New Zealand's Opportunity Party (TOP) could hold the balance of power after the 7 November election. A late-October poll put it on 7.2%, potentially securing nine MPs and entering Parliament for the first time. For Liberal Democrats, TOP's significance lies in its radical centrism: combining support for enterprise and growth with substantial reforms to taxation, income security and economic power. Its policies connect two questions too often discussed separately: how do we produce more wealth, and how should we distribute it? Security and productive investment TOP's flagship proposal combines a Citizen's Income of approximately NZ$19,400 annually for eligible adults with ...
In the years after Labour came to power in 1997, NHS healthcare improved rapidly. Waiting lists came down, we were offered a greater choice of providers through a new Choose and Book scheme and walk-in centres were set up, meaning patients could be seen on the day in the community for urgent health problems. But no more. No one can fail to have noticed the decline in NHS healthcare provision in England in recent years: long waits to see a GP for routine appointments; more GP consultations over the phone instead of face-to-face; even longer waits for outpatient appointments and ...
Anna Sabine MP (photo: Frome & East Somerset Lib Dems) Anna Sabine, the Liberal Democrat MP for Frome and East Somerset, has spoken about her experience of losing and then partly regaining her voice. She lost her voice after a thyroid operation in June and used a microphone to speak in the House of Commons, but woke one morning a few weeks ago to find it had regained some of its natural strength. LBC reports what she has told the Press Association about this experience: "When I came back to work in September I really wanted to hide, I did ...
The Guardian reports that the former Green party leader Adrian Ramsay has said the party must fix its internal democracy to avoid a takeover by the hard left, saying that some new members "might be more at home" in Your Party or the Socialist Workers party. The paper says that Ramsay, who has been critical of the handling of the row over a "Zionism is racism" motion passed at the Green party conference, said there were a "small number" of individuals who used "divisive" tactics to influence the party's agenda: "I think there's a real crossroads point for the party ...
I walked from Ellesmere canal basin to The Mere through the centre of the town, which made them seem further apart than they are. So I took the direct route on the way back, which took me up Church Hill. When I reached a sign indicating there was a bowling green on top of an overgrown mound, I remembered Clun and Bishop's Castle, which both have greens among the remains of their old castles, and reasoned that the mound was probably once the motte of a castle. I was right - there's a brief entry on Ellesmere Castle on Wikipedia. ...
"In a sacred ceremony dating back to time immemorial, a researcher from a poverty charity or housing campaign group raises their mournful head from the Budget small print and confirms to their line manager that no, there is no money assigned to raising Local Housing Allowance in line with rents and yes, that means housing benefit for private sector tenants in all but the cheapest homes is being cut. Again."Chaminda Jayanetti says John Healey's "breathing space" Budget has ensured the noose around the neck of the poorest private renters gets ever tighter. Daniella Shreir reports on the unrest in France: ...
A site devoted to the band says: The Ethiopians (originally The Ethiopian Children) were one of Jamaica's most influential vocal groups during their heyday. Not only did the original quartet (Leonard Dillon, Wally Booker, Harold Bishop & Neville Duncan) spearhead the transition between Ska and Rocksteady, Dillon's heavily Rastafarian lyrics also paved the way for the socially conscious roots reggae era that was to come. The Reggae Museum adds that they were among the first Jamaican groups to tour widely in Britain. This single from 1969 records a wave of public-sector strikes- a sort of Jamaican winter of discontent.
Ed Davey was interviewed on Sky News this morning The first question was about whether we should apologise for our role in slavery. He said: If you have done something wrong, I have no problem in apologising for it. That's what normal people expect to do. I think Tony Blair started this about 20 years ago and I think if the PM wants to consider it in a bit more detail, we should have that debate. I don't think reparations is the right approach. We've been doing a lot about it in terms of supporting poorer countries. It showed we ...
The Independent reveals the conclusions of a new report that the prime minister's promise to oversee the 'biggest council housebuilding drive since the postwar period' risks falling short if more funding is not delivered. The paper says that unless a further £7bn of extra funding can be found then Burnham is at risk of failing to deliver his flagship pledge to oversee the "biggest council housebuilding drive since the postwar period": The prime minister promised a "historic council housebuilding comeback" shortly after he returned to parliament in the wake of his victory in the Makerfield by-election. He has since pledged ...