Table Of ContentISSUE 1519 / 27 JUNE 2022
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A HAND UP, NOT A HANDOUT NEW EVERY WEEK
That’s why the Big Issue Group now
has even more ways to help the
14.5 million* people in the UK living
in poverty to earn, learn and thrive.
*Source: JRF UK Poverty 2022
Find out more
about the
Big Issue Group
CHANGING LIVES THROUGH ENTERPRISE
SECRETSFROM ELVISANDTHE 50YEARSOFPRIDE BEINGGLENDA
INSIDE A COURTROOM AMERICAN DREAM REMEMBERED JACKSON
ISSUE 1519 / 27 JUNE 2022
IF I WAS
PRIME
MINISTER…
RYLAN
is taking
care of business
PAGE 20
A HAND UP, NOT A HANDOUT NEW EVERY WEEK
From 27 June 2022 CONTENTS / 5
IF YOU CAN’T BUY DIRECT FROM A VENDOR — OR WOULD LIKE TO GIFT A PERFECT PRESENT — VISIT BIGISSUE.COM TO LEARN HOW TO SUBSCRIBE
This
Inside
week’s
Big Issue
UP FRONT
8/TheDispatch
‘PRIDE IS NOT
Ourround-upofnews,including
MichaelGove’svowtohelpvictims
ofGrenfell bring criminal charges
A PARTY. AT
15/JohnBird
Thegovernment’slatesthousing
policyisaplanthat needs more
building work
ITS CORE IT’S
FEATURES
A PROTEST’
20/Rylan
TheTVstarandnationaltreasure
hassomebigideasabout how to
runthe country
PAGE24
CELEBRATING50YEARSOFPRIDE
28/LettertomyYoungerSelf
PAGE 27
THE UNTOLD HISTORY OF THE AIDS CRISIS FromOscarglorytoservingin
government,GlendaJackson’s
PAGE 37
NEW YORK’S NEW OUTLOOK
comealongwayfromhiding in
aschool cupboard
CULTURE
31-39/Books/Theatre/Music
Aguidethroughtheweek’shighlights
with our Big Issue critics
HOW
MY PITCH
THE BIG ISSUE
Robin Price
WORKS
Ourvendorsbuymagazinesfor£1.50
Railway
andsellthemfor£3,keepingthe
proceedsandworking their wayout
enthusiast Robin
ofpoverty.
Everyvendorhasauniquestory
has moved to –theymaybehomeless,atriskoflosing
theirhome,long-termunemployedor
a dream pitch at dealingwithmentalhealthissues.
Whattheyallhaveincommonis
theyareearningalegitimateincome
Bristol Parkway
whilegainingvaluablesocial and
transferableskills.
station. It’s
Ifyoucannotbuyfromavendor,
takeasubscriptionviaSUBS.BIGISSUE.COM
working out well.
orthroughTheBigIssueUKapp.
RetailersincludingtheCo-opand
Page 46. Sainsbury’salsostock the magazine
inmanybranches.
EVERYCOPYBOUGHTMAKESADIFFERENCE.
IT’S A HAND UP, NOT A HANDOUT.
Photo: Exposure Photo Agency
06 / BIG PICTURE bigissue.com
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From 27 June 2022 07
Ahead of
the field
Farmersofthefuturearemore
likelytobewearingsandalsthan
welly boots. This intelligent
greenhouse has sprouted up in
Bozhou,China,lyingequidistantfrom
Beijing and Shanghai. Instead of
leavingthesuccessofcropsuptothe
elements and mother nature, the
plantsarebeingconstantlymonitored
tomakesuretheyaregiventhebest
conditionspossibletogrow.
WithanLEDlighthereandtem-
perature regulator there, here an
irrigation control system, there an
air-qualitymonitor–therearesoil-
less-cultivatedvegetableseverywhere.
Growing more food inside
is happening all over the world.
TheChinese,longthebiggestfresh-
producegrowers,areleadingtheway.
The pandemic pointed out some of
the drawbacks that come with rely-
ingongoodsbeingquicklyexported
andimportedacrosstheplanet.And
so,over2020,Chinaincreasedtheir
greenhousespaceby28percent.
Farming like this maximises
yieldandthequalityoftheproduce,
reducing wastage at the same time.
