Non mainstream credit reform: What it is and why we need it
Backbenchers in the House of Commons are trying to guide the Consumer Credit Regulation and Advice Bill though Parliament to regulate the industry, reports Daniel Elton.
Good Society
Citizens Advice Bureaux “under threat” from government cuts
Reports suggest Citizens Advice Bureaux are under threat from closure, with the CAB chief exec warning of a “real threat to vital funds”, reports Shamik Das.
Payday lenders: the need for urgent action
On 3 February, the House of Commons will vote on whether to support the introduction of a series of caps on the amount that payday and home credit lenders can charge for credit. The vote comes at a time when the UK has accumulated one of the highest levels of personal debt in the world. In April last year, British people owed over £1,460bn in private debt.
Lambeth launches the cooperative council
Councillor Steve Reid outlines how Lambeth Council plans to become Britain’s first cooperative council.
Private schooling goes right to the heart of who we are
Ahead of Andrew Neil’s documentary on social mobility tonight, Matt Gwilliam looks at the high number of public schooled politicians – including in the Shadow Cabinet.
Reframing the debate requires a different, more accurate account of welfare
Declan Gaffney looks at ‘the people Labour forgot about’, and discusses disability, benefits and reframing the debate on welfare cuts.
The bonfire of the inequalities
Matthew Lockwood on the aftershocks of the financial crisis that continue to reverberate through real economies and government budgets around the Western world.
Tax on pension saving threatens more than just 2m local govt workers
Naomi Cooke argues that the coalition’s tax on pension savings is arbitary policy making at its worst.
A “new” age of Christian persecution?
Ed Jacobs discusses how Christian persecution isn’t new and it could be on the rise, looking at attacks on Christianity in Egypt, Nigeria, Iraq and Qatar.
Profound ramifications of Cameron’s u-turn on strike legislation
Ruwan Subasinghe looks at the coalition’s policy u-turn on industrial action legislation, exploring the intricacies of coordinated action and the legal ramifications.