Politics
DWP says WCA will still be going strong in 2031
The Department for Work and Pensions‘ (DWP) own figures show that the number of Work Capability Assessments (WCA) will be higher than ever in 2031. This is despite the DWP and it’s chief Pat McFadden insisting the WCA will be abolished by then
How exactly does the DWP plan to save money?
Benefits and Work sent the Treasury and DWP a Freedom of Information (FOI) request in December. They wanted a breakdown of the savings vaguely alluded to in the autumn budget.
Back in November, Reeves had announced that the DWP would: Improve operations by increasing face-to-face assessments, increasing WCA reassessment capability, and PIP award review changes, starting from April 2026.
She then said the DWP’s annual total savings would be 1.9 billion, but there was, of course, no breakdown of this in the autumn budget document.
Benefits and Work asked the DWP to:
Please give a detailed breakdown of how the £1.9 billion is to be saved, including:
a) Any additional assessment costs created by increasing the number of WCA reassessments
b) Any savings resulting from a reduction in the number of claimants found to no longer have LCWRA due to the increased number of WCA reassessments
c) Any savings in assessment costs caused by extending the time between PIP reviews
d) Any additional assessment costs caused by increasing the proportion of PIP face-to-face assessments
e) Any savings in PIP costs caused by increasing the proportion of PIP face-to-face assessments, due to the lower success rate for PIP applicants when assessed face-to-face rather than remotely.
Government not keen to be transparent, shocker
The government was, naturally, hesitant to give details about a figure they’d probably pulled out of their arses. The Treasury ridiculously told Benefits and Work it would cost too much to answer their request.
The DWP refused to answer repeated requests from both the Liberal Democrats and Disability News Service on where the savings would come from.
However, in December the DWP put out a press release about increasing face-to-face assessments. It said PIP face-to-face assessments would increase from 6% to 30% and WCAs would increase from 13% to 30%.
At first glance, it’s not clear how more work would mean savings. But this feels like a deliberate attempt to insinuate that so many people are getting benefits because it’s easier to “fake” over the phone.
Finally, some clarity — well….
Finally, this week, after more pressure from Benefits and Work, the DWP replied to their FOI:
The £1.9bn comprises the following figures shown in Table 1:
This £1.9bn figure does not include any additional assessment costs. This is because the reduced number of assessments for PIP releases resource to increase WCA reassessments and face-to-face assessments, and there is no assumed net increase in the number of health care professionals employed by DWP’s contracted providers as a result of these policies.
Benefits and Work have estimated that a huge proportion of the savings will come from reducing admin costs.
57% of savings over the next five years (£1.12 billion) will come from extending the amount of time between PIP reassessments, from 3 years to 5. 31% (£609 million) of the savings will be from increasing WCA assessments. Some of this saving will come from the health element of Universal Credit moving to PIP, meaning, in theory, fewer assessors are needed. But it’s also probably assuming many will get the new lower rate.
8% (£164 million) of the savings will come from face-to-face PIP assessments increasing, and just 3% (£58 million) will come from more face-to-face WCA assessments.
So, despite the DWP saying otherwise, it’s actually a very small amount that will come from kicking vulnerable people off benefits.
But the WCA is supposed to be gone?
What’s even weirder here, however, is that the WCA will still be taking place at all post 2030. This is because in the Pathway’s to Work Green Paper, the DWP planned to have it abolished by 2029. This is because the paper set out that the UC health element would be moved over to PIP and claimants would need to score so many points on the daily living component.
However, this paper was also reliant on PIP cuts going through and PIP eligibility changing so that you had to score at least 4 points in one activity to get the daily living element. But then PIP had to be completely written out of the cuts after huge campaign efforts saw Labour MPs rebel. So until the Timms Review concludes, both claimants and the DWP haven’t got a fucking clue what’s happening there.
Despite this, DWP chief Pat McFadden still hasn’t definitively said the WCA won’t be abolished, just that it’ll be delayed.
The Work and Pensions Committee asked him in December if he still intended to abolish the WCA. His response was, of course, vague as fuck:
Due to its link with the PIP assessment, WCA abolition will not happen until after the Timms Review into the PIP assessment has concluded and any recommendations have been made. In the meantime, work is continuing to determine the detail of how this reformed system would work and discussions are also ongoing with the Scottish Government regarding the interactions between the devolved and reserved systems. We will outline further details on the reformed system, and the timing of WCA abolition, in due course.
