Connect with us
DAPA Banner
DAPA Coin
DAPA
COIN PAYMENT ASSET
PRIVACY · BLOCKDAG · HOMOMORPHIC ENCRYPTION · RUST
ElGamal Encrypted MINE DAPA
🚫 GENESIS SOLD OUT
DAPAPAY COMING

NewsBeat

‘Foid’ Meaning And Why It’s Important To Pull Kids Up If They Use It

Published

on

'Foid' Meaning And Why It's Important To Pull Kids Up If They Use It

A derogatory slur aimed at women has made its way into the vocabulary of teens.

The term ‘foid’, made popular among online incel (involuntary celibate) communities, has entered the mainstream with parents and researchers noting some kids are now saying it.

Incel communities tend to be made up of men who forge a sense of identity around their perceived inability to form sexual or romantic relationships. They might say this is because of how they look or because they’re “low status”. Either way, much of their anger is directed at women.

These views and terms have trickled down into mainstream culture through manosphere influencers – who, as HuffPost’s Brittany Wong puts it, “mask their misogyny in self-help, fitness tips and ‘pickup artist’-style dating advice”.

Advertisement

Girls have shared stories of teen brothers saying it. One parent shared on Reddit that their 16-year-old son “used to talk about girls like a normal teenager but now he says things like ‘foids only respect you if you jestermaxx correctly’ which I had to search and it made me feel sick”.

Another Redditor revealed they’d stopped playing games online and planned to delete their social media accounts because of it. “How in the world do kids know this term? What happened for it to become so popular all of a sudden?” they asked.
Unfortunately, foid is just another harmful word being used to degrade girls and women. In February, a 15-year-old student wrote for The Guardian how boys were using “female” to “degrade us and equate us to animals”.

“We’re also ‘thots’ (whores), ‘community pussy’ and ‘bops’,” she added. The latter is an offensive term used to call girls or women promiscuous or a sl*t.

What is a foid?

Speaking to Joeli Brearley and Elliott Rae on their To Be A Boy podcast this week, Meadhbh Park, the author of Blackpilled, said: “I have come across cases where a young person was outwardly saying how women have too much power, and women are stupid, and calling them ‘foid’ …”

Advertisement

She described foid as being like “female robot” or “android”, adding: “So basically, women have no humanity, they’re actually just stupid robots who go along with what they’re told by the media.”

This tracks with what Wired noted in an article a few months back: “Women were disparaged as ‘female humanoids,’ then ‘femoids,’ and finally just ‘foids’.”

If boys are using this language, calling girls ‘females’ or ‘bops’, or being outwardly mean towards girls in their class, experts say it’s definitely worth exploring with them.

How to talk to kids about it

Advertisement

“As parents, we cannot let conversations about misogyny slide, particularly given how it’s rapidly changing the landscape for children, teens and young people,” family therapist Fiona Yassin told HuffPost UK. “The severity of misogyny is great and we cannot ignore it.”

Instead of responding instinctively with “don’t say that!” or “do you know what you just said?” (which can shut down the conversation rather than open it up), the founder and clinical director of The Wave Clinic suggested saying something like: “Hey, I just heard you use this word. I’d like to understand what you think it means when you’re using it.”

You can then sit down with them and, using short simple sentences, explain what it means.

“This gentle approach works across age groups and invites dialogue. For younger boys, we can explain that it’s an unkind word that doesn’t belong in kind interactions: ‘Foids’ isn’t a fun or silly word – it’s mean, offensive and harmful,” she explained.

Advertisement

“With older children, we can begin to introduce the concept of misogyny and explain how this word diminishes respect for a group of people. Its cultural implications are significant, and it’s important that children understand that. Again, explanations should always be age-appropriate.”

It’s important to bear in mind that because the word’s becoming normalised online, some children – especially younger ones – might be repeating it innocently, without an understanding of what it actually means.

“But others will know exactly what it means, and for them, it may carry intent,” added the therapist. “That intent could be disrespectful, bullying, belittling, or shaming. It could even be part of a broader campaign of unkindness targeting certain groups of children and young people. This makes it all the more important for adults to intervene.”

Offering support if your child was called a ‘foid’

Advertisement

If your child was called a foid by someone else – whether online or at school – parents must intervene here, too. Especially if they feel targeted or attacked.

“Support your child by helping them find firm, respectful responses – something like, ‘I’m not available for that kind of language,’” said Yassin.

“Also, acknowledge how hurtful this can be. Parents need to be aware of the emotional impact this word can have, and ensure their children feel safe and supported.”

