Big society gone mad?
Hidden in Mr Cameron’s appeal to mobilise people in the national interest, is a further, pernicious attack on law that in fact protects all of us.
Right-Wing Watch
Cutting red tape? More like axing the green economy
The Government is abolishing15 environmental bodies, blowing another hole in its claim to be ‘the greenest government ever’, reports Guy Shrubsole.
Lib Dem MP’s sudden conversion from loving RDAs to loathing them
Kevin Meagher exposes Lib Dem Gordon Birtwistle’s sudden conversion from fan of Regional Development Agencies to saying they only give “crumbs off the table”.
Treasury trying to shut down climate department and axe clean energy funds
The credibility of the coalition’s claim to be the ‘greenest government ever’ suffered a huge blow today following reports the Treasury is planning to axe DECC.
Spending Challenge – of 45,000 ideas, just 3 are taken up
Of the 45,000 proposals submitted to the government’s much hyped ‘Spending Challenge’, only three have been taken up, reports Matthew Pitt.
IDS “simply doesn’t recognise” Osborne’s welfare savings number
Iain Duncan Smith has told a group of MPs that he “simply doesn’t recognise” the £4 billion figure that George Osborne claims will be cut from the welfare budget. The latest remarks will heighten tensions between two of David Cameron’stest
Four Cheers for the Government’s failure to stop Illegal Timber!!!
This week the Government are holding a drinks party to congratulate themselves on the new European Union directive on illegal timber. The directive is five years late. It is toothless and it fails to achieve the objective of putting an end to this trade that costs developing countries up to $15 billion each year.
RDA consultation is a total dog’s breakfast
Last week saw the deadline pass for local authorities and businesses to produce proposals for new, local regeneration bodies to succeed the eight regional development agencies outside London, allegedly replacing the “top-down prescription approach taken previously”.
Five-year fix
Nick Clegg’s proposals for 5-year fixed terms will put Britain at odds with most democratic countries. The proposals were not even Lib Dem policy.
BIS experiment dismisses internationally excellent research
David Willetts, minister of science, yesterday confirmed on the Today programme that the science budget will be cut. Although I don’t agree with this policy, I was not surprised. The decision has been widely trailed, with most university departments quietly bracing themselves for this outcome.