A Labour MP from Oldham has criticised the ‘Northern Powerhouse’ name after thousands of northerners are still suffering power outages.
It’s now been a week since Storm Arwen hit the UK and left thousands of homes in the north of England and widespread parts of Scotland without any electricity during one of the coldest months of the year, and this is what prompted Jim McMahon – Labour MP for Oldham West & Royton, and Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs – to take to Twitter to address the situation.
The apparent lack of swift action taken by the government resolve the ongoing issues following the storm has drawn criticism online, particularly in relation to the ‘North / South divide’.
Jim McMahon was a prominent voice in the critiquing, as he took to social media yesterday to point out the irony in the ‘Northern Powerhouse’ name, when thousands of residents across several northern regions are still suffering power outages.
“Northern Powerhouse? Thousands still haven’t got power,” he said in his now-viral tweet.
“It’s now nearly a full week since Storm Arwen hit leaving many vulnerable and isolated waiting in desperate conditions.
“The government have not treated this as the emergency it is.”
Northern Powerhouse? Thousands still haven’t got power!
It’s now nearly a full week since Storm Arwen hit leaving many vulnerable and isolated waiting in desperate conditions.
While The Northern Powerhouse may not directly relate to the matter at hand, it was the fitting, yet contradictory, name of the government’s plan that cleverly-aided Mr McMahon’s argument.
Mr McMahon’s tweet has received both support and criticism online.
One Twitter user responded: “I don’t live up north, I have no connection with the north and I know absolutely nobody up north but I know if this situation was happening across Hampshire, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire a national emergency would have been called.
“I don’t know much but I know that.”
On the contrary, another urged Mr McMahon to: “Do something constructive by calling for the nationalisation of our utilities.”
In the government’s own words, the Northern Powerhouse is the “vision for a super-connected, globally-competitive northern economy with a flourishing private sector, a highly-skilled population, and world-renowned civic and business leadership”, and is a proposal based on the benefits of agglomeration and aims to reposition the British economy away from London and the South East.
The “proposal to boost economic growth in the North of England” was launched by the 2010–15 coalition government, and then in 2015-2016 by the Conservative government.
The “Core Cities” are Manchester, Hull, Liverpool, Leeds, Sheffield, and Newcastle.
It’s now been a week since Storm Arwen hit the UK and left thousands of homes in the north of England without electricity / Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Storm Arwen arrived last Friday.
The storm – which prompted the Met Office to issue what they described as a “rare red weather warning” – brought with it gale force winds and heavy rain, which eventually turned into snow blizzards that left people stranded in their homes and, in some rural areas of the country, snowed-in completely.
In England, a major incident was declared in County Durham in the North East, with residents and some households moved into temporary accommodation as a result.
And in Scotland, it was also confirmed yesterday that about 120 military personnel have been drafted in to help those still suffering power outages, with their focus being on conducting welfare in the communities still badly affected.
More snow is currently forecast for across the UK next week, according to the Met Office.
Same-sex penguin couple to raise rare baby chick together at Chester Zoo
Emily Sergeant
10 rare baby penguin chicks have hatched at Chester Zoo, and one of them has some rather unique parents.
The rare new arrivals are highly-threatened Humboldt penguins, which is one of the most at-risk out of the world’s 17 species of penguin, and began hatching from their eggs throughout April, but since then, they have spent their first few weeks of life tucked away in their nest burrows.
Humboldt penguins – which are ound on the rocky coastal shores of Peru and Chile – are listed as vulnerable to extinction by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), as they face a number of threats in the wild, including climate change, overfishing, and rising ocean temperatures.
Commonly with penguins, both mum and dad share feeding and parenting duties.
Keepers at Chester Zoo support the parents by providing plenty of extra fish, which the adult penguins swallow, blend into a protein-rich soup, and then regurgitate to feed the chicks.
But in what is a heartwarming development, one of the chicks is being raised by a same-sex penguin couple, Scampi and Flounder, as the devoted duo were seen to step in to help raise one of two eggs laid by another penguin pair, Wotsit and Peach.
The zoo’s bird experts carefully shared the eggs between the two nests to help give both chicks the best possible start and help improve chances of successful fledging, and now keepers say the chicks are just ‘days away’ from taking the plunge into their very first swimming lessons at the zoo’s Penguin Island habitat.
10 rare Humboldt penguins have hatched at Chester Zoo / Credit: Chester Zoo
As part of a long-standing zoo tradition, conservationists pick a different naming theme for the chicks each year, and this year’s cohort have been named after stars and celestial wonders – with some of the chicks being Ursa, Alcyone, Orion, Dorado, and Cassiopeia.
“10 chicks hatching in one season marks a bumper year for the penguins here,” commented Zoe Sweetman, who is the Team Manager of Penguins at Chester Zoo.
“It’s fantastic news for the species and a brilliant success for the international conservation breeding programme. The fluffy new arrivals are all being looked after brilliantly by their parents, having nearly quadrupled in size since they first emerged.
“They’re now days away from a really exciting milestone – their very first swimming lessons, which is always a thrill to witness as they dive into the pool for the very first time.”
Featured Image – Chester Zoo
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Bob Vylan dropped from Manchester music festival following Glastonbury controversy
Danny Jones
English punk rap duo Bob Vylan have been dropped from an upcoming music festival in Manchester following the recent controversy surrounding their set at Glastonbury 2025.
The media storm surrounding their much-talked-about and heavily televised Glasto appearance has seen them reportedly dropped by their agency and their US Visas cancelled, along with multiple concerts – one of those being right here in Greater Manchester.
Bob Vylan were scheduled to play RADAR Fest at Victoria Warehouse in Stretford this weekend, but now the organisers have informed gig-goers that the artists will not be performing in their planned slot on Saturday.
The alternative music event did provide any additional details, posting nothing but this image:
For anyone unaware, Vylan were heavily criticised for the pro-Palestine chants, which Glastonbury itself has deemed as having “crossed a line”, labelling the chants against the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) as antisemitic.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has also commented on the situation.
In addition to RADAR, Vylan were also due to appear at Kave Fest in France the following Sunday, 6 July, but the music event has also decided not to host them.
The BBC also opted not to broadcast Northern Irish band Kneecap as part of their coverage this year, as the Belfast rap trio have also been outspoken on the issue, among many other musicians of late.
Responding to the decision on social media not long after the news broke, the act simply shared the post on their Instagram story along with the caption: “Silence is not an option. We will be fine, the people of Palestine are hurting. Manchester, we will be back.”
Emily Sergeant -
3rd December 2021 
