Left Foot Forward
Is the ‘Green Red’ dead?
Labour's former Climate Change Secretary has been quiet on green issues since his election. Effective opposition means holding the Government to account.
The Freedom Bill must enable people to help change our society
David Cameron’s ‘Big Society’ and Ed Miliband’s ‘New Generation’ visions for Britain are both based on a strong civil society and grassroots initiative. This Freedom Bill must not disappoint if people are to be enabled to get involved in helping to provide solutions to the local, national and global challenges these visions seek to address.
Can the Democrats see off the Tea Party threat in South Florida?
Dave Roberts has hit the US mid-term campaign trail in Southern Florida, where incumbent Democratic Congressman Ron Klein is facing a huge challenge from former-army colonel and Tea Party favourite, Allen West.
Look Left – Opposition grows to coalition’s unfair housing benefit cuts
Echoing his plea in yesterday's Daily Mirror for conscionable Lib Dems to help Labour crush the worst cuts, Ed Miliband told the Scottish Labour conference: "A week from Tuesday we will force a vote in the House of Commons on housing benefit. Our appeal is to all MPs of conscience. Join us, vote against these unfair and unworkable changes and force the government to think again."
Who will be affected by the housing benefit cuts?
Welfare systems need to address two different types of situation faced by working age households. They need to provide short-to-medium term support for living costs in response to labour market fluctuations and frictional unemployment; and longer term support for those who are without a market income for extended periods (in practice many households are located on a continuum between these two poles).
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.