News
Anger as MPs get £3,500 pay rise while rest of country suffers Covid cuts and job losses
Just in…
The Commons’ chiefs are going ahead with plans to spike MPs’ salaries by nearly £3,500.
The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority has ignored calls to freeze politicians’ pay, as the nation suffers the repercussions of the Covid-19 pandemic.
However, MPs’ wages will be linked to the average rise in public sector staff as planned and the increase will exceed inflation.
IPSA said the pay rise will be based on October’s public sector year-on-year three-month growth (4.1%).
MPs will receive a £3,360 top up on their £81,932 a year salary.
Policy analyst at the TaxPayers’ Alliance, Jeremy Hutton said: “IPSA must be tin-eared if it really thinks a pay rise for MPs should be considered this year.
“Public finances are in a parlous state, furlough is coming to an end and unemployment is rising.
“A pay rise in parliament would be an insult to hardworking taxpayers who’ve had a very tough year.”
Richard Lloyd, the IPSA’s interim chairman said: “Given the huge economic uncertainties arising from the coronavirus pandemic, we don’t think it’s right to depart from this approach.”
The news comes after a recent landmark report which highlighted that UK income is the ninth most unequal of the 40 most developed countries in the globe.
1% of the UK’s top earners (around 310,000 individual people) account for more than a third of income tax paid to the government. In the 1980s, the top 1% received around 6% of the total income in the UK, this number is now 17%.
695,000 people have left company payrolls since March according to the Office for National Statistics, making it the sharpest increase in a quarterly rise since 2009, following the 2008 financial crisis.
More than a third of the UK’s employers have plans to make staff redundant over the next three months. 37% of more than 2,000 managers surveyed by YouGov said they will make staff redundant by the end of the year, following the end of the furlough scheme on October 31st.
Rishi Sunak has recently come under fire for supporting ‘only viable jobs’ and explaining that everyone, from ‘all walks of life’, has to ‘adapt and adjust to the new reality’.
Anneliese Dodds, the shadow chancellor, said: “These are viable businesses that just need support to cope with the restrictions the government has imposed on them.”
Explaining that Sunak is ‘pulling up the drawbridge at the worst possible time’.
She added: “This wasn’t by accident – it was by design. This sink or swim mentality is a throwback to the worst days of Thatcher, and just like in the 1980s, people on the lowest incomes will pay the highest price.”
News
Oasis announce huge reunion tour as Liam and Noel Gallagher ‘make peace’
The news we’ve all been waiting for!
After years of will-they-won’t-they speculation, Oasis are officially BACK together for a reunion tour.
The Gallagher brothers have put aside their differences in the name of music, making thousands of fans extremely happy in the process.
The band teased the news on their socials over the weekend, posting a video on Sunday morning with today’s date (Tuesday, August 27th) and the time 8am.
And now shows have been announced for multiple dates in the UK and Ireland, with tickets going live this Saturday, August 31st.
The legendary Mancunian rockers will take to the stage next summer, with gigs in Cardiff, London, Edinburgh, Dublin and, of course, Manchester.
15 years after splitting, the band confirmed they would be back for 14 shows, saying: “The guns have fallen silent. The stars have aligned. The great wait is over. Come see. It will not be televised”.
The gigs will be Oasis’s ‘only shows in Europe next year’, with tickets on sale this Saturday at 8am in Ireland and 9am in the UK.
The Oasis 2025 tour dates in full:
July
4th – Cardiff, Principality Stadium
5th – Cardiff, Principality Stadium
11th – Manchester, Heaton Park
12th – Manchester, Heaton Park
19th – Manchester, Heaton Park
20th – Manchester, Heaton Park
25th – London, Wembley Stadium
26th – London, Wembley Stadium
August
2nd – London, Wembley Stadium
3rd – London, Wembley Stadium
8th – Edinburgh, Scottish Gas Murrayfield Stadium
9th – Edinburgh, Scottish Gas Murrayfield Stadium
16th – Dublin, Croke Park
17th – Dublin, Croke Park
You can grab your tickets HERE.
News
Stagecoach hiring over 100 new bus drivers for Bee Network with £31k salaries
Fancy a career change?
Stagecoach Manchester is hiring over 100 new bus drivers to work from its Oldham depot, following the second phase of the Bee Network launch in March.
You can apply for a range of roles, from positions with no experience required to fully qualified bus drivers.
Successful applicants will receive full training as part of the job, and trainees will get paid to train. Then after only 12 months’ service at Stagecoach, drivers can expect to earn up to £16 per hour, which equates to £31.6K per year, before overtime.
As well as that, drivers that already hold a PCV licence may be eligible to receive a £1,200 joining bonus.
Stagecoach
There’s also a host of other benefits available to all Stagecoach employees, like 28 days paid holiday, generous pension and free Stagecoach bus travel for successful applicants and a companion.
Rob Jones, Managing Director at Stagecoach Manchester said: “Expanding our offering in Oldham means we’ll be investing more in the economy and supporting our local community, as well as strengthening our workforce.
“Whether you’re looking for a career change or you’re a fully qualified, experienced bus driver, there’s a role for everyone here in Oldham.
“We’re looking for personable and dedicated drivers who are ready to help us build on the success of the Bee Network and connect the people of Oldham and Greater Manchester with the places and people that are important to them.”
Stagecoach
Phil Cornwall, bus driver at Stagecoach Manchester, said: “I’ve been a driver at Stagecoach for 25 years and I couldn’t recommend it more.
“From the perks to the people to the passengers, it really is a great place to work.”
To apply, head to the Stagecoach website HERE.
Two men have now been charged with murder, following the discovery of a human torso in Kersal Dale.
As well as that, more suspected human remains were also discovered this morning, Monday April 29th, in an alleyway close to the railway lines off Worsley Road, Eccles.
This follows earlier discoveries of human remains over the past three weeks, at Kersal Dale, Blackleach Reservoir and Colliery Wood, all in Salford.
Greater Manchester Police
Michal Jaroslaw Polchowski (25/04/1956) and Marcin Majerkiewicz (10/04/1982) both of Worsley Road, Eccles, have been charged with murder.
They are set to appear at Tameside Magistrates Court this afternoon.
While formal identification is still ongoing, the remains found at Kersal Dale are believed to be of a local man in his 60s. The remains found at the other three locations are still to be tested, but police are confident they belong to the same victim.
ACC Sarah Jackson said: “We have had large numbers of officers, staff and specialists working diligently on this investigation over the last three weeks. It has been very much a large, collective effort, with the victim and family at the heart of it from the outset.
“We have specially trained officers deployed to support the family as they come to terms with this tragic news. They are aware of this morning’s further discovery and will continue to be kept up to date with how we are progressing.
“Despite the charges brought today, our work is far from over.
“The scenes we already have established in Bury and Salford will remain in place for much of this week whilst our searches and enquiries continue. Local officers will continue to patrol the impacted areas to provide reassurance.
“We will continue following every line of enquiry to recover and reunite the victim with his family, bringing a dignified end to this terrible scenario.
“I’d like to thank the communities of Salford and beyond for their cooperation throughout this investigation. I know this incident has come as a shock, and the support we’ve had from those in the area is very much appreciated.”
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