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Day: November 4, 2014

Equal Pay Day highlights difference between male and female salaries

Posted on by Besi

Equal Pay Day today came three days earlier than in 2013, when it fell on November 7 meaning women will effectively ‘work for free’ for the next 57 days.

Purna Sen
Purna Sen: Labour Parliamentary Candidate for Brighton Pavilion

FROM TODAY only men will effectively be paid for their work until New Year due to the difference between male and female salaries.

Purna Sen, Prospective Labour Parliamentary Candidate for Brighton Pavilion, said: “We have over four and half thousand single working mothers in Brighton and Hove.

“The fact that women continue to earn less than men on average is no longer acceptable. That the gender pay gap is increasing is scandalous and needs to be corrected. Equal pay is not only right in itself but essential in a time when so many women are supporting themselves and their families

 “A Labour Government will ask big companies (those with more than 250 staff) to publish their average hourly pay gap each year to expose whether men and women are being paid differently for doing the same work, and whether too few women occupy senior positions.”

Nancy Platts
Nancy Platts

Nancy Platts Prospective Labour Parliamentary Candidate for Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven, added: “I find it shocking that women need to work an extra three days for free this year because the pay gap is back on the rise. For the next 57 days women are effectively working for free. We can’t wait another 50 years for Equal Pay which is why Labour will be calling a vote in Parliament to get big companies to publish their pay gap. It’s simple if David Cameron’s Government doesn’t act, then back Labour so we can make the change that people need.”

Gloria De Piero MP
Gloria De Piero MP

Gloria De Piero MP, Labour’s Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities said: “Women are working an extra three days for free this year because the pay gap is back on the rise.

“Women shouldn’t have to wait another 50 years for equal pay, which is why Labour will be calling a vote in Parliament to get big companies to publish their pay gap.

“If David Cameron’s Government doesn’t act, a Labour Government will.”

The news comes as it was revealed, last week, that the UK has fallen out of the top 20 countries globally for gender equality dropping from 18th to 26th.

 

 

 

 

 

Kemptown MP encourages residents to take part in Falmer Avenue consultation

Posted on by Sarah Green

Simon Kirby, MP for Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven is encouraging residents to take part in the City Council’s public consultation following the recent planning application for 36 dwellings on land adjacent to 6 Falmer Avenue.

Simon Kirby MP
Simon Kirby MP

THE MP has written to hundreds of local residents to make them aware of the consultation.

To view details of the application, click here: 

Simon said: “I am encouraging all residents to take part in the consultation to make their views known to the Council who will decide on this application.”

The Kemptown MP has previously set out his vision for development in the city, saying the Council should focus much more on brownfield sites, city centre sites and increasing student accommodation at Falmer to increase the availability of housing and free up family homes in the city. He has consistently opposed large scale developments on green land at places like Meadow Vale and Falmer Avenue in Saltdean.

Simon said: “I am all for development where it is appropriate. However it can’t be a case of development at all costs and the Council should protect our precious green spaces.”

PREVIEW: Simply Red: Reformed! 2015 World Tour

Posted on by Besi

Simply Red mark their 30th anniversary with a world tour, the UK leg features 14 dates including two shows at The Brighton Centre on November 28 and 29, 2015.

Simply Red World Tour

SINCE THEIR arrival onto the scene in 1985 with their seminal cover of Money’s To Tight To Mention, Simply Red have made a string of classic, landmark albums that defined British R ‘n B throughout the 1980s and 1990s, introducing a generation to the joys of soul music and Mick Hucknall’s iconic voice.

Now back in vogue with countless young artists name checking their influence, Simply Red are going through something of a renaissance being re-appraised as one of the great British bands.

The band finished its initial, unbroken 25 year run with a concert at London’s O2 Arena in 2010, and now the time has come to get back on stage together.

Mick Hucknall said: “I like an anniversary, and this is a big one, It feels like the right time”.

Simply Red have sold 60 million albums worldwide and have a timeless back catalogue that includes the hits Holding Back The Years, If You Don’t Know Me By Now, Something Got Me Started, The Right Thing, Stars, Fairground, The Air That I Breathe and Sunrise.

