Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has been declared the president-elect, but incumbent president Donald Trump is refusing to concede defeat, alleging “widespread voter fraud” fuelled by Democrats in a conspiracy to “steal” the election is behind the result of the presidential race. Instead, he’s filing lawsuits left and right, pressuring officials to back his baseless claims and using the power of government to block the transition of power from commencing.
What many political scientists and media observers deem to be a perilous attempt to overrule the will of the people and undermine democracy, the Trump administration sees otherwise: as a noble and justified fight for the rights of all American citizens to a free and fair democratic election process.
White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnamy declared in a press conference Monday, while aligning the Trump administration’s fight against the results of the 2020 US Elections with championing the rights of all Americans “who want to have faith and confidence” in the electoral process, “This election is not over – far from it.”
In the immediate aftermath of election day, as Biden began steadily gaining significant ground on Trump in key states and moving ever closer to the requisite 270 electoral college votes needed to win the election, the White House responded with an all-caps statement that claimed “illegal votes” were being counted to steal the election from the Trump administration.
“IF YOU COUNT THE LEGAL VOTES, I EASILY WIN THE ELECTION! IF YOU COUNT THE ILLEGAL AND LATE VOTES, THEY CAN STEAL THE ELECTION FROM US!” said the White House statement.
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Although there’s scant evidence of any vote tampering, the Trump administration has issued a flurry of litigation Michigan, Wisconsin. Pennsylvania, Georgia, Arizona and Nevada to back up the unsubstantiated allegations.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) issued his support of Trump’s legal challenges in the wake of his defeat to president-elect Joe Biden, declaring Monday that Trump is “100 percent within his right” to pursue recounts and litigation.
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US attorney general William Barr has authorised federal prosecutors to probe the “substantial allegations” of voting irregularities in the presidential election across the U.S. to determine one way or another if they do in fact exist, before the 2020 presidential election is officially certified.
Biden, when pressed for his thoughts on the Trump administrations stalling tactics on Monday, said “”I just think it’s an embarrassment, quite frankly.” Adding tactfully that “I think it will not help the President’s legacy.”
According to SBR, president-elect Biden, who was the favourite to win the 2020 US Elections according to the odds and numerous respected polls, is on course to acquiring 306 electoral college votes and over 5 million votes more than Trump in the popular vote. The latter of which is being projected at 80 million votes approximately – by far the most votes of any presidential hopeful in American political history.
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However, Trump too is on course to amassing a historic number of votes – the second-most votes in American political history at above 72 million by recent count. By these numbers, Trump has not only already surpassed the number of votes that won him the 2016 election, but he’s also surpassed the number of votes that won Hillary Clinton the popular vote count in that election.
Therefore, while Biden’s victory may have been correctly predicted, the sheer record number of votes that both candidates received in the 2020 US elections is the big reveal – one that nobody predicted. In fact, quite the opposite was expected: from a humiliating defeat that would serve as a repudiation of Trump and his brand of politics to an unambiguous referendum on the Trump administration for its perceived failings, in particular this year in the wake of the global coronavirus pandemic.
If presidential elections are revealing occasions that convey the will of the people, then the 2020 US Elections revealed a nation that is, at the very least, of two minds. So, while America-wide consensus has Biden the winner of the 2020 US Elections – his margin of victory is that great, meaning any challenge by Trump or vote recount would be a moot point – his victory earns him a deeply divided country that will put his campaign slogan “to heal the soul of America” well and truly to the test.
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Hundreds of staff at four Greater Manchester hospitals to strike AGAIN next week
Emily Sergeant
Another round of strikes has been called at a handful of major Greater Manchester hospitals.
Amid ongoing disputes following the first set of strikes at the end of last month, it has now been announced that more than 350 Northern Care Alliance Foundation Trust (NCA) employees – including nurses, clinical support workers and housekeepers – who are members of the union UNISON will once again walk out for three days next week.
According to the union, the dispute centres on the NCA’s use of an outside agency called NHS Professionals (NHSP) to manage overtime.
When covering staff shortages, workers are entitled to time-and-a-half pay – however in some cases, staff earn less than they would on a normal shift, and some have even been missing out on more than £80 per shift, the union added.
Operating theatre staff were previously on picket lines in June, and although an option to resolve the row was initially tabled by NCA bosses, this has now fallen through.
Hundreds of staff at four of Greater Manchester’s hospitals are set to strike next week / Credit: Stephen Andrews (via Unsplash)
This means that staff at Salford Royal Hospital, Royal Oldham Hospital, Rochdale Infirmary, and Fairfield Hospital in Bury are walking out next week on Monday 14, Tuesday 15, and Thursday 17 September.
The union’s North West regional organiser, Kevin Dolan, said the trust had given ‘no indication’ that it’s willing to re-enter negotiations, adding that operating theatre services were ‘chronically under-staffed’ and staff were choosing to work extra shifts to cover shortages.
Ahead of the August strikes, the trust declared a critical incident to help it secure extra support and keep urgent surgery running, while also announcing that some procedures would have to be postponed.
Understandably, some disruption is expected at each of the hospitals on strike days.
But Gertie Nic Philib, who is the chief people and strategy officer at the Northern Care Alliance, said that the trust will do ‘everything we can to minimise the impact on patients’ and ‘maintain high standards of care and quality at all times.’
“We also have contingency plans in place for emergency situations,” they concluded.
Featured Image – Pxhere
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Stockport man jailed for life after kidnapping and sexually assaulting teenage girl
Emily Sergeant
A Stockport man has been sentenced to life in prison after kidnapping and sexually assaulting a teenage girl on her way home from the library.
Paul Sharpe has been sentenced to life imprisonment with an eight-year minimum term in prison after being convicted of a number of offences when subjected a teenage girl to what police called a ‘terrifying ordeal’ that lasted several hours back in May 2026.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) confirmed that the victim had been studying at Sale Library before beginning her journey home with friends at around 5:50pm and contacting her parents at 6:10pm to let them know she was on her way.
Twenty minutes later, she spoke to her boyfriend on the phone and said she was approximately five minutes away from home, but that her phone battery was about to die.
This was the last contact received from the victim that evening.
While walking along Bradgate Road in Altrincham, the victim noticed a grey Ford parked nearby and a man wearing a high-visibility jacket pressing doorbells in the area.
As she walked past, Sharpe approached her from behind, placed her in a headlock and threatened to stab her if she did not get into his vehicle.
Concerned that their daughter had not returned home, the victim’s family contacted police at 9:22pm to report her missing, and officers immediately launched an investigation to locate her.
Over the next several hours, the victim was subjected to and placed in a number of terrifying situations.
Sharpe drove the victim to several locations across Greater Manchester and Cheshire, before police located and arrested him at around 3:40am on 19 May 2026.
Following his arrested, 56-year-old Sharpe was convicted of kidnap, committing an offence with intent to commit a sexual offence, sexual assault, engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child, threats with a bladed article, and administering a noxious substance with intent to injure, annoy or aggrieve.
“This was a terrifying ordeal for a young girl who was simply making her way home,” explained Detective Inspector Karl Perry, from GMP’s Criminal Investigation Department.
“Sharpe targeted a vulnerable victim, subjected her to hours of fear and intimidation, and went on to sexually assault her.
“The victim has shown immense courage throughout the investigation and court proceedings. Through her bravery and actions, she no doubt made it harder for Sharpe to carry out whatever acts he had planned.”
The Manc -
20th November 2020 
