Ten Things You Need to Know Today: 23 November 2022

1. Scots referendum verdict due

Supreme Court judges will rule today on whether the Scottish government has the power to hold another independence referendum without consent. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon wants a referendum to be held in October next year but the UK government has refused to give formal consent for the vote to go ahead. Legal experts predict the Supreme Court will find against the Scottish government, according to the Daily Record. Scottish voters remain split down the middle on the question of independence and “only a fool” would predict the outcome of a referendum, said leading pollster Professor John Curtice.

Pros and cons of Scottish independence

2. Boohoo workers ‘collapsing’

Workers at the fashion firm Boohoo are forced to walk the equivalent of a half-marathon per shift in a “sweltering warehouse”, reported The Times. Staff at the retailer’s warehouse in Lancashire have complained of “gruelling targets, inadequate training and ill-fitting safety equipment”, with workers “collapsing in the aisles” and an ambulance called to the site once a month on average, an undercover investigation by the paper found. The fast-fashion brand said that “making sure our people are safe and comfortable in their workplace is our highest priority”.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Will fast fashion ever slow down?

3. Tax blow for Donald Trump

The US Supreme Court is allowing a congressional committee to receive copies of Donald Trump’s tax returns, following a three-year legal tussle over the documents the former president has refused to release. Trump has previously boasted that a habit of tax avoidance “makes me smart”. The court’s move is a “major loss” for Trump, who is currently under multiple investigations, said CNN. It was his second defeat at the US Supreme Court in as many months, and third this year.

Trump to run in 2024: what has he been up to?

4. Glazers may sell Man Utd

Manchester United’s controversial owners say they are considering selling the club as they “explore strategic alternatives”. The Glazer family bought the Premier League club for £790m ($1.34bn) in 2005 but a statement from Old Trafford yesterday said the process led by the American owners will consider a number of options “including new investment into the club, a sale, or other transactions involving the company”. The news came on the day it was also confirmed that Cristiano Ronaldo had left Old Trafford by mutual consent.

Playing the long game: will the Glazers sell Manchester United?

5. Rise in suicidal gambling addicts

Doctors said the NHS is “picking up the tab” of the online betting industry as NHS gambling clinics fill up with “young men in football shirts” who have fallen foul of “predatory tactics” by betting firms, including a rise in addictive “in-play” sports betting. “There has been an increase in people turning up at A&E in crisis, in a state of suicide,” Matthew Gaskell, a consultant psychologist and clinical lead at NHS Northern Gambling Service told The Times. Claire Murdoch, NHS England’s mental health director, said gambling firms should “think hard about the human cost that can be behind their profits”.

6. Brexit doesn’t stop gammon deal

A European pork producer is to build a £100m gammon and bacon factory in the UK despite facing a “mountain of post-Brexit red tape”, said The Telegraph. Danish Crown’s 30,500 square metre factory, in Rochdale, will be powered by renewable energy and will create 300 jobs. Chief executive Jais Valeur said Danish Crown was obliged to produce a “heavy set of documents for each and every consignment or load into the UK”, amounting to 33,000 additional pages per year.

7. NHS allows menopausal to WFH

Some menopausal women working in the NHS will be able to work from home, the head of the health service has said. The first-ever national NHS guidance on menopause, instructs NHS employers to consider “any reasonable adjustments to their working pattern” - including shorter hours, flexible breaks and remote working. Health chief Amanda Pritchard said other employers should follow the this lead and help middle-aged women “thrive” at work.

What is a ‘menopause-friendly’ employer?

8. Charles speaks of colonial ‘sorrow’

King Charles has used his first major speech to a foreign leader as monarch to address the legacy of colonialism. Speaking in the presence of South African president Cyril Ramaphosa, Charles said aspects of the relationship between the two countries “provoked profound sorrow” and called for future cooperation. In a speech described as “conciliatory” by the Daily Mail, the King added that “we must acknowledge the wrongs which have shaped our past if we are to unlock the power of our common future”.

What will King Charles mean for the future of the Commonwealth?

9. Ticketmaster under the microscope

Lawmakers in the US have announced they will look into Ticketmaster's dominance after the company faced controversy over its handling of sales for a Taylor Swift tour. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Mike Lee said a competition subcommittee would examine “lack of competition in the ticketing industry”. They added that high fees, issues with Ticketmaster’s website and cancellations show the ticketing giant “does not face any pressure to continually innovate and improve”. The singer-songwriter Swift said that it was “excruciating” to learn that her fans waited hours and were repeatedly kicked off the website.

Have Taylor Swift fans called time on Ticketmaster?

10. Kids’ author sues John Lewis

A children’s book author is suing John Lewis and its advertising design agency, alleging that the retailer’s 2019 Christmas ad “bears a striking similarity” to her picture book, Fred the Fire-Sneezing Dragon, which she self-published in 2017. The Times said the “unseasonal row” between Fay Evans and the companies is to go before a specialist judge in the intellectual property enterprise court in January. John Lewis has denied infringing her copyright and described the author’s allegations as “defamatory” and unfounded.