Putin launches ‘witch hunt’ against dissent
Repression, violation of human rights and legislation preventing freedom of expression have been the emblem of the regime of Vladimir Putin, Amnesty International has said in a new report.
Adam Wadsworth
Rape convictions at an all-time high
Data released by the Crown Prosecution Service today shows that the conviction rate for rape cases has reached an all-time high at 63 per cent of all prosecutions. According to the figures, there were 3,692 rape prosecutions last year and 2,333 convictions, up by 5 per cent since 2008.
Cuts to welfare and local councils hitting deprived areas hardest
Combined cuts to welfare and local councils are affecting the most deprived areas of England the most, a new study by the Labour Party has found.
The minimum wage vs inflation (graph)
Although the government deserves a degree of credit for seeing off calls from business leaders to freeze the minimum wage, by increasing it to £6.31 – meagre increase of twelve pence – it has yet again failed to ensure the minimum wage is above inflation for the third year running.
Five party leaders who never were
With David Miliband, the man once tipped to lead the Labour Party, resigning from frontline politics to take up a job in America, Left Foot Forward has looked at five leaders who came close but never quite made it to the top.
“Social justice is what gets me up in the morning”. Goodbye, David Miliband
David Miliband has stepped down as MP for South Shields to work for an international aid charity, ending a twenty year career in politics.
The nuclear club: who’s in and who’s out
With North Korea in mind, Left Foot Forward has taken a look around the world at who’s in and who’s out of the WMD club.
State school pupils missing out on top university places
State school students are less likely to apply and 20 per cent less likely to be accepted into Britain’s leading Universities than their private school counterparts, according to a new study by Durham University.
The meaning of Gove
In a letter to The Independent and The Daily Telegraph this week, a hundred education academics criticised Michael Gove’s controversial new curriculum proposals as an “endless list of spelling, facts and rules” that will prove “miserable for children”.
Left Foot Forward has looked at some of the changes to the school curriculum proposed by Michael Gove and the criticism they’ve received.
Fewer state school pupils attending top universities
A majority of Universities in the Russell Group, which is considered to encompass the best Universities in the country, have accepted fewer students from state schools in the most recent year on record than they did in 2010 – 2011.