Charlie Alford

Only the Green Party commits to Makerfield public ownership pledges

Post author:The Canary
Post published:16 June 2026
Post last modified:17 June 2026

Only the Green Party has responded to a Makerfield public ownership pledge launched today, explaining which local public services they would take back if elected. Andy Burnham has not clarified his position, despite his critique of privatisation in recent weeks. Campaign group We Own It asked the six main Makerfield candidates for their positions on public ownership of water, energy and buses, as well as a local BlackRock deal with Greater Manchester Pension Fund to buy up GP surgeries. Nearly 10,000 emails have been sent to the candidates over the weekend to put pressure on them to reveal their policies. This…

Hidden boat ownership risks fuelling illegal fishing in UK waters

Post author:The Canary
Post published:2 June 2026
Post last modified:9 June 2026

Less than a quarter of the UK’s largest commercial fishing vessels may have clear ownership transparency. And this is creating a systemic blind spot in UK fisheries governance. Environmental law organisation ClientEarth has laid out these findings in a new analysis: Whose Boat Is This? The current regulatory gap on commercial fishing vessel ownership risks enabling vessel owners to operate through complex corporate structures and hide behind shell companies. This can mask the Ultimate Beneficial Ownership (UBO) of these vessels. ClientEarth’s Kyle Lischak said: The core problem is simple: the government does not publicly identify who really owns many of the…