Playing Parents
5 July 2010Penelope Leach meets Sophie Kinsella in Charlie Taylor’s latest psychedelic guide to surviving with terrible teens, Divas & Door Slammers: the secrets to having a better behaved teenager, writes Annaliese Briggs.
The Blog
Can direct democracy solve the EU’s democratic deficit?
2 July 2010Britain’s recent MPs expenses scandal provided a stark reminder of the need to install effective checks and balances to political power, writes Natalie Hamill. Speaking at a Civitas seminar earlier this week, Daniel Hannan, Conservative MEP, proposed that the increased use of direct democracy could prevent similar abuses of power in the future.
Disquieting truths behind academy ‘improvement’ revealed
Lack of transparency together with a flawed system of equivalence means that the key to rapid ‘improvement’ in some academies has been ‘going soft’, investigation reveals.
Wisdom from Andy Burnham, MP
1 July 2010This blog has never been too complimentary to the former Secretary of State for Health, Andy Burnham MP (not least over the whole ‘preferred provider’ politicking), but two recent comments are worth some meat.
Export Capital
29 June 2010Students have long been able to choose between universities – who in turn, compete for students’ applications, touting their accolades to passengers on the tube and tv audiences, writes Zenobe Reade.
When the cat’s away, the mice will play
25 June 2010The population’s preoccupation with the gaping hole in George Osborne’s wallet has provided a devious distraction from all sorts of tomfoolery, writes Annaliese Briggs.
‘Traffic Light’ Food Labels given the Red Light
23 June 2010One of Brussels’ largest lobbying campaigns has convinced the EU not to endorse ‘traffic light’ food labelling, despite studies showing that it is the “best way for consumers to make informed choices about the food they purchase”, writes Natalie Hamill.
Just a wee loan
21 June 2010“New York City is the world capital of banking. They do the banking for the whole world, but they don’t do the banking for their neighbours.” Mohammed Yunus created the Grameen bank in Bangladesh to encourage enterprise by offering microcredit loans to those with no recourse to financial services.
Twist, Stick or Bust – The EU’s Economy Game
16 June 2010The EU has reached a critical state of play in dealing with the economic crisis, writes Natalie Hamill. The monetary decisions it makes now could bind or break the ideal of “an ever closer union”, with everything to lose if it makes the wrong move. One by one EU states are adjusting their economic forecasts… [Read More]
A Stitch in Time saves Nine
15 June 2010It’s hard to argue with the careful and earnest semantics of the coalition document, in which Cameron and Clegg pledge to ‘tackle the commercialisation and sexualisation of childhood’ writes Zenobe Reade. Yet the remit of Cameron’s avowed campaign against ‘premature sexualisation’ is unclear –