Politics

This week’s midterm elections in the United States could be decisive for the controversial TTIP, but is Obama running out of time to complete the deal with the European Union? Elsa Buchanan discusses  As voters in the United States flock to the polling stations to define control over the Senate in the mid-term elections, anti-Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) campaigners are holding their breath. A Republican majority win could, counter-intuitively, be a good omen for President Barack Obama’s trade agenda,...

While all indicators point to a strong economic recovery in Britain, people still aren’t feeling it. We have paid the price of inequality for recovery with food banks on the rise despite unemployment figures dropping. Simply put, businesses are reluctant to match the cost of living in the UK. Today’s announcement that the Living Wage is set to rise to £7.85 should be a welcomed bit of news, but it’s hard not to feel a little bitter sweet. Although 35,000...

Krishna Athal reports on a political clean-up in Mauritius Imagine a country that is so meticulously clean that its citizens roam the streets with a true sense of pride, visibly expressing their satisfaction in their nation’s ability to become and remain somewhere where they are able to walk without the chance of tripping on some rubbish along the way. In a perfect world this may be possible both literally and figuratively but let’s take a look at the Mauritian gem in the...

By J T Coombes    www.globalmagnacarta.com     @GMagnaCarta In this new millennium 21st century Society is saddled with systems way past their sell by date. . . . A 15th century democratic system, complete with glass ceiling . . . An 11th century monetary system that increasingly holds the world to ransom . . . A 2000 year old surveillance system being replaced by modern technology Voting with what we now have will never solve the problems we now face  In this...

By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor It says a lot about PMQs that a plain grey T-shirt (it looked a bit C & A if I’m honest, if that store even exists anymore) was by far the most interesting event at today’s PMQs. Harriet Harman, wore a feminist T-shirt following the PM refusal to wear it for a women’s mag feature. “T-shirtgate” (I doubt I’m the first or last “inspired” journalist to come up with that) tweeted a picture of herself...

The Mayor of London's office has skirted big questions over the financing of the 2014 New Year's Eve fireworks display after a Freedom of Information request into the matter bore little fruit. Plans were announced late in September to ticket the event to control crowds after an estimated 500,000 people turned up to watch last year. Tickets have gone on sale at £10 each and will be sold to 100,000 people, bringing in a significant amount of cash for an event...

By Christine Gatt The second week of October was Mental Health Week, a small frenzy of activity I watched with interest. I have been following the debates around NHS funding and waiting lists for mental health treatment. I’m fascinated by the continued discrimination and misunderstanding of the illnesses which fall under this umbrella. It’s not that mental health illnesses are easy to understand, far from it. More that they are so often neglected, or ignored. The term mental health implies...

By Richard Roberts The trouble with Ed Miliband isn’t that he’s too intellectual and can’t communicate with ordinary people. It isn’t that he’s too socialist and in the pocket of the trades unions. It isn’t even that he looks like Wallace; nor that by allowing himself to be snapped eating a bacon butty, he unwittingly created the most embarrassing on-camera-moment for a Labour leader since Neil Kinnock fell over while walking on a beach with his wife. And no, it...

By Elsa Buchanan You may not know, but under a law called the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act (PRSRA) 2011, the local authority for the City of Westminster in London has the power to confiscate items that could be used for “sleeping” or “staying” in the square. More, the use of amplification, banners and even tarpaulins, is also illegal. And the very law that the authorities are using to regulate peaceful protestations and the police’s role in this touristic area...