Audiences have praised Gary Neville this morning after he ripped into the government and a fellow guest on ITV’s Good Morning Britain over the removal of the £20 a week Universal Credit uplift
The removal of the uplift, which is worth £1,040 a year to claimants, comes into force today and is expected to affect around 6 million people across the country – many of whom use the benefit to support them as well as working in low-paid jobs.
First introduced by the government to help struggling families at the start of the pandemic at a cost of around £6bn a year, on GMB this morning the footballer turned pundit called the reduction “brutal.”
He also condemned the “divisive and dangerous” rhetoric surrounding the topic, hitting out at fellow guest Edwina Currie after she claimed that the uplift “does not make sense” as there are more job vacancies now.
Susanna also argued with the former politician, stating that: “‘Not everybody on Universal Credit doesn’t have a job.
“Forty percent of those already on Universal Credit are in work.”
Edwina replied: “Yes, but the majority of people on Universal Credit don’t have a job.”
She added: “What we have to realise is we’ve got something like a million vacancies being advertised in this country.
“It doesn’t make any kind of sense to pay people to stay at home.”
Pitching in, Neville retorted: “Well, let me just translate what Edwina has just said,”
“‘I’m ok here, we’re ok here’, which is the first thing a Conservative person does.
“They look after themselves.
“The language is always divisive, it’s not helpful. It’s really dangerous to remove Universal Credit payments at this moment in time, it’s brutal.”
He continued: “I trust the population of this country, I work on the theory that people aren’t sitting there lazy, they really want a good job.
“They want to get good pay, they want their mental health to be sorted.
“They’re not sitting there thinking, ‘I’m going to take the chancellors money and live off their money for the next 10-15 years.”
A number of charities, think tanks and unions having previously warned against the Universal Credit uplift removal, explaining that it will hit some of the poorest families the hardest at a time when energy bills are set to soar.
Many have also argued that it could hit the UK’s coronavirus recovery, as it will mean millions losing disposable income for spending on essentials.
All of this means that the government is still coming under increasing pressure this week to u-turn on its decision to abandon the benefit uplift, as it did with the free school meals debate in the summer.
Feature image – ITV
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‘Dazzling’ Victorian silver sculpture goes on public display in Greater Manchester after fears it was lost
Emily Sergeant
A long-lost masterpiece of Victorian silverwork has been saved and is now on display to the public in Greater Manchester.
Anyone taking a trip over to the National Trust’s historic Dunham Massey property, on the border of Greater Manchester into Cheshire, this summer will get to see the ‘dazzling’ sculpture called Stags in Bradgate Park – which was commissioned by a former owner in a defiant gesture to the society that shunned him.
The dramatic sculpture of two rutting Red Deer stags, commissioned in 1855 by George Harry Grey, 7th Earl of Stamford, was said to be an ‘act of love and rebellion’.
It also serves as a symbol of ‘locking horns’ with the society that ostracised him over his marriage to a woman considered ‘beneath him’.
“This isn’t just silver – it’s a story,” says James Rothwell, who is the National Trust‘s curator for decorative arts.
“A story of a man who fell in love with a woman that society deemed unworthy. When the Earl married Catherine Cox, whose colourful past was said to have included performing in a circus, Victorian high society was scandalised. Even Queen Victoria shunned the couple at the opera and local gentry at the horse races in Cheshire turned their backs on them.”
Modelled by Alfred Brown and crafted by royal goldsmiths Hunt & Roskell, Stags in Bradgate Park is a meticulously-detailed depiction of nature, and was considered a ‘sensation’ in its day.
Showing the rutting deer positioned on a rocky outcrop with gnarled hollow oaks, it graced the pages of the Illustrated London News, was exhibited at the London International Exhibition of 1862, and at the Paris Exposition Universelle of 1867 – both of which were events that drew millions of visitors.
A ‘dazzling’ Victorian silver sculpture has gone on public display in Greater Manchester / Credit: Joe Wainwright | James Dobson (via Supplied)
The silver centrepiece was the celebrity art of its time, paraded through streets and admired by the public like no other.
Gradually over the years, some of the Earl of Stamford’s silver collection has been re-acquired for Dunham Massey, and this particular world-renowned sculpture, thought to be lost for decades and feared to have been melted down, has miraculously survived with its ‘dramatic’ central component being all that is left.
“The sculpture is not only a technical marvel, with its lifelike depiction of Bradgate Park’s rugged landscape and wildlife, but also a dramatic human story key to the history of Dunham Massey,” added Emma Campagnaro, who is the Property Curator at Dunham Massey.
“It speaks of nature, of craftsmanship, and of a couple who chose each other over status and what others thought of them.”
The sculpture has now gone on display at Dunham Massey from Thursday 26 June.
Featured Image – James Dobson (via Supplied)
News
Lewis Capaldi announces MASSIVE comeback gig in Manchester this year
Thomas Melia
Everyone’s favourite Scottish ballad-maker, Lewis Capaldi, is heading out on tour across the UK, including a massive Manchester date.
Scottish singer-songwriter Lewis Capaldi is ready to tug at our heartstrings again right in front of our eyes as he announces a new UK arena tour.
This huge announcement comes right after his surprise set at the UK’s biggest music event of the year, Glastonbury, where he made a heroic return to the Pyramid Stage just two years after being forced to pull out.
Capaldi is known for writing some of the most notable and emotive hits of the late 2010s and early 2020s, including a long list of anthems such as ‘Someone You Loved’, ‘Bruises’ and ‘Before You Go’.
His monster of a hit ‘Someone You Loved’ has surpassed 3.9 billion views and is the UK’s most-streamed song of all time, so it is safe to say that his presence has been well and truly missed.
To many fans’ delight, the singer has stepped back into the spotlight and is ready to sing his heart out live at a variety of arenas across the UK, including Co-op Live right here in Manchester.
Now, in a post on his official Instagram account announcing this upcoming UK and Ireland arena tour, it’s good to see the Scottish powerhouse hasn’t lost his wit and charm as he jokes, “About time I got back to work.”
These shows are set to be in high demand as the singer has also revealed these upcoming dates, “Will be my only shows in the UK, Ireland or Europe this year! Would love to see ya there.”
On the back of his glorious Glasto return, Capaldi has dropped a huge heart-wrencher titled ‘Survive’ which offers more insight into the struggles and challenges the singer has been facing.
There is no confirmation of whether this new single marks the launch of a bigger project or not, but we can’t wait to scream his hits at the top of our lungs, regardless of when he pays Manchester a visit later this year.
Georgina Pellant -
6th October 2021 
