Innholdsfortegnelse for 7/7/2025 i The Big Issue

In late March, we ran a picture on these pages of student protests in Serbia. At that point, they had been ongoing for five months, sparked by the collapse of a newly renovated station in Novi Sad in November 2024 that killed 16 people. The tragedy was blamed on corruption and corner-cutting and was seen by critics of the government as a symbol of the failures of the populist president Aleksandar Vučić. Another three months on, protests continue to intensify. At the end of last month, an estimated 140,000 took to the streets of Belgrade to renew their demands for an election. Though the protests were overwhelmingly peaceful, dozens of arrests were made, with Vučić blaming foreign powers for inciting the unrest. On the same day, another mass protest took…

Nelson Mandela stepped onto the podium in Trafalgar Square. It was a cold February day in London in 2005, and thousands had gathered to witness the historic moment. The great South African leader, aged 86, walked towards the podium slowly before gripping it on both sides. He looked at the crowd and his face lit up. It was only then that Adrian Lovett, who led campaigns for Oxfam, allowed himself to breathe and think: “We’ve made it.” Mandela’s speech (left) was part of a galvanising movement in the UK to Make Poverty History. That year, hundreds of thousands of people joined marches and wore white wristbands for a campaign that culminated in Live 8 concerts and the G8 summit in Gleneagles in July. “It was a plan that had a…

The Shrouds may be about fictional technology, but David Cronenberg’s new film belongs right here, right now. After losing his wife to a long, painful disease, tech entrepreneur Karsh (Vincent Cassel) turns his grief – which made him want to climb into his wife’s coffin and is literally rotting his teeth – into a viable, sophisticated business. Thanks to a burial shroud lined with hundreds of hi-res cameras and a purpose-built “GraveTech” app, mourners can view a live feed of their lovers’ decomposing remains whenever they want. At first, the service sounds off-putting, but Cronenberg has imagined the next step of our persistent and sometimes dubious desire to extend our emotional grasp with technology. “It was always obvious to me that technology is not alien. It’s not inhuman, it’s completely…

WELFARE Starmer’s government wins ‘farcical’ vote on welfare bill – but at what cost? Keir Starmer and his government faced humiliation last week. Their derided welfare reform bill won the votes of the majority of MPs, but ministers were forced to make last-minute promises to appease opponents. And yet, it was still the largest rebellion of Starmer’s short premiership. A total of 49 MPs voted against the government on 1 July following a passionate, emotionally charged five-hour debate in which practically every politician who spoke criticised the welfare bill. It spooked ministers so much that concessions were being made on the fly, with the bill looking very different by the end to when it started. In the end, the government promised to delay the cuts to personal independence payment (PIP)…

There are currently 3.8 million people in the UK living in extreme poverty, almost double the figure from seven years ago. That’s why Big Issue Group is building on Make Poverty History’s legacy by calling for the first ever ‘Poverty Zero’ law to tie the government to eradicating destitution by 2035. It would require governments to set poverty reduction targets, and hold them legally accountable to those commitments, as they are with Net Zero. Rhianon Steeds, campaigns manager at Big Issue, says: “Make Poverty History made an extraordinary mark on the public consciousness. The ambition and energy behind the campaign brought millions of people on board on the premise that poverty is not an inherent part of society and that a better world is possible. “This is the legacy that…

Crossword CRYPTIC CLUES Across 1. Anticipate the view to the front (4,7)7. Struggling cricketer had time with Erica (8)8. Confessed that animals were retreating (4)9. Expression of doubt from Humphrey (4)11. Go to a lower position to send information to another (4,4)13. Order one foreign coin (5)14. Pop through the written work (5)16. A grossly distorted list of words (8)18. You are, say, in agreement by saying this (4)21. Unsteady rule? (4)22. Give details of French writer (8)23. Boxer, a very important person (11) Down 1. Working party at home before midnight (9)2. Dominant leg spinner (2,3)3. It may result from a seasonal trip perhaps (4)4. Landing strip or flight path? (6)5. Diary user upset with description of what is left (9)6. A point we follow up once more (4)10.…

