London nightlife performers earn an average of £12,411 a year from their performing work after expenses. And almost a third say an increase in transphobia, misogyny, homophobia, racism or far-right sentiment has led to them feeling less safe due to audience aggression and when travelling to and from gigs.

An overwhelming 98% say that their pay has not kept up with the cost of living.

These findings come from a survey which Equity, the performing arts and entertainment trade union, conducted. The survey covered gigging nightlife performers who work in London. Respondents work in professions including:

• Cabaret
• Burlesque
• Fire performance
• Circus
• Aerial
• Drag
• Club and pub singing
• Comedy
• DJing
• Pole
• Tribute acts

They work at private events, clubs, pubs, bars, festivals, and venue residencies, alongside other places.

The London Nightlife Network

Equity published the survey results ahead of the launch of its new London Nightlife Network. The Network will bring together Equity members who work in this sector so they can organise to improve their pay and conditions.

This includes lobbying the independent Nightlife Commission recently announced by London’s Mayor and campaigning on wider issues. Equity is engaging with the Greater London Authority regarding the lack of workforce representation on its recent Nightlife Taskforce. Almost all the participants were industry bosses. The union said this lack of worker voice showed in gaps in the report findings, which came out on 21 January, particularly around workforce safety, pay, and precarity.

Commenting on the results of Equity’s survey of London nightlife performers, the union’s variety organiser Nick Keegan said:

London’s nightlife culture is world-famous, but it’s being built on the backs of performers who are earning a fraction of a living wage. It is a disgrace that 98% of performers responding to our workforce survey say their pay is stagnating, while they worry about their safety.

Which is why Equity members are launching the London Nightlife Network, because performers care deeply about London’s nightlife and know that by coming together they can raise the standards of the industry for all.

Safety

Of the survey respondents, 33% said they feel less safe than previous years when travelling to and from a gig.

A similar number, 29%, feel less safe working with audiences than in previous years.

And 28% of respondents attributed safety fears to an increase in transphobia, misogyny, homophobia, racism and far-right sentiment. Incidents included experiencing regular instances of violence, aggression and inappropriate touching.

Comments on safety include:

• There has been more racism and sexist heckling.

• Some venues will make a point prior to the show regarding not touching performers / consent but some don’t.

• The world we live in is more homophobic, transphobic and misogynistic, travelling on public transport in full drag makeup is terrifying.

• The rise of the far right and my own personal experiences with events being protested.

• Post-Covid drinking culture at gigs has changed an incredible amount… People are often drinking before the gig as they can’t afford the prices at the venue, venue security has decreased on the whole, and venues are dependent on bar sales to run the show – so drinking is more encouraged.

Pay

Only 2% of respondents said that the rates they’ve been receiving have risen in line with the cost of living, with an overwhelming 98% saying their rates have not.

The most common response to the question “On average how much do you earn for a gig in London?” was the range “£100-£199”.

The average number of gigs worked a week was 2.11.

The average amount spent on travel per month was £200. Meanwhile, the average amount spent on hair, make up and costume for an act per month was £162.

If we calculate the average pay for London nightlife performers by using £150 (which is the halfway point of the modal pay range £100-£199), and subtract average expenses for travel and hair, make up and costume, this suggests performers earn an average of £1,371.50 a month or £12,411 a year after expenses from their work in the industry.

This is well below the national median salary of £39,039, and even less than the London median salary of £49,692.

90% of respondents agree it would be helpful to them if Equity published a rate card of suggested minimum rates for nightlife performers in different working contexts.

Featured image via the Canary

On a remote Siberian lake, riders race motorbikes armed with steel spikes at 120 km/h in the Ice Speedway championships. But as winters become warmer and ice thinner, a sport built on frozen ground is fighting for survival. At dawn, the average temperature is –32°C and the lake surface is solid ice.

