by Chris Oakes-Monger Journalists seem to be ignoring the fact that the government has now absolutely parted company with the science behind Covid. For the scientists on the government payroll, public disagreement with government policy would of course mean resignation, but it was clear from the recent briefing that...
Opinion Pieces
Letter: The Art House – we’re keeping masks on
by The Art House crew. Covid update from The Art House, 178 Above Bar St, Southampton in response to indications that all social distancing and masking will be lifted on 19 July. We will be keeping our masks on, asking customers to wear face coverings when not at tables...
Opinion: Freeports: the mythology of the buccaneer
by Jonathan Mitchell. Even before he became Prime Minister, Boris Johnson had been laying the ideological groundwork for his premiership for years and one of these policies was Freeports being reintroduced in Britain. This idea was announced properly in the 2021 Budget by chancellor Rishi Sunak. The plan is...
Reader’s letter: The NHS is being applauded but starved or resources
by Maggie Fricker. Saturday 3rd of July will see local protests right across the country to demand better for our NHS. Tens of thousands of health campaigners have come together to make our voices heard from Keep Our NHS Public, NHS Workers Say No to Public Sector pay inequality,...
Opinion: pandemic rent debt must be cancelled and renters protected
by Jonathan Mitchell. Throughout this pandemic private renters have received a half-arsed olive branch from the government. They may have been given protection from Section 21 evictions (also known as ‘no fault evictions’) during it, but no write off of pandemic debt. Mortgage holidays were granted for all mortgage...
Reader’s letter: the cruise ship industry needs to clean up its act
by Manthan Pathak. To mark the docking of the cruise ship Iona into Southampton, a group called Ocean Rebellion representing concerned local residents projected images onto the Carnival offices to highlight the dangers of cruise ship activity. We wish to put pressure on the cruise industry to clean up...
Opinion: Kill the Bill – joining Southampton’s protest against the controversial bill
by Charlie Hislop. Kill the Bill! Kill the Bill! That was the cry when 400 or so people assembled in Southampton’s Guildhall Square on Good Friday to protest the Government’s Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill. In front of a crowd of mainly young people, a succession of speakers highlighted the wide-ranging measures in...
Opinion: Women don’t feel safe
by Emma Louise Harris. Last week was vile for women. Bookended by what should be two celebratory days; International Women’s day on Monday and Mother’s Day on Sunday, yet filled with horror. On Monday, Labour MP Jess Phillips read out a list of the 118 names of women who...
Experience: life as a single parent during covid
by Sarah Groszewski I became a single mother in August 2019, when I moved nearly 100 miles away from the life I’d built in London over the past 12 years, to start again in Southampton, when my marriage ended. The main thing that struck me was how much easier...
Opinion: New President, new hope
by Satvir Kaur. In a time of lockdown and January blues, Joe Biden’s inauguration gives us all something to look forward to and be optimistic. Four years ago today, I joined an anti-Trump rally in Southampton. I remember being surprised but comforted by how many had come. While coming...