DWP — just more proof that the Timms Review is a sham
As Benefits and Work point out, it could be that McFadden knows exactly what will happen with the WCA, but to say otherwise would let slip what we already know. That the Timms review and any notions of helping disabled claimants is just smoke and mirrors when they’re already working so hard to turn the public against us. At the end of the day the department give a fuck whether disabled people live or die.
Featured image via the Canary
The Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) and Stop the War (StW) formed a coalition in shared opposition to the genocide in Gaza. Since then, more than 20 national protests across the UK have demonstrated that the British public does not support the mass killing of Palestinians.
However, authorities convicted PSC director Ben Jamal and StW vice-chair Chris Nineham on two counts under the authoritarian Public Order Act introduced by Suella Braverman.
This ruling has sent shockwaves through the pro-Palestinian community, as repressive police powers actively undermine and curtail the ability to protest.
Refusing to be deterred, the PSC has published a statement on behalf of the coalition, condemning the verdicts as:
extraordinary and shocking and a huge setback for civil liberties.
We spoke to Chris Nineham following his conviction under this draconian law:
Stop the War and Palestine Solidarity Campaign activists Chris Nineham and Ben Jamal have been found guilty of “breaching protest conditions” – we spoke to Chris Nineham@STWuk pic.twitter.com/zDr6JxRDeJ
— Canary (@TheCanaryUK) April 1, 2026
“A seismic threat to democratic freedoms” say pro-Palestine coalition
In this statement, it is made clear that Nineham and Jamal intend to appeal their verdicts. Helping them with that appeal, they will have full support of the pro-Palestine coalition behind them. Undoubtedly, they will have support of the wider British public in which a majority oppose Israel’s bloodthirsty actions.
They then go further by highlighting “significant concerns” about how the six-day trial was conducted. These concerns will be subsequently raised in their imminent appeal.
Arguably pointing to a stitch up, the statement reads:
The substantive issues at the heart of the case were clear. From the stage that day, Ben Jamal explained that a delegation of leaders of the coalition, plus MPs, trade union leaders and members of the Jewish bloc, would walk peacefully in a symbolic protest towards the BBC to lay flowers to mark the Corporation’s failures to report the truth of genocide in Gaza.
Ben made clear that, if stopped by the police, the flowers would be laid at the police line. In the event, as copious video evidence shows, police officers invited the delegation to pass though.
They also argue that the claims of public disorder made by the police were categorically untrue.
In fact, they underscore the violence that they did see that day:
The only moment of violence was when Chis Nineham was brutally pulled to the ground and hauled away by police officers.
Contradicting Police Commander Adam Slonecki’s adamant insistence that the imposed late restrictions did not follow political pressure from pro-Israel groups, they added:
The logs of the Police Gold Commander Adam Slonecki reveal that enormous political pressure was placed on the police by pro-Israel groups to prevent a protest at the BBC.
Islington MP Jeremy Corbyn has condemned the judge’s verdict, saying he is “appalled”:
I am appalled by today’s verdict against Ben Jamal and Chris Nineham.
In January 2025, we held an entirely peaceful demonstration in support of Palestinian people. At all times, they — and we — followed all police instructions. We ended the demonstration by laying down flowers… https://t.co/A8bCsKOJ9X
— Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) April 1, 2026
Defending the actions of Jamal and Nineham at the protest, which Corbyn was also taking part in, he wrote:
In January 2025, we held an entirely peaceful demonstration in support of Palestinian people. At all times, they — and we — followed all police instructions. We ended the demonstration by laying down flowers at their feet to mourn the deaths of Palestinian children.
Today’s verdict is a dark day for civil liberties in this country — and is a disgraceful assault on the right to protest.
We wrote earlier today after the court’s judgement:
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.
Crime and Policing Bill
The statement goes on to draw attention to the Crime and Policing Bill which is making its way through Parliament:
It confirms the view, widely held across civil society, that these proposed increased powers represent a seismic threat to democratic freedoms.
They raise alarm at the chilling impact this is clearly intended to have on people supporting Palestinians:
The unprecedented charging and now conviction of leaders of a movement that has brought millions to the streets in support of the people of Palestine is designed to chill ongoing opposition to genocide, apartheid and illegal occupation.