The energy required to light the
greenhousesismorecostlythanthem
just growing under the sun, but we
don’thavetowaitforseasonstoturn
beforereapinganotherharvest.
Withagrowingglobalpopulation
adding to existing food shortages,
moreofwhatweconsumewillcome
fromintelligentgreenhouseslikethis.
8 / THE DISPATCH bigissue.com
THETOP5 OURVENDORS
THE STORIESON Clive abseils
BIGISSUE.COM
LAST WEEK 114ft down
DISPATCH
1.DALLEMini the college
explained:NewAI
generateshilarious where he got his
News, views & miscellany
andhauntingimages
fromtext
GCSEs to raise
2.UKsocialmobility
tsartellsworking funds for charity
classpeopletolower
theirambitions
3.Whatisthe
four dayweek
andwhyareUK
campaigners
callingforit?
GRENFELL 4.Fivewaysthecost
Michael Gove vows to help Grenfell oflivingisgoingup
andhowtogethelpif
you’restruggling
survivors bring criminal charges
5.Howlongdoes
BorisJohnsonhave
as Prime Minister?
Housing Secretary Michael Gove helpdeliverjusticeforthe72people
haspledgedtohelpGrenfellsurvivors wholosttheirlives.
bring criminal proceedings against Lastweek,onthefifthanniversary
thoseresponsibleforthedevastating of the fire, campaigners reiterated
2017fire. their call for charges to be brought.
SpeakingtoTheBigIssue,Gove, To date, the Metropolitan police
headofthehousingbriefinWestmin- haveinsistedtheywillwaituntilthe
ster,saidhewas“totally”committed ongoinginquiryintothefireiscom-
tohelpingbringlegalorotherhelp. pleted. That inquiry has talked of a Plymouth Big Issue vendor Clive
“There’s a debate that goes on “merry-go-round of buck passing” hittheheadlinesayearagowhenhe
aboutwhetherornottheruleswere overthoseresponsible for faults that receivedcongratulationsfromMarcus
Thegovernment
perfectlyclearorinsufficientlyclear,” led to the fire. Rashfordandotherstarsafterachiev-
finallybannedthe
hesaidofrulesaroundbuildingsafety inghisdreamofpassinghisGCSEsat
useofcombustible
thatledtothefire.“Ithinktheywere Seenextweek’sBigIssueforafull claddingonallnew theageof59.
insufficientlyclear,butthatdoesn’tlet interview with Michael Gove builds this month Now he has abseiled down City
peopleoffthehookfordoingterrible CollegePlymouth’s114fttowerblock
things. The decision about whether in his signature red Big Issue tab-
thereshouldbecriminalprosecutionis ard to give back to the place where
fortheCPSafterthepolicehavemade he earned his Maths and English
acase.Ican’ttellthepolicetoprose- Languagegrades.
cutethatperson,togoafterthem. Clive,whoistakingaLevel3course
“ButIwilldoeverythingtohelpthe in theatre production and creative
policeandtheCPSandthebereaved artsatthecollege,raised£300forthe ON
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From27 June 2022
ROUGHSLEEPING
Two hundred years ago a law was
passed to make sights like this on
the street illegal. Now the act’s
return could spark a Tory rebellion
Ittook200yearsforustodecidewe MichaelGove’snewLevellingUp
wouldn’ttreatroughsleeperslikesol- andRegenerationBillcontainsaclause
diersfromtheNapoleonicWars–and thatwouldallowthegovernmentto
nowwemightbacktrack. “disregardtherepealoftheact”and
How we treat people sleeping create“criminaloffencesorcivilpen-
rough on the street has, since 1824, alties” relating to begging or people
beendeterminedbytheVagrancyAct deemedtobe“roguesandvagabonds”.
that harks back to the fallout of the The prospect of a U-turn has
NapoleonicWars. angeredcampaigners,andthegovern-
Originally brought in by Prime mentisnowfacingaToryrebellion.
