Charlie Alford

Poll shows nine in 10 families feel summer money pressures

Post author:Robert Freeman
Post published:18 July 2026
Post last modified:18 July 2026

The vast majority of parents in Britain and the north of Ireland feel “financial and emotional pressure” during the summer, according to research carried out by Save the Children. The charity polled 2,000 parents and found 88% are struggling with money worries during the long days, triggered by factors like added childcare costs and the pressure to take their children on holidays abroad. Labour has made some minor inroads into tackling poverty, but many of its measures have been inadequate given the scale of the crisis. Save the Children‘s executive director for UK impact, Dan Paskins, said: No parent should be…

Poll shows big movements in the Greater Manchester mayor race

Post author:Willem Moore
Post published:14 July 2026
Post last modified:15 July 2026

New polling has come out for the Greater Manchester mayor race, and it’s showing some significant movements: A new poll has just dropped for Greater Manchester. Labour – 25%Greens – 15%Reform – fighting a bin in Clacton Sign up to our actions days to help get Geraldine Coggins elected Mayor of Greater Manchester. pic.twitter.com/DolJ8JKpxo — The Green Party (@TheGreenParty) July 13, 2026 Does this show that the Greens are on a path to victory? Greater Manchester mayor race Admittedly, Zack Polanski is being a bit cheeky by not showing the overall polling, which looks like this: POLL | Greater Manchester Mayor:…

Poll shows alarming support in north of Ireland for racist rioters

Post author:Robert Freeman
Post published:9 July 2026
Post last modified:9 July 2026

Research group More In Common (MiC) has published the shocking result of a poll showing that more than 1 in 6 of the north of Ireland’s population are unconcerned about racist rioters burning migrants out of their homes. Extent of racist attitudes in the north of Ireland MiC asked participants the following: In Belfast, some homes and businesses belonging to migrants have been set on fire or attacked. How concerned are you, if at all, about people being forced out of their homes or businesses in Northern Ireland because of their nationality or ethnic background? 13% of respondents said they were…

New research shows at least 3.3 million suffered under Dutch slavery

Post author:Robert Freeman
Post published:3 July 2026
Post last modified:4 July 2026

Dutch investigative journalist Leendert van der Valk has revealed that the minimum number of people enslaved by the Netherlands in the transatlantic slavery system is a shocking 3.3 million. The figure is five times higher than the previous number of 600,000 commonly cited in the country. That’s the low-end estimate – he said Dutch slavers may have stolen the freedom of up to 5.3 million people. The Guardian note that King Willem-Alexander and then prime minister Mark Rutte have previously used the much lower number when apologising for the Dutch role in the hideous trade in human beings. Van der Valk…

Burnham’s policy speech shows he has gimmicks but little substance

Post author:Ed Sykes
Post published:29 June 2026
Post last modified:30 June 2026

On 29 June, Andy Burnham gave the first major policy speech of his campaign to become prime minister. And to the surprise of few UK left-wingers, there’s little promise of radical change. Instead, there was a strong smell of ‘continuity Starmer’, with a nice gimmick and promise on top to sweeten the deal. Having already surrounded himself with dodgy Blairites, Burnham was hardly worrying the billionaire class before this speech. And that situation won’t have changed much after hearing him speak. Because overall, it seems Burnham is just hoping to make pledges that sound nice but won’t scare away Labour’s wealthy…

Rihanna Kelver facing felony charges shows ‘stand your ground’ is not for trans people

Post author:Olaitan Mos-Shogbamimu
Post published:15 June 2026
Post last modified:16 June 2026

Rihanna Kelver, a transgender woman in Wyoming, is facing felony charges for pulling a weapon to defend herself after being subject to homophobic and transphobic slurs. Slate magazine reported that Kelver was about to end a work shift when several men on the street began yelling slurs at her. Then: Moments later, according to court testimony and surveillance footage, the man shoved Kelver to the ground hard enough to injure her tailbone. Kelver responded by drawing a pistol from her bag, chambering a round, and pointing the weapon at the man who had pushed her. She kept the safety on and…

Amnesty reports shows Israel is erasing Palestinians from the West Bank

Post author:Joe Glenton
Post published:11 June 2026
Post last modified:11 June 2026

Human rights NGO Amnesty International says Israel is erasing everything Palestinian from the West Bank. The group warned that it is the Israeli state leading the ethnic cleansing — not rogue settlers. Israeli violence in the West Bank has accelerated alongside the Gaza genocide. Amnesty’s report is titled ‘Erasing anything Palestinian: Israel’s ethnic cleansing of West Bank Bedouin and herding communities‘. It can be read in full here. Among the major findings was that: Ethnic cleansing campaign is Israeli state-led, and state-sponsored, not driven by rogue settlers or so-called extremist ministers. And that there has been an: Exponential rise in state-backed…

Footage shows PSNI cop brutally punching defenceless man

Post author:Robert Freeman
Post published:9 June 2026
Post last modified:10 June 2026

A video filmed in Armagh shows a Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) officer repeatedly punching a grounded man who poses no meaningful threat. At least three cops restrain the man, with the most violent officer completely on top of him. Appallingly, the PSNI has attempted to defend the attack, claiming “it was necessary for officers to use a degree of force in order to safely make [the arrest]”. A PSNI spokesperson gave background to the cop’s attack: At around 10.30pm on Saturday night, 6 June, police received reports a man had been attacked at a bar on Railway Street in…

World Cup visa chaos shows the settler colonial US is a hostile environment

Post author:Alex/Rose Cocker
Post published:8 June 2026
Post last modified:9 June 2026

Fans have found themselves facing rejections, restrictions, and outright bans for short-term visa applications to the US for this year’s men’s FIFA World Cup. Of course, this is hardly a surprise, given the Trump administration’s undisguised racism and Islamophobia. However, the news underscores existing criticisms of FIFA for awarding hosting responsibilities to the US in the first place. World Cup chaos entirely expected The states unveiled its bid to host the 2026 world cup back in 2017. Under the banner ‘United 2026’, it was a joint endeavor between the US, Canada, and Mexico. The latter two countries will host 13 matches…

Zöe Bread shows us that ‘Manchesterism’ is neoliberalism

Post author:Cameron Baillie
Post published:27 May 2026
Post last modified:8 June 2026

Andy Burnham‘s busy soundtracking campaign videos with Elbow and Oasis, and declaring himself “the end of neoliberalism.” But one intrepid investigator, Zöe Bread, suggests otherwise. Zoë Bread is Manchester’s favourite Zoë Bread is a TikTok superstar sleuth with 1.5 million-followers and an impressive citizen journalist. She’s renowned for her engaging video investigations and antics, filmed wearing a bread mask. (See the Mill‘s profile.) Zöe Bread – via the BBC She’s spent the last year or so methodically dismantling Manchester City Council (MCC)’s credibility, one Freedom of Information request or dogged phone call at a time. Her persistent investigation even forced MCC…