Outsourcing: the joke has always been on the workers
Contracting out doesn’t improve efficiency – it just makes it easier to pay people less.
Good Society
Inheritance tax: David Cameron stands up for the 6 per cent
The fact that Cameron wants to cut inheritance tax when half a million people required emergency food aid last year says a lot about where his priorities lie.
Scotland’s divorce from the UK is inevitable, and Labour will lose the House
Scotland will become independent – maybe not in this generation but almost certainly in the next, and Labour will lose a key pillar of electoral support.
Sloppy Labour messaging is not going to work as the election draws nearer
If Labour cannot say what they are for or against then they have reduced the role of the opposition to a mere information source for government policy.
The prison book ban is not just nasty but bizarre
Encouraging prisoners to read aids their rehabilitation.
Devolving greater powers must be accompanied by clarity on what binds us
Scotland’s referendum has led to re-engagement with social citizenship but we must engage at all times – not only when our unity is under threat.
MEPs take Europe’s case for a digital bill of rights to Washington
On the left we should be clear that the struggle for civil liberties is now taking place in cyberspace.
Zero hour contract consultation attracts 36,000 responses
A government consultation on zero-hours contracts has been flooded with 36,000 responses from people wanting to talk about problems and abuses.
Tax-free childcare alone will not make childcare more affordable for most families
Today’s announcements are welcome, but the direction of travel is worrying.
The government should learn from the childcare policies of other countries
In Norway, state support for childcare goes to providers who have to meet quality criteria in order to receive any money.