Shamik Das
Poll worry for coalition as pain of cuts begins to dawn
Labour leads the Tories in the Times/Populus poll series for the first time in three years in the wake of the comprehensive spending review as voters begin to realise the full scale of the coalition's cuts agenda. Ed Miliband's party are up one point on 38 per cent, with the Conservatives down two points on 37 per cent and the Liberal Democrats up one point on 15 per cent.
Ideological Browne review will end up costing taxpayer more
At a time when the government is eager to cut spending, their policy on universities, which will cost money not save it, can only be seen as ideological. The government will pay fees up front, with students indebted to the government for decades.
Clegg’s fave tune: Life on Mars – a barren, inhospitable world…
Nick Clegg appeared on Desert Island Discs this morning, putting the worries of the world to one side and revealing his favourite tunes, reports Shamik Das.
Coalition’s aim for a “school sport revolution” in tatters after CSR
The government's aim to “spark a competitive school sport revolution”, outlined only a month ago, looks set to become yet another broken coalition promise, following the cuts to school sport outlined in the Comprehensive Spending Review this week and the subsequent axing of targets and strategies which have resulted in increases in participation in school sport and rises in the number of pupils playing competitive sport.
Look Left – Britain is a “colder, crueller country”
This week the government unveiled the biggest cuts to public spending in decades. The regressive, unfair cuts (source: IFS), will lead to 500,000 job losses, with services up and down the country severely cut or axed completely. Johann Hari, in The Independent, described Britain as a "colder, crueller country" in the wake of the cuts.
Clegg “digging himself into a hole” over university funding
Lecturers accused Nick Clegg of "spinning his way out of trouble" over university funding today, following his u-turn over tuition fees, writes Shamik Das.