It is a professional maxim, and sound piece of personal wisdom, that the greatest gift one person can give another is clear expectations. In that respect, the leadership of the NATO coalition in Afghanistan has not been particularly generous of late: the past two weeks have seen surprisingly public outbreaks of discord at the highest levels of the British and American security establishments.
The prime minister came to the summits “with a clear commitment to make sure these summits deliver for people. Too often, these international meetings fail to live up to the hype and the promises made” – yet according to The Guardian, Downing Street admitted that he had simply “not fought” for the commitments to be included during the negotiations.
Almost a year after his release the Lockerbie bomber remains very much alive, with new suggestions that he could live for up to another 20 years, whilst conflicting reports indicate that he could now be close to death.
George Osborne’s first budget has sparked a heated debate about its effect on jobs. The Government and the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) believe private sector employment will increase rapidly enough to bring about a significant reduction in unemployment over the next five years, despite the loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs in the public sector.
The permanent secretary at the depertment for education has backed up Ed Balls’s claims that all capital funding announcements when he was schools secretary.
By voting Yes in the referendum on AV on 5 May 2011, the British public will be voting to give themselves a voice. AV isn’t just a slight tweak to the way we count votes. It’s an opportunity to make a truly historic leap towards real and effective democracy.
The Daily Telegraph‘s front page focuses on Nick Clegg’s electoral reform proposals and cross-party concern with the intended date. The Deputy Prime Minister set out plans for the House of Commons to be reduced from 650 to 600 MPs aftertest
Professor Michael Mann is the guy behind the infamous ‘hockey stick graph’ made famous by Al Gore. He was one of the few world-leading climate scientists unfortunate enough to get caught up in the manufactured controversy around the so-called ‘climategate’ scandal.
The CBI want the strike laws to be toughened in such a way that a 40 per cent “yes” vote would be needed before a strike was allowed. We learn from The Times today that “secret” talks are going on about introducing new curbs on industrial action.
The coalition has announced a u-turn on the controversial dissolution resolution. In doing so they have taken our advice and moved to a two-thirds majority.
