The Financial Times has today reported that the US government is pressing the European Commission not to grant China ‘Market Economy Status’ (MES), which under WTO rules would allow far more undercutting by Chinese exports into the EU. The UK government is on the record as a supporter…Read more…
“Dealing with debt”, Osborne-style
Can someone please tell me just why the Tories have this reputation for economic competency? Hat tip Joel from Debt Resistance. Read more…
‘King Coal’ is not a lost cause, despite treasury short-sightedness, says Unite
‘King Coal’ has a future as a UK producer, despite ministerial short-sightedness, driven by treasury cuts, Unite, the country’s largest union, said today (Thursday 17 December). And coal’s importance…Read more…
Greece: #ThisIsACoup – Watch the documentary here.
Director Theopi Skarlatos and producer Paul Mason present #ThisIsACoup, a four-part documentary series telling the story of how the European Union destroyed the first radical left government in…Read more…
….and a Happy New Year
Me and my mate. Read more…
Having an Amazon Free Christmas
Hi John,Just a quick note before Christmas to say a HUGE thanks for donating to send the tax-dodging Amazon ad van out on the town!
It made a bit of a splash – circling Amazon’s HQ, and then cruising through London’s busy shopping streets: exposi…Read more…
Len McCluskey’s hopes for 2016
Tempting as it is to slip into dejection by the prospect of four more years of this appalling Tory administration gifted to us by this ending year, let us opt for optimism for the one to come. …Read more…
Communist Christmas Eve 2015
This is my traditional Crimbo Eve Video. Christianity and most other religions have much in common with Communism and Democratic socialist values in theory but all beliefs and political creeds in reality, don’t tend to practise what they preach.
Never…Read more…
West Ham fight back against Tories
“While this year’s disastrous General Election result wasn’t what we had campaigned or hoped for, West Ham Labour have risen to the challenge to fight back.
We ended the year on a high with our membership doubling in recent months and it was great…Read more…
A century on… …we need to learn the lessons of our own past
https://www.marxists.org/archive/gallacher/1915/clyde-committee.htm
This link is to a leaflet issued one hundred years ago when workers on the Clyde were trying to organise in the absence of any legal right not to be unfairly dismissed (which right was…Read more…
ISDS: even when Governments win, we all lose
We’re often told we shouldn’t worry about Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) in the new generation of so-called ‘free’ trade agreements, because the UK Government doesn’t lose cases. In practice that’s because most UK agreements containing ISDS have been…Read more…
Andy Haldane at the TUC: technology, labour and policy choices
Interest rates: Ancient Mesopotamia to the present (see end of post for source) On 12 November 2015 Andy Haldane, Chief Economist at the Bank of England, spoke at the TUC. While a little late in the day, it is worthwhile to review some of the very important points he made, not least given the…Read more…
A Merry Xmas in Local Government?
Normal 0 false false false EN-GB X-NONE X-NONE …Read more…
Invisible children
The Tory government has taken an innovative approach in reducing child poverty. Instead of maintaining a target set by the last Labour government to eliminate child poverty by 2020, it’s…Read more…
Bulwark against exploitation
Unite has yesterday (December 22) welcomed the Scottish government’s ‘sensible’ decision to retain the Scottish Agricultural Wages Board (SAWB) following a prolonged campaign to protect the minimum…Read more…
ONS Christmas present to Chancellor: a slump in nominal GDP
The final release of economic figures for 2015 does not make happy reading for the Chancellor. Headline GDP for 2015Q3 is revised down to 0.4% from 0.5%; Q2 was 0.5%. On the annual measure comparing with the same quarter a year ago, growth is now 2.1%,…Read more…
My hero in 2015? The man with the plan to beat the cuts.
My hero in 2015? The man with the plan to beat the cuts.
read moreRead more…
December Scotland in UNISON out now
Beat the anti-union bill; Communications Awards 2015; Corbyn and Sturgeon say the bill must go; Celebrate learning; Council cuts campaign mounts as we face ‘worst cuts in living memory’; Tayside health branch wins low pay victory; Cordia janitors ballot; Climate march report; Speak up against police cuts; Save democracy in Turkey; Give your views on social work codes of practice and much moreRead more…
Local government pay offer consultation to begin in January
UNISON local government members to be consulted in new year on employer’s final offer
The article Local government pay offer consultation to begin in January first appeared on the UNISON site.Read more…
A Bridge Over You – NHS Choir (Cover of Fix You by Coldplay and BOTW by Simon & Garfunkel)
What a fantastic song. Support our NHS and buy it please! Hat tip Ian Dixon
“The song is available now on iTunes, Amazon, and others.
Download link (iTunes): https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/a-b…
Download link (Amazon): http://www.amazon.co.uk/Br…Read more…