MinisterLordLiverpool,thelawwas Nickie Aiken, the Conservative MP
conceivedbytheBritishgovernment for the Cities of London and West-
tomakeitillegalforwoundedsoldiers minster,hastabledanamendmentto
tosleeproughorbegonthestreets, removetheclausewiththebackingof Illustrationofasabre But the pervading view among
woundtothehead
lest the sight of them with horrific severalmembersfromherparty. campaigners, including youth
sufferedatWaterloo.
injuriesreducesupportforwars. “Returning to the ethos under homelessness charity Centrepoint
Datingfrom1836,itis
Inmoderntimes,theacthascrimi- theVagrancyActisthelastthingwe andformerhousingsecretaryRobert
partoftheRoyalArmy
nalisedroughsleepingatatimewhen shouldbedoing,”saidAiken. MedicalCorps Jenrick,isthatthereisnoneedforany
itiswidelyacknowledgedthatsupport “Ihopeitisagenuinemistakeand Muniments Collection replacementatallaftertheVagrancy
tohelppeopleoffthestreetsisamore Ihopetheywillwithdraw[theclause] Act was scrapped in England and
compassionateandeffectivemethod before the Bill Committee meet. I Wales. It was repealed in Scotland
thanpunishment. am confident that if it was taken to longago.
The Vagrancy Act was finally a vote I’m not sure the government Kiran Ramchandani, director of
repealedaspartofthePolicing,Crime, wouldwin.” policy and external affairs at Crisis,
Sentencing and Courts Act in April A government spokesperson said: “The Vagrancy Act cannot
after years of campaigning, but new said it was committed to bringing be replaced with legislation that
governmentlegislationhaspaved the forward “more modern, fit-for- continuestopenalisepeople for being
way for the act to return. purpose legislation”. homeless or destitute.”
COSTOFLIVINGCRISIS
MOSTRECENTPROFITSOFLARGEUKLISTED
Ministers should focus on profit
FIRMSABOVEPRE-PANDEMICLEVELS
restraint, not wage restraint Cumulativepre taxprofitsofnon financialfirms,excluding
non-recurring items (pre pandemic average = 100)
140
Firmsthathavereported
uptoQ42021
120
Asthebiggestrailstrikein30 beenlargelyignored.Thinktankthe
yearskickedofflastweek,Boris IPPR,however,arguesthat’stheway 100
Prepandemicaverage
Johnsonsaidincreasingpublic totacklesoaringinflation,whichis
80
sectorwagesinlinewithinflation predictedtotop11percentthis
wouldmakemattersworse and autumn.Itsnewstudyfindsthat 60
Firmsthathavereported
sendcostsspiralling. whileinflationhasrisen,wage
40 up to Q1 2021
TreasuryministerSimonClarke earnershavebeenlosingoutwhile
hasalsoinsistedtherewouldbe“no manyfirms’profit margins have 20
inflation-bustingpayincreases”for increased.
0
thesamereason.Butwhilethe Thischartshowsthatprofits
02/2016 06/2017 12/2017 06/2018 12/2018 06/2019 12/2019 06/2020 12/2020 06/2021 12/2021
governmentiskeentotalkabout forlargeUKfirmsisnowabove
SOURCE: COMMON WEALTH/IPPR ANALYSIS OF REFINITIV (2022)
wage restraint, profit restraint has pre-pandemic levels.
10 / THE DISPATCH bigissue.com
OPINION UKRAINE ROYALCORRESPONDENT
We registered our oldest ever guest. HUNDREDSOF A letter from
UKRAINIAN
Born in 1919, she needs food aid for REFUGEE Prince William
HOUSEHOLDS
the first time in her life HAVECONTACTED to our vendors
COUNCILSTO
HELPTHEMAVOID
HOMELESSNESS
660
Diaryofafoodbankmanager
By Charlotte White, Earlsfield Foodbank
Westartedourfoodbanksessionin oftheblue.WhenherangtheUniver- Ukrainianrefugeehouseholds
brightspirits.Thesunwasshiningand salCredithelplinehewastoldthathe haveneededhomelessness
foronceourstocklevelswerehigh,fol- hadbeeninformedofanappointment preventionorrelieffrom
lowingaconcertedeffortbyvolunteers byletter.YetPetehadn’treceivedthis Englishlocalauthorities
to raise funds over the bank holiday letter.Tryingtochallengeasanctionis since February 24
weekend,butasthemorningcontin- sodifficultwithlimitedphonedataand
180
uedthebrightnessdisappeared. littleelectricitytochargeaphone.And
New registration interviews and it’sevenmoredifficultwhenhungry.
conversationswithguestsrevealedthe Areviewofthenumbersrevealed
bleak,distressingsituationsmanypeo- we’re currently supporting over 150 ofthehouseholdsthat
plefoundthemselvesin. households regularly, around 280 requiredsupportwere
Afamilycamein,strugglingwith peopleintotal.Twoyearsagowesup- single households
bills and unable to feed the whole portedfewerthan40households.
