‘It infuriates me’: why the ‘wages for housework’ movement is still controversial 40 years on

The 1970s campaign aimed to smash capitalism by recognising the value of childcare and chores. A new book looks back on how it fell apart – and how it’s relevant today Emily Callaci is at home in Wisconsin, surrounded by the usual debris of family life. The bed behind her is unmade, she confesses, and there’s “a bunch of marbles and blocks on the floor” left by her sons, now seven and three. But on Zoom she has blurred her background so none of this is visible on screen, just as here, on the other side of the Atlantic, I’ve angled my laptop camera away from the mess on my kitchen worktop. We’ve both automatically hidden the domestic for the sake of looking professional, ironically given this interview is about making unseen, unpaid labour in the home visible

Calls for UK government to tackle alcohol-related deaths in older people

Health experts are demanding tough action to tackle the record number of older people dying because of heavy drinking, amid a historic shift away from alcohol by younger generations.The UK is undergoing a major generational shift in its drinking habits, with many over-55s consuming dangerous amounts at the same time as under-35s embrace teetotal lifestyles.Many older people who began drinking more heavily when Covid struck in 2020 have continued doing so, while those under 55 have reverted to pre-pandemic consumption levels.Britain’s relationship with alcohol is back in the spotlight after the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed on Thursday that alcohol-related deaths had hit a record high of 10,473 in 2023.However, alcohol experts claim the real death toll is three times higher, once deaths from diseases closely associated with drinking, including heart disease and many cancers, are included

Anger as council prioritises London hotel view over playground plan

Parents at a central London primary school say they feel let down and angry after local planning officers advised against a new playground, in part because it would “harm the view” of a nearby five-star hotel.St Peter’s school in Belgravia has only a small, 170 sq metre strip of play space for 200 pupils, and sits minutes from Victoria station in one of the densest corners of London.Rebecca Bryant has led a two-year process to build the playground, resulting in a design that would incorporate part of the road outside and close it to through traffic. The road is quiet, with busy traffic passing by at both ends but not cutting through, according to some parents, who said that even during rush-hour and school dropoff hardly any cars drove up the road. The children desperately needed the playground as many lived in flats, Bryant said

Watchdog to investigate two former figures at bankrupt Woking council

Two former senior figures at bankrupt Woking council are to be investigated by the UK’s accounting watchdog after it racked up more than £2bn in debt on a failed investment spree.The Surrey council declared itself effectively bankrupt in 2023 after ploughing vast sums of borrowed money into skyscrapers, a luxury hotel and other risky commercial investments, in what was one of the biggest financial failures in local government history.Sources said an investigation into the individuals involved in the former Conservative-run council’s investment activities was being prepared by the Financial Reporting Council (FRC), the independent regulator that oversees the UK accountancy profession.The watchdog is expected not to name the individuals, and will only refer to two former accountants. However, the Guardian understands the people are Woking’s former chief executive Ray Morgan and ex-finance director Leigh Clarke

Delay to ‘Awaab’s law’ risks lives of social housing tenants in England, Shelter says

The housing charity Shelter has criticised the government for putting lives at risk by delaying a law to make social landlords in England fix dangerous hazards quickly.Angela Rayner, the housing secretary, and Matthew Pennycook, her housing minister, announced on Thursday they were giving landlords in the social rented sector until 2027 before they have to start fixing all dangerous hazards within a set timeframe.The law, known as Awaab’s law, is designed to prevent a repeat of the events of 2020, when two-year-old Awaab Ishak was killed by mould in a social housing flat in Rochdale.Announcing the bill’s implementation, Rayner said: “We have a moral duty to ensure tragedies like the death of Awaab Ishak never happen again. Landlords cannot be allowed to rent out dangerous homes and shamelessly put the lives of their tenants at risk

Labour MPs criticise Kim Leadbeater over posts on assisted dying evidence

Four Labour MPs have sent a mass email to colleagues with a stinging rebuke of the assisted dying bill’s sponsor, accusing her of portraying a one-sided view of expert evidence.In a significant escalation of the “red-on-red” dispute over the legislation, the MPs emailed all their Labour colleagues with a lengthy critique of Kim Leadbeater’s social media posts in which she highlighted key moments of evidence given to the committee scrutinising the bill.In the email, seen by the Guardian, the MPs said the committee’s evidence was “weighted towards voices that were known to be supportive of the bill” and criticised the lack of expert witnesses on several subjects, including coercive control.It was signed by the Treasury select committee chair, Meg Hillier, and her fellow MPs Antonia Bance, James Frith and Jess Asato, all of whom voted against the bill in November.It came as pro-assisted dying MPs from across the house privately raised concerns about the number of colleagues reconsidering their support amid growing splits on the committee