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Latest Posts
An open letter to the next chief executive of NHS England
To Whom it May Concern,
Congratulations on your appointment as the next chief executive of NHS England. You take over an organisation in a volatile state, facing funding cuts, despite the government’s rhetoric.
Green Party accused of ‘acting as agents’ for the Tories
Brighton and Hove’s Green-led council has been accused of “acting as agents for the Tory-led coalition” after a letter emerged which appears to contradict the council’s pledge to not evict council tenants who are unable to pay the ‘bedroom tax’.
The North needs more private sector jobs, not less in the public sector
While cuts are inevitable, there are ways to rebalance cuts towards those with the broadest shoulders. Public sector jobs are not the problem.
IMF Healthcheck: Prolonged weak growth likely
The IMF has cited some improvement in overall economic conditions, but has urged the government to do more to speed up growth in its assessment of the UK economy.
Ignore the rhetoric: the deficit is growing
According to the latest ONS borrowing figures, the deficit for April was £6.3bn, around £2bn lower than expected. Public sector net borrowing for the previous year (2012/13) was revised down from £120.6bn to £119.5bn (compared to a deficit of £120.9bn in 2011/12).
Commonwealth progress but more reform is needed
While some progress is being made on LGBT rights in the Commonwealth, it is painfully slow. More reform is needed urgently. Nearly 80 per cent of the 54 Commonwealth countries still criminalise homosexuality, with penalties ranging up to life imprisonment for consenting same-sex behaviour between adults in private.
Royal mail privatisation – taxpayer, prepare to be ripped off (again)!
As a prelude to its privatisation, the announcement this week that Royal Mail made £440m profit for the year ending March 2013 was certainly an eye opener.
Measures must be introduced to curb the spread of acid attacks on young women
Politicians need to decide whether new legislation is required to deal with this crime before it spreads.
SNP deaf to economic issues that really matter
All of a sudden, the debate around Scotland’s future has gained the kind of substance that many have been yearning for.
The coalition has already abandoned the Child Poverty Act
Yesterday on the pages of this blog, Stewart Lansley claimed that I had “hurled a hand grenade” into the poverty debate by urging Labour to rethink its approach to child poverty. Leaving aside the hyperbole of that statement, Lansley’s case seems to be that my intervention “chimes with the line being taken by the coalition” in its attempts to redefine child poverty and its causes. Nothing could be further from the truth.