News

By Dean Hochlaf Since the 2008 financial crisis and subsequent economic downturn, Europe has pursued a course of vigorous austerity, in a desperate attempt to reign in government spending which spiralled after a series of high profile bank bail-outs. In Britain austerity is practically synonymous with Chancellor George Osborne. In Europe, it is Wolfgang Schäuble, the indomitable German Finance Minister who best encapsulates the continents commitment to austerity policies. The fascination with austerity borders on the dogmatic. The Greek economy...

By Ben Ramanauskas       On the 28th January 1953, 19-year-old Derek Bentley was executed by the State. Despite desperate appeals for clemency from his barrister, politicians, and members of the public, he was hanged at 9am at Wandsworth Prison, London. Bentley had struggled throughout his life with developmental problems and various tests revealed that he had a very low IQ and was judged to be ‘mentally substandard’ and unfit for military service by the the Medical Officers of the British Armed...

By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor Iain Duncan Smith is giving the green light to almost a 20 per cent cut in support for people with disabilities. Funds available for disabled people who used to access the ILF (Independent Living Fund) will be reduced by nearly a fifth over the next four years. Government ministers have said the measures are appropriate as the claimant number will fall, however campaigner Linda Burnip claims this is calculated “based on the hope enough people...

By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor In November 2015, a dam at an iron ore mine burst into the Doce river in Brazil. Toxic mud poisoned with arsenic and mercury flooded the river and land over two states. The Institute for Water Management in Minas Gerais (IGAM) found arsenic levels more than ten times above the legal limit at one section of the mighty river. At least 13 people died when the dam broke and hundreds were displaced. The toxic mud traveled...

By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor Famous Comedian and intellectual Stephen Fry is urging the public to help save the lives of high risk missing children. The two-week long national campaign is asking people to register for free Child Rescue Alerts, activated when a child has gone missing and police believe their life is in imminent danger. Fry appears in a short animation (watch at bottom of article) and there is a major outdoor advertising campaign launched, developed with pro bono...

By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor New research has revealed that over seventy per cent of young Londoners want the UK to remain in the EU. The survey by YMCA, the largest youth charity on the planet, showed that 71% of 16 to 24-year-olds polled across London said the UK should remain in the EU. Only 14% said they were in favour of a "Brexit." It appears that youngsters in the capital are much more in tune with European project, than the...

By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor Figures that have just been released have revealed that the controversial tax is costing 442,000 poor homes £15.27 a week up from an estimated £14. A lot of money for struggling people living on the breadline. This is a total of £794 a year, £66 higher than the £728 the DWP claimed it would be in the official impact assessment from 2013/14. This is 9 per cent above the original figure. The difference on the...

By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor A shocking video has emerged of Israeli soldiers pushing a disabled man out of his wheelchair after they had shot a Palestinian girl in the West Bank. The 14-year-old girl had been gunned down after she tried to stab a police officer. The Wheelchair user Majed al-Fakhouri was trying to reach the girl to attempt first aid. The officer told him to turn back. “He then turned me over and my head hit the ground," he...

By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor On the day Jeremy Hunt imposed his new contract on junior doctors there was a 1,000 per cent increase in doctors applying for documents to work in other countries. Three hundred applied for Certificates of Good Standing on Thursday 11 February – up from an average of 26 a day in February. A doctor costs around £300k to train so on the say of the announcement £90 million pounds of talent began to head to...