Plans to help ‘honour’ killings victims criticised
New government plans for tackling violence against women and girls will not go far enough to help victims of “honour” violence, campaigners have claimed.
The Iranian and Kurdish Women’s Rights Organisation said there were not enough proposals to protect women attacked or threatened by family members. It added that its workers regularly came across police, teachers, social workers and other professionals who still did not understand the problem.
The action plan will outline the government’s next steps after publication of a strategy document in November calling for an end to violence against women.
It is expected to recommend developing police training programmes on sexual and domestic violence, including so-called honour-based violence, and continuing specialist training for prosecutors in violence against women.
How Ed Miliband could win the AV vote for Labour
Having tied himself firmly to the mast, Ed Miliband has a vested interest in ensuring the referendum on Alternative Vote is won.
There are, of course, snags. There’s little that can be done about the dishonest advertising campaign claiming that it will cost £250m. But another problem looms for him: how the referendum is being framed. And this is where the Yes camp has failed.
What happens in Wisconsin matters world-wide
contribution by Owen Tudor
The new independent unions of Egypt have been on the receiving end of a lot of solidarity messages from around the world as they struggle for democracy and human rights. But they are also sending solidarity messages to other workers engaged in the struggle for human rights: such as the trade unions of Wisconsin in the US mid-west.
It may seem bizarre to suggest that workers in the state capital of Madison, Wisconsin are engaged in a similar struggle as those in Tahrir Square, but it doesn’t seem bizarre to those Egyptian trade unionists, and they’re right.
continue reading… »
BBC News ‘savings’ & ‘cuts’ watch
Last week we reported that some BBC editors were asking their journalists to replace the word ‘cuts’ with ‘savings’ in their coverage, presumably to be nicer to the government. More on that is coming soon.
In the meantime, some readers highlighted already published examples of this practice.
Neither of these headlines actually make much sense… what’s a “savings threat”?
If you see any more examples please get in touch.
(story 1, story 2)
How the upcoming welfare cuts will hit blind and disabled people
contribution by Andrew Kaye
Apparently there are 400,000 benefits cheats in Britain, which shows what a workshy country we have become. Shockingly 75% of individuals on sickness benefits are faking. Furthermore, it is nothing short of a scandal that there are 86,000 people under the age of 24 on sickness benefits.
Well, I might think that if I got all my information from certain newspapers that deliberately distort the figures. With the Government’s flagship Welfare Reform Bill scheduled for its Second Reading this week, it is incumbent on all those who participate in the debate to temper passion with reason.
continue reading… »
Khan unveils a more liberal prison policy
Labour made a mistake by “playing tough” on crime and allowing the prison population to soar to record levels during its time in government, instead of tackling sky-high reoffending rates, the shadow justice secretary, Sadiq Khan, is to acknowledge for the first time on today
In a break with New Labour’s hardline rhetoric, Khan is to argue that the party should declare a new policy aim of jailing fewer people.
His speech to a Fabian Society/Prison Reform Trust event is the first attempt by a senior Labour figure to sketch out the party’s new direction on prisons policy. He is also to announce a party working group on punishment and reform to detail the new focus on rehabilitation and cutting crime.
Sadiq Khan has also written a comment piece arguing:
A duty to the public must be to stop prisoners reoffending through successful rehabilitation. Although we reduced reoffending rates, they are still at almost 70%, so there’s still a lot more to do.
But Let’s also be clear about the scale of the challenge. We have to find a way to deal with the multiple mental health problems faced by over 70% of prisoners, as well as dealing with the lack of skills and education of those in prison, so they can get a job, reconnect with family and find a home upon release. These three factors are essential in stopping reoffending.
Focusing on these issues is not about being soft on crime – it is about being effective in reducing it.
This shift in Labour’s approach to crime is a long time in coming, and wholly welcome. Well done to Sadiq Khan for articulating it.
Ed Balls: Tories taking us back to the 80s
At the the TUC Yorkshire & Humber region’s AGM, Labour’s shadow chancellor Ed Balls attacked the Tories for ‘taking Britain back to the 1980s’.
He said:
Across the north, south, east and west of our country we are starting to see the devastating effect of this government’s reckless plan to cut too deep and too fast.
David Cameron and George Osborne are trying to take us back to the 1980s – not just the hike in VAT and deep spending cuts, but trying to provoke confrontation with Labour councils like Liverpool and now with Thatcherite enterprise policies too.