Keep an eye out for behaviour changes

Advertisement

For kids who show consistent behaviour based on resentment, jealousy and a feeling of inadequacy, Park urged parents to intervene.

Sometimes kids might become quiet and spend a lot more time online – this can be a red flag. In this case, Park advised checking their computers or phones, regardless of the discomfort that might initially bring.

She spoke of how there are new groups popping up called nihilistic violent extremists, which she described as “like incels on steroids”.

“These groups are also teaching kids how to use VPNs, how to go on torrents, how to scrape other people’s details and hack them and dox them … their ability, unfortunately, to conceal their own stuff from their parents is getting better,” she explained.

Advertisement

“So it’s really difficult and complicated but you do have to, as much as you can, lay down the law if you are concerned about your boy who has suddenly become very quiet online …

“Best situation is he’s having fun on a game, worst situation is he’s in these very popular spaces online.”

If you’re concerned that your child is being radicalised online, speak to their school who can make a referral to Prevent, which works to protect vulnerable people from being exploited by extremists.

Advertisement

Source link

Continue Reading
Click to comment

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply

NewsBeat

‘I had a near-death experience and what I witnessed changed my life forever’

Published

on

Daily Record

The 37-year-old said she saw thousands of souls in heaven and knows she will go back there one day – but first she needs to serve her purpose on earth.

Betty Guadagno was just 12 when she first tried drugs.

Advertisement

She went on to suffer years of addiction and poverty before an overdose led her to experience her parent’s excruciating joint suicide from their perspective and when she came back, her whole life changed.

She would flit between concoctions of ketamine, mushrooms, heroin, methamphetamine and LSD for decades after growing up in a “chaotic” home.

Now 37, Betty told Mayim Bialik’s Breakdown podcast: “I grew up in a really traumatising environment. It was really chaotic – it was full of physical abuse, emotional abuse, poverty, addiction.”

“And so my whole life I was just taught that if anything bad happens to you, don’t talk about it, just medicate it and sedate it.”

Advertisement

Betty said she watched everyone else in her Las Vegas family do that. Both of her parents were addicted to drugs and lived in poverty.

At the height of the OxyContin crisis in America, her parents would “doctor shop”, meaning they saw several medical professionals without the other’s knowledge. The couple would be prescribed 1,000 pills a month, they would take half and sell the rest.

Betty said: “Drugs came into my life around 12 years old – maybe by the time I was 15 I knew I was in love with substances.

“My first drug experience was methamphetamine. I was a really good student, I was a good kid, I was trying to escape the cycle of my family.

Advertisement

“I was in all of these advanced placement classes and one of these girls in my classes came over to me and she was like ‘Do you want to stay up all night and study’. This is when she tried methamphetamines for the first time.

She said she was “in love” with substances by the time she was 18, and that drugs has “swept me away.” Her first period in rehab was at 18.

When she was at rock bottom she resorted to sex work. Betty said she was stealing, lying, cheating – and that she was a staunch atheist.

Advertisement

Betty said she “saw men in this very distorted way – I was sort of an anti-feminist and had a lot of empathy for men.

“For me sex work was not an empowering thing – it was rock bottom.”

At one point was using five bags of heroin a day – and she would detox just so that she could feel the high again. She would “manipulate women and get them strung out on drugs.”

Then, at 24, she had managed to get herself clean for a week, she had just got married – and then she found her parents dead.

Advertisement

She had been with her sister when they couldn’t get hold of her mother and father. They pulled up to their house to hear the smoke alarms sounding. Horrifically, both of her parents had overdosed, and two candles had set the house on fire as they died.

Betty’s sister screamed at full volume – but Betty could not comprehend what had happened.

She said: “After my parents died there were two voices – one said ‘you have to stop using, drugs have just killed your parents. The other said: ‘you have to keep using – this is all you have left of your parents – this is their legacy.’ “

She said her mother had tried to end her own life several times but she “never in a million years conceptualised that my father could do that – never mind that they could do it together.”

Advertisement

Betty could not deal with looking after her sister and she “abandoned” her. She said: “I had dozens of jobs, marriages, divorces.” Her manifesto was “just use, destroy, over and over again.”

One day, Betty decided to take more drugs than usual once she had once again, completely changed her life and moved to New York. By this time she had been married three times.

She was in the laundromat, and started to feel a more unusual high than she usually would. She began to run home – but saw herself trapped at every corner of the street – she said she felt like she was “stuck in the Matrix.”

Then her near-death experience started. She said: “My body collapsed and I could see myself outside of myself – the first part of my experience was a life review.”