It finishes with a typical show of dogged resistance to state oppression and repression:
It will not succeed.
That it most certainly won’t, as a call to action is heard for the upcoming protest on the 16 May in London:
So, Ben Jamal and I have been convicted for organising a peaceful protest against genocide in a bizarre decision by one judge.
This is a big attack on civil liberties.
We will appeal. We call for a massive mobilisation in support of the Palestinian people for Nakba on 16 May. https://t.co/ftX7S069Bl
— Chris Nineham (@ChrisNineham) April 1, 2026
Featured image via the Canary
The US secretary of defence has mocked the “big, bad Royal Navy” for not joining America in its war against Iran.
Speaking from the Pentagon on Tuesday, Pete Hegseth said: “There are countries around the world who ought to be prepared to step up on this critical waterway as well.
“Last time I checked, there was supposed to be a big, bad Royal Navy that could be prepared to do things like that as well.”
He added: “This is an international waterway that we use less than most. In fact, dramatically less than most.
“The world ought to pay attention, be prepared to stand up.”
His remarks come after Keir Starmer’s government refused the US request’s to use British military bases for preemptive strikes on Iran last month.
The UK did allow American troops to use their sites for defensive and limited strikes, though Donald Trump has continued to attack Britain for its perceived lack of support.
He compared UK aircraft carriers to “toys” and told the prime minister “not to bother” sending ships to the Gulf.
On Tuesday, he told allies “you’ll have to start learning how to fight for yourself”, urging Britain to “go get your own oil” from the Strait of Hormuz as Iran continues its blockade.
Writing on TruthSocial, the president said the UK should either buy jet fuel from the US or “build up some delayed courage, go to the Strait and just TAKE IT”.
Meanwhile, the UK’s First Sea Lord has warned that the Royal Navy is not ready for war and that it “had work to do”.
Gen Sir Gwyn Jenkins told Swedish newspaper Svensky Dagbladet on Monday that the Navy could still fight with what it had and that “if we were told to go to war, of course we would”.
But he added: “Are we are ready as we should be? I don’t think are. We have work to do and I am completely dedicated to the mission.”
UK defence secretary John Healey also announced on Tuesday that the UK would be deploying dozens of troops and its most advanced air defence missile system to Saudi Arabia as the Middle East conflict continues to escalate.
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The Iranian ambassador to the UK has warned attacks on British bases are under consideration in an alarming intervention.
Seyed Ali Mousavi claimed that Keir Starmer’s decision to allow US forces to use British sites for defensive and limited strikes could end up putting a target on the UK’s military.
Speaking to Times Radio, he said: “The initial position made by the prime minister Starmer is very good.
“We do appreciate, we do welcome the non-involvement in this criminal act of the American side and the Israeli regime.
“But unfortunately, now we have realised that the British Fairford military base has been serving for the B-2 and B-1 jets of the American side to be equipped by the different weapons to use against the Iranian people.
“It’s very unfortunate.”
Asked if British bases and British military assets could be legitimate targets, he replied: “This is the very important matter we are considering. This is a very important matter for our self-defence.”
He claimed the military section of their “system” will decide depending on UK “activities”.
He added: “We are very careful and delicate how to defend ourselves.”
His remarks are especially alarming, considering Starmer has repeatedly insisted that the ongoing Middle East conflict is “not our war”.
Meanwhile, Labour MP and defence select committee member Calvin Bailey has warned there is a “real risk of escalation” in the region.
The former Wing Commander told Times Radio: “There’s always a risk of escalation and that’s why it’s never desirable to enter conflict without understanding what the goals of those operations are.
“That’s why the UK remained out and didn’t follow or support the US in starting the conflict that it’s now engaged with Iran. But dealing with the consequences of it is entirely legitimate and it’s reasonable.”
He warned Britain could be dragged further into the conflict too – as could other allies and partners in the Gulf region.
“The reason why we’ve got larger numbers of forces in the region is that they’re there to protect those allies and our people that exist within their country,” Bailey said.
“We just have to make sure that the assets are there to provide protection and assurances that they expect of us.”
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.
