Today, British Minister for Europe David Lidington MP is in the Netherlands to meet Foreign Minister Bert Koenders. The Dutch take over the Presidency of the EU on 1 January, so they will play a crucial role in orchestrating the EU’s response to David Cameron’s pre-referendum…Read more…
#SpendingReview 2015 – the Touchstone blog round up
George Osborne’s first Spending Review of the new parliament has hit the headlines for his spectacular U-turn over drastic cuts to tax credits. It avoids the hardship it would have inflicted on millions of low-paid families, though as Richard Exell points out, the cuts to Universal Credit are…Read more…
Become a film mogul & let everyone know how bravery took on apartheid
I’ve just left the launch of an exciting project to inform a new generation about a little-known element of the struggle against apartheid in South Africa. Grassroots film-makers Barefoot…Read more…
Just two cheers for the #spendingreview tax credit U-turn
The headline news in today’s Spending Review and Autumn Statement is the decision not to go ahead with the cuts to tax credits that were due to take place next April. So let’s remember the cuts that were due to come into effect next April, with no protection for the tax credit claimants who…Read more…
No Racism: Refugees Welcome Here
The St Andrew’s Day Anti-Racism March and Rally this year has the theme ‘No Racism: Refugees Welcome Here.’ The rally will take place on Sat 28th Nov, Assemble 10:30am Glasgow Green. Below is a…Read more…
Has the #SpendingReview fully funded the NHS?
There are two competing but related health service ‘narratives’ being promoted in the immediate aftermath of the spending review. The first is that George Osborne has listened and delivered the “biggest ever commitment to the NHS since its creation”. The second is that Simon Stevens, head of NHS…Read more…
Adult skills and apprenticeships in the #SpendingReview
In one respect the Chancellor’s announcements on skills and apprenticeships in the Spending Review has been viewed as another u-turn with the welcome news that there will not be the degree of cuts to FE colleges and the adult skills budget that was widely anticipated. In addition the Apprenticeship…Read more…
Local government funding slashed by half in #SpendingReview
George Osborne made the announcements that business rates will be localised and local councils will be able to add 2 per cent to council tax to fund social care with some fanfare. Both of those are questionable decisions to say the least – more of which later. But in a matter of a couple…Read more…
The #SpendingReview arithmetic made simple
The Chancellor’s rabbits from the hat were mainly permitted by changes to the economic forecast. In general these were more eye-catching than material, excepting his U-turn on welfare. The OBR continue to stress the severity of the cuts. It is worth looking at how the arithmetic works out –…Read more…
Coming home to roost
For five years under the Coalition government manufacturing faced a tough time with our automotive industry providing the growth in the economy due to strong exports, which was also supported by our…Read more…
Pensions round-up in #SpendingReview 2015
In contrast to recent budget speeches, which have included significant changes to pensions policy, the pensions announcements in this spending review do not herald any major new policy developments. However, the government has moved forwards on its pla…Read more…
Osborne forced to u-turn
Osborne went to Parliament to attempt to undo the damage his last budget did to his political fortunes. Time will tell if he has managed it. Tax credit cuts that would have hit 3.3m low…Read more…
It will take more than tampons to plug the gap in women’s sector funding #SpendingReview
It’s not often the TUC talks about tampons but I feel compelled to say a few words about today’s announcement that funds raised via the “tampon tax” will be spent on women’s charities. This morning I wrote about how spending cuts are decimating the Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) charity…Read more…
Trade unions campaign to eliminate violence against women
Today (25 November) is the United Nation’s International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and the start of the #16DaysofActivism (to 10 December’s Human Rights Day) of Activism against Gender-Based Violence. According to the World Health Organisation, 1 in 3 women around the world…Read more…
Chancellor devastates carbon capture industry with £1billion funding cut
Without informing Parliament today, the Chancellor has cut the entire £1 billion funding for the UK’s Carbon Capture and Storage programme, leaving the power and industrial sectors in a state of shock. The Prime Minister will go to the Paris climate change treaty talks next Monday first having…Read more…
More funding for home-ownership but nothing for social housing #SpendingReview
The commitments on housing in the Chancellor’s autumn statement have now been “marked” by the TUC. The government is vulnerable on a number of aspects of their record in this key area and this was their chance to put it right. In practice, they probably scored 5 out of 10 at best….Read more…
Osborne commits to industrial strategy #SpendingReview
In his speech to Parliament today, the Chancellor, George Osborne said: “Businesses also need an active and sustained industrial strategy. That strategy launched in the last parliament continues in this one.” To be truly accurate, the strategy was launched in the parliament before last, with Peter…Read more…
Government investment still way down on the last parliament #SpendingReview
Some rabbits came from the hat today. New spending announcements, departmental cuts allegedly eased (others are looking at the potential horrors of the local authority position), and the tax credit U-turn. One area of some emphasis was investment spend…Read more…
Who do you trust?
Tory ministers made the extraordinary decision to make their post-election priority an attack on trade union freedoms. We will not allow decades of economic and social progress that the trade…Read more…
A spectacular U-turn on tax credits, but working people needed more from the #SpendingReview
George Osborne was forced into a spectacular climb-down over his plans to cut tax credits in his Spending Review today. That’s a victory for decency, and the strong campaign run by civil society groups and unions to oppose the proposals. But by the end of the parliament many working people…Read more…