Keir Starmer threatens MPs opposing NATO
This week Sir Keir Starmer signalled he could expel left-wing Labour MPs from the party if they are openly critical of NATO. He said that under his leadership the party will show ‘unshakeable support’ for the alliance, and he will continue to call out any ‘false equivalence between Russian aggression in Ukraine and the acts of NATO’. Asked directly if he would expel MPs who are anti-NATO, Sir Keir said, ’Yes, these are principles that are absolutely at the root of the Labour Party. I'm determined that our party will face the electorate and not the sort of internal machinations and arguments that we have had too much of in the past.’ In February he told eleven Labour MPs to withdraw their signatures from a ‘Stop the War’ letter which criticised NATO.
Northern Ireland: clinic cannot afford to open five days a week
A County Antrim GP practice will only be able to open a branch clinic two half days a week because of a Department of Health (DoH) funding cut. The practice can no longer cover the costs of a full-time service which opened in 2017 to take 1,400 new patients. DoH said additional payments between 2017 and 2021 were temporary, ‘to support the practice for a period of three years to enable them to manage the registration and complete an initial clinical review of these additional patients.’ Dr John McSparran, from the practice, disagrees vehemently. ‘We were never under the impression it was for three years, otherwise we would never have entered the agreement in the first place. We've tried to address this, continuing the service at our own cost. But financially the practice is unviable and can no longer cover the costs of a full-time service.’
MP resigns after porn madness
Neil Parish, the MP for Tiverton and Honiton, has resigned after admitting he watched pornography twice in the House of Commons. He said it had been a ‘moment of madness: I was not proud of what I was doing’. The first time was accidental after he looked at a tractor website, but the second time was deliberate. Mr Parish appeared emotional as he announced he was standing down after seeing the furore and damage it was causing his family and his constituency. This will trigger a by-election in what is a safe Tory seat. But this story - and others - have damaged Parliament's reputation, and the Conservative Party. Both will be hoping that Mr Parish's resignation will help them start to move on.
Russia trying to encircle Ukraine's east
Russia has removed forces from areas near Kyiv and is focusing on eastern Ukraine. The battle for Ukraine's old industrial heartland known as Donbas is likely to decide the fate of the Russian invasion. Pray for Ukraine and its allies to prevent Russia annexing Donbas and adjacent areas and claiming the territory as Putin did with Crimea in 2014. Russia’s attacks on the south have triggered a humanitarian catastrophe at the siege of Mariupol. Pray for Ukraine’s ‘best-trained forces’, already there due to the eight-year war with Russian separatists, to hold on to the land. Much of Donetsk and key areas of Luhansk are still in Ukrainian hands The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) says if Ukraine holds on to Slovyansk, Russia's campaign to seize both regions ‘will likely fail’. We can ask God to enable this scenario.
