Swiss challenge to EU
Time is running out for the EU to get a new “Framework” agreement covering all aspects of its relationship with Switzerland.
News
News
Anger over yard closure
The Scottish transport secretary refused to face union delegation fighting for the retention of skilled railway work in Scotland.
Northern Trains - progress on guards
11 February 2019
RMT members on Northern Trains look to have brought their two-year dispute over guards on trains to a successful conclusion. Talks will now take place to put an agreement into practice.
'Austerity' alive and well as government dodges responsibility
11 February 2019
Millions around the country are experiencing every day the consequences of a political system that has washed its hand of the people and handed control over to the European Union, the market, or both.
US dumps nuclear treaty
8 February 2019
With all the news about Brexit, the US’s decision to withdraw from the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty seems to have slipped under the radar.
Waiting for the bus
5 February 2019
Bus journeys continue to fall, according to government figures. This is due to higher fares and route cuts, and affects how people can move around for work and leisure.
Unions fight for UK employment on Brexit ferries
31 January 2019
The RMT union called yesterday for the government to publish the legal advice it received over the granting of Brexit ferry contracts to Seaborne Freight and others.
Union silence as EU halts plan for online sales tax
29 January 2019
Now that the government has said EU law will stop one of the key planks in Usdaw’s industrial strategy for retail, the Remain-supporting union has fallen uncharacteristically silent.
Infrastructure delays pile up
28 January 2019
An independent report from KPMG published last week found that the delayed Crossrail project is eating up cash at the rate of £30 million a week.
Child social care in the red
20 January 2019
New figures show that almost 9 in 10 English councils overspent on children’s social care in the last financial year, reflecting growing numbers of children being placed into the system.
Nuclear gap
19 January 2019
Hitachi has pulled out of building a new nuclear power station in Anglesey, two months after Toshiba dropped its project in Cumbria. Britain’s nuclear energy policy is now in disarray.
Revealed: the inside plot against Brexit
18 January 2019
Shortly after the overwhelming defeat of the government's proposed deal with the European Union on the evening of 14 January, three senior ministers held a conference call with ten representatives of big business…
NHS plan: still not fit
15 January 2019
The government's NHS Long Term Plan for England came out on 7 January. It includes significant spending and opportunities to improve the service. But there are also critical weaknesses for NHS workers to deal with.
Bridge repair backlog soars to £6.7 billion.
13 January 2019
The maintenance backlog for council-owned road bridges in Britain increased by a third in the past year, with billions needed to bring all structures up to standard.
Car jobs on the line
13 January 2019
The loss of jobs in the car industry is blamed on Brexit; that’s not the case. To think that the EU or May’s deal is any answer will disarm the fight to maintain and build the industry.
Homeless dying as housing crisis worsens
9 January 2019
The number of homeless people dying on the streets or in temporary accommodation has surged 24 per cent in just five years.
People smuggling and profit
6 January 2019
People smuggling across the Channel is increasing. Tiny dinghies crossing busy shipping put lives at risk. It’s lucrative – crime bosses saying that it is more profitable than smuggling drugs.
Bus journeys fall
6 January 2019
Long the “Cinderella” of transport services, local bus services, especially in rural areas, are seeing deep and damaging cuts.
Protest at Scottish budget
Members of several unions gathered at the Scottish Parliament on 12 December to protest against that day’s annual budget announcement from the minority SNP administration.
Horticulture plans for future
The horticultural industry is becoming clear about what is needed to secure the sector’s future post-Brexit. Brexit is welcomed as a unique opportunity to increase British plant production.
Local Govt: London in need
The BBC reports that London’s councils have told the government they need an extra £526 million in funding to balance the books.
Guards' disputes continue
Members of rail union RMT in the north of England have now taken their 40th day of strike action.
Engineering - Springburn anger
Springburn, in north west Glasgow, once the proud heart of the world locomotive industry, is threatened with closure.
Contracting Out - Interserve quizzed
The Institute for Government think tank has published a report warning that handing so much government business to only a few large strategic suppliers is a risky strategy.
Libraries - Funding fall
Public finance body Cipfa has reported that funding for Britain’s libraries fell by £30 million in 2017/18, with a loss of 712 full-time staff.
Swiss stand firm over free movement
10 December 2018
In echoes of May’s Brexit “negotiations”, a proposed Swiss agreement over free movement from the EU is facing likely defeat.
Bus drivers striking for pay
9 December 2018
Bus drivers in two areas of northern England are striking over pay.
Horticulture plans for the future
6 December 2018
The horticultural industry is becoming clear about what is needed to secure the sector’s future post-Brexit. Growing more in Britain would offer economic gains and increase biosecurity according to a recent report.
Bristolians call for end to bus de-regulation
27 November 2018
Despite the pouring rain, around 150 people last weekend heard speaker after speaker call for an end to the deregulated and de-facto monopoly of Bristol’s buses under private company First Bus.
Shocking standards of social care exposed
26 November 2018
Three separate publications in November have highlighted the gowing crisis in social care.