Is the co-op movement getting a raw deal from Labour?
contribution by George W. Potter
The co-operative group has a political arm which is called (predictably) the Co-op Party.
Now, I for one, think that the concept of co-operatives is a brilliant idea.
But where I disagree with it is its political strategy. No matter how supportive someone might be of the co-operative philosophy, they are only allowed to stand as Co-op candidates if they’re a member of the Labour party or are not a member of any other party.
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Government offers ‘free childcare’ when it is already free
Apparently in panic about falling polls amongst women voters, the government has ‘found’ £300 million for childcare support.
As now families will be able to recover childcare costs at 70 per cent – up to £175 for one child or £300 for two or more children per week. The money will be paid through Universal Credit from 2013 and will mean that around 80,000 more families with children will be able to work the hours they choose.
Let’s set aside quickly two more obvious matters already widely commented upon: first, this support doesn’t start for another 18 months; second, it does nothing for those working/wanting to work 16 hours or more per week, who suffered big cuts in April 2011.
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How Tory plans will prevent the poor from accessing justice
contribution by Annie Powell
In his speech to the Conservative conference, George Osborne confirmed the Tories’ plans to charge for bringing employment tribunal claims. Under the proposals, workers will have to pay between £150 and £250 to enter a claim and £1,000 for the claim to be heard.
The money will only be recoverable if the employee wins his or her case.
These proposals are ostensibly designed to reduce spurious and vexatious claims, but they will do far more than that: they will make it difficult or impossible for vulnerable people to bring claims at all.
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‘Largest act of civil disobedience’ tomorrow
When Big Ben strikes 1pm on Sunday 9th October, health professionals, pensioners, trade union members, families and well known comedians will be amongst the thousands of people expected to walk into the road and occupy Westminster Bridge, the iconic London landmark, to protest against the government’s Health and Social Care bill.
In blocking the bridge the protest will symbolically block the bill from leaving parliament.
Nearly 3,000 people are now signed up online with 14 coaches are coming to London from towns and cities across the UK. There is strong support for UK Uncut’s campaign from healthcare groups, Trade Unions and NGOs.
Clown doctors led by comedians Josie Long and Mark Thomas, musicians and a ‘kids space’ run by Save Camden Child Care will help occupy the bridge between 1-4pm, just days before the bill’s second reading in the House of Lords.
400 public health experts published a letter in the Daily Telegraph earlier this week, warning the House of Lords to reject the proposed NHS reforms. They said that the plans will cause the NHS “irreparable harm” and called on the Lords to throw them out.
UK Uncut is clear about why mass civil disobedience is needed to prevent the bill going through “Yes, it will be disruptive. Yes, it will stop the traffic. But this is an emergency and if we want to save our NHS we need to shout as loud as we can. No one voted for this bill but together we can stop it.”
Printing money is okay – we do it all the time!
A lot of people get very worried by the Bank of England printing money. We can trace this line of thought back to the great political economists of the nineteenth century like JS Mill, but it finds itself common on the left and right these days.
You can print yourself into hyperinflation, or even accelerating inflation which can eat into living standards and cloud relative prices. But you can find yourself in deflation by failing to print enough. It is this second problem we have been closer to right now.
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BBC cuts 2,000 jobs, but still pays 274 ‘stars’ £65m a year
contribution by Rachel Oldroyd
The BBC yesterday announced details of how it intends to save £670m a year by 2016 in a plan which will have an impact on every corner of the corporation and see as many as 2,000 jobs axed.
The budget for BBC News will be cut by £24m a year with further ‘limited reductions’ in current affairs across television and Radio 4. These proposed cuts will see the Politics Show axed and replaced by a weekend version of Daily Politics. World Service and BBC News will be brought more closely together with the aim of producing One BBC News.
A 55-page document, outlines the proposed cuts. The document does much to try to address fears that the cuts will impact the news output of the BBC.
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Lynne Featherstone takes swipe at May
The Libdem MP Lynne Featherstone has taken a not-so-subtle swipe at Theresa May over the Human Rights Act.
In an article for the Ham and High, she wrote about about Tory attacks on the HRA:
In the Blue Corner, Theresa May (my Home Office boss) launched an attack on the Human Rights Act on the morning of the Conservative conference in the Sunday Telegraph saying that saying she “personally” would like to see it go because of the problems it caused for the Home Office. On Marr the same day David Cameron – when questioned on his Secretary of State’s position – backed it up, saying he too would like to see it go and be replaced by a written British Bill of Rights.
She then goes on to add:
As for the Human Rights Act – there are times when people cynically, lazily or ignorantly quote it in a way that completely perverts its intention (and doesn’t stand up if put to the test in court).
Ouch! Not a reference to #catflap is it?
She ends by saying that the Home Secretary’s desire to see the Human Rights Act go is, “just not going to happen under this government”. Very glad to hear it.
(hat-tip @mattleys)
Is this why John Denham left his shadow cabinet position?
Labour MP John Denham is leaving his role as shadow business secretary. This came as a shock to many, including myself, given he was a loyal supporter of Ed Miliband and regarded as a heavyweight.
Within the Westminster lobby, some are spinning the rumour that Denham and Miliband fell out over the predator/producer line in the latter’s conference speech.
That isn’t true for various reasons, least of all that Denham had wanted to move for a while now. Besides, EdM and Denham are quite ideologically aligned. Instead, the problem goes deeper than that and will shape the direction Labour takes over the next few years.
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How local councils can push for more equality
contribution by Andy Hull
Despite its swanky reputation, Islington is actually England’s 14th most deprived local authority. Half our kids here grow up in poverty, half our older people suffer fuel poverty and we have the third highest crime rate, the lowest male life expectancy and the highest male suicide rate in London.
It is also a place scarred by gross inequality. But rather than wait for central government to do something, we decided to take matters in our own hands to deal with this gap.
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Printing more money a “Titanic disaster”
The Bank of England is considering another round of Quantitative Easing – what we would call printing money.
This would be a “Titanic disaster”, said the Director General of Saga today – which looks at savings options for older people.
Dr. Ros Altmann said:
Buying gilts of corporate bonds is not what we need to revive the economy. It may be a short-term boost for bond traders and markets, but it risks a loss of confidence in the Bank of England’s policymaking, which ultimately will be damaging.
The last round of QE was supposed to stimulate UK growth and fight deflation, but instead it boosted prices, bank bonuses and borrowers’ balance sheets. It actually created asset bubbles and inflation, not sustainable growth. It aggravated the pensions crisis by forcing long-term interest rates down and inflation up, consequently, pension fund liabilities and deficits have soared, more employers have closed their schemes and British businesses are being forced to find more money to shore up their pension deficits, rather than creating jobs.
In fact George Osborne himself said Quanitative Easing was “the last resort of desperate governments when all other policies have failed” in 2009.
We couldn’t agree more.
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» Revealed: govt to restrict abortion counselling despite Nadine Dorries vote
» Would raising the tax threshold actually help the poorest?
» To win London, Ken Livingstone has to step outside his comfort zone
» This trade agreement with India will destroy thousands of lives
» UK debt hasn’t hit £1 trillion – mostly because of QE
» The benefits of being a “burden” on society
» Today’s economic figures will simply confirm UK’s “lost decade”
» Have Labour realised the election is more than three years away?
» Violence in the office
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» The world is entering the third phase of the crisis, warns ILO
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