Election 2024: I spent a week travelling on night buses to see a view of the UK politicians don’t

Published

3 days ago

June 26, 2024

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There is a rhythm to a night at the Bolton Interchange.

People dart from arriving buses, racing across the concourse to catch departing ones. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don’t. Each rush is followed by a brief lull.

Every night, hundreds of lives intersect at the Bolton Interchange. The night-shift workers and commuters, those out on the town and those just a little bit lost.

Each one has their own story, some are happy to chat, most lose themselves in whatever is playing through their headphones.

I spent a week on the night buses. With the election looming, what the politicians are experiencing on their campaign battle buses is not what ordinary people are seeing. Theirs is a very different perspective.

There is an unmistakeable despair about the state of the country, an indifference to what the political process might do about it and a dark humour about the future. There are very few flickers of optimism.

From the bus-spotter who says the country needs “a good clean”, to those who yearn for a Britain of a different age, to Pete, the elderly bluegrass guitarist heading for an open-mic night.

What does he think of Britain today? “Me and 50 mates are going to go to Lake Windermere to take a s*** in the water. We’ll see if they do anything to stop us, because they don’t seem to be stopping the water companies.”

It is just one of the many raw expressions of the frustration and hopelessness that I hear. As Carl, the night supervisor at the interchange, says: “Late shifts are different here. It is a real eye-opener.”

‘Vote? I just can’t be bothered’

With her shock of white hair and ankle-length peach quilted coat, Sophia Talbot is hard to miss as she jogs across the interchange concourse. She turned 80 a few weeks ago but is still working full-time. She is taking the 125 bus home after completing filming in Bolton as an extra on the TV drama, Waterloo Road.

Sophia: The country is a mess. When I first came to Bolton 21 years ago it was a really nice place and now it’s all run down and boarded up and I think that speaks for everywhere.

Every time I go to the supermarket, I seem to get less for my money. I can drive but I can’t afford a car so that’s why I take the bus.

I do the extras work for a bit of extra money. Extra extra money, I call it.

I don’t think I’ll last long enough to see things in this country change for the better. It will take a long time for that to happen because it has gone down too far.

I probably won’t even vote. I didn’t last time or the time before if I remember right. I just can’t be bothered, and I know that’s not good because if you don’t do it, you can’t blame anybody but yourself, can you?

‘I’m treated as third class, common muck’

It is just after 8pm, still light on this early summer evening, and Janey Fairhurst is passing through the interchange on her way from Bury to Wigan, after spending the day with a bereaved friend. She lost her job in medical research in November and, after 10 interviews, is still searching for work.

Janey: My life is drastically different to what it was. There are just not enough jobs. There are jobs down South but I feel the North gets forgotten about quite a lot when it comes to politics. Maybe they need to remember that we started the industrial revolution and they wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for that so maybe give the North some more funding and more jobs.

The empire is over, Britain has just crumbled, it has been going in the wrong direction for a long time and there’s no trust between the people and the politicians.

When I was in work I felt like I was winning. I could buy the Tropicana instead of Tesco’s own brand orange juice. You don’t really think about the politics of it all when you’ve got the money.

Now, I feel like I’m treated as third class, common muck and I’m not. I come from a good family. I feel frustrated, angry, sad, belittled, in a way – judged. I worked so hard to get where I was and now I can’t get back into it.

‘The cost of living has put a lot on people’

Three buses in the morning and three more in the evening are the routine of Saila Shabir’s working life. From her home in Great Lever to her job in Manchester, she says her time spent travelling has given her perspective on the value of community and the state of the country.

Saila: I think it wouldn’t do any harm for everyone to get on the night bus and experience life from this side of things. It might not be their cup of tea but it is a way to understand what people are saying and doing.

I find it uplifting travelling on the bus in the evening because you get to see people from all sorts of backgrounds. It is amazing, really, and it opens your mind that there’s huge prospects and a really expansive community that we could all bring together under one roof.

I’m not going to say I’m despairing but the cost of living has put a lot on people. People need to work together, we can’t just rely on one set of people to do it all. I am hopeful because I do trust the right people will do the job properly. I do see the darker side of life on the buses sometimes but you need the dark to see the light.

‘I have never known this country in such a state’

From his blue suede boots to his embroidered collar, Rick Conlon is dressed for a night on the town. It is 11pm and he is making his way home to Rochdale. At 6ft4in with a shaved head, it’s easy to see why he’s well known in local boxing circles. He is jovial despite despairing of Britain today.

