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The Herald Scotland
12-07-2025
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
We used to have hope and compassion. Where did it all go?
The documentary reminded me that, 20 years after Live Aid, there was Live 8 on July 2, 2005, held in eight cities around the globe, including Moscow. That was the time of the Make Poverty History campaign, of the G8 in Gleneagles when world leaders, including Vladimir Putin, signed up to an accord to cancel debt owed by the poorest nations of the world and to boost aid to Africa. It was a time when President George Bush committed $15 billion to the fight against Aids in Africa and the Caribbean, saying that compassion was an American value. Looking at the hopes and aspirations of those times gone by and looking at the world as it is today, all I can ask is: where did it all go wrong? Doug Maughan, Dunblane. Who are they kidding? Who are Prime Minister Starmer and President Macron kidding if they think that their "one in, one out" pilot scheme is 'groundbreaking", will have a 'deterrent effect beyond the numbers actually returned" and will 'finally turn the tables"? At least there was no further mention of the sound bite pipe dream of "smashing the gangs" ('Starmer and Macron detail 'one in, one out' migrant pilot to curb crossings", The Herald, July 11). It is worth noting their scheme is to curb crossings, not stop them. A potential migrant was interviewed on TV this morning and unsurprisingly said it would not deter him. Hundreds come over each week and the risk of being one of those few selected (how?) to be returned is minuscule, and anyway the legal aid lawyers will be queuing up to challenge that selection and appeal again and again against it if necessary. We have huge numbers of migrants coming here to seek asylum through legal routes and that will no doubt continue, but the illegal migrants are paying the trafficking gangs to avoid any scrutiny. How can it be in our national security interests to have thousands of mainly young men, about whom we know little or nothing, dispersed around the country ? When will the Government act on its previous admission that it was its 'duty" to stop, not just curb, these illegal migrants? That will require it to enforce the sovereignty of the UK and its borders by legislating to create the real deterrent that illegal migrants are disqualified automatically, no ifs or buts, from staying here and will be arrested on arrival and held securely until they can be deported back to French waters from where they came. What else can we do to stop this illegal invasion? Alan Fitzpatrick, Dunlop. Read more letters What hope now for Labour? The only way to quiet the Farage foghorn is to turn the narrative away from 'irregular migration' to one of the many, many other pressing, sidelined issues. There are two problems with this. • The predominantly right-wing UK media loves the aggro and lazy one-trick-pony-ness of it as much as Nigel Farage. • It would take real leadership from Keir Starmer (sprinkled with some belief in his own policies) to achieve. Banging on about migration in wholly negative terms while doing precious little to fix the broken system that encourages the exploitation – including even acknowledging the disastrous role of Brexit – is too easy fuel for Reform UK and is lapped up by a swathe of the population, now comfortable in dressing their racism up as patriotism. Angela Rayner, who might contend as a real leader, has just been carpeted by her union for her role in the Birmingham bin strike ("Angela Rayner suspended by Unite union over bin strike", heraldscotland, July 11). I didn't know Angela Rayner ran Birmingham City Council. And anyway, it is high time the major unions – including the ones who keep orchestrating rail strikes – cottoned on that in a country where everything is either privatised or de-facto privatised and the job of a lot of councils is simply working out whose mates to give the contracts to, strikes only actually affect the suffering public who are already paying through the nose for failing and dysfunctional services. With Ms Rayner's wings clipped by an out-of-touch union, what hope is there that Labour leadership can change the discordant tune? At least we've got Keir Starmer's Trump visit to look forward to. Amanda Baker, Edinburgh. Why should we pay for Trump? It is said that the purpose of Donald Trump's visit is to open the new 18 hole-golf course at his resort in the north-east coast at Menie, north of Aberdeen. He is not expected to meet with King Charles in London. For all intents and purposes therefore, the visit is a business trip and the only political elements pertaining to the situation are due to the person making the trip. The trip of 2018 cost the UK taxpayer in the region of £18 million, £5m of which covered time spent in Scotland. Since the purpose of the 2025 trip is to further expand Trump business, why should the UK taxpayer be called to compensate