have largely been ignored. Why oh why does education policy seem impervious to research, both empirical and analytical? It's hard to think of any other area of policy that makes a virtue of floating so aggressively free of it. Now there's a fresh challenge: how to attract back into secondary school the 10 per cent of children who don't regularly attend and who show few signs of wanting to. Perhaps they've learned a truth about the system it won't face up to: 'We've got better things to do with our time than learn a curriculum that routinely 'fails' us.' David Halpin, Wetherby, Yorkshire Beer, glorious beer At last the New Statesman acknowledges that its readers might be interested in drinks other than wine (Drink, 25 April), although Andrew Jefford could have found a brewery even closer to the Ram Inn: the excellent Burning Sky Brewery in Firle itself. More on beer, please! Colin Cubie, Hove Haad yer gobs I always enjoy Hunter Davies and his offbeat take on the beautiful game (The Fan, 25 April). However, in this neck of the woods we would never say 'Away the lads' – far too English. North of the Tyne it's 'Howay', while us Mackems tend to shout 'Ha'way'. Some suggest the phrase has its origins in the pitmatic dialect when miners would shout down the shaft for the cage to come halfway up. I expect Hunter would have a view on that. Patrick Conway, Durham Write to letters@ We reserve the right to edit letters [See also: The sounds that shape us] Related
Reuters
09-04-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Pro-Russian leader of Moldovan ethnic minority moved to house arrest, media reports
CHISINAU, April 9 (Reuters) - The detained pro-Russian leader of Moldova's Gagauz ethnic minority was transferred to house arrest for 30 days on Wednesday, Moldovan media outlet Newsmaker reported. The minority leader, Eugenia Gutul, had been held in a Chisinau prison after being detained on March 25 on suspicion of electoral fraud. She has denied wrongdoing. Gagauzia, a region of 140,000 people in Moldova's south, is dominated by ethnic Turks who favour close ties with Russia, adhere to Orthodox Christianity and have had uneasy relations with central authorities since Moldovan independence in 1991. Moldova, a small eastern European nation of 2.5 million, is led by President Maia Sandu, who is committed to joining the European Union by 2030 and has taken a sharp anti-Russian stance since Moscow invaded neighbouring Ukraine in 2022.
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Moldova expels 3 Russian diplomats for aiding fugitive MP's escape to Transnistria
Moldova expelled three Russian embassy employees on March 31, citing activities contrary to diplomatic status, the country's Foreign Ministry announced. The move follows reports that Moldovan lawmaker Alexandr Nesterovschi, sentenced to 12 years in prison for illegally financing the banned pro-Russian Shor Party, escaped to Russian-controlled Transnistria with help from Russian diplomats, according to Moldovan media Newsmaker. Transnistria is a Russian-occupied breakaway region of Moldova that Moscow invaded in the early 1990s under the pretext of protecting the Russian population. The Moldovan Information and Security Service confirmed that Nesterovschi, convicted on March 19 for corruption, fled to Transnistria with Moscow's assistance. The Foreign Ministry summoned Russian Ambassador Oleg Ozerov and delivered a formal expulsion notice for three embassy employees. Russian state media TASS quoted Ozerov dismissing the accusations as "groundless and unsubstantiated." The pro-Russian Shor Party, led by fugitive oligarch Ilan Shor, has been accused of spreading Kremlin-backed narratives and attempting to destabilize Moldova through protests against its pro-European government. In a related case, Evghenia Gutul, governor of Moldova's Gagauzia region and a key Shor Party figure, was detained at Chisinau Airport on March 25 while attempting to leave the country. Moldova's Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office alleges she funneled Russian funds into the country while serving as the party's secretary. Gutul, elected in July 2023, has maintained ties with Moscow, meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin during a visit to Russia in March 2024. Chisinau has actively countered Russian influence, expelling dozens of Russian diplomats and embassy staff in July 2023 over espionage concerns. Tensions escalated further after Chisinau said that Russian drones repeatedly violated Moldovan airspace during attacks on Ukraine, with some of the drones crashing on Moldovan territory. We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Yahoo
01-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Unrecognised Transnistria returns 3 million cubic metres of borrowed gas to Moldova
The Russian-backed region of Transnistria has returned three million cubic metres of gas to Moldova, which had been borrowed to keep the region's gas system operational. Source: Moldovan news outlet Newsmaker, citing Moldovagaz, the largest energy company in Moldova, as reported by European Pravda Details: Moldovagaz reported that Tiraspoltransgaz, the largest gas supplier in Transnistria, had returned the three million cubic metres of natural gas borrowed under the terms of the contract. The gas was provided to maintain pressure in the region's gas transmission system and ensure its functionality. Under the terms, Transnistria had until 1 March to either return the gas or pay for it. Background: Effective 1 March, energy tariffs in unrecognised Transnistria will be raised following the region's cessation of receiving free Russian gas on 1 January. Earlier, Chișinău and Tiraspol agreed on a scheme for gas supply to Transnistria through a Hungarian company with Russian loans. This supply arrangement was approved after Tiraspol rejected the €60 million offered by the European Union to resolve the energy crisis. The assistance was tied to several economic and political conditions. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
