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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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Relay UK: 18001 then 0800 328 5644
Child Benefit:
Call for free: 0300 200 3100
Outside UK: +44 161 210 3086
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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
Shares rallied Thursday across Asia, tracking gains on Wall Street after pressure from the bond market eased and oil prices fell back.
The advance was also powered by a stronger-than-expected quarterly report from chipmaker Nvidia, whose profit rocketed more than 200% higher in the February-April quarter from a year earlier, while revenue jumped 85%.
Nvidia has been one of the biggest beneficiaries from the boom in artificial intelligence, thanks to powerful demand for its high-end AI chips. Its shares rose 1.3% on Wednesday before its earnings report was released, but they fell 1.3% in afterhours trading after the announcement.
South Korea’s Kospi soared 8% to 7,787.74, helped by strong buying of technology shares such as Samsung Electronics, which gained 7.5% after its labor union and management reached an agreement late Wednesday that averted a strike. Shares in SK Hynix, a computer chipmaker partnering with Nvidia, surged 11.3%.
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The Kospi has been breaching records, recently exceeding 8,000 for the first time.
Taiwan’s Taiex, also heavily weighted toward technology shares, gained 3.9% as major chipmaker TSMC’s stock gained 3%.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index jumped 3.6% to 61,930.44. The government reported that Japan’s exports rose nearly 15% in April from a year earlier, despite shocks from the Iran war.
Chinese markets were virtually unchanged, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng flat at 25,648.28, while the Shanghai Composite index also was nearly flat at 4,162.37.
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Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 picked up 1.6% to 8,628.80.
Oil prices were higher early Thursday, a day after Brent crude dropped 5%. Brent, the international standard, gained 95 cents to $105.87 per barrel, while U.S. benchmark crude added 92 cents to $99.18 per barrel.
Brent remains well above its roughly $70 level from before the war with Iran. Prices have been yo-yoing on rising and falling hopes that the United States and Iran can reach an agreement to allow oil deliveries to fully resume from the Persian Gulf to customers worldwide.
On Wednesday, U.S. stocks bounced back, with the S&P 500 gaining 1.1% for its first rise in four days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 1.3% and the Nasdaq composite rallied 1.5%.
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Stocks got a lift from easing yields in the bond market, as the yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.57% from 4.67% late Tuesday. That’s a significant move for a market that measures things in hundredths of a percentage point.
The 10-year Treasury yield had been rising from less than 4% before the war with Iran began, along with other government bond yields around the world, because of worries that the fighting will keep oil prices high, among other factors. Inflation concerns reduce the chances the Federal Reserve will cut rates this year and raise risks that that world central banks may have to raise rates in 2026.
With the easing of yields, technology stocks helped lead Wall Street higher.
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Tech stocks leading the market included Advanced Micro Devices, up 8.1%, and Intel, up 7.4%.
Smaller companies can feel even bigger relief from lower yields than their bigger rivals because many need to borrow to grow. The Russell 2000 index of the smallest U.S. stocks jumped 2.6%, more than double the gain of the S&P 500, which measures the biggest U.S. stocks.
Red Robin Gourmet Burgers jumped 18.2%, and Cava Group rose 3.1% following better-than-expected profit reports that raised hopes households can keep spending and supporting the economy despite high gasoline prices and pessimism over the economic outlook.
Most big U.S. companies have reported better profits for the start of 2026 than analysts expected, which has helped stocks run to records. Stock prices tend to follow the path of corporate profits over the long term.
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On the losing side of Wall Street was Target, which fell 3.9% even though the retailer reported better profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected. A new CEO, Michael Fiddelke, is trying to turn around the company and boost its revenue.
In other dealings early Thursday, the U.S. dollar rose to 158.98 Japanese yen from 158.92 yen. The euro was steady at $1.1624.
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.
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.
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.”
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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.
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“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.
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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.
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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.”
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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.”
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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.”
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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.”
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“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.”
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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.
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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.”
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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”.
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.
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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.
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.
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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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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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.
The full list of food which could see prices drop is expected to include biscuits, chocolate, dried fruit and nuts
Neil Shaw Assistant Editor
06:47, 21 May 2026
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.
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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.”
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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.
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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.
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.
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Peter Rickaby,
Moat Way,
Brayton
—
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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,
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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.
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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,
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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.
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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,
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Moorland Road,
York
What do you think?
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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.
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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
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.
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.
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“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.”
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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.
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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.” 🤣#PMQspic.twitter.com/qNc7RO84yh
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.
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”.
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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’ …”
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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.”
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
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“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.
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“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’
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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
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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.
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“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 …
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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.
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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.”
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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”.
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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.
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