The Adam Smith Institute (ASI) has unveiled a proposed Free Speech Bill for the UK. It will infuriate almost the entire governing class – especially since American lawyers, with at least one eye on the First Amendment, had a large hand in drafting it.
The draft bill is short and strong. It gives a positive right to free speech – subject only to stated, narrow exceptions, such as incitement to crime. It says, explicitly, that speech may not be suppressed merely because it is ‘offensive, grossly offensive, insulting, abusive, shocking, blasphemous, indecent’ or causes ‘an emotional or intellectual impact’ on anyone, as the current law allows. The bill would also ban compelled speech. While most of what the bill sets out is directed at the state, it would also narrow the limits on an employer’s right to discipline employees for what they say off the job.
The laws and practices currently used to curtail our right to free expression are picked off one by one: it strips the Public Order Act of its power to enforce content-related restrictions on speech. The appalling section 127 of the Communications Act, which prohibits posting anything ‘grossly offensive’ on the net, would go. Non-crime hate incidents would be outlawed. No conditions relating to speech or opinion could be placed on public employment, licensing or any public benefit. Website owners would be spared liability as publishers of information.
Best yet, the bill would clip the wings of the European Convention on Human Rights. Liberals often forget that in many cases, the ECHR enforces significant limits on free speech.). Ironically, if the UK were to introduce a First Amendment tomorrow, the loudest yelps would come from human-rights lawyers lamenting the loss of authority over what we can and can’t say.
Obviously, the ASI’s initiative is intended to provoke an establishment that has become very comfortable with censorship. Nevertheless, it matters, mainly because it is the right approach. Vague commitments to free speech don’t work, unless we also get rid of the props that have supported censorship in the law for decades: Public Order offences, the Communications Act, ill-defined anti-harassment laws and so on.
The fact that the bill is American-inspired is important. A prime mover is the admirable American attorney, Preston Byrne, who is currently leading the fight against Ofcom’s campaign to dictate what US websites can and can’t publish. Forget the now-fashionable anti-Americanism in the progressive establishment – the fact that foreigners now view the UK as a free-speech disaster ought to be a source of shame to any government.
Until now, serious free-speech advocacy among the establishment class has been virtually non-existent. While plenty may claim to support it, the idea of relaxing controls on the internet still makes them blanch. This bill, expressed in proper legal form and outlining a clear, watertight case for speech protections, has a good chance of moving the Overton window in the right direction.
Of course, there is now an open goal waiting for any political party with the nous to line it up. Imagine a ticket stressing the right of anyone – from the tycoon to the keyboard warrior to the janitor – to say what they damn well please, without fear of threats from the state, police or employers. The attraction is enormous. It would shine an embarrassing spotlight on the ever-more authoritarian Labour Party – especially if Nigel Farage, Kemi Badenoch or both of them were to adopt it.
The Free Speech Bill has no chance of becoming law just yet. But if it pushes free speech to centre stage, its publication will have been an unalloyed good. Now, we need to keep advancing the ideas it contains – the same ones our American cousins laid out in their all-important First Amendment.
Andrew Tettenborn is a professor of commercial law and a former Cambridge admissions officer.
A journalist has been kidnapped in Iraq, and suddenly, the US government has decided it does, in fact, care about the safety of journalists. That is, as long as they’re white, and it’s not Israel killing or threatening them.
Iraq scene of kidnapping
Shelly Kittleson, an Italian-American journalist who contributes to Al-Monitor, was kidnapped in Baghdad on Tuesday. Reports suggest a suspected Iran-backed armed group was behind the abduction.
American freelance journalist Shelly Kittleson has been kidnapped in broad daylight in Baghdad.
Iraq’s interior ministry says authorities at the highest level are searching for the 49-year-old. pic.twitter.com/86ToXdVRiG
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) April 1, 2026
Videos circulating on social media show men capturing Kittleson on Saadoun Street in central Baghdad.
Middle East Eye has reported that authorities in Iraq had launched an operation to find the kidnappers, and:
they had intercepted a vehicle belonging to the kidnappers, which overturned as they attempted to flee.
Security forces were able to arrest one of the suspects and seize one of the vehicles used in the crime.
Dylan Johnson, US assistant secretary of state for Public Diplomacy, said on X that Iraqi authorities have arrested an individual linked to the Kataeb Hezbollah group.
