Girl Power
15 January 2011Fat days, unrequited love, stomach-churning credit card statements, hangovers and hang-ups, tumultuous friendships and obsessive-compulsive-early-morning-snooze-function-disorder. Diagnosis: just the start of another day?
2011
Danish Lessons
12 January 2011On Tuesday, a group of Danish citizens were given the go-ahead to challenge the legality of Denmark’s ratification of the Lisbon Treaty. The UK government would be well advised to pay close attention to the proceedings as it finalises its European Union Bill.
To spend or not to spend? That is the question
Yesterday, two surveys, one by the British Chambers of Commerce and one by the British Retail Consortium, indicated that 2011 could be a difficult year for some areas of the British economy, due to a decrease in consumer spending. Highlighting this decrease in domestic consumption British retail sales fell in December for the first time… [Read More]
Unemployment, Workfare and Crime
11 January 2011In recent weeks, we have concentrated on the efficacy of criminal justice interventions, such as policing and robust sentencing, in reducing crime. There are, however, broader social interventions that can also play an important role. For example, a recent discussion paper suggests that workfare programmes have been a significant contributor to tackling crime in Denmark.… [Read More]
Debate Mate
Aoife O’Donnell, a Debate Mate mentor, writes about the value of debating for all.
Interscholastic debate programs have been common throughout the nation’s more affluent public and private schools for many decades
The Greek Wall of Immigration Control
5 January 2011In an attempt to curb its growing illegal immigration crisis, Greece has revealed plans to erect a 128 mile wall along its Turkish border. The Ministry of Public Order has stated that Greece “has reached its limits in taking in illegal immigrants”, with over 100,000 entering the country in 2010.
Punish ambition and reward failure ? There is an alternative
4 January 2011Years since he first proposed the idea, Sunder Katwala, General Secretary of the Fabian Sociey, still has the same solution to Britain’s educational woes: big government should pick up its clunking fists and pummel the most successful independent school system in the world, preferably with a VAT on fees. This, somehow, will atone for all… [Read More]
A taxing problem
Today the top-rate of VAT has risen from 17.5% to 20%. The Government argues that the move is necessary to increase tax revenues and tackle the deficit, suggesting that once economic conditions improve the rate may be reduced. However, the increase has attracted criticism from an array of different sources, Ed Miliband has stated that… [Read More]