What happened on 23rd May 2023 - with your comments in the Web

Tuesday clearly was not a day of good news. The mass media hurried to upset us with news that UK food price inflation at third-highest level since 2008.

That is why Jeremy Hunt to meet food manufacturers over prices as Kantar says rate is still ‘incredibly high’.

At the same time the BBC issued an article explaining why food bills aren't shrinking - five things to know.

It runs that food prices are 19% higher than a year ago. A grocery shop that used to cost £50 is now nearer £60. And it blames in this situation the war in Ukraine with Brexit adding to the red tape of importing food.

 Yet, the readers have another opinion.

"Because conservative governments put corporate profit before people. Simple as that."

"I can answer that ; because it will make supermakets and suppliers record profit and they want a piece of the profit cake too."

Others get to the root:

"its the farmers fuel and heating, the fuel and heating at the storage/abbatoir, the electric at the depot, the fuel for the truck, - not saying excess profits arent being made by someone, but the rising fuel costs hits absolutely all parts of the chain."

Another daunting issue to Tuesday was NHS staff report 20,000 claiming of patient sexual misconduct over five years. It is about thousands of hospital staff are reporting claims of sexual assaults and harassment by patients, an investigation has found, prompting calls for ministers to address the “daily threat of abuse” faced by doctors and nurses.

The readers agreed that many of those incidents happened because of intoxication or such mental problems as dementia/delirium.

"I wonder how many of these patients were intoxicated?

We really need to bring back harsher penalties for public intoxication, go to any a &e on a Friday or Saturday night and you can see the drain these morons that can't handle their drink have on the system."

"I'm thinking a large proportion of these are elderly people with dementia/delirium"

"Not sure, I'm not a worker in the NHS so can't say exactly but I have dated/been friends with members of the NHS. And they all dreaded the Friday and Saturday night shifts. In my opinion if you go to hospital for drinking too much, either the hospital or police should fine you for care. I.e. police do you for drunk and disorderly and the proceeds go to hospital."

"Having been in a&e a fair few times on a Friday night (used to do a long bjj sparring evening on Fridays) I can agree. It’s a mess

However I’ve got a few friends working in the NHS or as carers and the stories they tell me about how often they get flashed or groped by older patients was shocking."

"Intoxicated is one. Being a perv is another. Then you have those that have no control or idea what they did. dementia, stroke, delirium etc. There are many reasons. Been on the receiving side of most."

That day Boris Johnson blasted 'bizarre and unacceptable' new claims he broke COVID lockdown rules.

 

Despite Johnson's allegations, his ministerial diary has revealed visits by friends to Chequers during the pandemic. The trips to the country residence were highlighted during preparations for a public inquiry into COVID, as well as new allegations about his behaviour in Downing Street, according to The Times which first reported on the story.

This news much surprised the users:

"He took notes on the crimes he was committing and handed them to a lawyer he wasn't paying for. How can anyone be this stupid? This guy won an election and was running the country and he's this fucking dumb."

"He was encouraged by our half wit population who saw him as a funny man with funny hair."

"I think a lot of people gloss over how deeply self-centred he is.

He upended half of our constitution, concentrated power in the executive, committed many crimes and follies in plain sight, and only started to see his iron grip on power collapse when he blatantly and egregiously tried to corrupt Parliament's own ethics and standards processes to cover up Tory corruption.

I mean, there were stories about how he refused to self-isolate while he had covid. His aides were stacking chairs in the entrance to his office to stop him getting out.

There's clearly some stupidity there too despite his grasp of language and oratory, and corruption, arrogance, and entitlement too, but it's the self-centred certainty that he's special that, for me, framed everything he did. I very much enjoyed seeing that self-centredness clash with the real world when he was opposite his squeaky clean, professional, qualified, dignified, and honourable opponent in Starmer. It turned into toddler-like petulance, of the sort that required him to be contained in his office by aides."

This day too the Huffington Post reported that the government quietly unveiled plans to extend voter ID laws despite 'gerrymondering'.

"Anyone still defending this policy is actively aiding and abetting the government in their bid to become increasingly more authoritarian by the day. Don’t know how some of you can sleep at night tbh."

"Its not even pro/anti tory.

Honestly looking at the last election results it does seem to have shot the tories in the foot at least as much as it hurt labour.

Its just anti democratic."

"Couldn’t agree more.

We’re slowly becoming just another completely authoritarian country that requires ID to vote. Like well known authoritarian countries such as Ireland or France or Iceland or Italy.

Scary times ahead. What’s next? Needing ID to buy age restricted items? Who are we? North Korea?

Edit : since it’s getting a fair few replies I’ll ask here. Is there any way the uk could implement voter ID and it not be voter suppression in your mind? Most of the replies are against it, but for what reason (in terms of how it was introduced) and is there any scenario where they could bring voter ID in and you’d be ok with it? Or are you just fully against it?"

But also on Tuesday we've known that a maned wolf has given birth for the first time at Exmoor Zoo in Devon.

And that is apparently the most cute and inspiring news of the day for the breed was "in decline due to habitat destruction and persecution from farmers".