If it wasn’t for the Sabah Museum in Malaysia, comedian Phil Wang would not exist. We would never have seen his outstanding contribution to Taskmaster or his role in Wonka. The 35-year-old funnyman was one of the judges of the prestigious Art Fund Museum of The Year award last month – visiting the five shortlisted museums across the UK. But although he describes himself as the “everyman, non-expert, Joe Schmo” judge, his connection to museums goes deep. “As a kid, I went to the Sabah Museum a lot, because it’s the museum my mother volunteered at when she left the UK in the ’80s to volunteer in Borneo,” says Wang. “And that’s when she met my father. So if it weren’t for the Sabah Museum, and if it weren’t for…

I used to get bullied a fair bit at school for being overweight and in a boyband. Ever since, I’ve harboured a suspicion of pecking orders and popularity contests, and have tended to drift towards underdogs and outliers, trusting I would find value and brilliance and meaning in unsung regions and among uncelebrated people. I can’t say my partner has always appreciated my weakness for weekends in Basingstoke and High Wycombe, or my decision, back in 2016, to move to Poland to work in a chip shop on the minimum wage, but on the whole she has tolerated my passion for the wrong direction with something resembling equanimity. Given the above – the soft spot for things overlooked – you might not be surprised to learn that in 2024 I…

When Billy Butlin opened his titular holiday camp on the North Yorkshire coast after the Second World War, easy access to the sea was key to attracting visitors. But 80 years later, the sea could start driving away both tourists and locals and lead to 45 homes – including Butlin’s own art deco mansion – becoming uninhabitable due to fast-moving coastal erosion. The North Yorkshire region has some of the fastest eroding coastline in Europe, with certain parts losing up to 4.5 metres each year. “I worry about it, and I think there are big things we could do, it’s the whole business of climate change,” says Jo Burton, who has lived at Flat Cliffs near Filey for 15 years. “We could do things to manage the coast better, such…

Every so often, a person’s story stays with you. For us, one of those stories is Anna’s. She was just 18 when she became homeless, through no fault of her own. One day, she had a place to stay with a friend. The next, she didn’t. That’s how quickly it happened. She spent a few nights on the streets, frightened and invisible. Then someone approached Anna, offering work – no contract, no questions asked. In her desperation she said yes. What followed was months of exploitation, unpaid labour and control so suffocating that leaving felt impossible. What happened to Anna wasn’t an accident. It was by design. Traffickers know who to target. They look for people who are isolated, desperate and off the radar – common realities for people who…

“I always dreamed of being an artist like my mother,” says Zel, who created this sculpture at the 240Project in London, an activity centre supporting West London’s vulnerable community. “I cherish the times when she drew my portrait as a teenager in Slovakia. She wanted me to be a violinist, but instead, many, many years later, I am here at the 240Project, trying to become a sculptor. “These busts are of my art buddies from the 240Project. Assad, a member at the Project, who is mentoring me in working with clay; Richard who guides me; George, a good study pal; Simon, who is expanding our English and literature knowledge in his reading and writing workshops; Lynn a student counsellor; and my mother.” 240project.org.uk The work on this page is created…

I am 15 years old when I meet my special friend. I leave my concrete suburb, overflowing with a rage that longs to be soothed, but I don’t know how. My bike is my outlet, my escape route, and I ride to the Rambouillet forest near Paris. After many kilometres, the chain on my bike comes off next to a majestic oak. The tree becomes Quercus: a friend, a confidant, a reason to be in the world. I lean against him and calm washes over me. From then on, I come to visit him as often as life allows. As I keep returning to him, through the shape of his canopy, guided by the way each branch winds its way towards the precious light, I begin to glimpse the story…

Instead of another trip to the zoo, try exploring your local rewilding project over the holidays. Rewilding – the large-scale restoration of nature to the point where it can take care of itself again – has incredible benefits for both wildlife and natural landscapes, but also people too. Rewilding projects create jobs, offer opportunities to improve our health and wellbeing – and provide incredible days out for you and your family to be in with the chance of spotting some of the UK’s rarest wildlife. Who knows what amazing creatures you may catch a glimpse of through the tree or beneath the waves? rewildingbritain.org.uk WHITE STORKS Knepp Wildland, Sussex Knepp Wildland has seen extraordinary increases in wildlife since rewilding began. Once intensely farmed, the land has been devoted to a…