Ice speedway: a sport carved from ice and danger

Ice speedway is a high risk motorsport conducted on oval tracks cut into frozen lakes. Competitors ride purpose built motorbikes fitted with tyres studded by spikes up to 3 cm long, which provide traction by biting into the ice. Riders adopt extreme lean angles through corners, often allowing handlebars to skim the surface while the bikes drift and eject fragments of ice.

Pit operations combine rapid mechanical work with cold- weather improvisations: riders warm their hands over portable stoves while mechanics in insulated gear remove frozen bolts and adjust setups. The air is dominated by the smell of burnt petrol, pine smoke and cold metal. Irina Volkova, a tyre engineer known locally as “The Spike Whisperer” customises spike patterns and interprets wear to inform setup and rider strategy.

A race that feels like a storm

Engines ignite and the frozen lake becomes the track, surrounded by villagers in furs who from an informal ring with no barriers or grandstands- only ice, snow and loud machinery. At the drop of the flag, the first corner devolves into controlled mayhem: ice shards fly, spiked tyres bite the surface and drift at extreme angles. The racing requires a balanced level of brute force and precise bike control. As the athletes complete the race, the results show Misha takes first place while Sergei finishes third. Spectators respond with the intensity of a communal celebration, underscoring the event’s local significance.

Beneath this generational spectacle lies a growing dread.

The ice is thinner than it used to be. Winters are shorter. Some lakes that froze solid for centuries now form unreliable crusts that crack under the weight of bikes and spectators.

A culture at risk of melting away

Ice speedway is more than a sport here. It is a ritual, a gathering point, a shared identity forged in cold and danger. Families pass down bikes like heirlooms. Mechanics teach their children how to sharpen spikes before they teach them how to read.

Featured image via the Canary

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What to look for when buying period pants

How I tested period pants

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WUKA

We all bloat on our periods, so I love that these pink pants are ultra-stretchy and can fit up to four sizes. They’re also seamless, in case you’re the kind of person who likes wearing tight clothes on the blob (yeah… can’t relate).

Modibodi

You know those annoying days where you’re spotting at the start or end of your period? No, just me? Yeah well, these pants are made for those days. They don’t only look like a regular pair of pants, they feel like them too. I have them in black, but I’d love to try this limited edition fiery red version.

Final verdict

How to wash period pants

Chris Nineham and Ben Jamal, two well-known protest organisers, were convicted in the UK for defying police restrictions. Their convictions stem from a planned protest in London last January against the UK’s complicity in the genocide in Gaza.

The conviction follows charges brought under the Public Order Act, finding the organisers guilty on two counts.

Chris Nineham, 62, is the vice-chair of the Stop the War Coalition and Ben Jamal, 61, is chair of the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign. The protest route to the BBC had been approved in advance at the end of November. Nevertheless, late restrictions were imposed by the police due to potential disruption to a local synagogue.

Yet again, this ruling is likely a sharp blow to pro-Palestinian advocacy groups as it exposes the systemic threats to the rights of protest in the UK.

🚨NEW: pic.twitter.com/FsMNrlDvBN

— Canary (@TheCanaryUK) April 1, 2026

Pro-Palestine censorship

This case has drawn major criticism from the public, with heightened concerns amongst pro-Palestinian activists that the pro-Israeli interests are superseding our right to protest in the UK.

Since October 7, 2023, the UK has seen more than 20 national protests against the genocide on Gaza whilst calling for the UK government to end its long-standing and unqualified support for Israel. Typically, protests tend to proceed as marches through central London, yet the police enforced restrictions often require a static rally instead.

These restrictions have undoubtedly chilled protesters, undermining their right to demonstrate and blocking their efforts to challenge the BBC’s biased coverage of Israel’s latest barbaric war on Palestinians. A ‘war’ which the International Court of Justice (ICJ) have ruled amounts to a plausible genocide.

