Got nothing against Gerard Coyne, but in 20-plus years associating with the labour movement I have never seen a candidate run such a desperate and rubbish General Secretary election campaign. Kicking off his Unite leadership bid, Gerard criticised Len McCluskey for spending more time talking about and fiddling with the Labour Party than looking after […]
Posts under ‘Economy’
Fall in wages has much further to run
Mar 28th, 2017 by Tom O Leary.The latest consumer price inflation (CPI) data showed a sharp acceleration in prices increases. This will have a negative effect on real wages and real incomes, once inflation is taken into account. Most workers are facing flat wages and the poor, who rely on social welfare and are seeing freezes or cuts, will all be […]
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What’s in the NPF draft policy statements?
Mar 24th, 2017 by David Pavett.According to the Labour Party Rulebook: “Party conference shall decide from time to time what specific proposals of legislative, financial or administrative reform shall be included in the Party programme. This shall be based on the rolling programme of work of the National Policy Forum.” (Emphasis added) The results of that “rolling programme of work” […]
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Why are real wages falling?
Mar 22nd, 2017 by Tom O Leary.Real wages are falling once more. In addition, nominal wages have fallen in the last 2 months which is highly unusual. Both of these developments are Brexit effects and the situation is likely to get worse as Brexit unfolds. The trends in both real (inflation-adjusted) and nominal wages are shown in Chart 1 below. Real […]
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The world of skulduggery, smears and secret plots
Mar 22nd, 2017 by Len McCluskey.For the last three months I have been touring the country meeting working men and women as I campaign to be re-elected as Unite’s General Secretary. I have been listening to their hopes and fears in the factories, bus garages, building sites and hospitals. They are worried about their jobs above all, about Theresa May’s […]
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Britain isn’t booming – it’s in a crisis
Mar 14th, 2017 by Tom O Leary.The latest UK GDP data confirm that the British economy remains in a crisis. As government spokespersons never tire of telling us the opposite, and are dutifully echoed by the majority of the media, then it is important to set out the factual case on the economy and to explain where the discrepancy between rhetoric […]
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Why the Right fears the four-day week
Mar 13th, 2017 by Phil Burton-Cartledge.I’ve got a guilty secret. I subscribe to CapX‘s mailing list and occasionally, I like some of its output. For those of you who don’t know (or don’t care) what CapX is, it’s a fancy ass blog that styles itself as the home of some of the best politics writers going. And Daniel Hannan. It also […]
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The Tory budget fails to address any of Britain’s economic woes
Mar 11th, 2017 by Matt Willgress.You wouldn’t have known it from Theresa May’s laughs and Chancellor Philip Hammond’s boasts, but the Budget this week failed to address the key issues and underlining problems facing the British economy. This Tory complacency in terms of economic policies and planning, alongside their ideological commitment to austerity makes a toxic mix that will damage […]
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Hammond’s National Insurance Nightmare
Mar 10th, 2017 by Phil Burton-Cartledge.George Osborne may have been the worst chancellor of modern times, but he understood one thing. Subordinating the national interest, i.e. those of British business-in-general to the narrow concerns of the Conservative Party, allowed for good press and the accumulation of political capital. It didn’t matter if these actions weakened the economy or made life worse […]
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No, robots are not going to take all the jobs
Mar 8th, 2017 by Andy Newman.One of the underpinning arguments behind those arguing for a Basic Income Guarantee (BIG), alternatively known as the Universal Basic Income, is that automation is creating a new technological paradigm, where, as Paul Mason describes it: Information technology is preventing the normal adaptation process, whereby capitalism — as a complex system — reacts to crisis, to the exhaustion of […]
