Displaying items by tag: United Kingdom

This last fortnight of Brexit negotiations has been a bit ‘stop-start’, but they now appear to be progressing a little more positively with face to face talks.  Meetings have been held in London, but are now moving back to Brussels for what many hope will be a constructive and productive closing phase which is expected to last about two weeks.

The president of the European Council has meanwhile insisted that negotiations are at their most difficult stage. Charles Michel, who chairs summits of EU leaders in Brussels, said: "Will we get a deal? I don't know – it will depend on what will be on the table."

Michel said the issue of fishing was proving a major sticking point between the two parties. British Cabinet Minister, Michael Gove told the Welsh Brexit minister that Britain could ‘no longer be bound by the Common Fisheries Policy’ and won’t back down on its demands.

Spain and Gibraltar want a last-minute deal to avoid having a hard border after Brexit. However, a Spanish diplomatic source said they have stumbled on ‘a lack of political will’ in London.

Ireland’s foreign minister claimed that a trade deal is now ‘likely’ in the next two weeks, while warning ‘major trade disruption would be the ‘new reality’ even if a UK-EU deal is struck.

Bloomberg is predicting, ‘Brexit negotiators have made good progress in London this week, raising hopes they could ‘inch’ towards a deal by early November, Bloomberg quoted people ‘familiar with the discussions’ claiming the two sides have begun work on the text of an agreement covering level playing field issues, and are close to finalising a joint document covering state aid mechanism.

Please pray for an end to the ‘tactical games’ on final agreements and for the outcome to produce God’s purposes for the nations. (Romans 13:1b)

More at: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brexit-news-live-today-eu-deal-boris-johnson-update-latest-b1391746.html

A Prayer for Brexit:

We come into agreement with Your word in Matthew 17: 20 “you can say to this mountain, ‘move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible to you”.

We declare God desires this nation will display His Kingdom and His Kingship, we decree Righteousness, Justice, Mercy and Truth – moral and spiritual – will be the foundations upon which we will build. God is the Master Planner of heaven and earth, His plans are for good and not evil, greater than every plan of man or of the enemy.

We stand as the Ecclesia in this land, and we speak convergence and completion into all Brexit negotiations, that the next season for this nation will be birthed according to every blueprint held in Heaven, in Jesus Name.

As negotiations move to Brussels for their final phase, we come into agreement with His word in Romans 4:17: He is “The God who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist.”

Over all matters concerning Brexit under discussion, we call forth the strategies and plans of heaven, that will bless both the UK and EU, and we decree His answers to the outstanding areas of free trade, fisheries, security and all other matters. We declare the ground will be prepared for a beneficial relationship between the EU and UK that will prosper everyone in the days to come.

Now Lord, we call business, the haulage industry and exporting companies into a place of preparedness for the exit from EU that movement of goods, services and people will not be hindered.

Father, over all discussions, negotiations and decisions we Hallow your name, praying that across the Continent of Europe Your kingdom will come and Your will be done - across each nation as it is in Heaven.

In the name of Your Son Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.

With thanks to:
Linda Digby / Prayer-Alert.net | Suzanne Ferrett / Passion for the Nation | Ian Cole / IPC Senior Advisor

Comic Relief will stop sending celebrities to Africa after criticism that stars like Stacey Dooley were going to Africa as ‘white saviours’. The charity will also stop using images of starving people or critically ill children to portray the continent, it has announced. Instead, its fundraising appeals will be made by local film-makers with a ‘more authentic perspective’. Sir Lenny Henry, who co-founded Comic Relief in 1985, welcomed the move; saying, ‘A lot has changed over Comic Relief's 35 years, and so the way we raise money and talk about the issues and the people we are here to support, must change as well. African people don't want us to tell their stories for them. What they need is more agency, a platform and partnership.’ The films will explore issues including mental health, climate change and forced marriages.

Christian refugee campaigners have demanded that the French and UK governments provide a safe and legal way for people to escape their countries after French authorities said a five-year-old, an eight-year-old and two adults died when their vessel sank off the French coast. The people were trying to cross to the UK, despite 18mph wind gusts. Fifteen people are hospitalised in Calais and Dunkirk. There are ongoing searches for any others caught up in the tragedy. Clare Moseley, who founded the Christian refugee charity Care4Calais, called for the incident to be a ‘wake-up call’ for those in power in the UK and France. She said, ‘We are grieving for the victims; we stand in sympathy and solidarity with their families and friends. It is cruel and horrifying that young children are among the victims.’ Boris Johnson has offered the French authorities support as they investigate the incident.

