Still working at 94yo

ALISTER: Labour’s new immigration whitepaper is a disaster. Doubling residency to 10 years, phasing out overseas care workers by 2028, and hiking employer costs by 32% for migrant workers, all while social care has 152,000 vacancies! It’s electoral panic masquerading as policy.

MERIDYTH: As an expat, I support immigration, but it’s hard to ignore the numbers. Net migration hit 906,000 in 2023. That’s a lot. Maybe it’s time to examine why industries rely so heavily on overseas labour instead of training people here.

ALISTER: But the govt’s response is to tighten English language requirements and reduce post-study work rights for foreign students, who are the most productive migrant groups. The projected reduction of 100,000 annually by 2029 is nothing, but barely a dent.

MERIDYTH: Fair, the cut is pretty modest, but perhaps intentional. It’s not about slamming the door shut, but rebalancing. Starmer said some sectors rely on migrant labour as a shortcut. So once recalibrated, there can be better long-term planning from both employers and govt.

ALISTER: I’m all for planning, but banning care workers and tightening residency rules hits the very people propping up essential services. Even Lisa Smart from the Lib Dems said we need a “clear plan to recruit British workers,” not empty headlines.

MERIDYTH: Totally agree, care is the last place to cut. I don’t have the answer, but it’s a huge public issue. Immigration overtook the NHS as voters’ top issue in April. Democracy’s a balancing act. I just hope Labour doesn’t lose sight of productive immigrants already here, trying to build a life.

💰️ Investing in the country. At the strong behest of the gov’t, pension firms have pledged to focus 10% of their funds (£25bn) into private markets, with half back into the UK. It could inject a much needed economic boost, but also carries risk. Private markets can be influenced by political interests and are less transparent, less regulated, which can impact your retirement fund performance.

🤖 AI peers. The House of Lords has pushed for amending the data bill by requiring AI companies to share which copyrighted material they’ve used. The gov‘t is eager to push the bill through, as is, to pave way for the AI revolution, but reassures that copyright regulation can be addressed later. Oh sure, because govts move quickly.

✄ Scissors thrown at teachers. Teachers went on strike in Ipswich over poor handling of dozens of students, who’ve been throwing scissors and chairs, while running amok. Blaming social media for the bad behaviour, the teachers have had enough. (We definitely think teachers need to be paid more. 😬)

🕵️ Shifting more right. Ultra far-right political parties are actively ‘infiltrating’ Reform UK to shift the party further right. Hoping to piggy-back off Reform's success, they hope to shape what’s now considered acceptable for political debate.

Good news… for pro-Europeans, as Nicusor Dan beat out nationalist George Simion to become Romania’s next president. Bad news… for peace talks, as Russia launched its largest drone strike to date after sitting down with the Ukraine on Friday. And further south, Israeli-led strikes killed 100+ people, while its officials met with Hamas in Qatar to discuss a ceasefire.

🇩🇪 Far-right leader detained. No, not AfD. The leader of an even farther-right group, Kingdom of Germany, has been arrested after the group was banned. Their key tenant is denying the legitimacy of Germany's post-WWII republic, leading some members to print their own passports and licenses.

🇲🇽 Mexico is having a bad week. Absolute horror as a local mayoral candidate was gunned down live on Facebook. The investigation is still ongoing. And over the weekend, a Mexican Navy ship crashed into the Brooklyn Bridge in NYC, killing two and injuring 19. Mechanical and power issues are thought to blame.

🇺🇸 An American Handmaid’s Tale. Project 2025 could slowly become a reality. A new proposed bill will permanently criminalise all pornography by defining what is “obscene content.” However, the proposed definition is still vague, putting shows like Game of Thrones even at risk.

🩻 In sad news, former President Biden was just diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer. Fingers crossed the family is given some privacy.

🌶️ A glass of Jalapeño wine, please. This latest TikTok trend has doctors raising a cautious eyebrow (and bc it sounds a bit gross). Spicy alcoholic drinks should be consumed in moderation. Alcohol alone can cause digestive and dehydration issues, but chilli can further exacerbate it.

👆️ Child-like wonder! A question posed by a child has led to an interesting discovery. Your fingers wrinkle up the same way, every time, when you get into water. The shrivelled up patterned is predetermined and consistent. Remember, stay curious!

🫀 A broken heart. It’s official. Alister is not only more emotional, but also more likely to die from a broken heart, literally! Men are twice as likely to die from takotsubo cardiomyopathy, heart failure when stress stops the heart from contracting properly. Here’s to hoping Alister’s missus keeps him living. 😂

🎙️ Put down the mic. Ye (aka Kanye West) released a new song that you probably won’t hear. It’s been removed from almost all streaming platforms. The song, titled “Heil Hitler,” along with its companion title “WW3,” praises Adolf Hitler. We haven’t listened to it, but unsurprisingly it’s doing well on Twitter/X.

🤖 ChatGPT, stop c*ckblocking! One woman put so much faith in ChatGPT's skills that she divorced her husband of 12 years after it interpreted the remains of his coffee mug as signs of infidelity. His lawyer is arguing that claims made by an AI have no legal standing.

🎸 Tears, sexual innuendos, & espressos. Another exciting Eurovision! Austria’s JJ won, while the UK placed 19th (with nil public votes again). But the behind the scenes drama revolved around Israel, who almost won, coming down to the nail-biting public vote. That combined with disruptive protests around Israel’s participation made for a tense evening.

By Alister

With online hacks becoming more common, immediate alerts when you’re at risk are very important. But we’re reliant upon companies to inform us if they’ve been hacked… which could be days, weeks later when it’s too late.

So what to do? Use “dark web” monitoring to search for your details and let you know if your data has shown up on any hacker lists. (FYI - that means you should change your passwords.)

I use a long-standing free service, Have I Been Pwned to check if my email has shown up on any lists.

It’s a simple sign-up with just your email address. And it’ll do all the rest. Easy peasy, security-z.

(Meridyth: 🙄 I use Google’s free dark web monitoring service — found in the Security tab under your account settings.)

Have you seen the skateboarding dog video doing the rounds lately? I heard they might be a Border Ollie. 😆 Jokes aside, it’s very impressive. You have to give it a round of appaws 🤣 

@furryinaction

The puppy loves to skate down the stairs #dog #dogsoftiktok #doglover #corgi #funny #pet #smart

I’m seriously impressed. Somebody better get a vet in here quick, cause that dog is sick. 😂 

Whew, you made it!

While facing a potential drought, is it selfish of us to wish for further sunshine? Be sure to join our guilt next week for another Squabble.

Alister & Meridyth