Advertisement

The experience had no chronological order because it felt like a “download.” She said her “soul came online for the first time.”

Then, horrifically, she started to see her parents’ joint suicide from their perspective.

She said: “It felt like the most agonising betrayal of life. It felt like every cell in my body was being shredded apart.”

“I saw things from their suicide that I didn’t know happened. I watched them write their suicide notes. I watched them embrace each other as their bodies started dying.”

Advertisement

She thought as she saw her parents dead, she must also be dead.

Started to hear dad’s voice chanting to her, “You are worthy of all the love in the universe.”

Betty said: “I didn’t believe that, but I followed that voice, and that’s how I ended up in the light of my near-death experience.’

She said she was on board a spaceship with thousands of other souls. She said she discovered she was “part of a tribe.” Betty said: “I have a soul family that I came here with.”

Advertisement

“Because I was a meth-head prostitute, they couldn’t show me philosophy – so they showed me things I could understand, like clips of films. So they showed me The Matrix, Inception and Dreams May Come.”

They told her these were the blueprints for the “video game we are all living inside.”

Betty said: “It felt like three seconds of time – not even a millisecond of time – but it was actually around 8 hours. But it felt like everything happened ‘instantly’.”

She said she saw the faces of the women she manipulated and “prostituted”, saying, “I was really not a good person – and here I am facing the consequences, seeing these women’s faces and their pain.”

Advertisement

Betty added: “Every soul is here to accomplish some sort of forgiveness – now I’m seeing that I chose all of it and I’m breaking free of the chains of victimisation. I’m a divine co-creator of my own reality.”

She said she didn’t want to go back – but her soul family said she said the same thing every time she came to heaven

Betty claims she was shown another baby she could be born into – it was in the hospital right next to her house and she would be born to teenage parents. She told them she didn’t want to have to start from zero.

She thought she was un-fixable – but her “soul family” told her the second half of her life would be carrying out her purpose.

Advertisement

Betty said: “I had never heard of a near-death experience before this happened to me. I didn’t believe it for months after it happened to me either.”

On initially waking up, she thought she had got so high she had hallucinated speaking to God.

She eventually stayed in rehab for 18 months and finally got clean. She said: “Withdrawal is hell, there’s nothing physically wrong with you but it feels like you’re being stabbed over and over again in your eyeball.

“It’s only a week, but people run away from that week of pain for decades. Methamphetamine totally destroyed my brain.”

Advertisement

Betty has now turned her life upside down and works with people to help them sober. She is involved in outreach and is now clean and works as a “transformation coach”.

Source link

Continue Reading

NewsBeat

Cheapest petrol and diesel prices in Bolton this week

Published

on

Cheapest petrol and diesel prices in Bolton this week

Petrol prices gets its information direct from garages and from users.

Prices are correct at the time of writing based on the information available.

Cheapest Unleaded in Bolton

Advertisement
  • Sainsbury’s Bolton Automat 149.9p
  • Asda Bolton 150.9p
  • Morrisons Bolton Dawes 152.9p
  • Morrisons Bolton Atlas 152.9p
  • Texaco Crompton Way (Firwood Service Station) 152.9p
  • Shell Tonge Moor Road (Crompton Way Service Station) 153.9p
  • EG On The Move Manchester Road (Manchester Road Service Station) 154.9p
  • Esso Bradford Street (Bolton Express) 155.9p
  • Esso Wigan Road (Wigan Road Bolton Express) 155.9p
  • Esso Manchester Road (MFG Manchester Road) 155.9p

Cheapest Diesel in Bolton

  • Morrisons Bolton Dawes 177.9p
  • Sainsbury’s Bolton Automat 177.9p
  • Morrisons Bolton Atlas 179.9p
  • Texaco Rishton Lane (Rishton Lane Service Station) 179.9p
  • Texaco Crompton Way (Firwood Service Station) 179.9p
  • Asda Bolton 179.9p
  • Shell Tonge Moor Road (Crompton Way Service Station) 179.9p
  • BP Bridgeman Place (MFG Bridgeman Place) 181.9p
  • Esso Bradford Street (Bolton Express) 182.9p
  • Esso Chorley Old Road (MFG Grafton) 182.9p

For the latest information, go to petrolprices.com.

Source link

Continue Reading

NewsBeat

Upgrade your lip routine with 15% off Delilah’s bestselling products

Published

on

Upgrade your lip routine with 15% off Delilah’s bestselling products
The lip upgrade you’ve been waiting for — now with 15% off. (Picture: Metro/Delilah/Getty)

Metro journalists select and curate the products that feature on our site. If you make a purchase via links on this page we will earn commission – learn more

Happy National Lipstick Day, to those who observe! 