The economy should be growing strongly this year, but instead thousands of jobs are being lost in both the public and private sectors and our economic recovery has stalled.
George Osborne just doesn’t get it. He doesn’t seem to understand that without strong economic growth and with unemployment now rising again, you cannot get the deficit down. And he seems to be in denial about the state of the economy he is responsible for.
When Labour left office our actions to support the recovery meant the economy was strengthening, inflation was lower and unemployment was falling. That’s why the deficit ended up being £20 billion lower than forecast last year.
Now we have the worst of all worlds – a stalled economy, consumer confidence collapsing, rising unemployment and rising inflation. But this Chancellor has no plan other than to carry on regardless with cuts that are too deep and too fast and aren’t working.
George Osborne needs to get his head out of the sand. He has just two weeks until the Budget to come up with a plan for jobs and growth that gets people into work and gets our economy moving again.
He should start by heeding Labour’s call to repeat last year’s £3.5 billion bank bonus tax and use that money to support the jobs and growth Britain badly needs this year.
Why Cameron can’t rely on the market to provide public services
contribution by Saadaab Janab
Last week David Cameron outlined his plans to forge himself a legacy so he can go down in history as a somebody. He’s under the impression that a freer market creates choice which means freer people, freer society.
This is absolutely TRUE. In the world where conditions for perfect competition hold, trees talk, pigs fly and West Ham win the league. It’s for this abstract neo-classical world that these policies are dreamt up, but it’s in the real world where they’re inflicted.
continue reading… »
Why direct action to prevent global warming still matters
contribution by Robbie Gillett
Another trial concluded last week, with six environmental activists being found guilty of aggravated trespass for an airside blockade at Manchester Airport last May. This came as little suprise to those of us involved.
Successive court cases at Drax , Aberdeen, Ratcliffe and now Manchester have all seen attempts to employ related or similar ‘defences of necessity’. This is a common law defence which stipulates that defendants who attempt to stop emissions to prevent death and serious injury from climate change may be acquitted.
Do these successive guilty verdicts mean we’re wrong to be worried about climate change?
continue reading… »
We need to stop the government privatising blood donations #bloodmoney
contribution by Neil Foster
Having spectacularly failed to sell off publicly owned forests, now the Government is attempting to open up our blood donation services to privatisation.
It will face enormous opposition from volunteer donors, health workers and society as a whole appalled at such a grisly prospect. Where you and I give blood to save lives, the privatisation junkies close to government sniff profit.
You can read articles through the front page, via Twitter or RSS feed. You can also get them by email and through our Facebook group.
» The real agenda behind Telegraph’s abortion investigation
» How Scotland Yard monitors prying bloggers and journalists
» When disabled people want to work – employers can hold the back
» Revealed: the reality behind Workfare and why it doesn’t work
» Job snob? No, I’ve got the T-shirt
» Why country-by-country reporting matters to our wellbeing
» If Unions want to become stronger, they need to modernise
» Why work “reforms” in Spain are a warning for workers across Europe
» Five things you need to know about the NHS bill
» Bigger. Fatter. Gypsier. More Racist.
» Laziness levels in Britain getting lazier, wails government
|
62 Comments 15 Comments 23 Comments 8 Comments 24 Comments 16 Comments 16 Comments 83 Comments 203 Comments 85 Comments |
|
LATEST COMMENTS » JIm posted on The real agenda behind Telegraph's abortion investigation » pagar posted on Workfare - what does the evidence show? » Chaise Guevara posted on The real agenda behind Telegraph's abortion investigation » Katie posted on The real agenda behind Telegraph's abortion investigation » Chaise Guevara posted on The real agenda behind Telegraph's abortion investigation » TimJ posted on How Scotland Yard monitors prying bloggers and journalists » Shatterface posted on The real agenda behind Telegraph's abortion investigation » Cylux posted on The real agenda behind Telegraph's abortion investigation » pagar posted on The real agenda behind Telegraph's abortion investigation » pjt posted on The real agenda behind Telegraph's abortion investigation » nothingspecial posted on Workfare - what does the evidence show? » Chaise Guevara posted on How Scotland Yard monitors prying bloggers and journalists » Patron Press - #P2 posted on Workfare - what does the evidence show? » karl meyer posted on Workfare - what does the evidence show? » BevR posted on Workfare - what does the evidence show? |
