The first rule of polemic is if you’re going to argue against someone’s position, at least do it in an intellectually honest fashion. Falling short of this is Sally Gimson’s piece on Progress. Sally attacks the Citizen’s Income on the grounds that because Charles Murray, author of the notorious and reviled The Bell Curve, and […]
Posts under ‘Poverty/Low Pay’
Unequal Britain – one million millionaires, another million depend on foodbanks
Jan 30th, 2015 by Michael Meacher.The latest report on UK wealth has just discovered that there are 840,000 persons in the UK who are dollar millionaires (i.e. have assets of at least £660,000 excluding their main home) and that this number is expected to reach a million $millionaires within 3 years. That’s the same year when average wages are predicted, […]
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Why Labour should adopt ‘citizen’s income’
Jan 26th, 2015 by Phil Burton-Cartledge.I’m all for nicking good policies, and one Labour and the labour movement should half-inch is the citizen’s income from the Green Party. Of course, the Greens don’t own it, it has been knocking about for a good many years. But they are the only ones pushing it as a key plank of their commitments. […]
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Tory jobs claims take a hammering
Jan 23rd, 2015 by Michael Meacher.The Tories’ biggest economic claims (there are only two of them) are that they generated a recovery (after 18 months it’s already fading) and that they created a million private sector jobs. The latter claim is now under fire from all sides. First, it has just been reported by the thinktank Centre for Cities that […]
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Obama imposing $300bn levy on banks & hyper-rich: how about UK?
Jan 20th, 2015 by Michael Meacher.It is remarkable that in the citadel of capitalism Obama has just unveiled a plan to impose a levy on the biggest banks and on the wealthiest families that is expected to raise $300bn, yet in Europe any such idea is taboo. In the US the new tax is being crafted to affect only the […]
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Tories revert to their age-old policy of stopping the poor breeding
Jan 19th, 2015 by Michael Meacher.Occasionally the mask slips and the truth becomes clear. We had already been told that the Tories planned to limit child benefit to the first two children because it would save money. Then IDS (Iain Duncan Smith) let the cat out of the bag: he said it would promote “behavioural change”. This element in the […]
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Osborne learns to his cost that private markets don’t oblige
Jan 15th, 2015 by Michael Meacher.It’s really rich that Osborne has tweeted: “Vital this (drop in the oil price) is passed on to families at petrol pumps, through utility bills and air fares”. He’s spent the last 5 years lambasting Labour in support of the Tory free market mantra that the State should get out of the way and leave […]
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The campaign is in full swing with Cat Smith
Jan 15th, 2015 by Cat Smith.It’s now less than four months until polling day. As a candidate, my life is increasingly becoming more and more focussed on May 7. Slowly, other commitments in my life are put on the back burner. I’m sure my friends and family are frustrated that they see less of me, but if they are, they […]
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Too fat to work – meet your new hate figures
Jan 6th, 2015 by Phil Burton-Cartledge.Those lovely folks over at Daily Express TV have hit on a relatively untapped vein of hate. Marry together your idea of the undeserving poor sponging off the hardworking tax payer with fat people and you have the perfect scapegoat: someone who cannot work because they are obese. Channel 5’s Benefits: Too Fat to Work […]
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Is Thatcherite ideology working?
Dec 19th, 2014 by Jon Lansman.In a general election a great number of things will be said, but only a few or even one really matters and that will determine who wins. This 2015 election is in effect a referendum on Thatcherite ideology. Here is what Labour should be saying, but isn’t. Point 1: For 35 years since 1980 the […]
