The Guardian today splashed with the news that the man the paper describes as “the world’s most high profile climate change sceptic,” Bjørn Lomborg, has u-turned and described global warming as “undoubtedly one of the chief concerns facing the world today” and called for tens of billions to be spent tackling the problem.
It may be an understatement to say that the environmental movement is going through a rough patch. In the wake of the Copenhagen summit climate change scepticism shows little sign of going away.
Government plans which could make highly performing secondary schools allocate places to pupils of mixed abilities have been slammed by Tory MEP Roger Helmer. According to Mr Helmer, the children of middle class parents are the most intelligent and should thus go to the best schools.
On holiday in Tuscany. His decision to fly by EasyJet last week, eschewing even priority boarding, strikes notable tones of austerity. This is in sharp contrast to his time spent on a Russian oligarch’s yacht in the summer of 2008…
Conspiracy theories are often dismissed as the humorous, yet mainly harmless preserve of a lunatic ‘whacky’ fringe. Bizarre they can be, but they are no laughing matter. They are a serious, widespread and influential cultural habit, and in certain social contexts they can be harmful.
Labour leadership candidate Ed Balls will call for an additional £6 billion to be invested to build 100,000 more affordable homes, arguing that the government should use half of the £12bn windfall to the public finances in recent months to fund the rapid expansion in house building.
So, the Labour Party’s most popular politician, a man respected for his honesty and outspokenness, Jon Cruddas, is backing David Miliband for the leadership. Many are surprised; some are elated – citing it as proof of the that David represents a ‘board church’; some disappointed.
Though four weeks remain till the result of the leadership election is known, there are a few things of which the Labour Campaign for International Development (LCID) can be certain. No matter who wins on 25th September the party will continue to be a passionate supporter of development issues.
Of course such a proposition is tantamount to someone questioning your parentage in modern Conservative circles. What is often overlooked, however, is that back in 1970 Heath campaigned on the proto-Thatcherite platform of spending cuts, smaller government, removing support fortest
Figures released today by the Office for National Statistics show that real GDP in the UK increased by 1.2 per cent in the second quarter – slightly better than the 1.1 per cent first estimate.
