Public service, private chaos
Over 20,000 workers are finding themselves in the role of sacrificial lambs on the altar of the private provision of public services following the collapse of Carillion.
Workers March/April 2018
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Customs: Something to declare [print copy]
Suddenly, it seems, the talk is all about the EU’s customs union, with “commentators” bewailing the possibility that in leaving the EU Britain will also leave the customs union.
Keep Britain out of the Free Trade trap
Siren voices are telling us that we should be negotiating Free Trade Agreements with the US, with the EU, with just about anybody…
Internships scandal
Unpaid internships are combining with rising living costs to shut poorer youngsters out of many careers.
Plan now for NHS workforce
For the first time in almost 25 years the health service in England has set about producing a Workforce Strategy.
Coastal communities fight for a future
Brexit is an opportunity to revitalise Britain’s coastal communities, which have taken a beating after they were tricked into the EU Common Fisheries Policy in 1973.
Brexit - an opportunity to produce more food
Along with fishing, agriculture is set to be a big beneficiary of Britain’s leaving the EU. But that won’t happen without a collective determination to make it so…
Smoke and mirrors
Uber cabs, Uber economy, Uber employment – we’re deluged in disinformation about this business model…
Fake militancy over pay
Unison, GMB and Unite are currently considering a pay offer to local government and schools staff from local government employers of 2 per cent a year over two years from April.
Make energy independent
Energy has been hardest hit by the deluge of EU directives instructing us what we could do and how we could do it…
Gambling away people’s lives
Problem gambling is on the rise and there is little regulation to protect those caught up in this quintessentially capitalist addiction…
France - Big boost for military
France, presumably a key player in the future EU Army, has announced a staggering 260 billion euro rise in military spending between 2018 and 2025.
Wind farm bonanza
Between 2012 and 2017 wind farm owners were paid £367 million in “constraint” payments – payments to not produce electricity.
Populism: a force to reckon with
Anything outside the norm that attracts support from the people but is feared by vested interests is likely to be labelled “populist”. What does it mean?
Positive thinking
At last, an optimistic book setting out how Brexit can make life better for Britain…
University pensions fight
Strike action has begun in universities across Britain as academic staff fight back against the plan to close their final salary pension scheme.
Construction - Midlands growth
Around 17,000 new jobs are to be created in the West Midlands construction sector over the next five years.
1: Gas prices flare
The biggest jump in British gas prices in 8 years has prompted concerns in industry and government about over security of supply and an ever increasing reliance on imports of natural gas
2: The 'national' grid
The National Grid provides part of Britain’s fundamental and essential strategic industrial infrastructure.
1: The road from the WTO to Free Trade Agreements
Multinational corporations, the largest of which dwarf many countries’ economies, want all trade to be regulated in their own interests.
2: The EU's new colonialism
The European Union has been working hard at pressurising developing countries into free trade agreements.
1: Farmers union looks forward
British farmers should deliver an increasing proportion of the nation’s requirement for high quality, safe, affordable food.
2: 'Fundamentally flawed'
Paying land owners for the amount of agricultural land they have is unjust, inefficient and drives perverse outcomes.