 

The tour schedule is:

November 2015

Saturday 28                BRIGHTON, Brighton Centre

Sunday 29                   BRIGHTON, Brighton Centre

December 2015

Tuesday 1                    DUBLIN, Dublin 3 Arena

Wednesday 2             BELFAST, Belfast Odyssey

Friday 4                       NEWCASTLE, Newcastle Metro Radio Arena

Saturday 5                   GLASGOW, Hydro Arena

Sunday 6                     ABERDEEN, Aberdeen E&CC

Tuesday 8                   LEEDS, Leeds First Direct Arena

Wednesday 9             NOTTINGHAM, Nottingham Capital FM Arena

Friday 11                     LIVERPOOL, Liverpool Echo Arena

Saturday 12                MANCHESTER, Manchester Phones 4 U Arena

Sunday 13                   BIRMINGHAM, LG Arena

Thursday 17               LONDON, O2 Arena

Friday 18                    LONDON, O2 Arena

Tickets are priced at £50 & £45 everywhere (except London £60 & £47.50).

To purchase online, click here: OR click here:

Tickets go on sale Friday, November 7 at 8am.

Residents invited to comment on proposed changes to the City Plan

Posted on by Besi

From today, Tuesday, November 4, residents, employers and organisations across Brighton and Hove have the opportunity to give their views on proposed changes to the City Plan, which sets out a planning framework for homes and jobs in the city to 2030.

Cllr Phélim Mac Cafferty
Cllr Phélim Mac Cafferty

THE PROPOSED changes, agreed by the Policy & Resources Committee on October 16, increase the housing target for the city and open up the potential for limited housing development on a small part of the urban fringe to help address local housing needs. Other modifications relate to the Brighton Marina and sustainable buildings policies and are being made to address concerns expressed by the independent planning inspector currently examining the plan.

From November 4, people can comment on the proposed changes to the Plan.

To take part in the consultation online, click here: where you can also view the plan, supporting documents, guidance on how to make representations, and ‘frequently asked questions.’

Documents are also available at the customer services centres in Bartholomew House and Hove Town Hall as well as libraries or you can post comments to the LDF team at Brighton & Hove City Council, Room 201, Kings House, Grand Avenue, Hove, BN3 2LS.

The Planning Inspector, whose job is to make sure the city is doing everything possible to meet the city’s future housing needs, considered that the council should make a more rigorous assessment of housing potential from the urban fringe (the open space between the built up area boundary and the National Park) in order for the City Plan to be assessed as ‘sound.’

Without a ‘sound’ local Plan, the council would be in a weak position to resist inappropriate development across the city. This would undermine the positive and balanced approach to future growth.

Councillor Phélim Mac Cafferty, chair of the planning committee, said: “This is our residents’ opportunity to tell the inspector what they think of the government’s requested changes to the Plan.

“The city needs an adopted City Plan to guarantee future generations a balance between land for housing, jobs, and open spaces – including protection for over 90 per cent of our urban fringe.”

Closing date for comments is December 16 after which all the representations will be considered by the Inspector.

Labour pledge to make Brighton a ‘Living Wage City’

Posted on by Besi

Labour’s three prospective parliamentary candidates and council group leader have joined forces in a pledge to make Brighton and Hove a Living Wage city.

Purna Sen, Peter Kyle & Nancy Platts
Purna Sen, Peter Kyle & Nancy Platts

WHILST WELCOMING this week’s increase in the UK living wage level to £7.85,  Peter Kyle (PPC Hove and Portslade), Warren Morgan (Labour and Cooperative Group Leader), Nancy Platts (PPC Kemptown) and Purna Sen (PPC Pavilion) say that more joined up action is needed to ensure extensive coverage in Brighton and Hove.

All four politicians say that despite the welcome increase in new employers seeking living wage accreditation, low pay remains a growing problem in the city.

Research released last week shows that there are now a record 5.2 million people in the UK who are officially categorised as low paid – earning below 2/3 of the median.That translates into roughly one in five local people on low pay, with women and young people the worst affected.

Labour say this is a stark reminder that the economic ‘recovery’ is for the few – not the many and they say it helps explain the shocking increase in the number of children in Brighton & Hove living in poverty, as highlighted recently by the End Child Poverty Campaign.

 

Leader of Labour and Cooperative: Cllr Warren Morgan
Leader of Labour and Cooperative: Cllr Warren Morgan

If there is political change next May the PPCs and group leader commit to three measures to significantly increase the coverage of the Living Wage in the city.

