Five years ago foodbanks were not something that everyone would necessarily have heard of and a decade ago they barely existed in the UK. Now there are over 1,000 foodbanks in the UK and in…Read more…
The Lone Chancellor
The tax credit cuts saga continued in Parliament yesterday (October 29) as Labour MP Frank Field urged the government through a cross-party motion to rethink its tax credit reforms that, if pushed…Read more…
‘Blatant disenfranchisement’
Millions risk losing their voice if they don’t sign up to register to vote in the next three weeks, after the House of Lords failed to approve a motion on Tuesday (October 27) that would halt the…Read more…
Steel future snubbed
The steel crisis is so important that fewer than two dozen Tory MPs bothered to attend the Parliamentary debate yesterday (October 28) demanding emergency government action. But then again secretary…Read more…
As long as it takes
As the UK steel industry is set to crumble under the weight of the Tory government’s negligence, steelworkers and their communities, trade unions and Labour MPs have launched an all-out offensive to…Read more…
‘Feet to the furnace’
Our neglected steel industry is bleeding out and is now on life support industry, leaders and unions told the business select committee yesterday. As steelworkers gather today to lobby their MPs…Read more…
Not just a steel crisis
The government is significantly under-estimating a potentially devastating fall out in the West Midlands from the steel crisis, according to the West Midlands Economic Forum. It warns that the…Read more…
A principled stand
The government was forced to back down on tax credit cuts last night (October 27), after the House of Lords’ historic vote in favour of two motions that will halt the cuts until there is a plan to…Read more…
A ‘good time to lose your job’
As the UK steel industry teeters on the brink of collapse – devastating entire communities after more than 5,000 jobs have been shed in the last month alone – former deputy prime minister Lord…Read more…
No one is fooled, Chancellor
Cuts to tax credits – which will amount to a £4.4bn raid on the country’s poorest working families – are in the spotlight again today (October 26), as peers are set to vote on motions that may stop…Read more…
Food on credit
As UNITElive reported last week, unsecured debt – such as credit cards and payday loans – has grown exponentially in austerity Britain. A new survey released this week (October 22) has shown just…Read more…
‘We don’t come here to steal’
If the newspapers are to be believed, nearly all of the country’s ills can be attributed to migrants – they steal our jobs, yet at the same time they rely on benefits. And they’re making it…Read more…
Tax credit cuts: Lords’ battle
Former chancellor Nigel Lawson is the latest among a growing group of senior Tory statesmen who have come out against the government’s plans to slash tax credits next April, which would decimate…Read more…
The great backdoor package ‘steal’
The Tories have carried out a ‘smash and grab’ raid on the £80m package promised for retraining and supporting sacked Redcar steelworkers and boosting the local economy. It has just emerged that the…Read more…
Tip tip hooray!
Like pulling at a loose thread, once the tipping abuse scandal broke it wasn’t long before it all started to unravel for some of the UK’s biggest restaurant chains. Unite’s campaign,…Read more…
Tax credit rethink call quashed
The tax credit cuts are continuing to move their way through Parliament; last night (October 20) Labour’s motion calling for the government to rethink their damaging plans was defeated. Today…Read more…
Send in the ‘clowns’
The Tory response to the long emerging crisis in the UK steel industry has turned to slow motion farce. There’s been no action, when action is need now. Business secretary Sajid Javid took one…Read more…
Chorus of disapproval
There has been a chorus of disapproval over the government’s approach to the steel crisis, their linked claims of a ‘northern powerhouse’ and being the party of ‘workers’. What’s the verdict? – warm…Read more…
Steel meltdown
As a critical modern industry faces meltdown caused by artificially cheap Chinese steel flooding the UK and European markets, Cameron, Osborne and Javid are caught frozen in the headlights. …Read more…
A nation on the brink?
I’m in a deep sleep after a restless night with the baby waking constantly when the alarm goes off. Its 05.45, its dark outside and the rest the house is silent as they all sleep peacefully. …Read more…