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The Department for Education announced on 1 January that masks will be mandatory in classrooms for secondary school students. While people were expecting new rules after the Christmas break, many are angry about this new measure, and perhaps rightly so. While mask-wearing is something we’ve all had to get used to over the last two […]

Another week, another government scandal. Only the Conservative Party may not be able to sweep this one under the rug. MP Owen Paterson was found guilty two years ago to have broken lobbying rules, having been paid at least £500,000 from two companies to lobby his fellow MPs on their behalf. So, how did the […]

Pet theft is without question one of the most harmful crimes. Unlike regular theft, you aren’t losing material goods, but a family member. Despite this, up until now, pet theft has simply been deemed as a loss of property to the owner. This, however, is looking like it is set to change. During the course […]

As the COP26 summit in Glasgow approaches, many eyes across the globe are focusing on climate change. Prior to the summit in November, Bangladesh has claimed that developed countries should compensate poorer countries impacted by climate issues largely caused by pollution. The calls for this compensation have come from the Bangladeshi Minister for Foreign Affairs, […]

The Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 has received public calls to be removed from all forms of UK legislation after 30 years. Animal welfare activists are campaigning for a review of the Act which prohibits ownership of certain types of dogs. The Scottish SPCA has accused the Act of discrimination against certain dog breeds, including the […]

Statistics show that one in five children are now eligible for free school meals in the UK, impacted by the pandemic.  Since 2010, food poverty has increased drastically. Brutal Tory cuts have contributed to the rise, evidencing systemic disadvantage for poorer and vulnerable families. Now, over 1.74 million children are in need. During the pandemic, […]

The Royal College of Nursing estimates that around 137,000 children have skipped school due to period poverty. And the COVID-19 pandemic is causing the situation to worsen as the move to online teaching has meant that sanitary products are inaccessible for students. A survey found that since the first lockdown, more than a third of […]

The UK Ministry of Culture really sounds like something straight out of The Thick of It. For those not in the loop, the show is set around the running of a fictional government department. It’s the worst department of the lot, and something similar to the reputation of the real-world Culture Ministry. Except in the real […]

Wildfires often have a devastating impact on communities and towns when they reach the stage of being fully out of control. Unfortunately, this has been the case in Turkey. In terms of the scale of the recent events, the Turkish Agriculture and Forestry Minister has stated that 53 forest fires have been separately recorded in […]

For years, Wetherspoons has been a staple of British pub culture. For many people, the cheap food and drink is hard to resist especially in expensive areas of the country. With recent calls to boycott the brand over its treatment of staff, has Wetherspoons taken a hit? The initial calls for boycotts against Wetherspoons began […]

The government are always pushing reforms into education in England, the most recent of which is to tackle the use of mobile phones in schools. The principal aim of the government is to keep the devices out of classrooms. This reform, however, is not backed by all educational professionals as some argue against the ban […]

A National Audit Office report has found that school funding for the most disadvantaged areas of England has fallen, while funding for the most affluent areas has increased. The report found that the average per pupil funding in the most deprived fifth of schools fell by 1.2% between 2017-18 and 2020-21. In contrast, this funding […]

For most people living in the UK, it’s hard to avoid working the typical 9-5 working week. Even as working roles have changed over time, the notion of a five-day working week has remained consistent and true. While most people continue to work these traditional hours, a recent study conducted in Iceland has potentially showcased […]

For a long time, there has been a stigma against people studying for an English degree. Many people claim that the only degrees that hold value are those in fields such as science and mathematics. While many high paying jobs do exist in these fields, making them appear much more lucrative, without English degrees, a […]

We all remember when we were young seeing adverts for junk food and begging our parents to buy us some from the shops. It’s hard to imagine a world where you aren’t subjected to endless food advertisements between programmes – but that could all change very soon. The UK government have made the decision to […]

Arts and media are an extremely important part of our society and while many people write off the value of degrees in these fields, everybody consumes products of these subjects. Recently, however, there has been news of budget cuts to the field. Following a meeting between the Office for Students and Education Secretary Gavin Williamson, […]

Schools have taken a serious hit as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic. With working from home being introduced, many students may feel that their academic learning has taken a hit. Now, staff and students are concerned about potential appeals chaos. The impact on education from the coronavirus pandemic also further extends beyond primary and […]

As we draw towards what we hope will be the end of the Coronavirus pandemic, it is important to reflect upon the relationship economy and profit has had with public health over the past fifteen months. Most importantly, what does it what tells us about that same relationship in normal times? Across the world, governments […]

Since March 2020, the UK has found itself trapped in what seems like a never-ending lockdown. With the recently emerging news that lockdown will be further delayed until the 19 July there have been many questions raised about whether it is necessary to continue the delays. Despite the disappointment surrounding the news, is there solid […]

NHS Test and Trace provides a system that aims to minimise the spread of Coronavirus. While on paper this system is extremely useful for stopping the spread, there have been numerous reports of underlying issues within the system. The most recent headline that Test and Trace has been caught up involves the government’s supplier, Serco, […]

The government’s Towns Fund is no stranger to controversy – but the revelation that 26 of the 30 towns awarded the shared £725 million budget have Conservative MPs adds fuel to the fire. In March, Chancellor Rishi Sunak was forced to deny favouritism after the previous list of 45 towns receiving a chunk of the […]

