HOW IT WAS
A historic London pub has been demolished by a developer’s bulldozers, without planning permission, and without warning to people in neighbouring properties or any…Read more…
Happy 50th Birthday London Boroughs – time to change?
This is an interesting video commissioned by modern day London Councils to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the current London Borough arrangements. Before 1965 Newham had separate West Ham and East Ham Councils.
There has been massive changes in Lon…Read more…
Will conference words of unity translate to reality?
Calls for unity from both platform and floor were welcome after a sometimes bitter special local government conference in London on Tuesday – and unity is essential if anything positive is to come…Read more…
NHS Devolution – another Trojan Horse?
Greater Manchester is to take control of the region’s Health and Social Care spending. Yesterday George Osborne announced that from 2016 Greater Manchester’s combined authorities will take…Read more…
Poison chalice or golden opportunity? What will a devolved NHS be?
The announcement of devolved NHS funding to Greater Manchester authorities is surprising on many fronts not least because the shadow Labour health secretary lives in the patch, Labour council leaders…Read more…
Meddler on the Roof
SINGING from the same…er hymn sheet? Or getting another report on Tower Hamlets? Eric Pickles, here with Home Secretary Theresa May, is Minister for Communities and Faith. So will he put…Read more…
Labour’s public transport policy heading in wrong direction
When will the Labour Party learn a bit of municipal history? Announcements trumpeted as some kind of radical overhaul of bus regulations by the party appear to be yet another neo-liberal experiment…Read more…
MP’s confirm poorest areas are worst hit by cuts
Councils in the most deprived areas of England have been hardest hit by cuts to their funding, Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee has said. Austerity cuts have not been applied equally since…Read more…
Growing funding crisis in local government threatens public services
A growing funding crisis in local government is threatening the future of local public services in England. According to new analysis published today in Austerity Uncovered significant cuts have already been made to statutory adult social care and children’s services – with more cuts to come….Read more…
All Souls to Austerity, or ‘Gilded Age’ for Some?
IT might be Christmassy, if it had some decorations. But if it looks cold in this picture, now its worse -the lights are off, and the building’s up for sale.
NO, this isn’t the Pottins family…Read more…
Not letting A&E be a casualty
IT’S some years now since I was taken ill at the end of a day at work, and when the symptoms persisted after I got home, knowing my GP’s surgery would be shut, I rang NHS Direct. The…Read more…
Failure of ‘austerity’
Interesting to see that David Renard has signed a joint letter to the Observer with other Council leaders from all three main parties. It’s a shot across the bows of George Osborne in the run up to the autumn statement. It says that “further reductions (in local government funding) without…Read more…
Two Women of Worth
MINNIE LANSBURY on her way to arrest.
The other evening I heard an interesting, indeed inspiring, talk about Minnie Lansbury, who was one of the rebel Labour councillors in the London Borough of…Read more…
UNISON Scotland statement on First Minister’s programme for Government
Wed 26 Nov 2014
Mike Kirby, Scottish secretary of UNISON, said ‘UNISON is Scotland’s largest trade union and we welcome the First Minister’s programme for government. There was much in Nicola Sturgeon’s statement to commend.
We welcome her commitment to protect public services and to increase NHS funding; her commitment to the living wage and to mitigate the problems of welfare reform; andRead more…
No Living Wage for homecare workers?
Heather Wakefield Read more…
The fight against sneaky pay cuts | Gregor Gall
Shropshire council has sacked all its workers, then re-employed them on lower wages. What can unions do to prevent this?
The move by Shropshire county council to sack all its workers and re-employ…Read more…
We can stop Birmingham council’s offshoring plans| Gregor Gall
Sending jobs to India is a bad idea that was squashed in other areas. Birmingham city council’s attack on staff must be halted
Now that earlier attempts to revolutionise the provision and funding of…Read more…
Will unions take action over council job cuts? | Gregor Gall
Southampton council workers are striking over pay cuts, but Britain has seen little industrial action over actual job losses
Today 4,300 council workers in Southampton are taking the first…Read more…