Austerity (still) won’t balance the books
Austerity not only drives the growing inequality in our society, it drives the divisiveness that demonises the migrant, the welfare claimant or the public sector worker.
the poor
Obama moves to suspend trade privileges with Bangladesh
President Obama has announced the suspension of ‘trade privileges’ for Bangladesh following the recent tragedies in the garment industry, notably at Rana Plaza and Tarzeen Fashions, where over 1,300 workers have died in building collapses and fires.
Today’s child poverty figures show we are leaving our children utterly exposed
Work pays, we are always told, but for many it is clearly not paying enough. The latest official child poverty figures released today show that in-work poverty is on the rise, with two-thirds of poor children now living in families with at least one working parent.
Why ‘One Nation Social Security’ also needs a map and compass
In Ed Miliband’s speech on social security yesterday, he set out a number of ways in which the present system pays for failure: having too many people in long-term unemployment; subsidising low paid work; subsidising rents rather than building homes; and not recognising contribution.
Two cheers for Ed Miliband’s shift on welfare. He’s missing something, though
In a speech today at Newham Dockside, Ed Miliband will tackle head on the attempts to brand Labour the party of welfare, and will say that controlling social security spending and putting decent values at the heart of the system are “not conflicting priorities”.