the President for security/transport costs if they are in fact business expenses ("Police seek aid over cost of Trump Scots visit", The Herald, July 11)? The US taxpayer no doubt gazes dumbfounded as their Head of State boards Air Force One for yet another round of golf in warmer climes, but they voted for him. Scotland didn't. Maureen McGarry-O'Hanlon, Jamestown. • Do we really want to see US President Donald Trump in Scotland, pay at least £5 million for his security, and let him promote his golf courses? No, no, no! He's the most obnoxious, arrogant and ignorant numpty ever to inhabit the White House. Our police could instead deal with what really matters in our communities and I would urge our golfers to play different courses. Andy Stenton, Glasgow. • You report the news of a Presidential visit by The Donald this month. The last time around the security bill was many millions of pounds. The numbers of police being taken from their usual duties numbered thousands. In view of his seemingly singular undiplomatic views on all things American and many other countries, it gives way as to how to view the visit. Does one join with a large demonstration, of which there will be many to choose from, or stay at home like the multitude who care nought for him and the ideology he professes? It is a no-win situation for the police and the taxpayer. R Johnston, Newton Mearns. Wind industry is on holiday During this current heatwave when we need electricity for air conditioning the most, I couldn't help but notice the wind industry has gone off on holiday. The entire fleet of thousands of entirely parasitic, demonstrably useless giant wind turbines littering our once-beautiful countryside is barely able to provide the National Grid with 2% – reaching the dizzying heights of 1.46% to be precise. Will we get a refund of the vast annual record-breaking subsidy for poor or non-existent service? George Herraghty, Lhanbryde. Keir Starmer pictured with Emmanuel Macron earlier this week (Image: PA) Drink up, Canada I note Ross Greer's advice to John Swinney to "switch" Scots whisky exports from America to Canada ("'Switch our whisky exports from US to Canada over Trump tariffs'", The Herald, July 11). Looking at this from the perspective of per head of population (335 million versus 40 million) this will require Canadians to increase their whisky consumption by a factor of 8.3. Good luck with that. Another example of sound political logic? Jon Cossar, Edinburgh. McDermid on the warpath Val McDermid has gone on the warpath ("Val McDermid: Politics is an 'absolute cesspit of misogyny'", heraldscotland, July 10). This is intriguing as Ms McDermid is very good friends with Nicola Sturgeon, who almost single-handedly removed the basic rights of all Scottish females to their own private space with her ill-thought-out gender reforms. Are we detecting yet more push-back against the very relevant Supreme Court decision on this matter which pointedly did not support Nicola Sturgeon's position ? You could write a book about all of this. Dr Gerald Edwards, Glasgow. Rough treatment Scotland looked wonderful yesterday (July 10) in the sun at the Scottish Open Golf at the Renaissance Club overlooking the Firth of Forth. The golf was also pretty good, with some Scots in contention and of course the fans behaved impeccably. The only slightly sour note was provided by the two heavies escorting Rory McIlroy, who seemed intent on preventing the young fans touching hands with their hero, shame. I am sure that Rory would not sanction such action. W MacIntyre, East Kilbride. Taps off, please The backdrop to Carol Kirkwood's BBC weather forecast today (July 11) was Battersea Park. The 20-plus fountains were majestically performing in full flow. The previous news item had stressed the need to conserve water due to the current weather. The watery spectacle seemed to contradict the public warning. Lack of communication or a complete disregard for common sense? Either way a prompt turn-off is required. Allan C Steele, Giffnock. Our 45 record Kristy Dorsey's article on the Eastwood Twelve ("The revival of golf at Eastwood: '12 is plenty'", The Herald, July 11) mentions people not wanting to take out the whole day to play 18 holes. Back in the day, three of us regularly played both of Hilton Park's courses, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, followed by nine holes on the shorter Allander course in the evening, only the twilight hours restricting our day's golf to 45 holes. We were known as the lopers, admittedly with no wives and families to be brought into the equation. David Miller, Milngavie. • Samantha Whitelaw, the manager of the 12 -hole Eastwood Golf Course, lists the advantages of the club's limited number of holes compared to the more conventional 18-hole course. As a former "holiday golfer", one of the attractions would be to claim that I could manage a round at my course in fewer than sixty strokes – but only on a good day. Malcolm Allan, Bishopbriggs.
