Neil Kinnock in Bridgend on the eve of the 1983 general election. As true of the Tories today as it was then. (hat-tip Pam Field) Bookmarks Hide Sites
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The false logic of the privatisation of the East Coast mainline
Mar 29th, 2013 by Michael Burke.The Coalition government has announced its intention to privatise the East Coast mainline rail network. The network was nationalised 3 years ago when the previous private operators discontinued their franchise because they could not make a profit. The re-privatisation of the East Coast mainline highlights a key fallacy of the current government’s failed economic policy. [...]
They thought it was all over
Mar 19th, 2013 by Mark Perryman.As England prepare for a World Cup Qualifier double-header Philosophy Football’s Mark Perryman reviews the decline and fall of a Football Nation Never mind the debate over the dodgy third goal in ‘66, was it or wasn’t it over the line. The most famous piece of commentary in English footballing history ‘some people are on [...]
Carillion uses “Lance Armstrong Defence” over Blacklisting
Feb 28th, 2013 by Andy Newman.The decision on the 26th February by the Employment Appeals Tribunal (EAT) in the blacklisting case brought by Dave Smith against the construction and services giant, Carillion, is very significant, as it means the company must now face human rights claims. Mr Smith, an engineer from Essex, was repeatedly dismissed and refused work once his name appeared [...]
Mali:There can be no Military Solution without a Plan for Peace
Jan 21st, 2013 by Andy Newman.The tragedies of Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya reveal starkly that ill-advised military action by the West can exacerbate social and political divisions,undermine civic mechanisms for conflict resolution and create further chaos and instablity. The French military intervention into Mali is pregnant with potential disaster, and many of the ingredients of an intractable Afghan style war may be present. Indeed the [...]
So much for clamping down on tax avoidance, they’re actively encouraging it
Jan 7th, 2013 by Michael Meacher.As Parliament prepares to debate corporate tax avoidance next Monday (7th), the charitable view is that government does the best it can, but is outmanoeuvred and outgunned by all those smart tycoons and multinationals who employ an army of accountants and lawyers to run rings round flat-footed regulators and tax inspectors who are always behind [...]
Ironically, low growth is about the only good prospect for climate change
Jan 5th, 2013 by Michael Meacher.Climate destabilisation, like tax avoidance, is one of those bad things which governments wring their hands about, say they are deeply opposed to allowing this profoundly harmful phenomenon to flourish, and then proceed not only to do next-to-nothing to stop it, but actually themselves fan the flames to extend it. Bookmarks Hide Sites
2013: the year to commit to roll back the failed privatisation juggernaut
Jan 4th, 2013 by Michael Meacher.Britain has been de-industrialised over the last 30 years, but beyond a decimated manufacturing capacity there are also services essential for an efficient productive economy. These include transport, energy and communications as well as education, health and housing. All of these have been, or are being, privatised and the results have been devastating. Bookmarks Hide Sites
One Nation Labour and the next generation
Jan 3rd, 2013 by John Percival.The Government’s austerity programme has hit young people hard, EMA has been scrapped, tuition fees have trebled and youth unemployment has stood at around the 1 million mark for most of the past two years. Unfortunately looking to the future the prospects for the next generation are even bleaker. Low pay is rife, employment rights [...]
When will Labour champion re-industrialisation for recovery?
Dec 20th, 2012 by Michael Meacher.The government’s latest attack on jobs announced today, cutting the period before major redundancies can take place from 90 to 45 days and excluding fixed-term contracts from collective redundancy agreements when they end, is yet another gratuitous swipe at employment rights with callous disregard of the real needs of industry for growth. It will not [...]