Ok, so we know that National Lipstick Day isn’t actually until 29 July, but thanks to Delilah, there’s every reason to celebrate early. 

In some very exciting news, the B Corp certified beauty brand is treating customers to a lip-smacking 15% off its coveted lip liners, lipsticks, lip saviours and lip glosses right now until 31 July. Simply enter the code ‘DELILAHLIP15’ at checkout to secure your discount. 

Advertisement

Throughout the whole of May, the ever-generous Delilah has also decided to support The Eve Appeal by donating 10% of all lip product sales to raise awareness and fund vital research of gynecological cancers. We applaud you, Delilah

Delilah Colour Gloss Ultimate Shine Lip Gloss
These colours are absolutely gorgeous! (Picture: Metro/Delilah)

So, whether you’re loyal to a barely-there nude, partial to a glossy pink or ready to make a statement in pillarbox red, you now have the perfect excuse to shop Delilah’s luxe lip collection. 

If you’re yet to discover the award-winning British beauty brand, then let us get you acquainted.  

Known for its commitment to cruelty-free, vegan-friendly products, Delilah isn’t just charitable, it also boasts some of the creamiest, long wearing, good-for-skin formulas we’ve ever come across. 

Take the bestselling Lip Line Lip Pencil for instance. Creamy, soft and totally waterproof, it comes in four neutral shades which work perfectly to emphasise your lip shape and plump your pout.

Advertisement
Delilah Lip Line Long Wear Retractable Lip Pencil

Delilah Lip Line Long Wear Retractable Lip Pencil

Available in four neutral skin-tone shades, the Lip Line Long Wear Retractable Lip Pencil from Delilah plumps up your pout and enhances definition.

With a creamy, long-lasting formula, this waterproof lip liner doesn’t drag on the skin or bleed into the fine lines around the mouth. 

Buy NOW FOR £22.50 (USE CODE DELILAHLIP15 FOR 15% OFF)

Formulated to glide along the lip line without tugging, it’s particularly suited to those with mature skin as it doesn’t settle into fine lines or bleed into the skin surrounding the mouth. 

If you’re more of a gloss girl, then look no further than the Colour Gloss. Formulated with a botanical cellular activator that actively smooths lips over time, as well as jojoba oil, olive extract and vitamin E, not only does it leave lips looking juicy and plump, it actually helps fix dry flaky lips with every wear.

Advertisement
Delilah Colour Gloss Ultimate Shine Lip Gloss

Delilah Colour Gloss Ultimate Shine Lip Gloss

For juicy, shiny lips try Delilah’s Colour Gloss Ultimate Shine Lip Gloss.

Available in 5 flattering shades, it’s formulated with skin-nourishing ingredients including jojoba oil, olive oil extract and a botanical cellular activator which actively smooths lips over time.

Buy Now for £24 (USE CODE DELILAHLIP15 FOR 15% OFF)

Available in five beautiful shades, including rose pink and neutral taupe, it’s non-sticky, comfortable to wear and seriously long-wearing. There’s nothing not to love, really. 

And if lip care is more your sort of thing, why not slather yourself in Delilah’s cult-status Lip Saviour Colour Enhancing Lip Oil

Advertisement
Delilah Lip Saviour Colour Enhancing Lip Oil

Delilah Lip Saviour Colour Enhancing Lip Oil

Made with custom-adapting pigments, the Delilah Lip Saviour Colour Enhancing Lip Oil reacts to your skin’s unique chemistry to produce a subtle flush of colour on the lips.

Moisturising ingredients such as argan oil, coconut extract and jojoba oil also ensures lips are left moisturised, healthy and plump.

Buy Now FOR £30 (USE CODE DELILAHLIP15 FOR 15% OFF)

Designed to react to your skin’s pH, it contains custom-adapting pigment technology that leaves lips with a subtle wash of colour that suits your skin tone. 

Not only that, it’s also formulated with a plethora of nourishing ingredients including argan oil, jojoba oil and coconut extract, which cover lips in a blanket of hydration and plenty of shine. 

Advertisement

So, go on – consider this your official invitation to upgrade your lip game. Just remember, you can get 15% off Delilah’s lip products until 31 July with the discount code ‘DELILAHLIP15’ and this May, 10% of every lip sale will go to The Eve Appeal. 

Talk about lip service. 

