US ambassador questions speed and scale of Osborne’s cuts
US ambassador Louis Susman has questioned the wisdom of George Osborne’s massive spending cuts, warning they risked plunging Britain into a double-dip recession.
Green Politics
Energy review will hit poor hardest
Alan Simpson, former MP and government advisor on renewable energy, now sustainable energy advisor to Friends of the Earth, reports on the impact of the government’s energy review.
Denham warns science funding freeze will push UK further behind competitors
Short term funding of scientific research will push Britain further behind world leaders, shadow business secretary John Denham has warned.
Carbon Plan shows a disappointing shortfall in policy breadth
Despite some fantastic coverage in last Sunday’s Observer, David Cameron, Nick Clegg and Chris Huhne this week launched the Carbon Plan to very little media response, reports Eleanor Besley.
Coalition in danger of being ‘oiliest government ever’
The Cameron administration has had firm aspirations to be the ‘greenest government ever’, but the reality is turning out to be quite different. Alongside having a transport secretary who advocates gas-guzzling changes to public policy and continuing to encourage road-building in a time of austerity, they have announced that the person almost certain to head up the coalition’s environemt and energy policy is a former BP policy advisor.
Mandelson to set out £27bn export gap with BRIC countries
Peter Mandelson will today outline a £27bn export gap with the BRIC countries. The finding comes from research by ippr on Britain’s place in the global economy.
IMF-convened economists say cuts are the wrong strategy
The international chorus of experts against sharp deficit reductions plans has grown stronger, as world-leading economists said that the US and EU economies remained too fragile to absorb major deficit cuts. The economists met at a private conference convened by the IMF to discuss “Macro and Growth Policies in the Wake of the Crisis”.
Per-flight tax pledge just another per-day coalition failure
There has been yet another coalition u-turn – this time over the per-flight tax pledge, reports the Fabian Society’s Natan Doron.
Low-to-middle earners to bear brunt of latest prescription price increase
The latest prescription price increase is likely to fall disproportionately on low-to-middle earners, writes Resolution Foundation senior economist Matthew Whittaker.
The UK’s “maxed out credit card” myth
Mark Anderson analyses the current financial situation and explains why devastating, savage Tory cuts are the last thing we need.