Latest news with #publicsupport
Russia Today
3 days ago
- Business
- Russia Today
Most Germans unhappy with Merz's leadership
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has suffered a major blow in terms of public support over the past month, with 56% of people disapproving of his work, a survey conducted by INSA institute shows. Less than a third of respondents said they are still satisfied with his leadership. In early June, the level of support for Merz stood at 36%, with 45% of Germans critical of his performance, according to the German tabloid Bild, which commissioned the poll. The governing coalition, which includes Merz's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Social Democrats, has also taken a beating, according to the poll. Almost 60% of Germans are not satisfied with the coalition's work, up from just 44% in early June, the data suggests. The two parties would no longer be able to form a majority government if elections were held this weekend, with the CDU getting 27% of the vote and the Social Democrats gaining 15%, according to INSA. Germany's most popular opposition party – the right-wing Alterative for Germany (AfD) – is polling just three percentage points behind the CDU, the poll suggested. Since taking office in May, Merz has adopted a hardline foreign policy stance towards Russia. Berlin – one of Kiev's largest backers – has pledged to provide €5 billion ($5.6 billion) to finance long-range weapons production in Ukraine. The chancellor also did not rule out providing long-range missiles capable of striking Moscow. Merz declared that diplomatic options in the Ukraine conflict were 'exhausted' earlier this month. The chancellor's statements prompted Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to accuse him of choosing escalation instead of diplomacy. The federal government's spending priorities have sparked criticism at home. 'Nobody understands that anymore,' AfD co-chair Alice Weidel said this week, referring to Berlin's decision to funnel taxpayers' money into weapons for Kiev while leaving domestic needs being unmet.
CBC
22-07-2025
- Business
- CBC
Carney aims to prioritize 'unity' during premiers' meeting, says Ontario Chamber of Commerce
Daniel Tisch, president and CEO of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce, says Prime Minster Mark Carney 'came across like a wartime leader' during his public address on Tuesday. He says his messaging following the premiers' meeting aimed to inspire 'unity' and 'public support.'
The Independent
22-07-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Public support for doctor strikes is declining
Public support for NHS doctor strikes is declining, according to a new YouGov poll. The survey found about half (52%) of people in the UK either 'somewhat oppose' (20%) or 'strongly oppose' (32%) the idea of resident doctors going on strike over pay. Meanwhile, a third (34%) of the 4,954 adults surveyed either 'somewhat support' (23%) or 'strongly support' (11%) doctor strikes. Older people are more likely to be against, with 52% of those aged over 65 'strongly opposed', compared with 10% of those aged 18 to 24. YouGov said the proportion supporting the strike over pay has dropped five points since it last asked the question in May. Back then, 48% opposed resident doctors striking, while 39% supported them taking action. It comes as the British Medical Association (BMA) condemned NHS England's plans for the health service during the five-day walkout, which begins at 7am on Friday. NHS England has written to NHS bosses urging them not to cancel pre-planned care wherever possible. The letter urges the health system to focus on maintaining emergency care, maintaining the flow of patients and 'maintaining elective care to the fullest extent possible' as well as 'priority treatments' such as cancer care. 'It will be important for systems and trusts to try and maintain normal levels of booked activity…' the letter said. It added: 'Reducing volumes of bookings and rescheduling of appointments and other activity should only happen in exceptional circumstances to safeguard patient safety.' On Tuesday morning, BMA deputy chairwoman Dr Emma Runswick told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the plan risked patient safety. She said: 'We've had proven systems over the last decade that have made sure that where we have to take strike action, senior doctors cover urgency and critical care. 'This time round, NHS England are pushing for the continuation of non-urgent and scheduled care in a way that we think at best is confusing and will create on-the-day cancellations – and at worst could be risky and lead to harm in emergency departments and on wards, because senior doctors cannot physically be in two places at once. 'We think that a notional guidance from NHS England which is saying that basically all scheduled work should continue to go ahead has potential to be seriously risky for patients.' During previous rounds of industrial action in 2023 and 2024, NHS England told trusts they could cancel large volumes of non-urgent care so that consultants could step in to cover emergency services. But under the leadership of new NHS England chief executive Sir Jim Mackey, hospitals have been given tougher rules over cancellations and said they may need prior approval. Dr Runswick said: 'Senior doctors are needed to be freed up in order to provide urgency and critical care. 'We think the vast majority of planned and unscheduled care should be shifted. 'There are always, in every hospital, local medical managers, local clinical leaders, who will make decisions about what is safe to go ahead – but trying to maintain scheduled care during this strike is not safe in many cases.' Professor Meghana Pandit, NHS England's co-national medical director for secondary care, said: 'The safest thing for patients is for the NHS to maintain as much urgent and planned care as possible during strikes, and we would encourage the BMA to work with us constructively to achieve this in the event industrial action goes ahead.' Talks between the Government and the BMA have continued in recent days, though Health Secretary Wes Streeting has ruled out extra pay rises. The BMA has also issued guidance for consultants regarding the extra pay they can seek for covering work during the strike that is not in their contracts. The BMA 'rate card' says consultants can ask for £188 per hour on weekdays from 7am-7pm and £250 an hour from 7pm to 11pm. At weekends, the pay claim can rise to £250 per hour from 7am to 11am and £313 per hour for overnight work from 11pm to 7am. The BMA guidance to consultants regarding the strike said: ' Consultants will no doubt want to work with employers to ensure that services are still able to operate effectively. 'However, they should not be expected to do so without agreement and without being appropriately remunerated… 'If you choose to cover such work, we recommend that you negotiate payment at an appropriate rate using our consultant rate card for non-contractual work.' Resident doctors, formerly known as junior doctors, were awarded an average 5.4% pay increase this financial year, following a 22% rise over the previous two years. However, the BMA says real-terms pay has still fallen by around 20% since 2008, and is pushing for full 'pay restoration'. Resident doctors are qualified doctors in clinical training. They have completed a medical degree and can have up to nine years of working experience as a hospital doctor, depending on their specialty, or up to five years of working and gaining experience to become a general practitioner (GP).