Of course, we should take anything the US government says with a huge pinch of salt.
Murdering journalists
The US has stood blindly by whilst Israel has murdered journalists in both Gaza and Lebanon for the last two and a half years.
Back in 2022, Israel murdered Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh. The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) shot the Palestinian-American in the head while she was covering an Israeli army raid in Jenin in the occupied West Bank.
The US government claimed the death was unintentional – despite Israel’s long history of targeting journalists.
Since then, Israel has murdered over 300 journalists since October 7, 2023. It was responsible for two-thirds of all press killings in both 2025 and 2024.
Most of the media workers Israel killed were Palestinian. However, Israeli air strikes also killed 31 staff in newspaper offices in Yemen.
The IOF have committed more targeted killings of journalists than any other government’s military since records began.
Only last week, Israel murdered journalists Ali Shuaib (Al-Manar) and Fatima Ftouni (Al-Mayadeen), along with Fatima’s brother, camera operator Mohamad Ftouni. They join a long list of Lebanese journalists that Israel has murdered.
Israel has repeatedly labelled media outlets and journalists as ‘terrorists’. Obviously, Western media and governments have parroted these claims without any evidence to support them.
The Israeli military also posted a photograph of Shoaib dressed in a military uniform. However, when asked by Fox News to provide the image, a spokesperson said:
Unfortunately there isn’t really a picture of it, it was photoshopped.
It provided no evidence to support its claims that Shoaib and Ftouni were Hezbollah combatants.
Israel goes after journalists in an attempt to stop the world from witnessing its war crimes. If it kills all the journalists in Gaza, Lebanon, and even Iran, then the rest of the world will not know what it’s up to.
Suddenly, the US cares?
The US has stayed quiet while Israel murdered over 300 journalists – many of whom were brown, and often Muslim.
Now all of a sudden:
The FBI, National Security Council, state department, Delta Force and the Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service were in contact about her abduction.
So, they can pay attention to attacks on journalists, after all. Of course, Kittleson is originally from rural Wisconsin.
So, whether it’s because Israel is not the perpetrator here or because Kittleson looks very white and is from a rural part of the US, the government suddenly decided it cares about journalists in the Middle East.
The US would not care if it were Israel that had kidnapped or even murdered Kittleson. Likewise, if a visibly brown, Black, or Muslim US citizen had been abducted, the US government would not care.
The hypocrisy is astounding – but what more should we expect from a government that Israel has so much influence over?
Featured image via Shelly Kittleson/Instagram
The reviews are out for the new Super Mario Bros. Movie and… it sounds like the film is anything but a level-up.
While we weren’t exactly expecting the follow-up to the animated video game adaptation to be the next Citizen Kane, it’s worth pointing out that the response to the first film was, at least, somewhat mixed, and it went on to gross more than a billion dollars at the global box office, making it the 20th biggest box office earner of all time at the time of writing.
Ahead of The Super Mario Galaxy Movie’s release at the end of this week, critics have been having their say, and they’ve certainly not been holding back, with a smattering of two- and one-star reviews (not to mention a zero-star take from one particularly unimpressed reviewer).
Here’s a selection of what’s been said so far about The Super Mario Galaxy Movie…
“Of course it’s intended for little kids, but it surely didn’t need to be such a visually dull screensaver of a movie, with even more of the cheesy, Euro-knockoff look of that first film. And, again, the paucity of funny lines is a real puzzle.”
“It’s a supremely vacuous anti-movie that climaxes with a sequence featuring full-screen Nintendo gameplay, as if to remind us of the levels of rancid commercial whoredom we’ve reached.
“The film is torturous to sit through and, for me, provoked periods of actual physical discomfort. I had to stab myself repeatedly in the hand with a pen to distract from the howling distress. It’s that bad, and that offensive.”
Nintendo/Illumination/Universal
“It’s testament to just how bad the original Super Mario Bros Movie was that this sequel can be a noticeable improvement in every respect – animation, storytelling, humour, vocal performances, you name it – while still comfortably qualifying as absolute rubbish.”
“The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” is frenetic in such an impersonal way that it feels like the entire film should be put on Ritalin […] The film treats its story as a threadbare adventure, a mere throwaway, because it’s so focused on those little pings of recognition for gamers. And that’s quite a comedown.”