Follow Metro across our social channels, on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

Share your views in the comments below

Advertisement

Advertisement

Source link

Continue Reading

NewsBeat

Free bus travel and cheaper food in Rachel Reeves’ new cost of living plan

Published

on

Wales Online

The full list of food which could see prices drop is expected to include biscuits, chocolate, dried fruit and nuts

Shoppers could save on the cost of biscuits and chocolate as part of a package of measures being set out by Rachel Reeves to ease the impact of the Iran war. The Government is cutting import tariffs on more than 100 types of product in a move that is expected to save consumers more than £150 million a year.

The Chancellor also set out a “Great British Summer Savings” scheme, including free bus travel for children in England during the school holidays in August. In the Commons on Thursday, Ms Reeves will give details of policies to tackle the cost-of-living squeeze triggered by Donald Trump’s war in the Middle East but is not expected to announce immediate help with rising energy bills.

Advertisement

The household energy price cap is predicted to rise by £209 a year from July after the closure of the Strait of Hormuz pushed up global oil and gas prices. Ms Reeves may set out more details of her contingency planning but she is expected to wait until September before finalising any package of targeted support for households over the winter months, when more energy is used.

The plan to suspend tariffs on some food imports is part of the Government’s wider effort to combat rising prices. The full list of products will be published next week but is expected to include biscuits, chocolate, dried fruit and nuts.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said: “We know many hard‑working families are still feeling the squeeze and too often think they have to hold back. By giving every child free bus travel throughout August and cutting tariffs on everyday food items, we’re putting money back into people’s pockets and making life that bit easier.

“This government is focused on practical steps that help right now — easing pressure on household budgets, supporting parents during the school holidays, and backing British businesses.”

Advertisement

The free bus travel scheme will allow every child aged five to 15 in England to travel on participating local routes. The Chancellor is committing more than £100 million to fund the free fares scheme and to support bus services facing increased costs.

Ms Reeves said: “My number one priority is protecting households from rising costs. This summer I want every family to be able to enjoy themselves, that’s why we’re launching the Great British Summer Savings Scheme, and why we’re helping kids with free bus travel throughout August.

“As the war in Iran pushes prices up at home, my economic plan is the right one. I will continue to make the right choices, to protect households and businesses, and build a stronger and more secure Britain.”

The latest package comes after the Government announced an extension of the 5p cut in fuel duty until the end of the year, along with a tax break for hauliers and help with red diesel costs for farmers. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation fell to 2.8% in April, down from 3.3% in March – and the lowest level since March 2025.

Advertisement

But this was largely driven by regulator Ofgem lowering the energy price cap from the start of April by 7%, or £10 a month, for the average household using both electricity and gas, which was pushed down by Government measures to reduce bills.

Inflation is expected to surge back up as the conflict in the Middle East has sent fuel prices soaring and the energy price cap is expected to increase significantly from July when it is next updated. Energy analyst Cornwall Insight’s prediction for Ofgem’s cap from July to September now stands at £1,850 for a typical dual fuel household, an increase of 13% on April’s £1,641 annual cap.

Ministers are wary of a Liz Truss-style universal bailout for all households, warning that unfunded giveaways could trigger an increase in government borrowing costs and inflation, feeding through to higher mortgage rates, which would end up leaving people worse off.

Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

NewsBeat

‘Tories should decline to field a candidate in Makerfield’

Published

on

'Tories should decline to field a candidate in Makerfield'

ANDY Burnham has laid bare how to campaign for a seat in Parliament – ignore the truth and show agreement for any passing fad which appeals to voters, nobody then has reason to find fault with you.

A simple formula for success, after all we are fully aware “politics” is the act of deception.

Tories of Makerfield in the interest of the country should decline to field a candidate in the forthcoming by-election, our current prime minister is bad enough, nominating on this occasion a candidate you will help to present to the nation a potential prime minister tens time worse, certainly not a favour nationwide Tories would welcome.

Advertisement

Peter Rickaby,

Moat Way,

Brayton

Advertisement

PM praying for a loss in by-election?

IS Keir Starmer kneeling by his bedside like Christopher Robin praying that Andy Burnham loses the Makerfield by-election leaving him a clear run to make a bigger mess of the country?

T J Ryder,

Acomb,

Advertisement

York

Why my steer’s for Keir

I FEEL uneasy over ‘wunderkind’ Andy Burnham’s convoluted manoeuvrings to become PM and leader of the Labour Party. Such shenanigans could be interpreted as a case of fanning the flame of his lofty ambitions.

Advertisement

Very ‘un-British’ in my book. In the end, though, I wish him the best of luck as he sups at the ‘poisoned chalice’. I ask myself, ‘If he’s that brilliant, why?’