Daily Mail
18-07-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Shock impact of Epstein scandal on Trump's presidency... and the cabinet member now on the brink, revealed in new Daily Mail poll
A new Daily Mail poll stands in sharp contrast to a flood of recent surveys suggesting an impending political collapse for President Donald Trump. Apparently, Trump's public support is on a downward trajectory - at least according to the latest Economist/YouGov poll and others. Your browser does not support iframes. Your browser does not support iframes. Your browser does not support iframes.
Times
14-07-2025
- Business
- Times
In tough times, it's more important than ever to get behind sport
Don't forget the trapeze artists, strongmen and clowns! Bread and circuses? In these straitened economic times, there is little focus on the provision of societal distractions from a government struggling to agree just who in the population should be eligible for state support. Sport, the modern circus, must be on its game or risk a lengthy hiatus in the hosting of its mega-events on British soil. The chancellor's recent spending review contained a real-terms cut in funding for culture, media and sport — hardly a surprise, given the enormous pressures bearing down on the public purse. Organisations across these sectors have seen inflation eat away relentlessly at the value of their state funding in recent years. The economies they have had to make are less newsworthy than the effect of inflation on essential services but no less painful. It is hard to make an argument that sport and the arts should be a high priority when money is tight. But having led various organisations in the sporting sphere, I can attest that without public support most would struggle and many fold, leaving holes in the patchwork quilt of culture that is emblematic of the variety and richness of life in Britain. It is easy to argue that leisure pursuits should be self-sustaining, that they deserve to fail if their beneficiaries can't find the resources to ensure they break even. This, though, is the path to elitism, and with it a narrow range of available choices for spectators and participants alike. If you doubt the pressure, reflect on the might of the Premier League. Its dominance of sport's commercial landscape hurts not only football at lower levels but, less noticed though perhaps more significantly, other sporting pursuits and enterprises. Whatever your view of the need for the independent football regulator (I happen not to be in favour), that MPs should feel the need for its creation is a striking indication of the stress felt across football, and by extension sport more widely. The British public proves the breadth of its sporting tastes whenever big events roll around in the calendar, especially when on its own doorstep. UK Sport has done sterling work with sports governing bodies in persuading successive governments of the social and economic merits of backing bids to host such competitions. In the next year or so, Britain will welcome the Women's Rugby World Cup, Commonwealth Games, European Athletics Championships and a string of other international events from boxing to table tennis, parafencing to figure skating. Many of these are projects that have been years in the making — the scramble to arrange next year's Commonwealth Games being an exception. The Labour government signed off backing for Glasgow 2026 within its first few weeks in office. This, though, was still a honeymoon period for the new administration, a time in which its leaders might have been thinking fondly of their future places on finish lines in VIP stands rather than the cost of the circus. Now, governing bodies and cities are looking ahead to hosting opportunities that will require government commitment, albeit for spending in future fiscal years. Sir Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, and a consortium of UK Athletics, London Marathon and Great Run have their eyes on the 2029 World Athletics Championships and are lobbying for a £45 million Treasury contribution. Khan has also declared the capital's ambition to stage another Olympics and Paralympics. Blink or stall and the UK will miss opportunities such as these. Bid timetables are set and aspirant nations are circling, eager to burnish their image on the global stage. Although it may jar to think of floodlights and footlights right now, committing to the nation's culture would represent a vital investment in our collective wellbeing. Ed Warner sits on a number of boards and is the author of Sport Inc. He is writing in a personal capacity