“[The Super Mario Galaxy Movie] offers the adults a few pings of nostalgia, but otherwise it’s a humourless, hysterical trudge. […] The moments of fan service might keep the hardcore happy, but for everyone else over the age of five it’s just a succession of loud, bright things happening without any real point.”
“Relentlessly fast-paced and filled with hyperkinetic visuals, the sequel hits the sweet spot in terms of what its target audience wants, even if adult non-aficionados will find little of interest other than the starry vocal cast.”
“The Super Mario Galaxy Movie doubles down on its own blandness. There’s barely a plot here. Not a single memorable character. Not even another piano ditty for Jack Black to sing […] There is… one real, solid joke in this film? And it’s mostly just repeating a bit from Disney’s Zootopia.”
Nintendo/Illumination/Universal
“A movie like this will probably make a lot of money, because it doesn’t rock the boat. But a boat that never rocks is a boat that never goes anywhere. That’s how boats work. They’re supposed to take you on a journey.
“The Super Mario Galaxy Movie doesn’t take you anywhere you haven’t been before, and it’s not as fun, it’s not as exciting, and it’s not as challenging as literally any of the games it’s based on. This is not an adaptation of the Super Mario Bros., it’s just a reminder that the franchise exists.”
“A masterpiece of game design that provides endless levels of unique planets to roam and explore, 2007’s Super Mario Galaxy is filled with moments of pure euphoric joy […] yet somehow on screen, it all registers as flat, imagination packaged into the most cleanly corporate and focus-group approved form possible.”
“While it’s likely that retro gamers won’t find anything here that wasn’t in the first movie – Yoshi and one or two others aside – it’s no doubt got enough for kids to enjoy, which will surely come as a relief for parents looking to entertain their offspring over the Easter holidays.”
“This is not a movie to be scrutinised, but to allow beleaguered elder millennial dads to sit their tots down for a precious two hours (if you count the trailers) and get some much-needed rest. It’s cute, and breezy, and rock-stupid, and will probably make a billion dollars again. Such is the world in which we live.”
“This film is even more of a manic roller coaster ride compared to the first movie, with so many gaming references packed into every scene, it’s hard to keep up. There are also a lot more power-ups used this time around, and that results in some fun and interesting combat for Mario and Luigi.”
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie arrives in cinemas on Friday.
Iraq have achieved a long-awaited and historic milestone, securing their place in the 2026 World Cup finals after a thrilling 2-1 victory over Bolivia. The intercontinental play-off match was held at the BBVA Stadium in Monterrey.
The “Lions of Mesopotamia” return to the World Cup after a four-decade absence. Their last appearance was in the 1986 tournament.
The team’s achievement is already being considered one of the most significant milestones in Iraqi football history.
Iraq v Bolivia: a fiery start and an early goal
The Iraqi team entered the match with great enthusiasm and nearly opened the scoring early through Ibrahim Bayesh in the second minute.
They continued their attacking pressure and quickly translated their dominance into goals in the 10th minute. Ali Al-Hammadi rose to meet a corner kick taken by Amir Al-Ammari and headed it into the net.
There were massive celebrations from Iraqi fans, who had traveled from both inside and outside Mexico, particularly from the United States.
Despite Iraq’s dominance, Bolivia gradually worked their way back into the game and managed to equalize in the 38th minute through Moisés Paniagua, who capitalized on a rebound inside the penalty area. The first half ended 1-1.
Arnold seals the victory… and Ayman Hussein makes history
In the second half, coach Graham Arnold made early substitutions that gave the team an attacking boost.
Marco Faraj played a crucial role by setting up the second goal, scored by Ayman Hussein, securing Iraq’s qualification and igniting the stadium.
The Iraqi team maintained their defensive composure until the final whistle, clinching the victory and confirming their return to the world stage in a big way.
Joy sweeps across the Iraqi streets
As soon as the final whistle blew, celebrations erupted in the streets of Baghdad and various other Iraqi cities.
Thousands of fans poured into the streets to celebrate this historic achievement, which revived hope for an entire generation of Iraqi football enthusiasts and wrote a new chapter of footballing glory after a 40-year wait.
Thus, Iraq returned, not just as a qualified team, but as a story of resilience and victory, writing a new chapter in the history of Arab football.
