The UK could very well join the US in being the only developed countries in the world that don’t offer statutory maternity pay, if the Tories emerge victorious on May 8. Work and pensions…Read more…
Maternal death risk rise
The UK has failed to make the top 10 for safest country to give birth in for the third year in a row, the annual State Of The World’s Mothers report has found. According to the study by…Read more…
Who will be top of the chops?
Which prominent members of the coalition could be getting the chop on Thursday? Top of those at risk are Tory Esther McVey, minister for welfare sanctions. But possibly in line for a Portillo…Read more…
Ten Reasons to Vote
The election campaign is coming to an end, and it’s time to mark your ballot. We’ve put together ten big issues which can be changed by the next government, and should give you reason to get out and vote. But first the practicalities… If you’ve registered to vote (yes, if…Read more…
How many hours should parents be expected to work?
How many hours should parents be expected to work in order not to be poor? New research published last week by Child Poverty Action Group explores this tricky question. Round the clock: In work poverty and the ‘hours question’ recognises from the outset that there are multiple factors which shape…Read more…
Local votes count too
Unquestionably the focus this Thursday will be on the knife-edge general election long predicted by pollsters. However it’s worth remembering that around England a series of local elections…Read more…
ConDem nation
They’ve hurt us – plain and simple. Since the ConDem Coalition came in they’ve tried to sell off the NHS while running it into the ground. Legal aid has been slashed, university tuition fees…Read more…
The case for an Independent Pensions Commission
This is my contribution to an NAPF publication on the need for an Independent Pensions Commission. I argue that this is not “taking the politics out of pensions” – an absurdly impossible task – but rather a chance to bring social partnership to another field of policy…Read more…
Counting the cost of austerity for councils and communities
The Austerity Audit, published today by UNISON details the damage caused by the unprecedented squeeze on funding that has had such a dramatic impact on local council services in England and the people that provide them. The government has already cut the funding to local councils by £12.5bn or 37%…Read more…
Shock victory for the Left as Tories ousted
Tomorrow is election day here in Britain, and that headline is unlikely to grace the front page of any of our newspapers on the morning after. But it’s a real headline and it describes what…Read more…
Education has remained in the shadows of the election debates
And here’s another thing… Our new weekly blog by ATL general secretary Mary Bousted. Education policy has not been a prominent feature of the election campaign. Political parties have vied for the…Read more…
Why I am voting Scottish Labour
Of all the elections I have been involved with this has to be one of the worst. The big issues that should have been debated have been swamped by the process of coalitions, deals and the banality of…Read more…
Six-year airport dispute settled as workers vote to accept improved offer
Prospect welcomes harmonisation of pay and holidaysRead more…
Tomorrow is a simple, but crucial, choice
Why I’ll be voting for that tomorrow and why I urge everyone else to do so as well.Read more…
Tories have cut 1,000 PCSOs a year since 2010
UNISON report says five more years of a Conservative government would sound the death knell of community policingRead more…
Tomorrow – Polling Day!
Collage from campaigning yesterday evening in East Village, Stratford led by Council candidate Charlene Mclean, ably assisted by Young Pioneer Esme.
This is the email Charlene has sent this morning to all West Ham Labour Party members as our CLP Chair…Read more…
“I don’t like Liverpudlians” – blacklisted worker wins tribunal
Unite says ET victory is a line in the sand in the battle against blacklistingRead more…
Five years of pain, very little gain – Vote Labour to avoid more of the same
UNISON General Secretary Dave Prentis “tells it as it is”.
After five years of pain there has been very little gain. If the Tories are re-elected on Thursday, there will be more years of painful cuts, hitting the the poorest areas the most.
So Vote L…Read more…
Qatar’s Inaction Replay
It’s a strange tactic to take the anniversary of a promise you didn’t keep to make exactly the same promise. One year ago, with great fanfare, Qatar’s government promised the world…Read more…
Inaction Replay: Qatar Reannounces Unkept Promise
It’s a strange tactic to take the anniversary of a promise you didn’t keep to make exactly the same promise. One year ago, with great fanfare, Qatar’s government promised the world…Read more…