Politics
Iain Duncan Smith Refuses End to “despicable” Bedroom Tax & Evades Rising Legal Costs
By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor Today Iain Duncan Smith refused to stop his "despicable" Bedroom Tax, as he evaded questions on a landmark Court of Appeal, not for the first time. He hid behind a junior colleague, but eventually he was caught unaware by a spontaneous question, from Labour's Rupa Huq. Huq was discussing why three judges said the Bedroom Tax discriminated against domestic violence victims and carers. She said to Smith: "This despicable and discredited policy needs to go"....
With Such Respected Dissidents, Labour Can Reframe The Way We Understand Economics
By Callum Towler I’m not an economist. Probably the closest I’ve come is when an idiot once tried to call me a communist. And here I am writing an article on the subject. Well I’ve heard economics is an art rather than a science, which makes sense: if the "experts” can get it so catastrophically wrong, then I guess our opinions are as valuable as theirs. Since the global economy imploded, I’ve naturally sided with experts calling for its reform....
The Rhodes’ Statue Debate is a waste of everyone’s time
By Darragh Roche Anyone who thinks taking down a statue of Cecil Rhodes will strike a blow against racism is delusional. The small, loud and opportunistic group of Oxford students demanding that Oriel College remove the statue are wasting everyone's time and will achieve nothing. The statue of a man who has been dead since 1902 has as much bearing on modern racial politics as a portrait of Henry VIII has on church-state relations. Once again an attention-seeking student organisation...
Tory Minister Anna Soubry at Centre of Northern Powerhouse Row Told “be quiet – it’s not about you!”
By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor Tory Minister, Anna Soubry, fell out with the speaker (again) this time during a debate about the "Northern Powerhouse" where she heckled Labour's statement. The Business Minister's decision to close her department's Sheffield office and move 247 jobs to London had offended the Labour Party and beyond. Sheffield Heeley MP Louise Haigh accused her of "contempt for the north" after she failed to guarantee the survival of more offices in Gateshead, Leeds, Manchester and Teesside ....
A Reminder that Putin is Winning
By Oliver Ward @oli_ward_1 A British led enquiry released information on Thursday that Putin "probably" sanctioned the killing of Alexander Litvinenko in 2006. This cannot come as a surprise to many given the ostentatious contempt Putin has shown for the west in recent years. However in as modern world of espionage, full of NSA surveillence and phone monitoring you can´t help but feel that a spy being poisioned with a radioactive teapot feels a little like a regression to old style...
Cameron, stop throwing New Labour at Corbyn: it’ll never stick
By Callum Towler Sometimes I watch PMQ’s as if it’s a dystopian pantomime, like if all the robots in Isaac Asimov's I, Robot defeated the people, but upheld democracy once a week in parliament just for a laugh. Witnessing David Cameron duck, dive and quip his way through the weekly questions is to watch a well-oiled machine programmed to dodge bullets. Rarely ever does he respond candidly. Instead, in the space where thoughtful answers should be, we’re treated to nothing...
PMQS Sketch 27th January, A Bunch of Economic Migrants Sponging off State – Google
By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor You can swim, march and fight your way to the UK border and then “live” in the jungle, but if you are the Amazon (see what I did there?) you can step right in and plunder our riches. Tax was issue of the day, well until Cameron decided to be racist/ignorant/heartless/inflammatory (mix and match which ones you think work best). Corbyn was wondering, along with everyone else in the UK, except the Chancellor, why Google...
Australia’s Long Goodbye Will End With A Whimper
Britain's imperial legacy is complex and widely disputed but one curious side effect is the number of independent countries that still have the Queen as head of state. Australia, Canada, New Zealand and a bevy of small nations are part of her domain, despite Britain having little or no authority over them. This Australia Day the premiers of all but one of the country's states called for a republic. The prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, is a known republican, as is...
Parliamentary Sketch 20th Jan – Rubber Face Rubber Soul
By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor He did it again. Cameron’s recent tribute to Bowie made me cringe and his previous love of Eton Rifles, while totally missing the point of the song, are forever stitched into my mind; but he will never learn. Today he ruined the Beatles forever. Karl McCartney, Con (no relation, thank god) – said, when referring to Corbyn’s plans to mobilise nuclear submarines without warheads: "Those such as the leader of the opposition who do not...