• First, a Labour government will introduce tax rebates for those companies that sign up to become living wage employers in the first year of the next Parliament. This will be paid for from the actual exchequer savings from higher tax receipts and lower social security payments.

• Secondly, at a local level the council will do everything it can to join the growing number of Labour authorities that are spreading the Living Wage through the way in which they buy in council services. This will be a key element of the work of a Labour council’s Fairness Commission and integral to plans for more apprenticeships.

• Thirdly, the Labour party here in the city will campaign alongside like minded organisations such as Brighton Chambers of Commerce to ensure that employers in the city that do pay the living wage are celebrated and those that aren’t are encouraged to sign up.

For more information on how the rate is set, click here:

 

 

PREVIEW: Beauty & The Beast at Theatre Royal Stratford East

Posted on by Besi

This Christmas, in keeping with its long-standing tradition of combining the best loved stories with original music and new writing, Theatre Royal Stratford East presents a magical, fun-packed and sparkling new version of Beauty & The Beast.

Beauty & The Beast

THE SHOW, which will appeal to adults and children alike, will run from Saturday, November 29, 2014 to Saturday, January 17, 2015.

Written by award-winning Paul Sirett, with set and costume design by Harriet Barsby and Jenny Tiramani, the show offers a fresh and exciting new take on the timeless classic.

After arriving in Stratenford, Hingerland for the very first time, Belle soon realises that things aren’t quite what she expected and when her father goes missing, she’ll need all the help she can get as she races to find him in an enchanted palace. Will a chance encounter save the day?

With a sumptuous set that takes its inspiration from pop-up books and a bold new score delivered by the critically-acclaimed music duo Wayne Nunes and Perry Melius, Beauty & The Beast places audiences at the heart of the story.

The show will be directed by Dawn Reid, Deputy Artistic Director of Theatre Royal Stratford East.

Dawn said: “This is always an exciting time of year for us as we bring together an award-winning creative team who have a strong track record for delivering top-quality work. With a talented cast that truly reflects our diverse audience, this hilarious, actioned packed adventure is sure to delight – so book now to avoid missing out.”

Theatre Royal Stratford East’s much loved Panto veteran Michael Bertenshaw is back as Dame Aunty Giselle. He is joined by Helen Aluko as the show’s heroine, Belle, with Vlach Ashton taking on the formidable role of Beast.

Theatre Royal Stratford East is proud to be supported by Telford Homes who are sponsoring Beauty & The Beast. Jon Di-Stefano, Chief Executive ofTelford Homes said: “Telford Homes are heavily involved in the regeneration of Stratford town centre and we are particularly excited to be sponsoring Theatre Royal Stratford East’s pantomime this year. The theatre is a fantastic venue for those living in Stratford and further afield and I am sure our sponsorship will benefit both organisations in the future”.

 

Event: Beauty & The Beast

Where: Theatre Royal Stratford East, Gerry Raffles Square, London E15 1BN.

When: Saturday, November 29, 2014 – Saturday, January 17, 2015

Tickets:  Start from just £6.50 to £26.50, with concessions available on all performances.

To book tickets online, click here: 

Or telephone Box Office: 020 8534 0310

Access performances:

Signed performance: Saturday, December 13, 2pm

Captioned performance: Friday December 19, 7pm

Audio performance: Saturday 20 December 20, 2pm

Newham Discount Night:

Saturday, November 29. £2.50 tickets available for Newham residents who are first-time bookers (proof of address required. Call 020 8534 0310 to book. Offer not available online).

The production contains strobe lighting.

 

World’s largest independent expatriate research survey is now online

Posted on by Besi

Win £1,000 CASH, Amazon vouchers or Lebara SIM cards.

Expatriate Survey

WHAT DO expats really think about their life abroad? Do they give it the big thumbs up, or regret their decision to leave their country of origin?

Last year 80% of expatriates confirmed they have an improved quality of life where they now live. 72% said they enjoy a better climate and scenery, 67% an enhanced work/life balance and 63% a much greater sense of security.

With all that is going on in the world, the team at The Expat Survey reviews these and a broad range of other opinions each year; and whether or not they ever intend to return to their homelands.

During 2013 expatriates from all walks of life completed the research study including high net worth individuals, business executives, career movers, international students, economic and war zone migrants.

