As the Tory leadership candidates continued to battle it out in debates and hustings, it was Labour that came under the spotlight this week over the party’s stance on industrial action.
Thousands of rail workers walked out on Wednesday in a dispute over pay, jobs and working conditions. Labour MPs, however, were instructed by Keir Starmer not to join striking workers on the picket line, a move that has angered many trade union bosses and members.
Not everyone complied with the rules. Sam Tarry, MP for Ilford South, joined members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union at London’s Euston station. He was later sacked by Starmer, who said that the move was necessary after Tarry conducted a series of unauthorised media appearances.
As Starmer fends off furious criticism of his position on the strikes, former shadow chancellor John McDonnell has warned that Labour’s leader has made a “severe mistake”.
EU energy ministers have backed plans to reduce gas usage by 15% between this August and March next year in order to protect the bloc from further supply cuts from Russia.
The effects are already being felt in some countries, with hot water switched off in many public buildings in Germany. France has also instructed shopkeepers to close their doors when using air conditioning and limit the use of neon lighting in a bid to reduce energy waste.
And while football fans countdown to this Sunday’s Uefa Women’s Euro 2022 playoff at Wembley Stadium between England’s Lionesses and Germany, the 22nd Commonwealth Games started with a bang in Birmingham last night, with the opening ceremony featuring a giant mechanical bull, classic cars and a soundtrack of songs written in the city.
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Need a reminder of some of the other headlines over the past seven days?
- Questions were raised over how Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak would tackle key issues including the NHS crisis, immigration and climate change if either were to become prime minister
- North Korean leader Kim Jong Un warned that the nation is “ready to mobilise” its nuclear weapons
- The executions of four activists in Myanmar was met with condemnation from global leaders
- Penguin Random House is hoping to publish Prince Harry’s “bombshell memoir” in time for Thanksgiving and Christmas
- A new scientific discovery has made the existence of the Loch Ness “plausible”