Iraq will compete in the World Cup in a challenging group that includes France, Norway, and Senegal.
They will begin their campaign against Norway on 16 June 2026 at Boston Stadium in the United States.
Featured image via the Canary
Britain’s “special relationship” with the US has finally been put to bed by the Iran war, according to former UK government adviser.
Donald Trump has slammed Britain repeatedly over the last month over Keir Starmer’s reluctance to get involved in the Middle East conflict.
The president called British aircraft carriers “toys” and told the UK to “go get your own oil” from the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, as the Iranians continue to blockade the major shipping lane.
Trump’s secretary of defence Pete Hegseth also mocked the “big, bad Royal Navy” in a press conference this week.
Peter Ricketts, who was the British government’s first National Security adviser between 2010 and 2012, said the US’s criticism is proof there is not a particularly exceptional bond between the two countries.
He told Times Radio: “I think it should really put to bed finally, once and for all the idea of a special relationship.
“Honestly, we’ve never had a special relationship with Americans. You know, we’ve had a transactional relationship with them. that’s normally been quite a warm one.”
However, he did say that there is still plenty of “operational cooperation” between the UK and their American counterparts, despite this friction between leaders.
Ricketts said: “I do think, though, that the operational cooperation between the defence staffs and the intelligence staffs and the foreign policy people is still proceeding pretty much as it does, very professionally.
“If you look at the fact that the Americans are using British bases, that’s an example of cooperation. British planes are flying in the Gulf in defence of Gulf countries. So I think it’s like an iceberg at the top.
“Above the waves, it’s very, very choppy. Down below, out of sight, I think the operational cooperation goes on.”
Technology secretary Peter Kyle also insisted that Trump’s latest attacks had not embarrassed the government.
He told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: “You’re only humiliated if you allow yourself to be humiliated in the way that you act and respond.”
He insisted Starmer has acted with “dignity” throughout his time in office, taking a “cool, calm” approach towards the Trump administration.
Politics
Low pay and ‘political climate’ contributing to safety fears for London nightlife performers
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:
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There has been more racism and sexist heckling.
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Some venues will make a point prior to the show regarding not touching performers / consent but some don’t.
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The world we live in is more homophobic, transphobic and misogynistic, travelling on public transport in full drag makeup is terrifying.
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The rise of the far right and my own personal experiences with events being protested.
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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
Rosamund Pike got very honest about the making of Doom while reflecting on the early years of her career in a recent interview.
Last month, the Oscar nominee made an appearance on Elizabeth Day’s podcast How To Fail, where she was asked about some of the action movies she took part in early on in her screen career.
“It started well with James Bond,” she began, referring to her “promising start” in the movie Die Another Day, but admitted that things soon took a downward turn.
She recalled: “When I was making Pride & Prejudice, and I was having great fun in my cornfields, in my bonnet, I got a call to be in an action franchise.
“They were making a cinema version of the video game Doom, and I think in my bonnet, in my field of hay bales, [I thought] ‘yeah, I can do anything, I can jump on this hay bale in my crinoline, so I can certainly go and kill some zombies on Mars’.”
Rosamund pointed out that, initially, the film would have seen Ray Winstone in the lead role, who was subsequently replaced by Dwayne Johnson, who was still being credited as “The Rock” at this time in his own acting career.
Di Bonaventura/Universal/Kobal/Shutterstock
“Suddenly I’m in this film with The Rock and I realise how utterly ill-equipped I am to be an action star,” she claimed.
“I was just out of my comfort zone, out of my league, out of my depth and the film was an absolute bomb,” Rosamund continued. “I probably could have ended my career. I mean, it was just probably one of the worst films ever made. It was a catastrophe, I think.
“As I say, I don’t read the reviews, but you get the sense like you are lucky to have survived that one. But then, it wasn’t career-ending for The Rock. Or me, as it turned out.”
However, Rosamund did come away from the project having learned an important lesson about doing her research before accepting roles.
“I didn’t know enough about video games,” she conceded. “I wasn’t the right girl to be in that.”
As Rosamund suggested, Doom was slammed by critics upon its release in 2005, currently holding a critical score of just 18% on the reviews site Rotten Tomatoes.
Doom was rebooted in 2019 with a new cast, although the movie ended up being released direct-to-video.
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