The dawn of hope?
by Nick Pearce Ed Miliband used his speech yesterday to bring the contributory principle back into the heart of Labour thinking on welfare reform, which got Frank Field and Labour bloggers very...
View ArticleLabour is for the workers; not those avoiding work
by Peter Watt Gulp, here goes. I think that if the reports that Liam Byrne, with the full support of Ed Miliband, is to shortly announce a change in approach to benefits policy are correct, then he is...
View ArticleLabour must go further, faster on welfare reform
by John Woodcock The workfare row of the last few days may have exposed the shambolic nature of the government’s work experience scheme, but Messrs’ Cameron, Duncan Smith and Grayling may nevertheless...
View ArticleWhat is Labour’s message on public service reform?
by Atul Hatwal Step back for a moment. There’s lots going on in politics with the welfare and health reform debates raging, and it’s easy to lose sight of the big picture. Now, ask yourself this...
View ArticleThe return of the confidence fairy could spell trouble for Labour
by Dan McCurry The stock market has historically been a good barometer of future economic activity. It tends to be 6 months ahead of other indicators, representing the daily confidence of company...
View ArticleErosion of universal benefits is destroying public support for the welfare state
by Robin Thorpe Earlier this week George Osborne stated that “this month, around nine out of 10 working households will be better off as a result of the changes we are making”. The BBC report on this...
View ArticleOur Dalit class had enough problems before Philpott
by Kevin Meagher So which class does Mick Philpott belong to then? I guess he would end up in the “precariat” group, described as the “poorest and most deprived” in the BBC’s new parlour game, the...
View ArticleGeorge Osborne has a point on Philpott. Labour is dangerously out of sync...
by Ben Mitchell For the past 18 months or so I’ve spent quite a bit of time defending Ed Miliband: a decent man with a broad vision about how our political system needs to be changed to work for the...
View ArticleNaiveté is a weakness in all walks of life but in politics, it’s deadly
by Rob Marchant Major political events which blow all other news out of the water, such as the death of Margaret Thatcher, tend to do two things. First, they make us take a step back and take stock, to...
View ArticleThe last few weeks have shown politics at its worst: tribal, divisive and ugly
by Peter Watt Sometimes politics is a noble and even beautiful pursuit where words can capture a moment and inspire. Just think of Martin Luther King on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in 1963 or...
View ArticleMiliband’s reckoning must also reassure
by Jonathan Todd“The next election”, according to an answer that Ed Miliband gave on Friday, “will be a choice between a big reckoning and steady as she goes.” There wasn’t much that Mliband...
View ArticleWe’ve been here before on welfare reform. Now the backlash is coming, will...
by Atul HatwalThe much quoted definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Today, the Labour party is testing this proposition.For the third time...
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