I wrote a week ago about the £3.5m loan that Circle Health had asked for, and obtained, from the government in order to fund a capital investment programme at Hinchingbrooke hospital, the first NHS hospital to be taken over by a private company.

Circle, some of whose major shareholders are substantial contributors to Tory party funds, needed additional funding to carry out their planned investment – and unlike an NHS hospital that couldn’t meet its obligations, it received the requested cash rather than being placed into administration. 

That tells its own story. But it turns out that the £3.5m was not the first funding that Circle has requested and received from the government.

In October last year, the health company received an advance of £4 million from the NHS because of ‘cash flow issues’ – on top of a £46m cash injection it asked shareholders to stump up because of its…

Those of us who are lucky enough not to live in London have yet to see the amazing advertising vans that have been conveying instructions to Conservative-leaning voters, to treat with hatred, suspicion and contempt anybody who is not a white, Anglo-Saxon protestant.

It seems clear that these vehicles are intended to promote racism and heighten racial tension, setting British citizens against each other – because the aim is to encourage the suspicion that another person may be an illegal immigrant – in the same way Coalition policy on social security set citizens against each other by pretending it was commonplace for individuals to receive more in benefits than in paid work.

According to the Public Order Act 1986, it is an offence for a person to publish threatening, abusive or insulting material if this is intended to stir up hatred against any group in the UK…

“The process of national revival of the Jewish people is irreversible and has its internal logic. We shall have no peace as long as the whole territory of the Country of Israel will not return under Jewish control. This might sound too hard, but such is the logic of history. The war on the Holy Land has been already fought for four thousand years and the end cannot be seen. A stable peace will come only then, when Israel will return to itself all its historical lands, and will thus control both the Suez and the Ormudz channel. The state will find at last its geostrategic completeness. We must remember that Iraqi oil fields too are located on the Jewish land. This may seem utopia to many now – but an even greater utopia seemed a…

In June this year, Osborne announced he was launching a ‘Bad Bank’ review for the partly state owned Royal Bank of Scotland.  Like Northern Rock before it, the Chancellor intends to sell off the valuable assets of the Bank to the private sector, while the toxic assets are retained by the public sector. And he’s paying the Rothschilds to draw up the plans. Yes, it is exactly as bad a deal as it sounds.

The RBS Story

In a nutshell: relatively small, parochial safe bank in Scotland decides to become a bigger player by taking more risk – and it all goes badly wrong.

Dating back to the 18^th Century, the bank started with £111,347 and focussed on printing bank notes.  Over time it developed a personal and corporate banking business, and grew south of the border through the 19^th century.  During the 20th century post…

Dave Bishop, a regular writer for Manchester Climate Monthly, explores the damage being done to Manchester’s biodiversity – and what we can do about it. Dave will be launching his report on the state of Manchester’s biodiversity on Tuesday 16th July, at 12.45pm at the Friends Meeting House, as part of our “Beyond the Carbon Budget” event.  Book your ticket here…

The Convention on Biological Diversity was established in 1992. Following a first meeting in Rio de Janeiro in 1994, the UK produced its first national biodiversity action plan. In 2002 world leaders agreed in Johannesburg on the urgent need to reduce the rate of loss of biodiversity by 2010, and in 2007 they recognised the need to take action to mitigate the impacts of climate change following the 2005 Millennium Ecosystem Assessment.

Globally, the 2010 target was missed, but it prompted at least some conservation action, including here…

by Deodatus Balile in Dar es Salaam / Sabahi

The Tanzanian government is deploying the People’s Defence Force to Mtwara after mass protests staged by residents opposed to the construction of a gas pipeline from Mtwara to Dar es Salaam turned violent.

Minister of Home Affairs Emmanuel Nchimbi announced the decision to parliament on Thursday (May 23rd). He said the government decided to maintain “law and order” in Mtwara, and should not be blamed for steps taken against aggressors.

Some people in Mtwara were spreading brochures calling on residents to protest with violence against the Ministry of Energy and Minerals budget, which was tabled in parliament Wednesday, if the minister responsible did not promise to stop the gas pipe construction, which has been some residents’ long standing demand, Nchimbi told lawmakers.

Following the Trussell Trust’s announcement last week that there has been a 170% rise in the number of people using foodbanks between 2012-13, thefoodbankers look at the data surrounding foodbanks and food poverty in the UK.

Number of Foodbank users

In 2005-6, 2,814 people visited foodbanks across the UK.

In seven years, this figure has risen to a staggering 350,000 people who have been forced to use a foodbank for vital food supplies.

Of course, it is important to note that since the Trussell Trust  began, the number of foodbanks across the UK has steadily risen year upon year. The Trussell Trust currently has launched 345 foodbanks.

The charity estimates that three new foodbanks are currently opening every week, and that there would need to be 750-1,000 foodbanks to provide for people in crisis across the UK.

According to research published by Kelloggs, 4.7 million Brits could…