Author Archives: Liam R Thompson

Balls: Big Society is surefire route to a weaker society

By Liam R Thompson | Published: November 12, 2010

Shadow home secretary Ed Balls today attacked the David Cameron’s “Big Society” policy agenda, labelling it a “big con” leading to public services being run by volunteers on the cheap and a significant deterioration in crime prevention.

Posted in Public Services for All | Tagged , , , , | 17 Responses

Home secretary forced to “water down” immigration speech

By Liam R Thompson | Published: November 12, 2010

The Financial Times reports today that home secretary Teresa May was forced to “water down” her first major speech on immigration last week, after an intervention from Downing Street and business secretary Vince Cable. Unnamed sources within the government told the FT that May’s original speech was “over the top” – with particular objections to passages which attacked the level of Tier 1 visas.

Posted in Clean Politics | Tagged , , , , , , , | 7 Responses

Shelter: Housing benefit cuts will “change London for decades”

By Liam R Thompson | Published: November 9, 2010

Independent research commissioned by the housing charity Shelter from the University of Cambridge today shows that the number of London neighbourhoods that will be affordable to people claiming local housing allowance will halve by 2016 as a result of government cuts.

Posted in Left Foot Forward | Tagged , | 21 Responses

Laws: Lib Dems still thought best time for cuts was 2011

By Liam R Thompson | Published: November 8, 2010

Joey Jones reveals that former-treasury secretary David Laws said the rhetoric on deficit reduction had been “hyped up” and that concessions gained from the Conservatives in other areas forced a Lib Dem u-turn.

Posted in Sustainable Economy | Tagged , , , , | 19 Responses

Alexander: Welfare reform is meaningless amidst jobless recovery

By Liam R Thompson | Published: November 5, 2010

Douglas Alexander used his first major speech as Shadow Secretary for Work and Pensions to criticise the Coalition Government’s welfare proposals – and warned Iain Duncan Smith that his reforms will be meaningless against a backdrop of £18billion in welfare cuts and a jobless recovery.

Posted in Sustainable Economy | Tagged , , , , | 19 Responses

38 Degrees show the way with grassroots fundraising

By Liam R Thompson | Published: November 4, 2010

The chief executive of a fledgling progressive grass-roots movement sent an email out to its membership thanking them for their engagement and highlighting its success – proving that President Obama’s crowdsourcing funding model can work in the UK.

Posted in Movement Politics | Tagged , , , | 8 Responses

Another Tory poll fall in wake of spending review

By Liam R Thompson | Published: November 2, 2010

For the second week running, a poll series has put Labour ahead of the Conservatives for the first time in three years. Just like last week’s Times/Populus poll, a ComRes poll for today’s Independent gives Labour a narrow lead, up three points on 37 per cent, with the Conservatives down five points on 35 per cent and the Liberal Democrats up two points on 16 per cent.

Posted in Left Foot Forward | Tagged , | 4 Responses

Coalition’s “transparency trailblazer” Pickles refuses FoI request

By Liam R Thompson | Published: November 1, 2010

The Coalition’s self-appointed champion of governmental transparency, Eric Pickles, has been criticised for failing to release information over potentially defamatory comments made about chair of the Electoral Commission, Jenny Watson, who his Department of Community and Local Government (DCLG) accused of building her “career on incompetence” and “milking the taxpayer”.

Posted in Clean Politics | Tagged , , , , | 6 Responses

The revolving door between News International and No. 10

By Liam R Thompson | Published: October 28, 2010

Information obtained through Parliamentary questioning on Prime Ministerial business has revealed a striking pattern amongst No 10 special advisers meeting with Rupert Murdoch’s News International newspapers and media outlets.

Posted in Media Integrity | Tagged , , , , , | 29 Responses

Boris takes aim at Cameron with talk of “Kosovo-style social cleansing”

By Liam R Thompson | Published: October 28, 2010

London’s Conservative Mayor Boris Johnson today criticised the coalition government’s plans for housing benefit, labelling it a “Kosovo-style social cleansing of London”. Johnson’s criticisms mark another dispute in the space of a week between the London Mayor and the prime minister – after David Cameron vowed to block any moves for London estuary airport.

Posted in Clean Politics | Tagged , , , | 19 Responses