After lengthy talks which began in October the government has announced plans to devolve corporation tax powers to Northern Ireland before the next election. The Bill, introduced by Teresa Villiers, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, is due for its second reading next week. It has been rushed into parliament after cross-party agreement was reached with Stormont, the… [Read More]
British comedian Al Murray has announced that he will stand for MP, against UKIP leader Nigel Farage in South Thanet, Kent at the general election in May this year. Murray will stand as his character Pub Landlord, for his newly formed Free the United Kingdom Party, which shortens, somewhat conveniently, to FUKP. In his campaign video,… [Read More]
This week London became bigger than it has ever been before. The previous record was held in 1939, when the population peaked at 8.6 million. It is estimated we have surpassed this benchmark by next month’s Greater London Authority estimates. Coverage of this record high has been somewhat misleading in that it omits the reasons… [Read More]
In deciding how we should respond to the murders in Paris it’s worth reflecting on what Sir Karl Popper said about the ‘paradox of tolerance’ in The Open Society and Its Enemies: “Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are… [Read More]
Guest blog from Dr Michelle Tempest Healthcare consistently polls as one of the top three concerns for voters. Between now and the general election there is going to be much debate about the entire health ecosystem – NHS, private and questions over future funding. As the population expands, beliefs diversify, yet the British remain united… [Read More]
The past few weeks have seen a number of offers to Britain and other EU states that appear uncomfortable with the current state of the union. Greece is holding an election on 25 January, and polls suggest the far-left SYRIZA party under Alexis Tsipras will be able to form a government. SYRIZA’s centrepiece policy is… [Read More]
The expansion of home ownership has surely been one of the defining social trends of the past century. Back in 1914, only 10 per cent of people owned their own home, the rest (apart from a tiny number in municipal housing) rented from a private landlord. Fast-forward to the end of the 20th century and… [Read More]
The leader of the party whose name embodies liberalism does not seem to understand what liberty is. In an article in the Daily Telegraph, Nick Clegg, argued that we will win the struggle against terrorism “not by increasing our security but by protecting our liberty”. But surely the murder of the journalists at Charlie Hebdo shows… [Read More]
Our media seems highly efficient at inventing names that imply blame for individuals experiencing social problems. For example, all too often, those without work are labelled as “benefit scroungers”. Some might argue that such labelling makes people question the validity of their benefit claims. However, it is a fact that many of those reliant on… [Read More]
Learning from history has not been mankind’s greatest talent, no matter how recent the history. The Bank of England released figures today on consumer credit which show British families have returned to 2007 levels of credit card debt. This marks the fastest growth in personal loans since just before the credit crunch according to the… [Read More]