Scotsman
08-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
The day Edinburgh helped to make the world a better place
The crowd at the Live 8 Edinburgh concert at Murrayfield Stadium on July 6, 2005 (Picture:) Twenty years ago, Edinburgh helped make the world a better place by playing its part in the Make Poverty History and Live 8 campaigns. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... This weekend I watched the amazing BBC documentaries about the 40th anniversary of Live Aid and the 20th anniversary of Live 8 and Make Poverty History. Whilst the G8 Summit took place at Gleneagles, it was Edinburgh that hosted the major demonstrations, Scotland's biggest ever march and the final Live 8 Concert at Murrayfield. These were historic and world changing events. Bob Geldof and Bono seized the world's attention and changed history. As the documentaries spell out their actions literally saved millions of lives and made the world a better place. Neither were political activists but were able to bend international politics through a well-orchestrated campaign to secure support to write off debt, boost aid and remove trade barriers for poor countries. Bono earlier managed to persuade George W Bush to tackle AIDS in Africa. In an extraordinary achievement Bono persuaded a right-wing Republican to spend what became $120 billion on black people who didn't have a vote in America. That alone has saved more than 25 million lives. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The G8 Summit was a tougher gig. Eight major concerts were arranged in the G8 countries. Edinburgh's concert was an additional event to signify the 'final push' during a week that included the massive Make Poverty History march. Make Poverty History banners went up across the city. One even adorned Edinburgh Castle thanks to Historic Environment Scotland. Bob Geldof and Bono spoke at the G8 Summit, where Russia was supportive of combined international humanitarian action in a way unthinkable today. Tony Blair, returning after the 7/7 terrorist attacks in London, literally had the German Chancellor up against a wall to get him to support the funding package. I didn't then realise just how deep the support was until I had taken a decision about what time the Live 8 concert would end. The Edinburgh line up had grown like topsy, and the finish time extended further as the concert approached. On the morning of the event, it was expected to finish around 11.30pm, but midway through I was approached by an ashen-faced Head of Property, Bill Ness, who said it was now 'finishing after 1am, and was it OK to continue?' There was no way I was going to stop the gig, and I simply said to press on and that I'd go out in the morning and apologise to Murrayfield residents we expected were bound to (and understandably) complain. To my amazement, there wasn't get a single complaint. Every resident knew what the cause was, and they supported it. I never felt more proud of the city or its residents, and my faith in human nature has never waned since that day. Over $30bn of aid was delivered. Countless millions of lives were saved. The world seems a darker place these days, but the anniversary of Live 8 and the achievements of Bob Geldof and Bono, and of the G8 governments involved should inspire us all. Our world can be an even better place if we choose to make it so. To this day I work in my office under a picture of Edinburgh Castle bearing the legend 'Make Poverty History'. It's still a cause that inspires. Donald Anderson is Director, Playfair Scotland
The National
05-07-2025
- Politics
- The National
20 years on from the Gleneagles G8 summit protests
Weeks earlier chancellor Gordon Brown spearheaded an African debt relief programme, 'Make Poverty History'. Protesters travelled to Scotland and established a camp in Stirling. The anti-G8 movement had debuted in Genoa in 2001, ending in extreme violence from Italian police towards protesters sleeping at night. READ MORE: Craig Murray: I've been left questioning real purpose of Alba Party The stakes for participants were high, but as British activist Jay Jordan says: 'In Europe, there is confrontational policing. In the UK, policing is cleverer – the bosses have read their Foucault.' Protest at the time was divided into two main 'blocs', pink and black. The pink bloc used non-confrontational, artistic, musical, mocking and playful approaches to get their message across, while the black bloc would sometimes resort to confrontation, rioting and destruction of buildings. In 2005, I was part of the pink bloc, as a member of a samba band called Rhythms of Resistance based in London. I took my 11-year-old daughter, a drummer in the band, to Scotland. The anti-G8 organisers had hired a train from London to Edinburgh for protesters – 'for about £2000', according to one of the leaders, Amy Stansell. Rhythms of Resistance occupied a carriage. We practised drums while speeding through