Look Left – Immigrants coming over here paying for our pensions, Boris and David
James Bloodworth looks back at the week’s politics, including our progressive, regressive and evidence of the week.
Look Left going out shortly – sign up to receive it by email
Look Left, our round up of the week’s politics, will be going out shortly.
‘Greenest government ever’ presides over emissions increase
There was an increase in the level of CO2 and greenhouse gas emissions in 2012, with UK net emissions of carbon dioxide 4.5 per cent higher than 2011, figures out today reveal.
Council tax changes will ‘push more people into poverty’
The coalition’s changes to council tax benefits will “invariably push more people into poverty or deeper into poverty”, according to a report out today by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
New energy minister questions climate change targets
Tory MP Michael Fallon has replaced John Hayes as energy minister.
Last week Fallon questioned whether “specific targets, for example on…climate change, are the best way of focusing our spending where it is most needed”.
Human rights groups hit out at Liam Fox for Bahrain summit
Liam Fox has been criticised by human rights groups for his decision to appear at a conference in Bahrain designed to improve the country’s image.
Video: How has marriage equality affected your marriage?
Think Progress, our sister site in the US, has made a short video in which they ask anti-gay National Organize for Marriage protesters how same sex marriage has affected their own marriage.
UK GDP down 0.3 per cent
UK GDP fell by 0.3 per cent between the third and fourth quarters of 2012, according to the latest quarterly national accounts from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Video: Larry Summers nails austerity on Newsnight
Larry Summers nails austerity on Newsnight
EU migrants flooding over here…paying for our pensions
Now that we’ve pulled apart the idea that newly-arrived immigrants are being fast-tracked to social housing ahead of indigenous Britains, it’s worth a quick look at the myth that immigrants are somehow a drain on the economy; that there is a pressing need to “get tough” with them, send them home, afflict various hardships on them, whatever takes your right-wing fancy.