When the prosecution called him to testify, Metropolitan Police Commander Adam Slonecki, who managed the operation, acknowledged that a protest outside the BBC would be “legitimate” because it is a “public institution”. Yet he also explained that concerns about potential disruption to a local synagogue led the Met to impose restrictions on the protest, even after it had already been approved.

Middle East Eye reported:

the Metropolitan Police altered the route following objections from pro-Israel groups, the chief rabbi, Ephraim Mirvis, and several MPs.

The charges relate to a speech made by Jamal towards a crowd of protestors. Subsequently, a march towards the BBC followed which seemingly overwhelmed police officers. The judge presiding over the case declared his speech, which referred to protest leaders planning to try to walk towards the BBC in resistance to the clear censorship at play, as “incitement”.

Summers KC: Anti-protest laws are “Unlawful”

Once again, the police and government officials manipulate and weaponise righteous anger while presenting punitive, authoritarian policies as “fair”. This repressive dichotomy only serves the interests of the status quo and the most powerful in society, while weakening the collective power of ordinary people.

District Judge Daniel Sternberg delivered the judgement following a 3-day trial, saying:

The court emphasised that protest rights while fundamental, are not absolute and do not permit breaching lawfully imposed restrictions.

Needless to say, this judgment only heightens threats to our right to protest, as it clearly empowers the police to impose restrictions that directly neuter the impact of demonstrations.

Middle East Eye reported:

Kevin Dent KC, representing the British government, showed the court a video of a speech made in January 2025 in which Jamal told a crowd that he and other protest leaders planned to attempt to walk towards the BBC’s headquarters to protest the corporation’s reporting of the genocide in Gaza as an example of “incitement”.

Defence Barrister Mark Summers lambasted the case as “unlawful”, referring to a prior Court of Appeal ruling this legislation unlawful as it grants the police “unlimited powers” in restricting protests.

The ruling referred to came in 2025 which found in favour of Human Rights organisation Liberty, with the government losing its appeal. Liberty inform:

then-Home Secretary Suella Braverman did not have the power to create a new law that lowered the threshold of when the police can impose conditions on protests from anything that caused ‘serious disruption’ to anything that was deemed as causing ‘more than minor’ disruption.

Summers also suggested that, as opposed to protesters breaking the police line, the “clusterfuck” was due to chaotic and reactive policing. Pointing to operational confusion, poor communication and the clear inability to manage large numbers, Summers laid the blame at the feet of the Met Police.

Nonetheless, despite referring to this highly relevant appeal and correlating factors at play in this case, Sternberg found against the protest organisers.

Funny that.

Outside court, @johnmcdonnellMP reacts to the news that @STWuk Chris Nineham and @PSCupdates Ben Jamal have been found guilty of trumped up charges around a pro-Palestine protest last year. The law is an ass. pic.twitter.com/lsmnAKjZZ6

— Canary (@TheCanaryUK) April 1, 2026

The government are working to make protest powerless

It is clear that the government are refusing to back down in its attempts to intimidate and bully British citizens into no longer standing by our Palestinian comrades. Heavily funded by the Israel Lobby, Starmer’s government have long ignored and diminished rising islamophobia, whilst unduly declaring anti-Zionist positions as antisemitic.

Jamal and Nineham plan to appeal this judgement, and rightfully so, as this precedent can only be an omen for advocates across the country.

After all, whether you are pro-Palestinian or not, the ability to protest is a fundamental pillar stone of a functioning democracy. It is the way in which ordinary people speak truth to those in power.

When police powers restrict the ability to protest, they don’t just enforce the law – they silence dissent, weaken collective voices, and threaten the very heart of democratic freedom.

Therefore, defending the right to protest is defending our power to demand justice, at home and in Palestine.

Featured image via the Canary

Lakenheath Alliance for Peace (LAP) has handed in a letter at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk. The letter, to the UK and US base commanders, highlights war crimes supported by RAF Lakenheath and RAF Mildenhall. It details their disregard of International Law and concerns about UK control of the bases. Although the US Air Force uses the bases, they’re British sovereign territory and the UK is legally liable.

