You will have heard every minister interviewed in the media or standing up in parliament claim that we are doing more than any other country, that we are at the forefront doing everything we can for refugees, that we are leading the world in standing up to Putin and his horrific, illegal war. We aren’t…and […]
We have been given kind permission to reproduce this moving account of what Putin’s attempted invasion of Ukraine means for ordinary Russians. We have not edited or ‘corrected’ the text in the hope that you can hear the authentic voice of another human being, shocked and suffering under a madman’s regime. “I am horrified, I […]
Dear Derek, I have skin in this game. My Mum was a young girl in Driebergen, Holland, in 1939 when the Germans came.She and hundreds of thousands of civilians packed what they could and took to the roads. You’ll have seen the harrowing photos of endless lines of haggard, terrified refugees, stretching as far as […]
A large crowd gathered in Exeter’s Bedford Square to attend a pro-Ukraine vigil organised by Exeter City Council’s leader, Phil Bialyk. Phil has family in the Ukraine and during the course of his speech he spoke to his brother in Ukraine. Although we could not catch his words, that was one of many heart-rendingly emotional […]
These words were spoken by Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine, on national TV on Wednesday evening, , 23 February 2022, hours before the start of the Russian invasion. The FT’s Max Seddon reported: “The first two minutes of that speech were in Ukrainian. Zelensky updated the nation on the state of emergency and his contacts […]
Dear West Country Voices, Boris Johnson has been a good thing for this country, and no, don’t worry, I haven’t gone totally insane after years of gaslighting and government lies, so please hear me out. He has been so awful that he has finally and fully shown that the current parliamentary system based on “gentleman’s […]
Our latest edition has a focus on democracy and human rights. What follows is the rationale for putting this front and centre of our efforts to reach beyond the bubble and tell people what the mainstream media will or may not about the relentless undermining of these two vital pillars of a healthy society by […]
A summary from All the Citizens, a not-for-profit set up in the midst of the global pandemic – with a mission to use impact journalism to hold government and big tech to account. The Judicial Review & Courts Bill went through a 2nd reading in the House of Lords on 7 February. In a powerful […]
Updated below Dear West Country Voices, I have, like many others, just watched Prime Minister’s Questions.Wow! What a farce. Brian Rix (apologies to younger readers) would be turning in his grave. So our PM just happened across a ‘work gathering” in his garden, failed to notice bottles of booze and food laid out and assumed it […]
As you may already be aware, we have been reporting on the abysmal treatment of the clinically (extremely) vulnerable (CEV/CV), especially since so-called ‘Freedom Day’. Now Johnson has declared a premature end to Covid mitigations in what is clearly a political move to shore up his rapidly-vanishing support. There is no basis for such a […]
Dear Sheryll Finally, Brexit has created a job: quite a pointless and poisoned chalice of a job, Brexit Opportunities minister, due to the fact that there are clearly no benefits, but a job nonetheless. I am sure that will warm the hearts of all of those previously employed people who are on the breadline since […]
Dear Conor Burns, Yesterday I was shocked by the footage of Keir Starmer and David Lammy mobbed by hostile far-right thugs quoting Boris Johnson’s Jimmy Savile smears from Hansard — and that’s saying something, because yesterday was also the day I was told my beloved father only has weeks to live and asked to sign […]
This same letter could be sent to the majority of Conservative MPs in our region who have failed to condemn Johnson’s appalling lie. Ed Dear Sheryll The shocking and disgusting attacks on the leader of the opposition by far right extremists today are the direct result of the widely debunked fake news that our so-called […]
This is a clear and powerful summary of the ‘levelling down’ of democracy in the proposed Elections Bill from Make Votes Matter, reproduced with their kind permission: What is the Elections Bill and what does it mean for our country? The Elections Bill was introduced to Parliament by the government back in July 2021, and […]
Dear Anthony On the Government’s own projections, the UK is set to miss the 6th carbon budget and our Paris commitment by a huge margin. We will be approximately 100 per cent over the 6th carbon budget! You have said that work is ‘underway’, but that work clearly falls far short of what’s required. You can see from the […]