England. I'd brought a picnic, including a large trifle containing Malibu as well as wild strawberries from my garden. King's Cross station was crammed with police looking wary as excited protesters assembled to get on the train. On the platform, I spied Helen Steel, a defendant in the 'McLibel' court case against McDonald's, the longest running libel trial in British history, in which she was represented by Keir Starmer. As a well-known protester, she had been tricked into having a long-term relationship with an undercover 'spy cop'. Many of the interviewees for this piece are participants in the ongoing Mitting Inquiry into the spy cop scandal. All of them talked about the phenomenon of being infiltrated by undercover police. Mark Kennedy, one of the spy cops, was present in Gleneagles and organised most of the protesters' transport. One Scottish activist, whom I'll call Fraser, said: 'I knew Mark Kennedy quite well. I thought I had some sort of 'spy sense', but I didn't know. I was a bit humbled. All I knew was I didn't like him.' The anti-G8 protest at Gleneagles was well organised. Amy Stansell explains the preparation: 'We moved to Scotland six months before, sofa surfing and staying in communities such as Bilston Glen protest camp.' Amy and her partner Robin spent months trying to find a piece of land where they could set up a convergence camp, which, inspired by a No Borders camp in Schengen, was divided into small local 'barrios' each with a kitchen. The idea was to create a horizontal democracy: 'Providing space for people to meet, network, connect – a safe non-capitalist space, where people can be without having to spend money, where people can dream and have ideas. We wanted to change people's hearts by creating a miniature vision of the world we wanted to see.' Fraser recalls the difficulties that arose when they met with farmers: 'There were a number of sites where we had handshake agreements, we had a site and then … we didn't.' Amy explains: 'We had a big pot, around £5000, for renting some land. We were looking at land, assessing it on the basis of accessibility, of drainage, of water, the flatness. One person intimated that they had been basically pressured not to make a deal with us. 'We'd lost our first two choices due to what we termed at the time 'dark forces'. I remember ringing up the chief executive of Stirling Council at 8pm one night and saying, 'In a few weeks' time, you're gonna have 5000 activists descending on your town, and if there's not anywhere for them to go, they're just going to be around in the town, and it's just going to be really hectic'. READ MORE: Kate Forbes: Bigger-picture switch is proving key in tackling tourism issues 'The next morning, the people at the council who we were liaising with contacted us and said, 'We've got a bit of land for you'.' But the land was not ideal, Amy remembers, 'One of the things that we really worried about was that the site was completely surrounded by a brook. There was one road in and the rest of it was surrounded by a river. We felt a bit like, 'are we in a trap now?'.' Fraser agrees: 'It wasn't what we wanted. There was the danger of getting kettled and the danger of when we got kettled, people jumping in the river.' On July 2, 2005, some 2000 people and the samba band marched through Edinburgh in a carnival atmosphere. The weather was hot; the buildings tall, grand and grey. I played a surdo, a huge drum (in general, the smaller the woman, the bigger the drum) for miles, which was exhausting. Then the band made our way to the camp in Stirling, the nearest large town to Gleneagles. I'd already attended an anarchist anti-G8 camp in Evian in 2003, which was the political equivalent of the Glastonbury Festival. Organised along the barrio system, it had music, workshops, tents, food stalls, activities and meetings. I cooked meals for the camp using donated and waste food from dumpsters for the Manchester barrio kitchen. I blogged at the time: 'Have attended more meetings in a week than ever before in life.' Meetings used hand signals, eg waving hands for agreement (silent clapping). Much of the language started in 1960s protest movements and has since been used in civil rights, Reclaim the Streets, climate camps, anti-globalisation movements and Occupy. Protest hand signals were added to the basic samba vocabulary, as players cannot hear each other. This is also a good way to cross language barriers for international participants. Sister protest samba bands travelled from Belgium, Germany, Holland. The camp was multilingual. I was surprised by the efficiency and organisation of the Stirling convergence camp. There were toilets, food stores and a sophisticated ecological greywater system for wastewater. Kate Evans, a political cartoonist who was present, recalls: 'There was an impromptu Highland Games. I won the caber toss!' We even had a camp witch – an American called Starhawk who cast spells over the campsite to protect it from the police. On Wednesday, July 6, the main day of protest against the Gleneagles summit, many activists walked through the undergrowth overnight, hiding in the heathery hills, to reach Gleneagles. I wrote at the time: 'The call came through at about 5am that the M9 had been taken by us. Big cheer. This was the least likely blockade to succeed. 