
Gender earnings equality inches forward, but why hasn’t policy kept up?
Slowly but surely, the persistent inequality in earnings between men and women is declining.

Slowly but surely, the persistent inequality in earnings between men and women is declining.

We’ve a gaffe-prone chancellor in George Osborne: before it was the 4×4 in the disabled parking space, then it was the fine for not having a first class ticket. Now he’s caught out by The Sun for eating a “posh burger”.

The assault suffered by Nigella Lawson is a sad reminder that one in four women have, or will face domestic abuse in their lifetime.

Today’s figures should open up debate on how to reform the current system of tax credits and benefits. What is clear is that more needs to be done to address the growing number of people who are actively contributing to society but yet are finding it increasingly difficult just to get by.

The most read articles on Left Foot Forward this week.

Look Left, our round up of the week’s politics, will be going out shortly.

This policy will only work in the land where the Magic Job Tree grows alongside the Magic Money Tree that ensures all such jobs are well paid. And that only exists in the head of some policy wonks in Tory think tanks.

At a time when the mainstream political discourse seems preoccupied with boosting low pay, living wages and a citizens income it seems odd that the Conservatives would float the idea of reducing the National Minimum Wage. As many have rushed to point out, most evidence suggests that it boosts growth, putting money in the pockets of those most likely to spend

The Mayor of London famously stood up to the government in October 2010, warning of “Kosovo-style ethnic cleansing” and promising that this would never happen on his watch.
So why has he suddenly gone silent on the issue?

Within just three months the OBR’s forecast for growth in 2013 has been halved. The economy now looks set to be smaller at the time of the next election than it was when the crash hit in 2008 and our recovery remains the slowest in over a century. When the government took office they thought this year would see the economy expand by 2.9 per cent – their own forecasts now show we won’t reach that rate of growth by 2017.
The economic case for a new approach has never been stronger.