This is the moment to remake the case for global liberalism Penning a comment piece for the day of an election is a difficult task. You have to speculate, tread the political waters carefully, and perhaps dare to make a prediction before people head to the polls. But writing something to be published the day after an election is even more daunting. The world of politics [...]
Labour and the Tories are sweeping immigration under the rug this election Why are the main parties sweeping immigration under the rug this election? This election season is slogan heavy. “Get Brexit done.” “For the many, not the few.” While necessarily vague, this year’s party mottos have done a decent job of getting to the heart of their offers. The Conservatives aren’t dallying on the UK’s exit from the European Union. The Labour Party is offering more taxes and [...]
Debate: Is Labour right to warn over US interest in the NHS, uncovered in the leaked trade talk papers? Debate: Is Labour right to warn over US interest in the NHS, uncovered in the leaked trade talk papers? Yes — Heidi Chow is a pharmaceuticals campaigner at Global Justice Now The leaked Trump trade papers are genuinely shocking. They confirm that drug prices and the NHS really are on the table in these talks [...]
The Tories are on track to win a majority — if only they knew what to do with it November 28, 2019 Much of this week’s election buzz has focused on the release of Wednesday night’s polling figures. The hotly-anticipated YouGov MRP model, which accurately predicted a huge parliament in 2017, is currently forecasting a majority for the Conservatives of nearly 70 seats. There has been a fair amount of commentary about the Conservatives’ nervousness over these [...]
Today’s Labour party has no excuse for its anti-business agenda November 22, 2019 Labour’s election manifesto, launched yesterday by Jeremy Corbyn, has been labelled the most left-wing since the Michael Foot era, when the party also doubled down on high taxes, nationalisation of industry, and more state interference in the economy. Personally, I don’t think the comparison holds up — it’s not generous enough to Michael Foot. While [...]
Fancy a four-day work week? Look to the private sector, not misguided politicians November 15, 2019 Labour’s promise of a four-day work week was put through the wringer this week, when questions surfaced over whether the policy would apply to NHS employees. The shadow health secretary said it wouldn’t, the shadow chancellor promised it would, and suddenly people were wondering how the NHS would cope if it were to lose twenty [...]
The Tories and Labour both seem happy to throw fiscal responsibility to the wind November 8, 2019 The “money men” are at it again. Yesterday, chancellor Sajid Javid and shadow chancellor John McDonnell took part in a spending showdown, announcing pledges and making their cases for different economic visions for Britain in years to come. Labour’s spending promises are staggering. Essentially doubling the figures from the 2017 manifesto, the party has ditched [...]
The moral of the pay gap story is that the future looks bright for women in work November 1, 2019 The gender pay gap has widened, read the headlines and news tickers this week, after the Office of National Statistics (ONS) released its 2019 data on pay, including the average difference for men and women in work. As the pay gap debate has highlighted for years now, statistics can be used to tell almost any [...]
Women are starting businesses and buying their own drones October 18, 2019 I don’t find stereotypes pegged to each generation particularly helpful. They’re usually philosophical, vague, or a bit rude. Sure, “the millennials”, my generation, tend to job-hop a bit, but the labour market is much more flexible than it used to be. And apparently we complain too much – but if our parents and grandparents had [...]
The draconian nanny state has no right to stop you eating a sandwich on a bus October 11, 2019 It’s not a crime to eat a sandwich on a bus. It should not be a crime to eat a sandwich on a bus. To propose that sandwich-eating on a bus is an issue to be tackled, a problem to be solved, a danger to the children, is somewhere on the spectrum between hysterical and [...]