480
household without the help of the AndallofthisinJune,historically The Duke of Cambridge wrote a
foodbank.Inadditiontoneedingemer- ourquietesttimeofyear,whenwarm notetoBigIssuesellersashefeatured
gencyfood,theirtwoteenagechildren weathermeansbillsareusuallylower onthemagazine’scover,describingthe
hadnobeds.Theeldestchildwas15 andchildrenarestillatschoolaccess- ofthehouseholdsthat “inspiring”timehespentasavendor
andsleepingonthefloor,despitebeing ing free school meals, reducing the requiredsupportwere andhishopesfortheirfutures.
midway through exams. (Over the demandwesometimesseeintheschool families with children Aheadofhis40thbirthday,Prince
weekend,thankstosomequickwork holidays. The Chancellor’s recently William had taken to the streets of
455
fromthecommunity,wemanagedto announcedsupportpackagewillgive Westminster in a red tabard along-
findanddeliversomebeds.) some breathing space to our guests, sidevendorDaveMartin,anexperi-
Wealsoregisteredouroldestguest butthebenefitsarenotimmediateand encehesaidwas“trulyeyeopening”.
ever. Born in 1919, she’s lived under problems are building up. Debt will householdsarrivedintheUK Inhisletter,deliveredtoeachBig
20 prime ministers and now needs accumulateandmentalhealthissues throughtheUkraineFamily Issue vendor as they collected their
foodaidforthefirsttimeinherlife.A worsen–suffering,deprivation,star- Scheme,whichallowed magazines, the duke wrote that he
weeklydeliveryisarranged. vationanddestitutionwillallescalate. refugeestocometotheUK recognisesthesteps“eachandevery
At the other end of the age scale, Thepovertycausedby12yearsof to stay with their family oneofyouaretaking…tosetyourlives
we register Eva, an 18-year-old who austeritypoliciescannotbeeradicated onadifferentpath.
145
issuddenlyhomelessafterfamilydis- byashort-termstickingplastersolu- “PleaseknowthatIamthinkingof
putes.Shehasnothing.Sheistearful, tion,howeverwell-intentioned. youallandwillcontinuetodoso,not
exhaustedandexpressesherterrorof OurregularIFANcallwithother justnowinthesummermonths,but
spendinganothernightonthestreets. foodbanksrevealswe’reallexperienc- householdsarrivedthrough alsowhenthewinterstartstobite,and
ThankfullyouronsiteCitizensAdvice ing the same: more people in need, theHomesforUkraine youarestilloutthereselling.”
repcanreferherforemergencyhelp. morecomplex,urgentproblemsanda Scheme,whichallowed He went on to share his realisa-
Andthenanothersanctionscase. generalfeelingofdesperation.Itfeels refugeestocometotheUK tionthat“manypeoplelookstraight
Sanctionsmeanbenefitsarestopped likewe’rereallystuckattheendof the to be housed with a sponsor throughyou”andtheimpactthiscould
or reduced due to failure to attend road. Where to go from here? haveonvendors’ownsenseofworth.
234
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a meeting with an appointed work “I know the past two years have M
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coach. Pete’s money just stopped out earlsfieldfoodbank.org.uk beenparticularlytough...asaresultof X / A
thepandemic,”hewrote. RPI
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shareddatawithcentral March2020,overnightvendorswere R /
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government,meaningthe unabletosellthemagazine.TheBig MIR
truenumberislikely to be Issuehadtoadapt,goingcashlessto NITY
much higher equipvendorswithcardreaders,and TRI
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upagain,andthatyou’regettingback E;
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onyourfeet,”HRHadded,signingoff W
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withaPS:“IhopeIdon’thamper your OT
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Source:Departmentfor sales too much this week!!” AR
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LevellingUp,Housing S:
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and Communities Readers respond to the story on page 16 HO
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