UNIVERSAL CREDIT LIFELINE TAKEN AWAY FROM 70,000 NORFOLK PEOPLE

Posted on October 31, 2021 by Norwich Radical in Community and tagged austerity, benefits, Brexit, chloe smith, clive lewis, Community, cuts, disabled people against cuts, featured, Great Yarmouth, norfolk, Norfolk Against Universal Credit, norwich, Tory, uk, uk politics, Universal Credit, universalcredit, welfare, work.

by Sean Meleady

Thousands of people across Norfolk are facing financial struggle after the government cut the £20 a week uplift to the Universal Credit benefit in October. Although it was intended as a temporary measure to help with the economic effects of the lockdowns, it has become a lifeline for many.

It is estimated that 14,907 people in Norwich have lost £1,040 of their income with around 40% of them in employment. In June 2021 69,895 people were on Universal Credit in Norfolk alone.

THE HOLIDAY HOME PARADOX: WE LOVE CORNWALL BUT FEEL COMPELLED TO DESTROY IT

Posted on June 26, 2021 by Norwich Radical in Community, Perspectives and tagged Airbnb, coast, Community, conservatives, featured, foodbanks, holiday, home, homeless, house, housing, landlord, padstow, penzance, private housing, st mawes, Tories, uk, Zoopla.

by Sarah Edgcumbe

“Stop whining, you ungrateful inbred bastards, it’s our money that keeps you afloat” or some variant of that sentiment is regularly heard by Cornish people and permanent residents of Cornwall. Particularly in the summer. Particularly when we register our frustration at being priced out of communities we grew up in; at pristine green land being built upon, despite the presence of thousands of empty homes; and particularly when we dare to register our opinion that people are not entitled to as many houses as they like, no matter how wealthy they are. The severe levels of poverty experienced in parts of Cornwall are completely overlooked by wealthy holiday home-owners and the government (the two being far from mutually exclusive). It is hidden from view sufficiently that it will not dirty their holiday photos, it will not visibly encroach upon the sandy beaches or the pristine sea. They can pretend that everybody in Cornwall is as thick as portrayed in the TV show Doc Martin while maintaining a wilful ignorance about the devastating effects their Airbnb accommodation or holiday home is wreaking upon the county they proclaim to love.

SKATING ON THE EAST COAST

Posted on May 6, 2021 by Norwich Radical in Community and tagged barely coping clothing, cigarette skateboards, cobholm, Community, delta four, DIY, doghead promo, drug store, eaton park, featured, gils sk8 east anglia, grassroots, local, loddon, mainstream, norwich, punk, shed, sk8, skate, skate park, street, subculture, trowse diy, uk.

by Ash

Olympics aside, it’s an interesting time for skateboarding, especially on the UK east coast. To shredder’s delight we’ve witnessed new parks crop up in Loddon and Cobholm to name a couple, and to our dismay old scene relics like the Trowse DIY spot have been levelled. New local projects such as Cigarette skateboards, Barely coping clothing, Girls sk8 east anglia, the shed and Doghead promo have been established to support the scene, whilst Norfolk’s beloved Drug store have had their iconic sign nicked shortly before closing doors and moving into a dreamy new venue.

PILLARS OF THE COMMUNITY: NORWICH MOSQUES FEED HUNDREDS

Posted on March 17, 2021 by Norwich Radical in Community and tagged arson, Blessed Are the Strangers, Boris Johnson, charity, chloe smith, Community, conservative party, Covid-19, East Anglian Mosque and Community Centre, foodbanks, fundraising, Ihsan Mosque, Islam, islamophobia, Mile Cross, mosque, Muslim, norfolk community foundation, norwich, Norwich Central Mosque, Norwich Muslim Community Association, religion, solidarity, Soul Foundation, Tory Islamophobia, zakat.

By Sean Meleady

Mosques across Norwich have been working hard in recent years to develop understanding of the Islamic faith and culture, and to improve community relations. Starting with the establishment of the Ihsan Mosque near Chapelfield Gardens in 1977, there are also mosques in Dereham Road, Rose Lane and Aylsham Road, and a community centre in Sandy Lane. Not only is the local Muslim community small but it is geographically isolated from larger communities in Birmingham, London and Yorkshire.

BLACK LIVES MATTER: POEMS FOR A NEW WORLD – REVIEW

Posted on March 16, 2021 by Norwich Radical in Arts and tagged #rhodesmustfall, 'Funmi Adewole, african-american, Ambrose Musiyiwa, Arun Jeetoo, black, black lives matter, Black Lives Matter: Poems for a New World, BLM, capitalism, Charles G Lauder, Community, Covid-19, Eric Garner, featured, george floyd, hope, i can't breathe, imperialism, Jim Aitken, Kevin Higgins, key workers, mourning, Nick Allen, pandemic, poetry, police, police abolition, police violence, racism, Samantha Harper-Robins, The UK is not Innocent, uk, US, xenophobia.

By Ananya Wilson-Bhattacharya

Content warning: references to police violence, racist violence.

The revival of the Black Lives Matter movement has inspired an array of haunting artistic responses. Black Lives Matter: Poems for a New World, edited by Ambrose Musiyiwa, is no exception. With over 100 contributions from writers of diverse ages and backgrounds, the collection is a poignant exploration of an era of renewed protest and newfound solidarities, against the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic.

WHAT NEXT AFTER THE SIEGE OF CAPITOL HILL?