'By 7am, the A9 was blocked, and many B roads. I was standing next to the medics as they received news: 'Lancaster took the B2499, Nottingham have taken this other road' and so on. It was like the Wars of the Roses!' Starhawk had been doing invisibility spells for the walkers who blockaded the roads. 'I think magic doesn't work in theory, only in practice,' Jay says. I spent the rest of the day on the 'baby bloc', a children's protest convoy headed by a London double-decker red bus (maximum speed 30mph). Once we arrived at the police lines, near Auchterarder, close to the Gleneagles hotel, we set up a 'terrorist toddlers' picnic, which included a sound system, clowns, bubbles, rain, banners, colour and an enormous umbrella under which we played samba. Entertainment was provided also by the Geishas of Gaiety (white-faced, dressed in kimonos and waving fans) and the Radical Cheerleaders, as well as the award-winning poet Kae Tempest (at that time Kate Tempest). The police appeared nonplussed. Jay, who led the Clandestine Insurgent Rebel Clown Army (Circa), which used clowning, satire and absurdity to critique the establishment, remembers with amusement: 'Bored cops were convinced to play a game similar to paper scissors rock, called wizards, goblins, giants. At the end, they couldn't help but laugh and we hugged.' That night in the camp, we were on high alert, blockaded by police. From time to time, people would run about, screaming, 'we are going to be raided'. Others sneaked out slowly, avoiding police lines. On July 7, the morning after the confrontation at Gleneagles, we heard the news – terrorist bombings on public transport in the centre of London. We gathered for a large meeting. People were sombre and concerned. I was holding back tears. My sister lived in King's Cross and I was terrified she'd been caught up in it. Our protest and the Make Poverty History message were wiped off the front pages. As Amy explains: 'That took the attention from us, which is terrible to say but that was our experience. 'We'd put in months of our lives to do this, and no-one noticed, apart from a few delegates who couldn't get to a few meetings. We wanted it to be big news and it wasn't because of the bombing. READ MORE: Pat Kane: The powerful vision of Adam Curtis has an obvious blind spot So, do participants in the 2005 anti-G8 camp at Stirling think protest works? What did they learn? Giovanna Speciale, a music leader in the samba band, reflects: 'The change is us. Politicians are very rarely changed by protesters coming up and saying, 'You should change, you should change your attitude. You're really bad'. 'Protest rarely changes anyone's mind, but it does change what is politically feasible to talk about. 'Nothing changes someone more than having gone out, taken, done an action, got a placard, written on it saying what their attitude is, then showing that to everyone else. There is a massive problem with protest in that often we're othering ourselves, so we make ourselves look different, sound different. 'There is nothing less likely to change a politician's mind than a bunch of people who are clearly outsiders.' Amy says: 'That question actually makes me well up a little bit – that's quite an emotional question. I variously go through phases where I'm just like, 'there's no point', right? It does nothing. Years and years of doing massive protests like the Stop the War march in London and they just still invaded the next day. 'You do all of these massive events and then the only coverage we'd get would be the traffic news. I gave up the whole of my 20s, pretty much, to fight capitalism and be an activist.' Jay says: 'Stirling was the end of a cycle. It was a symbolic victory. Protesters were saying, 'This isn't normal. This isn't democracy.' But there is a burnout culture in activism. I teach regenerative activism now to combat it.' Fraser says of direct action: 'Obviously there is a sort of bravado – of youth or masculinity.' Giovanna adds: 'There were huge amounts of courage and, yes, sacrifice and creativity.' Amy says: 'I don't want to categorise my life in a hierarchy of excitingness, but they definitely were very exciting times. There was a sense of heroism, we're the ones who are standing up. Danger intertwined with righteousness – which is what makes heroism, isn't it?' It is often wondered whether there is really a point to protest, not least by activists themselves. There is little doubt, though, that the Stirling camp and anti-G8 protest at Gleneagles was a deeply meaningful experience for those involved.
