If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
Nick Clegg's apology on tuition fees took the nation by surprise - but not by storm. What Nick didn't mention is the other promise he hasn't kept.
For the Tories, debates on Europe - and the UK's place in it - are all over their fringe schedule like a rash. The prime minister will be wanting to apply soothing ointment to this debate but he may find it very difficult to do. Party members scared of the UKIP challenge will want some Eurosceptic meat to chew on. This remains a huge challenge for Cameron.
At the forthcoming UK Liberal Democrat conference, a tax on soda drinks will be proposed. Predictably the reason given was that they wish to promote a "healthier and more sustainable diet" through taxation
I heard talk of the current session of parliament ending ready for party conference season, making me think back to when I worked in an office and the three weeks leading up to our Christmas shindig was a nightmare of people preparing for our get together like it was the only time they'd ever been to a party.
Following the gathering of evidence from experts in their fields, conference will debate several substantive motions on housing, socio-economic inequality, sources of sustainable prosperity and jobs and workplace democracy.
In the August riots of 2011 I had to experience something nobody should have to - I watched my home city burn. Politicos of all stripe were quick to ...
As Tuesday's reshuffle made clear, a new generation of right-wing conservatives is coming to the fore in British politics. This (new) New Right -exemplified by the Free Enterprise Group MPs Liz Truss, Priti Patel and Dominic Raab - differs from the Thatcherites of the 1980s in some key respects. It is mostly liberal on social issues, largely uncluttered with baggage on family and faith, and interested in policy issues that concern modern parents, like childcare.
Disquiet at the continued economic malaise has spread to Tory ranks; David Davis delivered a withering assessment of the Coalition's record on economic growth and employment, and proposed a series of reforms to address the failings he identified. Rather like the most famous feline in physics, Davis was utterly right in the former whilst being utterly misguided in the latter - a masterful feat indeed.
It is not a good time to be young. Our youth are bearing the brunt of the economic depression and its self-defeating solution of austerity and cuts.
On the final day of protests against government contracted ATOS Healthcare and the Department of Work and Pensions, many people have come together to declare their unhappiness at the current proposals around benefits for the disabled.
"The Liberal Democrats are currently enjoying a surge of support which they will ride to an impressive victory in 2015", so says nobody. Although commentary of the party's plight in some corners of the press is unnecessarily exaggerated, not even Nick Clegg can deny they're on a bumpy path towards a pretty nasty result at the next election. It's now down to the deputy prime minister to create fork in the road - this week, he got his shovel out.
I agree with Nick. It's been a while since I've done so but, on the subject of a wealth tax, I cannot disagree with the Deputy Prime Minister.
Having trashed teaching qualification (QTS) by telling academies that they could appoint teachers without QTS qualifications, Michael Gove is at it again, this time telling teachers how to teach mathematics. Whatever next? Andrew Lansley telling doctors how to treat patients?
Those of us on the left who were sceptical of the coalition must concede at least one thing: they are certainly efficient.
For two and a quarter years, media commentators have been predicting the imminent demise of the coalition. Now the sharks are circling again - and this time there is indisputably blood in the water.
Clegg and Cameron still need each other, their fates are entwined with the deficit and the economy. Just don't expect them to be nice about it.