Are all York and North Yorkshire eyes now on our very own ‘caped crusader’, David Skaith, for a possible trans-Pennine hop? In the immortal yet rueful words of Margaret Thatcher, ‘It’s a funny old world’. After all that I think my steer’s for Keir. I’ve had my fill of charisma.

Derek Reed,

Middlethorpe Drive,

Advertisement

York

Russian oil decision is ‘utter madness’

AND so the circus goes on and on. We’re now on track to buy Russian oil from countries who process said oil and sell on. Profits go back to Russia.

Advertisement

What on earth is Starmer thinking of? It’s utter madness.

Decision after decision is going completely wrong and he just cannot see it.

When is it all going to stop?

M Horsman,

Advertisement

Moorland Road,

York


What do you think?

Feel strongly about an issue? Write us a letter. Please write no more than 250 words and you must provide your full name, address and mobile number. Send your views by email to: letters@thepress.co.uk

Advertisement

 


Write a comment

Join the debate and leave a comment in our comments section below this article – we may use your comments for a follow up article.


Advertisement

Source link

Continue Reading

NewsBeat

HMRC confirms full list of legal side hustles you must declare and those you don’t

Published

on

Manchester Evening News

Online selling and tutoring, delivery work, dog walking, and content creation are all ways of earning extra money – but what are the i

HMRC has shared which side hustles you must declare for tax purposes, and which you do not need to declare.

Advertisement

If you are an employee in a workplace, you generally don’t need to worry about whether you are paying the right amount of tax, as this gets worked out for you.

But for those who are self-employed, or those who have a full-time job but have another way of making money – known as a side hustle – it can get a little bit more complicated.

Click here to get the biggest stories straight to your inbox in our Daily Newsletter

The general rule of thumb when it comes to declaring extra earnings from any side hustle to HMRC is if you earn less than £1,000 from services or trading, you do not need to declare it.

Advertisement

But for those who have earnt more than £1,000 on top of your main job in the last tax year – which runs from April 6 to April 5 – they will need to declare this to the Government to ensure that they are paying the correct amount of tax.

HMRC’s dedicated side hustle advice page warns: “Made more than £1,000 from your side hustles? Whether you get cash in hand or money paid straight to your bank account, you’ll need to tell HMRC so you can avoid any tax surprises.”

For those who have exceeded the £1,000 limit, you will need to register as a sole trader. Once registered, you declare your profits and losses through the GOV.UK Self Assessment system.

Advertisement

You can check if you need to declare your side-hustle earnings by using this gov.uk questionnaire.

If you earn more than £1,000 from the following side hustles, you MUST declare it to HMRC

  • Online selling or reselling
  • Content creation
  • Freelance work
  • Gig economy services
  • Domestic services
  • Renting equipment

If you earn less than £1,000 from the following side hustles, you do not need to declare it to HMRC

  • Selling personal items, such as clearing out your wardrobe
  • Casual favours
  • Betting and gambling
  • Bank switching

Source link

Continue Reading

NewsBeat

Green MP Shouted Down In PMQs As She Calls For Alcohol Ban In Parliament

Published

on

Green MP Shouted Down In PMQs As She Calls For Alcohol Ban In Parliament

A Green MP was shouted down in the Commons as she revived her calls for an alcohol ban in parliament.

Hannah Spencer, elected in the Gorton and Denton by-election in February, raised the hot topic issue when making her first ever intervention in prime minister’s questions (PMQs) on Wednesday.

“In Gorton and Denton we have to pay full price for our pints, but here, for some reason, it’s cheaper,” she said.

“Some MPs drink before voting and that really shocked me when I came to parliament, because it is our workplace.

Advertisement

“Does the prime minister agree with his own MPs who have defended their right to drink cheap alcohol at work, or does he agree with me that MPs shouldn’t be drinking on the job given we vote on huge things like the climate crisis, disabled people’s rights, housing, child poverty?”

But Spencer was regularly interrupted by irate MPs while asking the question.

The chamber’s microphones picked up a couple of stray voices saying “get a life” and “sort your policies out” to the Gorton and Denton MP.

Spencer had already caused a stir by questioning the drinking culture in Westminster last month when she told PoliticsJoe: “You can smell the alcohol when people are in between votes.”

Advertisement

Keir Starmer did not tell Spencer whether or not he agreed with a cutback on drinking in his response.

The prime minister said: “There are going to be different views on whether people can enjoy a drink here or not.

“But I think we can agree that the majority of people in this country want an economy that works for them, public services that are there when they need them, and every child going as far as their talent or ability will take them.”

The PM then turned the comment into an attack on Green leader Zack Polanski, who had to apologise last week after he was accused of not paying council tax on his houseboat in London.