Rick: I’m 58 and I’m not political particularly but I have never known this country in such a state. I just think it’s really tough at the moment. I know inflation has come down but there’s a lot of people far worse off than me struggling for food and the basic necessities.

We’re the fifth-richest country in the world, I find it incredible. When I was 16, 17, 18, in Margaret Thatcher’s time, 1981 and 1982, with all that political and social unrest, the country was still a better country. We had massive unemployment but the country was still a better country. People were looked after.

There’s that old saying about how you can judge a country by how it looks after its elderly. It’s just ridiculous how little they’re paid and how little they’re thought of.

If there’s one thing that makes me optimistic, bus fares make me optimistic. Two pounds – you can’t argue with that. Even then they’re probably subsidised but that’s great, because this is a great country, it’s just the government letting us down.

‘If it was up to me, I’d move country’

Muj Malik is travelling home with his partner Tabitha and five-month-old son, Zair, after another exhausting day searching for a new family home. They have faced months of frustration on growing council house waiting lists and, they say, see countless videos on TikTok from other young families in the same situation.

Muj: Things are not good in this country. My grandma moved here from Pakistan and my mum was born here so I’m third generation but, if it was up to me, I’d move country. I don’t want to live here for the rest of my life. I don’t see the point because the country is just going sideways.

At the end of the day, I’ve got a mixed-race baby, I grew up in a predominantly white area. I like the country and the people and I know there are people far worse off than us. But you’ve got war veterans from this country, people who have gone to war for this country, they’ve put their lives on the line, they’ve lost friends, and you’ve got them sitting outside of Asda homeless with no help whatsoever.

This country is fading miserably. I like the people, it’s not about the people, it’s about the way the country is run.

UK

Reform canvasser in PM racism row says he was ‘a total fool’

Published

7 hours ago

June 28, 2024

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Reform canvasser in PM racism row says he was 'a total fool'

A Reform UK canvasser who used a racial slur against Rishi Sunak has called himself a “total fool” and said he has learned his lesson.

Footage from an undercover Channel 4 reporter showed Reform campaigner Andrew Parker using a discriminatory term about the prime minister, as well as saying the army should “just shoot” migrants crossing the Channel.

Election latest: Farage on defensive after supporters caught making racist, homophobic remarks

Police are now assessing the comments to establish if an offence has been committed, while Mr Sunak said the insult directed at him “hurts and it makes me angry”.

Mr Parker, who was canvassing in Clacton, where Reform leader Nigel Farage is standing, told Sky News the sting operation had “proper taught me a lesson”.

He said: “There’s lots of old people like me who are sick to death of this woke agenda… but on that particular day, I was set up and set up good and proper.

“It’s proper taught me a lesson – I was a total fool.”

Pressed on his use of the racial slur, he said he was an “old man” and “I still use old words”.

“There’s no racism at all in it. I am a decent guy to be honest”, he added.

In the Channel 4 report, Mr Parker can be heard using offensive language about the prime minister and also discussing migrants arriving in small boats in Deal, Kent

He said: “Army recruitment – get the young recruits there, with guns, on the f****** beach, target practice. F****** just shoot them.”

He also described Islam as a “disgusting cult”.

Mr Farage said he was “dismayed” by the “appalling” comments and has sought to distance himself from the campaigner, saying he was simply “someone who turned up to help” and “has nothing to do with the party”.

He has also used reports Mr Parker was a part-time actor to suggest the incriminating film was a “total set-up” – something Channel 4 has strongly denied.

Mr Parker himself says his volunteering for Reform was separate from his acting job – and claims he was “goaded” into making the comments.

A spokesperson for Channel 4 said: “We strongly stand by our rigorous and duly impartial journalism which speaks for itself.

“We met Mr Parker for the first time at Reform UK party headquarters, where he was a Reform party canvasser.

“We did not pay the Reform UK canvasser or anyone else in this report. Mr Parker was not known to Channel 4 News and was filmed covertly via the undercover operation.”

The broadcaster’s investigation also caught another canvasser describing the Pride flag as “degenerate” and suggesting members of the LGBT community are paedophiles.

A spokesman for Essex Police said the force is “urgently assessing” the comments “to establish if there are any criminal offences”.

PM ‘hurt and angry’ over racial slur

Mr Sunak reacted furiously to the comments and said Mr Farage had “some questions to answer”.

He said: “My two daughters have to see and hear Reform people who campaign for Nigel Farage calling me an effing P***. It hurts and it makes me angry and I think he has some questions to answer.

“And I don’t repeat those words lightly. I do so deliberately because this is too important not to call out clearly for what it is.

