Them and us fishes, photo Suzanne Beishon

Them and us fishes, photo Suzanne Beishon   (Click to enlarge: opens in new window)

Them…

  • State-owned Network Rail which owns and manages rail infrastructure has sold all property under rail arches to a private owner for £1.46 billion. 5,200 properties spanning 17 million square feet, the majority of which are converted arches which trade as small businesses, have been offloaded to property managers Telereal Trillium.
  • Newly-independent Blairite MP Frank Field has joined a millionaire Tory donor to open a new academy school. Field, who quit the Labour Party whip to undermine Jeremy Corbyn, did not respond to requests from website Schools Week for a comment, but a spokesperson did defend his relationship with Tory donor David Ross.
  • Dictatorial Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has appointed himself chairman of Turkey’s sovereign wealth fund which presides over assets worth over $200 billion. He has even announced that his son-in-law will act as his deputy.

…and us

  • More than 14 million people, including 4.5 million children, are living in poverty. The Social Metrics Commission found that the numbers are higher than previous figures.
  • The maximum interest rate on student loans in England and Wales has gone up from 6.1% to 6.3%. At 6.3%, a graduate would need to earn more than £60,000 a year before starting to reduce their debt. A father of one graduate – who due to interest now owes £7,642 on top of their £50,000 student debt – says they may as well be in debt to Wonga.
  • Grenfell Fire demonsrators, 17.6.17, photo Mary Finch

    Grenfell Fire demonsrators, 17.6.17, photo Mary Finch   (Click to enlarge: opens in new window)

  • 54 privately owned student residential blocks in England remain clad in combustible material similar to the Grenfell Tower cladding. The National Union of Students has said the buildings should not be used until they have been repaired and called for a full list of the affected premises to be published.