Zooming in on highlights from last year’s programme and focussing on current affairs and trends, there’s something for everyone. New topics for the 2014 survey include education and studying abroad, politics and voting rights, changes in attitude towards investments, life’s little luxuries, fashion and lifestyle; as well as mental, physical and spiritual health.

Many expatriates are overseas due to the nature of their work and so the programme is very interested in hearing from those that have relocated in pursuit of better opportunities for themselves and their families. Maybe they work for the oil and gas, utilities and mining sector or financial, technology or hospitality industries. No matter what their background is and where they are now their opinions are of equal importance to the project.

Specialising in the communication and consumption habits of those on the move and how human beings qualify their own personal identities, the i-World research unit is independent (it genuinely engages with expatriates organically and is not owned or its contents influenced by a media company or Corporate) and has more than 25 years experience in analysing international markets.

It wants to hear from expatriates over 18 years that are currently living outside their country of origin for more than 6 months in any one year; on either a temporary or permanent basis. Whether they are a business owner, employee, full time parent, student, retiree or any other status their contribution is very important. Those that complete all three questionnaires are automatically entered into a series of prize draws with £1,000 cash, Amazon vouchers and Lebara SIM Cards to be won. Expats can also opt to join their growing international focus group.

The Expat Survey is the largest and most in-depth annual online research programme of its kind (it is also available by post, simply text name and address to +44 (0) 7792 045121).

In 2013 expatriates of 89 nationalities responded from 125 countries to a total of 152 questions, producing the most comprehensive multi-topic profiles on their lives abroad.

Comprising three questionnaires:

• Migration & Lifestyle

• Retail & Finance and

• Travel & Health

To fill in the first part of their 2014 research programme, click here:

With no links to Governments and no personal details shared, the team hopes expatriate from all over the world will feel welcome to engage, express their views and share their adventures and experiences.

PREVIEW: Slope by Pamela Carter

Posted on by Besi

Autumn 2014 sees Untitled Projects create a brand new production of Pamela Carter’s play Slope, staged at the Citizens and Traverse theatres and filmed for a live online stream every night it is performed.

WEB.600

ORIGINALLY PRODUCED by Untitled Projects in 2006, Slope explores the love affair between the 19th century poets, Paul Verlaine and Arthur Rimbaud, and its impact on Verlaine’s young wife, Mathilde. Their verbal sparring is scabrous and hilarious, and their rollercoaster relationships as passionate and claustrophobic as they are cruel and ridiculous.

In 2014, same sex marriage becomes legal in Scotland. At a time when gay relationships are sanctioned by the state – and are often as bourgeois as their straight counterparts – it’s interesting to look back at a time when the stigma of gay lives ran counter to the prevailing power of middle-class value systems.  What has changed, and what remains the same?

Unlike the original version, this production will take place in a bare, black box studio theatre, with several cameras positioned throughout the space. In partnership with KILTR, each performance will be filmed and streamed live internationally via their online portal. The play will be directed and lit as much for the cameras as for the audience, who will line the walls of the space, up close to the actors and action as it unfolds in Paris, London and Brussels in the 1870s.

The young cast consists of a graduate performing his first professional role (James Edwyn), an award-winning newcomer (Jessica Hardwick) and the man who played the enigmatic Paul Bright in Untitled Projects’ Paul Bright’s Confessions of a Justified Sinner (Owen Whitelaw).

Pamela Carter has written several Untitled Projects, including Slope, An Argument About Sex and Paul Bright’s Confessions of a Justified Sinner. Pamela’s plays have been produced at Hampstead Theatre, the Traverse and at Dresden Staatshausspiel.  She was the winner of the New Writing Commission at the Berliner Festspiele Stückemarkt 2012.  Since 2010, she has been writing for the Swedish conceptual art duo Goldin+Senneby on The Nordenskiöld Model: their on-going investigation into algorithmic trading and financial reality.

Untitled Projects:

Untitled Projects excels at making ambitious and adventurous theatre on a large scale.  They embrace taking risks, and in doing so surprise and challenge their audiences.  They continually re-imagine what theatre can be: blending landscape, biography, novel, video, lecture, documentary, installation, interview, fashion, music, science and playwriting.  Rooted in Scotland, they pride themselves in a far-reaching international outlook.

