Daily Mirror

[Blakesley]

“The Daily Mirror is read by people who think they run the country”

The tabloid of the working-class left, the Mirror has endorsed Labour at every general election since the second world war. It backed Remain in the Brexit referendum.

Circulation: c. 720,000 per month

[Andy]

'Theresa May was s**t': Distraught Grenfell Tower resident tells Jeremy Corbyn the PM 'didn't speak to any of us'

A distraught resident at Grenfell Tower has hit out at the Prime Minister for not speaking to survivors and residents during a private visit to the fire-ravaged site today.

The woman - whose name is not known - told Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn that Theresa May was "s**t" after she broke through a police cordon to ask for his help. The resident said action needed to be taken to ensure there was no repeat of the horrific blaze, which has left at least 17 people dead with the death toll expected to rise. She told Mr Corbyn: "Theresa May was here but she didn't speak to any of us. She was s**t." Mr Corbyn said he would see what he could do.

The Labour leader spoke to residents for around 40 minutes to hear their concerns about safety and was seen hugging a woman who told him about a missing 12-year-old girl who was on the 20th floor of the tower. Mr Corbyn told reporters after the visit: "Some very hard questions have got to be asked and some very hard questions must be answered. The fire is not supposed to spread from one flat to another, it's supposed to be contained. It wasn't - it spread and it spread upwards and it spread outside as well through the cladding. Questions on the sprinkler system, questions on the fire breaks, questions on why the cladding apparently burnt, questions on building control regulations, questions on the safety. Hundreds of thousands of people in our country live in tower blocks, very high-rise tower blocks. Every single person who lives in a high-rise apartment today is going to be thinking, 'How safe am I?'" His visit came after the Prime Minister was pictured this morning talking to firefighters at the scene of the blaze in west London, which has left at least 17 people dead.

The Prime Minister spoke to emergency services staff at the foot of the tower but no survivors, media or members of the public were present. Later, she ordered a full public inquiry into the tragedy, echoing calls from Mr Corbyn and London Mayor Sadiq Khan. Mrs May said: "We need to know what happened, we need to know an explanation. We owe that to the families, to the people who have lost loved ones and the homes in which they lived. That is why I am ordering a full public inquiry so that we can get to the answers, we can find out exactly what happened," she said.

Firefighters are searching for bodies in the tower after the blaze, which has left at least 17 people confirmed dead.Questions grew this morning over the cause of the fire, and whether a recent refurbishment contributed to it spreading so quickly through the building. Investigations are at their earliest stages, but experts have pointed the finger at the external cladding added to the building in 2016.

London-based developer Rydon completed the refurbishment of the block last year, and insist their work “met all required building control, fire regulation and health and safety standards.” The firm’s director, Andrew Goldman told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: “We don’t know there is any direct link between the fire and the cladding.”

The government faced criticism yesterday after it emerged successive housing ministers had resisted calls for sprinklers to be be installed in similar tower blocks across the country. And a review of building regulations following a blaze in a London block of flats in 2009 which killed six people has made little significant progress almost four years after a coroner’s report demanded it.

[Axon]

UNITE BEHIND MCCRIMMON, MIRROR URGES LABOUR; WORKERS RIGHTS REFORMS LONG OVERDUE

Daily Mirror Editoral

 

Finally, it is over. The reign of error is over. We finally got rid of the Tories. After the storm has disappeared, emerging from the clouds is a Prime Minister presenting a modern vision for Britain. The Speech from the Throne delivered by the Prime Minister seeks to put equity back onto the agenda of Government.

 

Should the Government succeed in its stated aims, we will see the most significant expansion of workers' rights and their right to have their voices heard since the recession of those rights under the anti-christ, Maggie Thatcher herself. In reality, this is only reversing the dangerous ideology of previous Governments to put profit before welfare in the workplace. By allowing sectoral collective bargaining, this Government can help boost the personal prosperity of many by giving them a more prominent voice to get a fair deal regarding pay, terms and conditions and working conditions. Invariably, this will help reverse the widening inequality gap between the rich and poor. In addition, setting standard pay across the sector helps close the North/South divide in wages by centralising wage structures across the industry. As a result, we can avoid the scandal of people living below the living wage. Nobody should have to get a cheque at the end of the month and know it won’t be enough to cover the essential bills, food and water.

 

We are calling on the Government to make their first choice with sectoral collective bargaining in the education sector. Teachers deserve a better say in how best to deliver education for our children, their children and their children's children. We want to see teachers bargain for smaller class sizes to maximise the 1-on-1 contact time a child receives. They are on the front line daily, inspiring and empowering the next generation. We need to do the same for them. With the removal of the public sector pay cap, it is about time they got their fair share to provide for their own families whilst they do the thankless task of looking after others.

 

If the Government manages to multi-task, lets see the social care sector given the same attention. Tory privatisation of health care has led to such a wide array of working conditions across the country. Let us create a unified sector with standard working conditions to protect and attract people into a sector which is in desperate need of a boost.

[Axon]

BACKBENCHERS URGE PATIENCE, INSIST PM IS RIGHT MAN FOR JOB
Political Desk ~ Westmister

Whilst some signs of disunity are swirling around the Cabinet, the Mirror canvasses some senior backbench MPs. We sat down for a quick chat with Amanda Stockley and Dorothy Dean and asked their opinions on the how the first month of the first Labour Government for seven years has transpired. We specifically asked their opinion of the Government's agenda, signposted by the Queen's Speech, and also how their leader is doing.

Both were enthusiatic about the vision that the Government presented in the speech from the throne, with Amanda saying: "The plans for growth are taken by our fully costed manifesto commitments. Now is the time to end seven years of austerity under the previous government. The government will create new opportunities for jobs and economic growth, while staying on track on our environmental goals.". In the speech, the Government have committed to strengthening the net-zero goal to 2040 - 10 years before the stated goal of the Conservatives. Other measures include an end to draconic austerity, investment in the NHS and social care services and the creation of a National Education Service.

Meanwhile, Dorothy Dean gave a firm vote of confidence in the Prime Minister; "I think we’ve got a lot to do, and yes there are a lot of areas in which we need to make radical changes so it may appear that we aren’t focussed on the issues at hand, but I can guarantee that the Prime Minister and the party as a whole are laser-focused on improving the country for everyone.".

Ms Stockley has rubbished suggestions from critics that the government plans are “too radical” in their nature :”... I do not believe his [the Prime Minister] ideas are radical: he has been supportive of both the left and central arms of our party, for which I also am a member.”

If the Prime Minister is worried about those behind him, for now, he is safe. The backing of two senior backbench MPs helps the Government case. Such unity is essential with such a forward-thinking agenda as the Government has presented. Years of Tory austerity and outdated thinking have left us in this mess - we must be the ones to fix this. We can't let the Government fall apart. United as one, we can see a more prosperous society and recover the ground the Tories let us lose when they were in power.

We beg, besiege and implore the Prime Minister to use the faith the MPs behind him in the House of Commons have given him. Harness the talents behind you, we cannot afford to waste this chance.