In Austerity Britain, few cutbacks capture the public ire like those directed towards the beloved NHS. In the public consciousness at least, it seems the NHS must remain outside the whims of party politics…
When discussing the state of the economy, politicians deploy two key tricks. First, get your excuses in early. Second, take all the credit for any good news but blame others for any bad news. David Cameron…
Those of us that follow the mainstream media encounter information but few genuine insights. Recently one jumped off the page at me in a Financial Times piece. In an otherwise undistinguished endorsement…
Usually when great national institutions are perceived as being under threat people start to get anxious. And as we know, anxious people can sometimes do strange things. Sometimes they announce grand but…
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has just released its latest report card on child well-being in 41 rich countries. In particular, the report looks at the effects of the economic crisis on children…
Public sector workers have been taking to the streets protesting the below-inflation pay rises and austerity. The Trades Union Congress hoped this would send a clear message to the British government…
The Brazilian presidential election of 2014 has so far thrown up more surprises and plot twists than a telenovela. In the first round ballot on October 5 the left of centre incumbent, Dilma Rousseff of…
One of the Conservative Party’s major promises to emerge in its party conference was the promise of tax cuts to reduce the burden of government on hardworking families who do the right thing. Many critics…
A consequence of the momentous debates unfolding following the Scottish referendum is the growing call for the north of England to be given greater control over how resources are used to tackle regional…
The Great British Bake Off has been attracting its highest-ever ratings after a return to our screens. While many different explanations have been offered for the show’s success, the current popularity…
When the central bank governors and finance ministers from the G20 agreed in February to increase growth by at least two percentage points over the next five years, they fell short of delivering a common…
Germany’s strategy for export-led growth has set the Eurozone up for a fall. Plans to introduce minimum wages in 2015 might be too little too late for European countries locked in a futile game of beggar-thy-workforce…
In the UK and other parts of the Western world, the notion that we are progressing towards a better future has been a consistent, if not entirely uninterrupted, ideal. But in recent years, this idea seems…
After the sudden dissolution of his government, French president François Hollande is edging ever a bit closer to the political abyss. His prime minister, Manuel Valls, has just formed a new cabinet, which…
Mario Draghi almost single-handedly rescued the Eurozone from disaster two years ago, by pledging to do “whatever it takes to preserve the euro”, so the appeal from the European Central Bank (ECB) chief…
The Department for Education’s proposal that for-profit companies could provide child protection services and other statutory functions for families caused a major public uproar this spring – and the furore…
On July 5, the Daily Mail mounted yet another attack on the pesky human rights folk who have the temerity to question the coalition government’s welfare agenda. The article, headlined “The Brazil Nut strikes…
After all those years of flat-line economic performance in the UK economy and declining real incomes, we’ve seen quite a turn around. The growth rate is now one of the best in Europe, house prices are…
The swingeing report of the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission that the Child Poverty Act 2010 targets for 2020 cannot be met is no surprise. The commission was responding to the government’s…
“We are all in this together” has been one of George Osborne’s mantras. And it worked. Substantial parts of the public remain convinced that a noble, collective belt tightening was and remains the right…