November 2010
Ireland on the brink: Time for the Second Republic?
Twenty four months into its economic crisis and Ireland is finally beginning to address the fundamental issues that caused its national disaster, starting with the unique Irish mentality and its parochial political system.
Coalition’s housing plans will disincentivise aspiration
There is a sound argument to try to support greater mobility in social housing - only five per cent of social tenants moved home over the past year compared to almost a quarter of tenants in the private sector, though it is unclear what an ‘optimal’ level would be. It is also important to emphasise that it is councils and housing associations that will decide the length of tenancies, so the key question is how they will use their new freedoms.
Are Ed and AJ really split over 50p?
The red tops are overflowing with stories today of Labour's split over the 50p rate. But is there really a cigarette paper between the Labour leader and his shadow chancellor?
Taking the axe to social housing
The government’s consultation “A fairer future for social housing” says that “social housing – affordable and stable – should act as a springboard to help individuals make a better life for themselves”. Yet the result of this announcement will do the exact opposite – it will ensnare individuals in poverty, create ghettos of deprivation, and prevent future generations getting access to proper affordable housing.
BNP bloggers whip up anti-Muslim sentiment
There are increasing signs that the BNP are resorting to more and more desperate measures to inflate what little influence they have. Lisa Nandy MP reports in the Tribune on the work of a small group of anonymous online bloggers who have gone to extraordinary lengths to whip up anti-Muslim feeling.
Scrapping School Sport Partnerships – ideology or idiocy?
Of the many billions of pounds that the government have cut in their ideological zeal to shrink the state, few have met with the passion and unified outrage that have greeted the £162 million abolition of the School Sport Partnership grant.