“As prime minister, but more importantly as a father of two young girls, it’s my duty to call out this corrosive and divisive behaviour.”

Unrepentant Farage doubles down

However, Mr Farage was unrepentant when grilled on the row during a BBC Question Time leaders’ special, saying he was “not going to apologise” for the actions of people associated with his party.

Reform UK has faced a series of controversies relating to election candidates saying offensive or racist things.

Asked why his party “attracts racists and extremists”, the former UKIP leader claimed he had “done more to drive the far right out of British politics than anybody else alive” – claiming he took on the British Nationalist Party (BNP) a decade ago.

He also appeared to throw his predecessor Richard Tice under the bus when read racist and xenophobic comments made by Reform candidates, saying he “inherited a start up party” and has “no idea” why the people who said those things had been selected.

The other candidates in Clacton are:

Jovan Owusu-Nepaul, Labour;
Matthew Bensilum, Liberal Democrat;
Craig Jamieson, Climate Party;
Tony Mack, Independent;
Natasha Osben, Green Party;
Tasos Papanastasiou, Heritage Party;
Andrew Pemberton, UK Independence Party;
Giles Watling, Conservative.

UK

Police not looking for anyone else after murder investigation into deaths of paramedic and woman

Published

7 hours ago

June 28, 2024

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Police not looking for anyone else after murder investigation into deaths of paramedic and woman

Police say they are not looking for anyone else after a paramedic was found dead along with a woman at a house in Staffordshire.

Detectives had opened a murder investigation after the bodies of Daniel Duffield, 24, from Cannock, and Lauren Evans, 22, from Bridgend in South Wales, were discovered in a property in Hednesford, Cannock, at around 12.30pm on Tuesday afternoon.

But on Friday, the force confirmed that they were not looking for anyone else and that post-mortems have been carried out – they added that the causes of death will be determined at an inquest.

A file is now being prepared for coroners and the families of the two victims are being supported by specialist officers.

Mr Duffield worked for West Midlands Ambulance Service and featured in an episode of 999: On The Frontline which was broadcast in March.

The documentary series follows ambulance crews as they attend to callouts.

‘Families devastated’

Detective Superintendent Nicki Addison said: “This incident has understandably devastated the families and loved ones of those involved.

“We’d like to reiterate that the families have asked for their privacy to be respected at this tragic time. Please respect that.

“And again, we’d like to remind you that speculation is unhelpful and hurtful to the families – and can hinder our investigation.

“I’d like to thank everyone who has given us information. We expect the scene to be released once we’ve finished all of our investigative work and forensic examination.”

Tribute from crewmate

Ellie, his crewmate on the Channel 4 show, said she had spoken to Mr Duffield over the phone around an hour before he was found dead.

She wrote in a tribute on Instagram: “Never in a million years did I think I’d have to sit and write this and yet I’m still trying to come to terms with it, but I just want to express how special you was to me, not only my best friend at work and the best crewmate but one of my best friends who had a massive impact on day to day life.”

Ellie added that she was due to see Mr Duffield “this week” and had been looking forward to it.

She continued: “Dan I can’t believe your (sic) actually gone and I’ll forever cherish the dinner you made me the other week, (surprised how nice you made fajitas tbh).

“Love you forever Dan.”

Richard Barratt, a senior operations manager at the West Midlands Ambulance Service, also paid tribute to Mr Duffield and added: “I hope Daniel’s family can take some comfort from the hundreds of patients he helped through his time as a paramedic.”

Staffordshire Police and South Wales Police have both referred themselves to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) due to “recent” and “previous” police contact prior to the two deaths.

UK

Holly Willoughby kidnap plot trial: Moment Gavin Plumb is arrested shown in court

Published

7 hours ago

June 28, 2024

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Holly Willoughby kidnap plot trial: Moment Gavin Plumb is arrested shown in court

A security guard told police Holly Willoughby “is a fantasy of mine” when he was arrested for plotting to kidnap the television presenter, in footage played in court.

Giving evidence for the first time on Friday, Gavin Plumb, 37, said Willoughby, 43, was “my celebrity crush” but insisted he never intended to act on his alleged plans.

In footage played at Chelmsford Crown Court, police are seen smashing through the front door of his home in Harlow, Essex, on 4 October last year, before a topless Plumb asks: “What the hell is going on?”

Stood in his bedroom, he is open mouthed as he is handcuffed, before an officer explains he is being arrested over an alleged conspiracy to kidnap the former This Morning host Willoughby while he is sat on his bed.

“I’m not gonna lie. She is a fantasy of mine,” he says. “She’s a fantasy of a lot of guys I expect.”