KILTR:

KILTR is a new media platform, which creates and shares content that is culturally relevant to the user. KILTR is all about community, promoting, sharing, collaboration and understanding via a common cultural bond. KILTR also creates its own original content and are experts in live-streamed transmissions. Slope is their first foray into theatre and they’re extremely excited to be working with Untitled Projects and Stewart Laing again after a successful media partnership earlier in 2014 working on an interpretation of Alexander Trocchi’s Cain’s Book.

Event: Untitled Projects: Slope

Dates: November 12-22 / 26-29

Time: 8pm GMT

Tickets: Free

Live online stream @ www.kiltr.com/slope  (quick sign up required)

16+ Warning: contains nudity and strong language

Event: Untitled Projects: Slope as part of Glasgay 2014

Where: Citizens Theatre Glasgow, 119 Gorbals St, Glasgow G5 9DS

When: November: 12-22

Time: 8pm GMT

Tickets: £12/£8.50

To book online, click here:

Telephone: 0141 429 0022

16+ Warning: contains nudity and strong language

 

Event: Untitled Projects: Slope

Where: Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, 10 Cambridge St, Edinburgh EH1 2ED

When: November 26-29

Time: 8pm

Tickets: £16/£13/£8

To book tickets online, click here:

Telephone: 0131 228 1404

16+ Warning: contains nudity and strong language

Post show talk: Thursday, November 27

 

 

 

 

 

Lewes MP resigns as Home Office Minister

Posted on by Besi

Norman Baker, MP for Lewes has resigned as Minister of State at the Home Office after a series of policy disagreements with The Home Secretary, Theresa May.

Norman Baker MP for Lewes
Norman Baker MP for Lewes

THE RESIGNATION follows his call at the end of last week for the Government to radically rethink its drugs policy following publication of a major new Goverment report that found tough criminal sentences for drug users makes no difference to the rates of drug use.

Mr Baker told Sky News today that he had been considering his position for some time and feels he needs a break. He said: “Four and a half years of Ministerial Office is a long, long time and is particularly onerous when your the only Lib Dem in the Departments you have been in for those four and a half years in coalition Government.

“I just don’t think we always have to cling to office as Ministers. If we think there is a time to go, theres a time to go. I want a break, to spend more time with my family, more time in my constituency more time doing stuff I want to do like my music.”

Pressed on how much a factor was his bad relations with Home Secretary, Theresa May, he said: “I think it is disapointing the relations in the Home Office. I arrive determined to make it work to co-operate, and to make sure we had a good coalition relationship.

“I have a lot of time for the Home Secretary, she is a formidable, intelligent, competent Home Secretary, I respect her and admire her for that. The difficulty is that she believes she was running a Conservative Department for a Conservative Governernment and that Lib Dems were almost there by default and that did not make for good coalition relations. It was in stark contract to my three and a half years at the Department of Transport, where I think I worked very well with Ministers there.”

He added it had become difficult to carry on working with the Home Secretary because clearly he wanted to achieve what he could at the Home Office for the Lib Dems, adding:  “I have been able to achieve quite a lot, but in terms of for example the drugs policy last week which was the first time in 43 years we had an evidence based drugs report and work on FGL animal experiments, it was like walking thorough mud. The Home Secretary was reluctant to let me have my head and there was a constant battle to try to get things through and I think thats unfortunate. I thinks its unfortunate not just for the Home Office but also for the Government.”

Chris BowersChris Bowers, Lib Dem Parliamentary candidate for Brighton Pavilion and a friend of Mr Baker said: “Norman Baker’s decision to resign is a shame for the Government, but a boost for coalition. The whole point of a coalition is that you have two parties working together.”

“Norman is a great liberal, who was never at home with the Conservatives but fully accepted the need to work with people you spend your whole life opposing when the voters deliver a result that requires a coalition.

“He did his bit, but came up against intransigence among Conservative ministers. As such, he’s a considerable loss to the government, but he has stuck by his principles and stood up for coalition.”

Bowers who was Baker’s official aide at the 1997 general election is still a councillor in Lewes district.

He continued: “All the focus is on Norman’s drugs work, which means a lot to him, but I know he cares deeply about the environment and animal welfare, and it’s possible his biggest achievement at the Home Office will prove to be his work to help speed up the removal of animals in medical experimentation after years of foot-dragging by the pharmaceuticals industry.”

Nick Clegg MPDeputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said he understood and respected the reasons for Mr Baker standing down as a Minister adding: “He was an outstanding minister, but these things happen and I will be making an announcement shortly about who will be replacing him.”

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