This will be the sixth letter LAP has handed in to base commanders. It signals the start of a six day International Peace Camp at RAF Lakenheath’s main gates. LAP has received no reply to any of its previous letters.

Well over 100 fighter jets and bombers have deployed from RAF Lakenheath for the attack on Iran. RAF Mildenhall has also had active involvement in the illegal war of aggression by providing refuelling for bombers deploying to the Middle East. Israeli fighter jets have been recorded flying in and out of Mildenhall.

Attacks on civilian infrastructure such as desalination plants in Iran and hospitals in Gaza are war crimes. As is the bombing of an Iranian elementary girls school, killing at least 175 children and teachers.

Nukes at RAF Lakenheath

LAP believes US nuclear B61-12 bombs have already arrived at RAF Lakenheath. The UK government has kept this secret. Norwich based Lesley Grahame said:

Mass destruction is plain wrong, wherever and whoever the perpetrator. When it comes from your neighbourhood, it is for us to stand up and say no, or become a complicit target. Our refusal of consent is active, non-violent and necessary.

The deployment of newly developed nuclear weapons with advanced capabilities is not compatible with the UK’s Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) obligations and is a breach of Article 1 which states:

Each nuclear-weapon State Party to the Treaty undertakes not to transfer to any recipient whatsoever nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices or control over such weapons or explosive devices directly, or indirectly.

USAF fighter / bombers including F-35As, F-15Es and F-22s have been deployed from ‘RAF’ Lakenheath for the attack on Iran along with numerous C-17s. Although they are USAF planes, the fact that they are using UK territory makes it an act of aggression by the UK against Iran.

The Military Aviation YouTube channel filmed and published three Israeli F-35I arriving at RAF Mildenhall on 16 February and then departing for Israel on 18 February. The Israeli media had reported the delivery of the new aircraft on 20 January. Israel has used the F-35I in attacks against Gaza, Yemen and Iran.

LAP is calling on the base commanders to take immediate steps to bring all illegal activities at these bases to an end and to return any nuclear bombs that may already be at RAF Lakenheath to the US. Members of the public are welcome to join in with activities at the Lakenheath International Peace Camp from 1-6 April.

Read the full text of the letter here.

Featured image via YouTube / Military Aviation Channel

The Green Party conference passed a motion opposing energy nationalisation with just 0.2% of members voting for that. If progressives want the Greens to succeed they need to show up and do their part. Obviously some people are working hard but they could get a better long-term deal on that if they engaged with democratic process.

Idolisation is not enough

It’s not enough to leave it to Zack Polanski to solve issues. The idolisation of figureheads, however much what they say resonates, is a lacklustre approach to politics.

There’s a lesson from history here. Former UK prime minister Clement Attlee initially opposed some of the nationalisations of his 1945 government. It was a 1944 Labour conference and “conscious mass participation” from members of the public that solidified and advanced the changes.

At its conference, the Greens watered down previous commitments to energy nationalisation. Now the party has voted to bring only the energy infrastructure (grid and distribution) into public ownership.

The motion essentially stated that competition is a better mechanism for energy providers.

Politics and identity

You can have a political dimension without that becoming you’re entire identity. In fact, it’s quite critical that you do given politics is what determines the cost of essentials, the legislation you live under, and the freedoms you have.

The Green Party have over 215,000 members yet only a handful of them are choosing what could become government policy one day.

The fourth industrial revolution, if approached with public equity, will bring similar questions of identity. No longer will people identify with the job they had.

Worth it

With such potential on the cards, it’s crucial that people do their part. Movements that rely only on figureheads rarely make actual change, even if it’s bringing back and improving policies older generations already enjoyed (free tuition fees, public ownership of essentials, affordable housing, etc).

If you’re a progressive, make your voice heard.

Featured image via the Canary

LELO/ Smile Makers Collection

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