Welcome to Left Foot Forward. We have put together this short video to mark our launch. You can sign up for our daily politics summary by clicking here. Left Foot Forward is a new political blog for progressives. We providetest
In a speech today to the Labour pressure group, Progress, Peter Mandelson will contrast Labour’s approach with the Conservative Party’s “slash and burn” programme accusing David Cameron of planning “deep, savage, indiscriminate across-the-board spending cuts.” The Daily Mail report thetest
Widely publicised proposals by the Institute of Directors and TaxPayers’ Alliance to “save £50 billion a year of public spending” came under attack today from a range of sources. The findings undermine comments by Miles Templeman, Director General of thetest
From Monday we will email this politics summary to subscribers at 9am every day. To sign up click here. Plans to hold a referendum on election day to change Britain’s first-past-the-post voting system are being seriously considered by No. 10.test
A YouGov poll commissioned by Compass, “shows huge majorities want action on high pay.” Although attitudes are broadly similar across social class and party allegiance, “Thatcher’s children” – those born since 1975 – are less likely to support new taxes on the bonuses.
Peter Hoskin on Coffee House draws attention to the Economist’s new Global Debt Comparison feature. But the important question is not the level of debt but the cost of paying it back. Despite the fears and scaremongering from the right, the yield from 10-year British Government Securities (gilts) remain low by recent historic standards.
Andrew Lansley has, for the first time, shifted the Conservative commitment to increase health spending year on year in real terms. Speaking in Birmingham, Mr Lansley said, “Even with small increases, NHS services everywhere will have to tighten their beltstest
Jon Cruddas’ Compass speech included a graph showing the popular vote since 1832. A reinterpretation of the data shows Britain’s 60-year progressive consensus.
David Cameron mentioned the phrase “debt crisis” eight times in his speech yesterday. On Sunday, speaking on the Andrew Marr show, George Osborne said, “the difference between Britain and countries like France and Germany is that we have an absolutely enormous budget deficit.” But research used by the Conservative Party show that Britain’s debt position is far from in crisis despite their claims.
The recession is over. Following an ONS release on manufacturing growth, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research report that GDP is expanding for the first time since spring last year. A NIESR graph reproduced in the Mail showstest
