Politics
The OECD has called for less Austerity…Will Europe Listen?
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...
The UK Supreme Court Decision on Joint Enterprise is a Victory for Justice and Equality
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...
Iain Duncan Smith approves cuts to disabled people on assumption “enough will die.”
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...
Young Londoners Want UK to Remain in Europe
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...
Victims of Bedroom Tax Suffer By £66 More Than DWP Predicted
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...
1,000% surge in doctors applying to work overseas on day Hunt imposed contract
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...
Hunt’s advisors claim seven-day NHS might not cut weekend deaths
By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor Even the Health Secretary’s team can’t pin point evidence that extra staffing over the weekend period will cut deaths on Saturday and Sunday. A leaked document has admits that his trusted advisors can’t prove that his seven-day demands are going to work. This would drastically his argument for ensuring junior doctors accept his new contract. The document says the department: "cannot evidence the mechanism by which increased consultant presence and diagnostic tests at weekends will...
Struggling families charged 45p a minute by Iain Duncan Smith to discuss benefits
By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor If you are trying to apply for Universal Credit you will have to use an 0345 number, costing up to 45p a min from a mobile and 12p a minute from landline. In a time when the majority of people increasingly use mobiles rather than landlines, this is a bitter blow to people already on the breadline. The Work and Pensions Secretary has decided against using on 0800 freephone number, to help people up and...
Millions in Poverty Through Tory Cuts as Study Says Work Failing to Pay
By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor Welfare cuts have hit children the hardest as families can’t make ends meet, a study has revealed. Due to Tory spending cuts more people live below the poverty line that in 2008 at the height of the global financial meltdown. The report, by the JRF (Joseph Rowntree Foundation) found that 11.6 million people are struggling to make ends meet. Shockingly the majority of these people live in working households. The JRF study says that cuts...