The government’s Kickstart scheme – intended to create 250,000 jobs for young people following the devastating impact of the pandemic – has led to just 490 jobs in the North East, according to figures from the Observer. The North East entered lockdown with the highest unemployment rate of any region in England and a recent […]

Following the Corbyn era, the position of Labour leader was going to be difficult to fill. Low and behold Sir Keir Starmer. Starmer has noticeably reached out to former Labour voters who turned their backs on the party in 2019 by wrapping himself in a union jack. When making a speech, he will often emphasise […]

In short: yes. Climate change should absolutely be taught in schools. This should not be up for debate, but sadly here I am writing an article regarding the continued discussion surrounding climate change and the curriculum. Education is an essential element of the global response to climate change. It helps young people understand and address […]

Today marks one year since Prime Minister Boris Johnson took the decision to put the UK into its first lockdown. Since then, we’ve had a tiered system, a summer free-for-all which likely contributed to the increase in cases throughout August and September, and another full-force lockdown. But as we pause today to remember the almost […]

This week the government’s new Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill was passed in Parliament. It’s referred to sometimes as just the ‘Police Bill’, and has caused some controversy around the country due to its impact on the right to protest. Currently, the bill is delayed until later in the year, but it has not […]

This week, a study was released by Sheffield council suggesting that the working poor has been the worst hit by Coronavirus. The study shows people in low-paid jobs, with insecure contracts and thus unable to afford to take time off work to isolate, have been hardest hit by the disease in the city. The council […]

Go North East has converted one of its buses into a new mobile Covid-19 vaccine unit. The bus will travel around Newcastle, visiting communities who are unable to get to a vaccination centre, or where uptake has proven low. For its first few rounds, the bus will visit hostels in Newcastle to vaccinate the homeless, […]

As a student myself, this subject really hits home, as I’m sure it will do for a lot of people my age. Due to the pandemic, there are student houses all over the country that are empty as a result of the travel restrictions.  As if isolation wasn’t enough stress being induced, students are being […]

On the 24th of February 2021, the government finally revealed their plans on how GCSE and A Level students will be graded this year. This announcement came a whole seven weeks after the initial reveal that no formal examinations would take place this summer. Many students remain outraged at how long they have had to […]

Over the coming weeks here at Beep, we are running a number of stories about the impact of lockdown on our young people. Kicking off our series is new writer Nicholas. My name is Nicholas Cornwell, I am 21 years old and lockdown has had a drastic impact on the way I live my life. […]

A high court judge has found that Health Secretary Matt Hancock acted unlawfully by failing to reveal details of contracts his department has signed during the course of the pandemic. Public contract details, once signed, should be published within 30 days. The judge said that Mr Hancock had “breached his legal obligation” to government transparency. […]

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer announced his roadmap to government today in a speech clearly delivered to re-brand the Party. Speaking on a Facebook live stream this morning, Sir Keir drew strong ties with the post-WW2 appetite for change in politics and the post-pandemic (whenever that may be) “mood in the air” for a different […]

Boris Johnson and his government have come under serious fire over the course of the pandemic because of their response (or sometimes lack of) to the severity of rising cases of COVID-19. Now that a new variant of the virus has been discovered, and its transmission rate is faster than the original variant, there is […]

Social housing is housing provided by the government to people with low income or particular needs. These houses, also known as council houses, have much lower rent than regular houses, and usually provide long-term tenancy to help tenants focus on improving their lives. However, in recent years, there has been nowhere near enough social housing […]

The terror threat in the United Kingdom has been downgraded to “substantial”, according to the Home Office yesterday. Although this means the UK is still at a “high level of threat” according to Home Secretary Priti Patel, it is the lowest threat level since 2014. During the course of the past five years, the threat […]

You may have heard his name briefly mentioned in the news really, but only if you were listening closely. Either way, you’ll definitely have heard his slogan: “Take back control”. Dominic Cummings is a very powerful man operating behind the scenes of government right now, so we thought we’d explain who he is and what […]

At b**p we always strive to deliver the truth to our readers, and, in part, we did this with our article on the agricultural industry feeding the fires in the Amazon rainforest. However, that’s not the full truth. In fact, there’s a lot more to the Amazon fires than simply going vegan. The truth about […]

We all know someone who is boycotting McDonald’s because of their new paper straws, and while it seems like a revolutionary step towards a cleaner Earth, the reality is far from it. It appears that a lot of food establishments are ‘eco-friendly’ because of this new trend, but they fail to consider the fact that […]

Free tuition. Sounds lovely, doesn’t it? Many young people reading this will be heading off to university very soon, and we all know that with a degree comes that dreaded mountain of student debt. The government has predicted that, by the middle of the century, outstanding student debt will reach an astounding £450 billion, which […]

University costs have skyrocketed in the past decade. What was once a free educational institution where a place earned meant genuine hard work and a solid academic background has become a money-grabbing, self-serving machine. Introduced in 1998 by Blair’s Labour government, tuition fees were meant to stay low. Raised to over £9,000 in 2016, they […]

In a surprise move today the Home Secretary has announced that he will not be introducing protest buffer zones outside of abortion clinics. It was widely accepted that said zones, which would prevent pro-life campaigners from protesting within 100 metres of clinics, would be introduced by the government after former home secretary Amber Rudd had […]

Following a week of speculation and accusation surrounding the two main suspects in the poisoning of the Skripals in Salisbury, the pair has come forward in an attempt to clear their name. Speaking to Russian state-backed TV channel Russia Today (RT), Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov said they visited the town of Salisbury as tourists […]