Advertisement

Starmer said: “The Greens think that their leader walks on water. Turns out, he just lives on water and doesn’t pay his council tax!”

Keir Starmer: “The Green’s think Zack Polanski walks on water, but it turns out he just lives on water & doesn’t pay his council tax.” 🤣#PMQs pic.twitter.com/qNc7RO84yh

— Haggis_UK 🇬🇧 🇪🇺 (@Haggis_UK) May 20, 2026

Subscribe to Commons People, the podcast that makes politics easy. Every week, Kevin Schofield and Kate Nicholson unpack the week’s biggest stories to keep you informed. Join us for straightforward analysis of what’s going on at Westminster.

Advertisement

Source link

Continue Reading

NewsBeat

DWP payment date changes for Universal Credit and other benefits this week

Published

on

Cambridgeshire Live

Thousands of benefit claimants, including those on Universal Credit, will have their DWP payment dates rescheduled this week due to the May bank holiday falling on Monday, May 25

Thousands of benefit claimants, including those receiving Universal Credit, will see their payments arrive early this week.

Advertisement

This is due to the forthcoming second May bank holiday, falling on Monday, May 25. If your benefit payment is scheduled for that day, you should expect to receive it on Friday, May 22 instead.

The same situation occurred with the first May bank holiday on Monday, May 4, when those due a payment that day received it on Friday, May 1.

It is worth noting, however, that receiving payment early does mean a lengthier gap before your next payment arrives. Funds will be deposited into your usual bank account where benefits are routinely paid.

The amount you are entitled to will remain unchanged, unless your personal circumstances have been altered, reports the Mirror.

Advertisement

The adjustment will affect Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) benefits, along with certain HMRC benefits, including Child Benefit.

When are benefits normally paid?

The frequency of your payments depends on which benefit you are claiming. Universal Credit, for instance, is paid on the same date each month, while Child Benefit is typically paid every four weeks on a Monday or Tuesday.

It is important to note that Universal Credit has now replaced Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, Income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Income Support, Child Tax Credits, Working Tax Credits, and Housing Benefit.

The full breakdown of how frequently certain benefits are paid is listed below.

Advertisement
  • Attendance Allowance – Usually every four weeks Carer’s Allowance – Weekly in advance or every four weeks
  • Child Benefit – Usually every four weeks, or weekly if you’re a single parent or you or your partner get certain benefits
  • Disability Living Allowance – Usually every four weeks
  • Employment and Support Allowance – Usually every two weeks
  • Income Support – Usually every two weeks
  • Jobseeker’s Allowance – Usually every two weeks
  • Pension Credit – Usually every four weeks
  • Personal Independence Payment – Usually every four weeks
  • State Pension – Usually every four weeks
  • Universal Credit – Every month

What if I don’t get paid?

Should you believe a payment has not come through, ensure you check your bank account thoroughly in the first instance. If the expected payment date has passed and the funds are absent, you should get in touch with the appropriate helpline.

These are unlikely to be available on bank holidays, meaning you will need to wait until the following working day.

Universal Credit:

Call for free: 0800 328 5644

Welsh speaking: 0800 328 1744

Advertisement

Relay UK: 18001 then 0800 328 5644

Child Benefit:

Call for free: 0300 200 3100

Outside UK: +44 161 210 3086

Advertisement

Jobseeker’s Allowance, Income Support, Incapacity Benefit and Employment and Support Allowance:

Call for free: 0800 169 0310

Welsh speaking: 0800 169 0207

Relay UK (if you cannot hear or speak on the phone): 18001 then 0800 169 0310

Advertisement

Source link

Continue Reading

NewsBeat

Fear 138 new homes will cause ‘irreversible harm’ to Cambridgeshire village

Published

on

Cambridgeshire Live

An outline planning application has been submitted to build up to 138 homes in a Cambridgeshire village

Plans to build up to 138 homes in Hardwick have faced backlash from people living near the proposed development site. Neighbours have shared concerns that the new homes would cause “irreversible harm” to the village and its community.

Advertisement

The homes are proposed to be built on land south of St Neots Road in Hardwick. Of the 138 homes, 40% are proposed to be made available as affordable housing. The proposals also seek to develop a new site access, internal access roads, parking, drainage, and public open space.

Developer Pigeon said its proposals would aim to create an “inclusive community through the provision of a variety of tenures and dwelling types to suit all stages of life” and a “sustainable movement strategy where walking and cycling opportunities are integrated into the heart of the development”.

