Politics is too important to be left to politicians – time for citizens’ juries
The Canadian province of British columbia shows how citizens’ juries can build political solutions from the bottom up, building support along the way.
Guest
How Pickles’s brutal council tax benefit reforms will pulverise the working-age poor
Pickles’ council tax benefit reform will disproportionaly affect the working-age population, incentivise local authorities to push poor people out to neighbouring boroughs, will penalise councils of poorer areas and create a patchwork of inconsistent systems.
Nick Pearce’s nominations for most influential left-wing thinker of 2010/11
Nick Pearce, Director of the IPPR, nominated four American academics who are influencing UK politics for the most influential left-winger of 2010/11
Failure to remutualise Northern Rock does nothing to prevent repeat of collapse
At the time of the banking collapse, the Bank of England said that there was a need for more stable banking structures in the UK. So why isn’t George Osborne remutualising Northern Rock?
Nomination for most influential left-wing thinker of 2010/11: Owen Jones
Natan Doron and Olly Parker nominate Owen Jones, author and the hard leftie you’d take home to your mother, for Left Foot Forward’s most influential left wing thinker of 2010/11
No counter-terrorism approach could eliminate a Breivik lone wolf threat
Counter-terrorism attempts to eliminate Breivik-style attacks would require clampdowns on liberties unacceptable in modern societies. We need another way.
Equal Love – the law should recognise gay marriage and same-sex civil partnerships
The Equal Love campaign has taken the cause of legal recognition of same-sex marriage and different-sex civil partnerships to the European Court of Human Rights
Fears government reforms could create a “big divide” not a ‘Big Society’
Two of the Big Society’s key reforms, police commissioners and free schools, could tear apart our communities, writes the Runnymede Trusts’s Kamaljeet Gill.
TaxPayers’ Alliance make a mockery of themselves by denying wellbeing evidence
The TaxPayers’ Alliance merely makes a mockery of citizens as well as themselves by denying the evidence on wellbeing, writes Jules Peck.
Pre-entry English tests are unfair, impractical and potentially discriminatory
A pre-entry test of people’s English language abilities is unfair, impractical, and potentially discriminatory, Ruth Grove-White of the Migrants’ Rights Network.