Today we watched a desperate and despicable display of faux contrition, empty excuses and insultingly evasive answers from Johnson. Sue Gray’s ‘update’ made it crystal clear that rules have been broken which means that Johnson has repeatedly lied to the House and to us. Twelve of the sixteen parties are now under criminal investigation. Twelve. […]
Dear West Country Bylines, I have this to say to Sheryll Murray after she stood up to heap praise on Johnson at PMQs: Boris has now said he will stay and “fight on”. Who exactly is be fighting? Is it the bereaved families he laughed in the faces of by holding more parties in lockdown […]
Dear Mr Burns, Hoping this finds you well. I move around a lot in social circles as an ‘after-hours musician’, and whenever I engage in conversation, which is a lot, this particular question goes around like a wildfire all the time: “How long can Boris Johnson cling on to his job?” For us normal people, […]
Dear West Country Voices, Every day, sometimes two or three times a day, allegations arise that should trigger the immediate resignation of the man that the electorate chose to be the Prime Minister. I say the electorate chose, but actually the initial choice of leader, was made by the Conservative party membership and those sitting Conservative […]
This is a record of our well-attended Democracy in Danger event on Thursday 20 January. Unfortunately the tape was not running for the introductions and so I paraphrase in this summary. Molly Scott Cato, (Greens) talked about her work to research and then to raise awareness of the rise of fascism in the UK. She […]
The CPTPP Pacific Trade Deal is throwing the environment and British farming under the bus in a desperate bid to justify Brexit, argues Simon Oldridge. I just listened to my MP, Anthony Mangnall, singing the praises of the Trans-Pacific trade deal (CPTPP) without a single mention of environment or climate in the entire 35 minute podcast. […]
Dear West Country Voices, I couldn’t believe my ears this week when the Government announcement came about the withdrawal of the measures to help protect the public against the dangers of Covid, by 27 January. In reality, rather than an announcement, it was in fact the complete disownment of the English people by the cowboys calling […]
Are you worried about the state of our democracy? Our electoral system? Pollution? The climate crisis? The threats to the NHS? Housing? Social justice? We know that most of our readers care deeply about the issues we cover in our articles. We also know that whilst people want to know the truth, the seeming tsunami […]
Dear West Country Voices, The Conservative party has clearly been in power for too long and has too much power based on significantly less than half of the votes cast in the last general election (an 80 seat majority based on securing a mere 43.6 per cent of the ballots cast in 2019). The recent […]
This man will say and do anything…and we mean ANYTHING… to save himself. In case you have not seen it, take a look at this: That’s appalling, right? But it is as nothing compared with abandoning all Covid mitigations and thereby throwing the most vulnerable under the bus to save his political skin. Please write […]
DRAFT DRAFT DRAFT >>>CALENDAR WILL FOLLOW SOON What’s on! if you want to add your event, please contact campaigns@westcountryvoices.co.uk Discussion on housing crisis/housing need, 24 March, online PETITION Johnson to withdraw and apologise re Starmer/Savile lie PETITION on saving access to judicial review. Liberty PETITION to reject government plans to switch to the less democratic […]
Want to help? Here’s where you can find organisations and campaigns to join. Let us know if we are missing yours from the list. NB: this is a work in progress! Action Network: resources, toolkit and ways to mobilise Climate Crisis/Environment Climate Outreach Extinction Rebellion Friends of the Earth Fridays for Future Green New Deal […]
Dear Conor, I am sorry that I have to write to you again so soon after the Owen Paterson debacle. Indeed, if truth be told, I’m also a little resentful. As well as trying to recover from the twin hits of Brexit and Covid on my career, I am also now an unpaid carer for […]
Dear Mr Parish, As long as laws are made in Parliament, then British people must have a legal right to protest them in Parliament Square. Democracy is not an ‘inconvenience’. Public opposition and dissent are among the hard-won rights that make our democratic system function. Seeking to limit noise levels so people cannot be heard, […]
This is a press release from campaign organisation, Grassroots for Europe. We do not usually publish these verbatim, but this is a well-worded and powerful summary of the situation we face, a situation that seems unbelievable in the UK, a situation which is a key characteristic of a repressive regime. We will be covering the […]