Steve Chalke has urged the Government to reverse its decision not to extend the free school meals over the holidays until at least Easter. ‘If we believe that we have to provide these children with free school meals, because otherwise they lack the nutrition to be able to grow and thrive and study and succeed during school term times; do we imagine that they can exist on thin air through the six weeks of the summer, or the weeks of Christmas, Easter and half terms? We need to provide a steady ongoing care.’ Currently businesses, local authorities, and community groups have set up to provide thousands of free meals for children in need.

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was summoned to court in Iran, according to her family, who said she has been told to pack a bag as she will be returned to prison following a hearing on 2 November. Her local MP Tulip Siddiq said the timing of the trial raised ‘serious concerns’ as it follows the postponement of a court hearing about the UK's historic debt to Iran. She added, ‘Nazanin has once again been treated with utter contempt and I am extremely concerned about her future and wellbeing. The fact that she has been told to pack a bag for prison ahead of her court hearing doesn't fill me with confidence that this will be anything close to a fair trial. The timing of this development alongside the postponement of the court hearing raises serious concerns.’

A group of black leaders from across the country, representing many denominations or none and pulled together by the Baptist Union president, have looked at ways of showing solidarity against the real injustices experienced by people of colour in our communities. Petitioning the government is one of those ways. They are encouraging people to sign a parliamentary petition calling for the government to implement recommendations previously raised to tackle the issue. They aim to attract 100,000 signatures so that the petition can be debated in parliament.

Michael Gove told the Welsh Brexit minister that Britain could ‘no longer be bound by the Common Fisheries Policy’ and won’t back down on its demands. Spain and Gibraltar want a last-minute deal to avoid having a hard border after Brexit. However a Spanish diplomatic source said they have stumbled on ‘a lack of political will’ in London. Ireland’s foreign minister claimed that a trade deal is now ‘likely’ in the next two weeks, while warning ‘major trade disruption would be the ‘new reality’ even if a UK-EU deal is struck. Bloomberg (an international news agency) thinks that the Brexit negotiators have made good progress in London this week, raising hopes they could ‘inch’ towards a deal by early November. People ‘familiar with the discussions’ claim that the two sides have begun work on the text of an agreement covering level playing field issues, and are close to finalising a joint document covering state aid mechanism.

The British Association of Critical Care Nurses said that we may have the beds, equipment and Nightingale spaces, but we have limited staff numbers. It won't take much this winter to reach a crisis point (current new transmissions are 96,000 daily).The second wave is placing an ever greater toll on UK hospitals. There are currently over 1,000 Covid admissions daily. Hospitals have started cancelling routine treatments, or announcing some treatments will have to stop. Although admissions are up, they’re nowhere near the numbers last spring. At one point then, 3,000+ patients were admitted daily. Instead, we see a gradual rise. Winter usually has 1,000 people admitted daily for respiratory problems. It is predicted the 2021 flu season will be mild, but we do not know if it will add to the coronavirus workload. Medical staff all share the feeling of exhaustion that has been heightened by long-standing concerns about staff shortages, and deep resentment about pay and conditions. See

Geporge Eustice, the environment secretary, has said it's too early to say what Covid rules will be in place by Christmas. He warned that people ‘may not be able to get together in the larger groups that they normally would’. Opposition parties have called for coronavirus rules to be the same across all four UK nations this Christmas. Sage member Sir Mark Walport has said there is little to feel reassured about. He added that there are still many vulnerable people, and ‘it's certainly not unrealistic to think there could be 25,000 people in hospital with Covid by the end of next month. We are better at treating coronavirus but the country is still relatively early in the second wave and there is a significant lag between getting the infection and potentially dying.’

Cardiff university chaplains decided to organise ‘walk and talk’ sessions after other events were cancelled due to the Covid lockdown and a decision not to allow people from areas of the UK with high levels of coronavirus to visit. Rev David Sheen said that this academic year is more stressful for students than usual, particularly new students who would normally be able to socialise widely and meet new friends but are currently restricted in what they can do. Many are missing home, family, and pets, The ‘walk and talk’ events provide some sort of normality, with the opportunity to talk to chaplains, meet others, have some fresh air, and enjoy being with the dogs they are walking. Self-isolating students are invited to join the chaplains’ daily Zoom 'bring your own coffee’ and 'drop-in chat'.