Letters to the Canary: we’ve annoyed the climate crisis deniers, Tories’ dirty tricks, and social work news

The Canary is excited to share the latest edition of our letters page. This is where we publish people’s responses to the news and politics, or anything else they want to get off their chest. We’ve now opened the letters page up so anyone can submit a contribution. As always, if you’d like to subscribe to the Canary – starting from £2 a month – to support truly radical and independent media, then you can do that here:

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This week’s letters

This week we have people’s thoughts on our coverage of the climate crisis, what strategy the Tories will employ during elections, and news on social workers.

STOP PROMOTING ACTUAL SCIENCE

I’ve unsubscribed from your emails, clearly you are bias and promote misinformation. There’s no such thing as climate change. It’s a rhetoric used to ensure the sheep kill the planet quicker and therefore become controlled by the elites.

Do your research before allowing any climate activist a platform to spout fake news.

Let’s look at EV batteries, hmm how many non-recyclable chemicals do they have within them? Oops we don’t mention this not do we mention that after their average lifespan of approximately eight years they need replacing. Where’s all these hazardous and highly damaging chemicals going? Bingo! Landfill, let’s fuck the planet even more.

Let’s not get into the control that the elites gain from EVs as they program them so can tell your car where it can and cannot go.

Why are so many news outlets so bias?

Anonymous, via email

ED: thanks for the thoughtful email announcing your departure from our subscriber list. Clearly, you haven’t been reading our articles as we have called out EVs, actively promote the fact that the climate crisis is being used by capitalist colonialists to exploit the rest of us, and so on. However, our difference of opinion is clearly whether you believe the climate crisis is real. We do, but we also believe capitalist colonialists are exploiting it. These two things can both be true – not that you’re going to read this, anyway. 

Tories will play dirty at the elections and Labour won’t act

It’s becoming clear that the Tories will use the perceived failings of Labour in Wales (by some) in the forthcoming Westminster elections.

The 20MPH speed limits, long NHS waiting lists, 20% of land to be given over to nature, no new roads etc, etc. will be used by the Tories to threaten English voters. Vote for Labour and you’ll get the same policies as Wales.

In order to combat this, the new First Minister, Vaughan Gething is already bowing to Starmer’s pressure to change policies that the right disapprove of. Ken Skates, the new transport minister, has said that the 20MPH will be reviewed. Gething has gone over the head of the health secretary and given the doctors a pay rise. It won’t be long before the new agricultural proposals are ditched along with other environmental improvements,

Gething is a very confident and ambitious politician with few scruples. Taking £200,000 from a criminal who broke environmental laws twice is not promising. Whereas Mark Drakeford had
principles and a friendship with Jeremy Corbyn.

I fear that Gething will do anything to further his career, and like Starmer is more interested in power; sod the Labour party and the best interests of the people.

John, via email

Social work employers urged to sign diversity pledge

Councils and other employers of social workers have been encouraged to sign up to a new pledge to celebrate neurodiversity in the profession.

The pledge has been created by a group of neurodivergent social workers with the backing of the Social Workers Union (SWU).

The pledge’s authors hope it will encourage employers to recognise the contribution neurodivergent social workers bring to their roles and commit to act towards a neuro-inclusive workplace.

Deb Solomon, a social worker from Derbyshire, is among the leaders of the campaign and said:

“Our pledge will give employers of social workers an opportunity to promote acceptance and understanding of neurodiversity among all members of staff.

“We will also expect signatories of the pledge to create a neuro-inclusive culture of appreciation, celebration and belonging in their organisations.

“Another area we are keen to explore is how employers are able to take direct action to create psychologically safe work environments that empower the neurodivergent members of our profession to thrive.”

John McGowan, General Secretary of the Social Workers Union, commented:

“By asking employers to sign up to a pledge and evidence their inclusive culture, we will be able to share examples of good practice across the social work profession.

“SWU has been delighted to support this group and we’re honoured to host the pledge on our website.

Organisations who are interested in finding out more about signing the pledge can visit the Social Workers Union website.

Jenni Guthrie, Principle Curriculum Lead at Frontline, said:

“We need to challenge the stigma around neurodiversity and celebrate the numerous skills neurodiverse individuals can bring to the social work profession. But a first step to doing this is to ensure that employers become more neuro-inclusive. It has never been more important to value every member of staff and our workplaces should be psychologically safe spaces for neurodivergent social workers to be themselves.”

David Grimm, a social work student from Glasgow, added:

“By working to create a neuro inclusive environment, social work employers and educators across the country will act as a beacon of hope and empowerment that welcomes more neurodiverse workers.

“By undertaking the pledge and actively working towards inclusion, then employers and universities alike will remove existing stigmas and barriers to social work, and will allow room for neuro diverse people to flourish and thrive.

“This in turn results in a more neurodiverse workforce. The major benefit of this is that services are able to provide more understanding and a better experience to the people who need their help. In many cases, social work clients won’t have had this unless their social worker also happened to be neuro diverse.”

Want to get involved? Email membership(at)thecanary.co and we’ll publish your letters, too! Terms and conditions of publication apply.