Time Magazine
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Magazine
Richard Curtis and Lenny Henry
After witnessing firsthand the devastation of the famine in Ethiopia in the 1980s, British screenwriter and producer Richard Curtis returned home with an idea to use comedy to raise funds to help those in need. Fonted by beloved British comedian Lenny Henry and a plethora of other famous faces, what started out as a live stage show has become an annual fundraising event—Red Nose Day—and telethon that are still going strong. 'We took a big gamble in believing that people can take tragedy and comedy on the same night,' says Curtis, who also co-founded the Make Poverty History campaign in 2004. That gamble has paid off. Comic Relief has raised over $2 billion for charity projects tackling poverty and injustice, supporting more than 100 million people globally. To date, Comic Relief U.S., which operates Red Nose Day, has raised more than $436 million. Earlier this month, Curtis and Henry were honored with a Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy Catalyst Award for their philanthropic work with Comic Relief, which is now in its 40th year. Henry credits the success of Comic Relief to its ability to appeal to the public's will to do 'the right thing.' He says: 'I think it is really important in terms of citizenship, that we know when it's our turn to do something, and we have the energy and the wherewithal to do it.'
Telegraph
27-02-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Richard Curtis's green investing campaign shuts down after collapse in donations
A green investing campaign group co-founded by film director Richard Curtis is to close after a slump in donations. Make My Money Matter, which aimed to pressure banks and pension funds to stop funding fossil fuels, said it will be closing next month after five years in operation. It was launched by the Love Actually director in 2020 and had received public support from celebrities and campaigners including Stephen Fry, Chris Packham, and Caroline Lucas. 'As a non-profit, we've relied on philanthropic donations that have declined in recent years and it is not possible for us to continue our work,' the group said. In an email to its supporters, Make My Money Matter added that it will stop campaigning on March 7 and fully close by the end of next month. The email said: 'We have relied on philanthropic donations that have declined in recent years, and it has not been possible to continue.' It comes amid a major backlash against environmental, social and governance (ESG) focused investing which has intensified since Donald Trump entered office in January. A downturn in profits from the renewables industry and sharp increases in returns from the world's largest oil and gas companies has made the situation for ESG funds worse. Make My Money Matter had called on investors to pull all money out of any companies that financed new fossil fuel projects. Mr Curtis is known for launching high-profile campaigns including Comic Relief and Make Poverty History, as well as for directing influential British films including Notting Hill and Four Weddings and a Funeral. He said: 'It's been a roller-coaster ride – getting funding for campaigning is always hard – but the basic argument has always been the same: money makes the world go round – but it also has the potential to destroy it.' The British film maker launched Make My Money Matter alongside Jo Corlett, a former advisor to David Cameron in Downing Street. Tony Burdon, a former civil servant and Oxfam aid worker, acted as the pressure group's chief executive. When it first launched in June 2020, the campaign group said it was 'calling for the trillions invested through our pensions to help build a better world.' It subsequently led campaigns against leading British banks including Barclays, NatWest and HSBC while encouraging investors to put their money into accounts with lenders including Nationwide, Metro Bank and the Co-operative Bank. Make My Money Matter also published reports in partnerships with pensions giants including Phoenix Group and Scottish Widows. A spokesman for the pressure group said: 'The global economic situation is having an impact on funding for many non-profits.' The spokesman said the campaign group does not comment on its donors.
