It is widely agreed that the NHS must change from an organisation that largely treats disease, to one which strives to prevent it. It is further agreed that prevention can best be facilitated in the community. Communities contain a plethora of non health related institutions which play a prominent role in an individual’s home, emotional… [Read More]
“Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union?” As Downing Street just confirmed that this will be the question posed to voters in the EU referendum before tabling the bill, it raises questions over whether the wording matters. Unlike countries such as Switzerland, where referendums are held so frequently that the electorate may… [Read More]
International tax avoidance and tax planning, where companies lower their tax base by changing domicile, is a vexing issue. Multinationals like Amazon, Starbucks, Google, and Apple have all been accused of not paying their fair share. According to Forbes, Apple ‘claims tax residence nowhere.’ The complicity of countries like Luxembourg, where the LuxLeaks scandal last November… [Read More]
The weeks that followed the Conservative party’s election victory have been filled with comment and input on the question of renegotiating Britain’s EU membership. Most of these interventions have been from business lobby groups or individual company leaders. We have heard from JCB, Dyson, Airbus, the Confederation of British Industry and Deutsche Bank. In addition,… [Read More]
David Cameron arrived in Riga, Latvia this morning for his first EU summit since his re-election. Although ongoing tensions in Ukraine will be high on the agenda, many will be expecting him to start making his case for reforming the EU, before the British public vote in a referendum. Among the demands at the top… [Read More]
As ministers mull over where they are going to find another £12 billion of welfare cuts, they could do worse than have a read of a new report by Citizens Advice and the New Policy Institute on the state of the private rented sector. Above and beyond the usual horror show of high rents, poor… [Read More]
In Leo Tolstoy’s short story, The Death of Ivan Ilyich, we meet a man who is suddenly confronted with his own impending death, at a time well before he would have anticipated…the consequence of an injury sustained, of all things, while hanging curtains. Because Ivan had never expected his death he was completely unprepared for… [Read More]
The Northern Powerhouse strategy could be a very positive legacy of this Conservative government, particularly for the Chancellor – if they can get it right. At its core is devolution of powers to northern cities and connecting them up to create a power which can compete internationally. The first part rights a thirty year wrong. Centralisation began… [Read More]
As we begin to consider the EU referendum in earnest, the international context of trade and sovereignty must not be forgotten. This has been highlighted in US media by President Barack Obama’s battle to get ‘fast track’ powers from Congress. The deal he wants to rush through is the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). The TPP is… [Read More]
It is the morning of the General Election and in Tottenham, a classroom of pupils not yet old enough to vote are taking the political future of this country seriously. Their teacher, seizing the opportunity to give her Citizenship class a sense of urgency, has turned the classroom into a polling station. There is a… [Read More]