Labour’s Leadership Election
The recent Labour leadership election on the 24th September saw Jeremy Corbyn re-elected as Labour leader, defeating his rival Owen Smith by a whopping 23.6% of votes. The leadership challenge came about in the aftermath of the European Referendum, where many members of the Labour Party and Parliamentary Labour Party were frustrated at Corbyn’s half-hearted campaign to remain (which many cited as a significant factor for their loss of the referendum). As a result, Corbyn lost a vote of no confidence by Labour Party MPs by 172-40, triggering a leadership election in which Corbyn’s main rival emerged as Owen Smith, who had the backing of the majority of Labour MPs. Due to Corbyn’s triumph, the future of the Labour Party remains very ambiguous. It is still a party characterised by deep division and uncertainty – Corbyn therefore undoubtedly has a big task on his hand if Labour have any hope of winning the 2020 election…
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-34184265
Trump and Clinton debate
This week saw the first of three presidential debates prior to the election in November. Clinton and Trump went head to head in front of a record-breaking 84 million TV viewers, discussing issues such as Trump’s refusal to disclose his tax returns, his racism, and Clinton’s email scandal (which involved a series of deleted emails). Polls show a slight majority of potential voters saying that Clinton won the debate, although about a quarter of likely Republican voters claimed that the debate ameliorated their opinion of Trump. A highlight of the debate was Clinton’s line: “I think Donald just criticized me for preparing for this debate. And yes I did. And you know what else I prepared for? I prepared to be president. And that’s a good thing.”
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07xndj2
First baby born with three parents by new method
The first baby with three genetic parents has been born using a new method known as mitochondrial donation. Whilst the first three-parent child was born in 1990, this method is brand new and could prove to be incredibly significant. The family involved suffered from a disorder known as Leigh Syndrome which affects roughly one in 40,000 new born babies; the procedure was therefore designed to fuse healthy mitochondria from a donor egg with the vital DNA from the mother’s egg. However, there is controversy surrounding the legitimacy of these procedures. The team were forced to carry it out in Mexico due to the restrictions under US law, restrictions that exist for medical and ethical reasons.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-37485263
Loss of Junior doctor court case
The legal bid launched by Justice for Health, protesting against Jeremy Hunt’s new contract regarding Junior Doctors, has been rejected this week in a High Court Case. The dispute began in 2012 when Mr Hunt introduced a potential new contract that changed the way Doctors were reimbursed for weekend working; this included making Saturday a normal working day. The British Medical Association began strike action, and although a deal was reached in May (which involved a reduction in the basic rate of pay in return for a different system for weekend work), this was rejected by the BMA by 58% to 42%. The idea stems mostly from the reality that patients are statistically more likely to die if they are admitted at the weekend, however, doctors have argued that this is not due to staffing problems.