Iain Duncan Smith was riled to be "ambushed" on a radio programmed (not guilty) and challenged to survive on the £53 a week that a benefit claimant said he had to subsist on. It was not really an ambush as such - Iain's job is being a politician, and so talking to people who might not agree with his every utterance and who might have issues with his policies and the direction the government is taking is, sort of, his job and deliberately going on a radio programme to talk about benefit scroungers does rather leave one open to that sort of thing.

The cost and shortage of childcare is harming our economy and our society. Parents who were once an active part of the workforce are giving up their jobs, childcare costs are overtaking mortgage payments, and women are being held back from senior positions in all industries.

This triumph of pragmatism and realism over vision means the two major parties are essentially advocating minor variations of the same sorts of policies. A major economic upswing might still save the Tories, just as a 'Black Wednesday' style catastrophe could catapult Labour to a majority - but neither is that likely in the 26 months before voters go to the polls.

The House of Commons Public Accounts Committee report on the Work Programme, which was published last week, is the latest in a series of academic, analytical and media critiques which have demonstrated that the Programme has not lived up to its promise - or at least the promise of Ministers.

Chancellor George Osborne dismissed Labour's tax plans as a "con" which would see state inspectors assessing people's homes. Labour leader Ed Milib...

The Tory-led government have broken their promise to deliver a more efficient and effective government. Time after time they have got the figures wrong, from the economy to their ICT strategy they have failed in basic arithmetic. The Tories evidently need a refresher course in adding and subtraction.

Imagine if the flatlining UK economy could tap into a £750bn stimulus package - more than double the amount already spent by the Bank of England's quantitative easing programme - to invest across the country in the sectors that need it most, getting the stuttering engine of UK plc back up and running.

David Cameron and Nick Clegg will announce on Monday that the coalition government is "steadfast and united". Really? The Huffington Post UK had...

The ten things you need to know on Monday 7th January 2013... 1) THE RETURN OF THE DAVE AND NICK SHOW Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Nope, it's th...

The coalition is "steadfast and united", David Cameron and Nick Clegg will insist today, as they mark the halfway point in their government. The Pr...

Voters will be offered a "real choice" on Britain's future relations with the European Union, David Cameron said ahead of a keynote speech on the issu...

Although it has been gaining in terms of publicity and exposure, that means scrutiny will increase of Ukip's actual policies. On some issues it no doubt is able to chime with popular sentiment, on Europe and on immigration, for example. However, on social issues like gay marriage all the indications are that it is out-of-step with mainstream opinion.

Liberal Democrats have been urged to spread the message that their Conservative coalition partners "can't be trusted" to look after normal people rath...

Deputy prime minister Nick Clegg today promised that Liberal Democrats will continue to "anchor" the coalition Government in the political centre grou...

The past 12 months will come to be seen as "the year when the coalition Government lost the benefit of the doubt", a senior shadow cabinet minister ha...

I talked to a constituent who had a stroke and is on benefit. After paying all his bills, he's left with just £12 a week - less than £2 a day - to spend on food. In the new year, thanks to the government's so called welfare "reforms", his housing benefit will be reduced - by £12 a week. He will have nothing at all left to pay for food.

My concern is not about the rights of official bodies having access to this information. Rather it is the ability of these organizations to hold such vast amounts of data securely coupled with the idea that a Draft Communications Bill can be written without any real consideration around the practicalities of its implementation.

Wednesday sees the formal dispatch from the House of Lords of what the wilder critics have named my "Secret Courts Bill". The Bill's passage has so far aroused great passion and debate - as any Bill which seeks to deliver the twin imperatives of justice and security must always do.

A blanket ban on support for young adults would leave thousands at risk of homelessness - while any truly compassionate list of exemptions would be so broad as to make the policy redundant. Ministers should ditch this unworkable proposal now.