The planning statement says: “The proposals provide for a high-quality, landscape design-led, sustainable scheme including the provision of up to 138 new homes, comprising both market and affordable homes, along with public open space, biodiversity enhancements and associated infrastructure.”

The outline planning application has seen local backlash, with more than 15 objections lodged so far. One objector said: “The A428 junctions are already under pressure, and additional traffic will worsen queueing and accident risk. The proposal does not demonstrate that the increase in traffic, altered flow and the effect on junction function have no adverse impact on safety and capacity.”

Advertisement

The objector also highlighted that Hardwick is a rural village with a “distinct character defined by open green spaces, low-density housing, and a strong sense of community”. They added: “The proposed development is overdevelopment, inconsistent with the village’s scale and form, and it erodes the rural setting and landscape character, and does not respect local character or protect the countryside.

“The proposal would fundamentally alter the village’s identity.” They said “the application should be refused” because it would “result in significant and irreversible harm to the village and its community”.

Another concerned resident said that the proposed access road into the new development would create an “increase in vehicular traffic”. They said this would “cause congestion” and “more importantly at the junction of the road joining the main curved road to the road-about”.

A similar concern was raised by another objector. They said that the western roundabouts, which serve as a key access point for Hardwick and nearby villages via St Neots Road, “already experience substantial congestion, particularly during peak commuting hours”.

Advertisement

They said the development would “introduce a significant increase in vehicle movements onto a road network that already appears close to capacity”. They added that local services “already appear to be under considerable pressure” and up to 138 homes could “significantly increase demand on already stretched services without clear evidence that the necessary supporting infrastructure improvements will be delivered”.

Hardwick itself does not have a GP surgery. Residents use nearby surgeries including in Comberton and Bourn.

Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

NewsBeat

Harry Styles tour to ‘review’ staging after fan complaints

Published

on

Harry Styles tour to ‘review’ staging after fan complaints

Harry Styles’ tour team have said that they are reviewing staging at the singer’s world arena tour following complaints that fans were unable to see the pop star during much of his set.

The “Watermelon Sugar” singer kicked off his Together, Together tour in Amsterdam on Saturday (16 May), with the show’s stage featuring a giant square of walkways allowing Styles to move closer to audiences in different parts of the arena.

But following the show, a number of fans – including those who had played for premium tickets – took to social media to complain that the raised bridges in the walkways had prevented them from seeing the main stage.

“I’m sorry but wtf is this??? I’m at the barricade and I can’t even see the main stage anymore????? I want my money back. This is not okay,” one fan wrote on X.

Advertisement
Styles kicked off his tour in Amsterdam on Saturday
Styles kicked off his tour in Amsterdam on Saturday (Doug Peters/PA Wire)

On Wednesday (20 May), official representatives responded to the backlash, saying: “A small area of the staging in specific floor positions appears to have had a restricted sightline.

“Those areas are being reviewed carefully and adjusted where possible in compliance with all safety restrictions.”

The officials said that the layout was meant to encourage a “free-flowing floor experience” in keeping with the dancefloor theme of Styles’s latest album Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally, rather than a fixed viewing angle.

However, many fans of the former One Direction star – who kicks off a 12-show residency in London’s Wembley Arena in June – will join the queue for the concert hours, if not days, early with the sole intention of getting as close to the stage as possible.

Fans camp out for Styles's shows in Amsterdam
Fans camp out for Styles’s shows in Amsterdam (AFP/Getty)
Amazon Music logo

Enjoy unlimited access to 100 million ad-free songs and podcasts with Amazon Music

Advertisement

Sign up now for a 30-day free trial. Terms apply.

Try for free

ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.

Amazon Music logo

Enjoy unlimited access to 100 million ad-free songs and podcasts with Amazon Music

Sign up now for a 30-day free trial. Terms apply.

Advertisement

Try for free

ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.

These were the fans who shared the most disappointment on social media, with one claiming that the “massive” stage meant she “sometimes didn’t see Harry for a whole song”.

“Barricade is not worth it. Do not bother queueing. This was the back of GA (general admission) left and we couldn’t see him for 20+ minutes, I can only imagine how much people at the front missed,” wrote another.

”The bridges are massively obstructing, especially when he spends so much time in the middle. Seats will have the best view without a doubt, then the rear two pits.”

Advertisement

It’s unclear when any changes, if they are made, be made to the staging. Styles has eight more shows to play at Amsterdam’s Johan Cruyff Arena before his first show at Wembley on 12 June. He’ll then travel to São Paulo, Mexico City, New York, Melbourne and Sydney for the remainder of the rout, which wraps in December.

Source link

Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © 2025