Prosecutors say Plumb was obsessed with Willoughby – who stepped down from the ITV show in October last year after 14 years – and planned to abduct, repeatedly rape and murder her.

An undercover US police officer, using the name David Nelson, on Thursday told jurors he believed Plumb posed an “imminent threat” to the presenter, who hosted Dancing On Ice earlier this year.

Plumb shared a video of his “kidnap kit” with the officer and said he would use chloroform to snatch Willoughby from her home to sexually assault her before slitting her throat, the jury has heard.

The officer alerted UK police who found two bottles of liquid, alongside items including handcuffs, rope, shackles and cable ties, at Plumb’s home – but they were found not to contain the substance.

Further footage played in court shows Plumb being held in a police station holding area wearing a dark green T-shirt as officers searched his home as he says: “I can pretty much guess what they’re looking for.”

Plumb denies three charges of soliciting murder and encouraging kidnap and rape between 21 December 2021 and 5 October last year.

Giving evidence for the first time on Friday, he told the jury he spent his life online engaging in “wholesome chat” but also fantasising about having sex with celebrities, including Willoughby, whom he had seen on daytime TV after he became housebound, having gained weight and reaching 35.5 stone.

“She was my celebrity crush,” said Plumb, who sat down in a chair to give his evidence, wearing a light grey sweater and dark trousers, after telling the judge he would not be able to stand.

Asked how many times he thought about her a day, Plumb said: “It would depend how many times I would chat about her. Some days it would be once, other days it would be four, five, six times.”

But the chats became “darker” from 2021, he said, being questioned by his barrister Sasha Wass KC.

Plumb told jurors he was “sorry” for the contents, adding: “I’m absolutely heartbroken, disgusted and shocked that it has come out.”

‘Kidnap kit’

He admitted he found the conversations “exciting” at the time but added: “Looking back at it now it’s massively regrettable because it’s not the sort of chat I would normally participate in.”

Plumb added: “It was kind of like gratification. It was something I knew was never going to happen.”

He told the jury he had bought most of the items, in what has been described as a “kidnap kit”, following a four-month sexual relationship in which he was introduced to “BDSM and rough sex”, while the chloroform was to clean a “large stain next to my fridge”.

Plumb told jurors his weight started to fluctuate from the age of 13, which “really affected my mental health” because he could not play sport and was often put “in the friend zone” with girls.

Attempted double-kidnap

The defendant said he has only had one serious relationship, which he described as “extremely toxic”, and lasted four-and-a-half years, during which there were “constant arguments” and he was “constantly put down”.

“I don’t want to be in a relationship anymore,” he said.

The court has heard he has two convictions for attempted kidnap from 2006, after trying to abduct two women off the Stansted Express train, later claiming they were members of cabin crew. He had rope and an imitation firearm when he was arrested.

Plumb said he was wearing a uniform and travelling between car parks where he worked handing out tickets and although he admitted he “had a stewardess fantasy back then” he said he did it “to get out of the relationship” and it was a “cry for help”.

He was handed a suspended sentence and in 2008 said he used a box cutter to hold two “shouting and screaming and crying” 16-year-old girls in a warehouse where he worked, taping one of their hands behind her back.

Plumb said he committed the offences to “get away from the relationship”, which ended while he was in jail after he was sentenced to 32 months in prison, serving half, after admitting two charges of false imprisonment.

‘Normal fantasy chat’

He told jurors once released he spent 99.9% of his life online, communicating with others about gaming, football and “normal fantasy chat” but it was “completely different” to the “dark” material he later shared.

Plumb said chats about him keeping Willoughby in a “dungeon” were “nothing more than talking”, adding: “It was a rush of excitement as I knew it was online chat to get my gratification and move on”.

He denied encouraging an online contact called Marc, who is believed to be based in Ireland, to kidnap or rape Willoughby, saying he never expected him or the undercover officer, whom he thought was in New York, to come to the UK.

“I knew it was never going to be anything more than a fantasy,” he said, telling jurors he never acted on any of the alleged plans.

The court heard Plumb has no driving licence or access to a car and so said he wouldn’t have been able to get to her house, while his weight at the time – up to 30 stone – meant he would be more likely to trip over a small step than scale the high boundary wall.

‘Violent, graphic descriptions’

But prosecutor Alison Morgan KC read out some of the explicit and degrading messages and suggested: “These are violent, graphic descriptions of what you are going to do to Holly Willoughby.”

“No, because it’s not going to happen,” Plumb replied.

The trial continues.