Posted on January 13, 2021 by Norwich Radical in Inter|national, Perspectives and tagged attack, Bannon, Biden, black lives matter, BLM, capitol hill, Community, conspiracy, coup, education, featured, grassroots, mutual aid, QAnon, riot, shaman, siege, terrorism, Trump, USA, violence, White House.

by Sarah Edgcumbe and Clyde Collins

The storming of Capitol Hill in Washington on the 6^th January and the ongoing aftermath has dominated western media over the past few days with good reason. White Americans fuelled by bizarre QAnon conspiracy theories and egged on by Trump’s false narrative of fraudulent election results, forced their way into the building, ransacked the interior, hung confederate flags, stole items and generally behaved like a bunch of supremacist football hooligans who had been binge-drinking for several hours, and whose team had just lost. In doing so however, they demonstrated the extent to which they have become empowered by Trump – and that is terrifying. When Trump leaves the White House (hopefully in handcuffs; tears streaking his fake tan), his manifest right-wing extremist legacy is going to remain present for years to come.

UNISON’S FIGHT AGAINST PROPOSED UEA STAFF PAY FREEZE

Posted on November 14, 2020 by Norwich Radical in Community and tagged academia, Community, featured, higher eduation, politics, Sportspark, trade unions, UCU, UEA, Unison, Unite, universities.

By Sean Meleady

Due to the impact of Covid-19, the University of East Anglia faces an expected £35 million shortfall. One too often neglected aspect of the crisis is the impact it has had on non-academic staff, with UEA having proposed a blanket pay freeze for all its 3,712 staff, alongside offering optional voluntary redundanciesand delaying incremental raises for long service.

SHELTERED, BUT NOT FROM MUCH: CLASS-BASED BARRIERS TO STUDENT HOUSING

Posted on September 19, 2020 by Norwich Radical in Student and tagged acorn, campaign, Community, coronavirus, covid, Covid-19, featured, guarantor, house, housing, international students, landlord, norwich, private accommodation, rent, social status, students, UEA, UEA SU, uk, university, University of East Anglia, working class.

by Kasper Hassett

This month, many returning university students are settling into house-shares in the private rental sector, as the first-year intake prepares to move into halls of residence shortly after. However, for students whose families live in poverty, there are a number of barriers to accessing rental homes, which have worsened this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, which has also constructed new obstacles to prevent poorer students from relying on campus accommodation.

NORWICH CITY COUNCIL CALLS FOR UNIVERSAL BASIC INCOME TRIAL

Posted on August 13, 2020 by Norwich Radical in Community and tagged arts, basic income, Bolsa Familia, Brazil, Brexit, canada, Catherine Rowett, child benefit, child poverty, clive lewis, Community, Covid-19, economics, featured, Finland, food banks, gender equality, Green Party of England and Wales, India, Jamie Osborn, Labour, mental health, Namibia, netherlands, norwich, Norwich City Council, norwich green party, Norwich Labour Party, organise, Permanent Fund of Alaska, Sierra Leone, spain, Switzerland, taxes, trade unions, training, UBI, UBI Lab Network, UBI Lab Norfolk, Uganda, uk, unemployment, Universal Basic Income, Universal Credit, welfare system, work.

By Sean Meleady

Norwich City Council has backed calls for the government to support a pilot for Universal Basic Income (UBI), which would trial providing a monthly income to all residents of the city, following a recent debate at City Hall. City councillors argued that all residents should receive this fixed monthly amount regardless of employment status, wealth and marital status.

MUTUAL AID IN ACTION: NORWICH’S COMMUNITY RESPONSE TO COVID

Posted on July 8, 2020 by Norwich Radical in Community and tagged charities, Community, community organising, coronavirus, Covid-19, digital divide, featured, Gateway Vineyard Church, grassroots, Hellesdon, Hellesdon Helping Hands, isolation, Lionwood Schools, lockdown, mutual aid, norwich, Norwich City Council, Norwich Soup Movement, pandemic, Pilling Park Community Centre, school holidays, schools, The Pantry, thorpe hamlet, Thorpe Helping Hands, Thorpe St Andrew, Trowse, volunteering.

By Sean Meleady

In Norwich, as in many other parts of the country, mutual aid groups set up in local communities through Facebook and Whatsapp have been helping people through the Covid-19 crisis in Norwich. These groups have been particularly important for the elderly, vulnerable, single parents and those asked to shield themselves by staying at home.

Community

UNIVERSAL CREDIT LIFELINE TAKEN AWAY FROM 70,000 NORFOLK PEOPLE

by Sean Meleady

THE HOLIDAY HOME PARADOX: WE LOVE CORNWALL BUT FEEL COMPELLED TO DESTROY IT

by Sarah Edgcumbe

PILLARS OF THE COMMUNITY: NORWICH MOSQUES FEED HUNDREDS

By Sean Meleady

BLACK LIVES MATTER: POEMS FOR A NEW WORLD – REVIEW

By Ananya Wilson-Bhattacharya

WHAT NEXT AFTER THE SIEGE OF CAPITOL HILL?

by Sarah Edgcumbe and Clyde Collins

UNISON’S FIGHT AGAINST PROPOSED UEA STAFF PAY FREEZE

By Sean Meleady

NORWICH CITY COUNCIL CALLS FOR UNIVERSAL BASIC INCOME TRIAL

By Sean Meleady

MUTUAL AID IN ACTION: NORWICH’S COMMUNITY RESPONSE TO COVID

By Sean Meleady

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