LabourList’s poll trends: Towards May 6th

Labour outline clear plan to train 10,000 more nurses

Following two big speeches on the NHS from Ed Miliband and Shadow Health Secretary Andy Burnham today, Labour have announced this evening that they would increase the number of nurse training places. This plan would  see more than 10,000 extra places created in the next Parliament, and would be paid for by the Time to Care investment fund (the £2.5 billion made from the mansion tax, stamping down on tax avoidance and the levy on tobacco firms). This policy looks […]

Did Ed Balls rule out a coalition with the SNP today?

It is being reported that Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls ruled out the possibility of a Labour coalition with the SNP during an interview with Sky News earlier. Presenter Dermot Murnaghan suggested that, according to Sky News election projections, “the SNP could more or less wipe out Labour in Scotland. He then asked: “You as the largest party would end up in a coalition with them. Is that a deal you could do?” Ed Balls replied: “No. And I don’t think anybody is suggesting […]

Labour pledge to take in more refugees of Syria crisis as Government accept just 90 in one year

Shadow Home Office minister David Hanson has today slammed the Government for allowing just 90 refugees from Syria to enter the UK. In under four years of civil war in the country, it is estimated that nine million people have been displaced from their homes. In an article in The Independent, Hanson notes that this week marks a year since the Home Office began to accept refugees fleeing the crisis into Britain, following pressure from Labour and thousands of campaigners. […]

Poorer households affected the most by Coalition’s “selective cuts”, report finds

The poorest in society have suffered the most under the Coalition, a report from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) in partnership with the University of Manchester and of York has found.  The report reveals that as a result of the Government’s policies on direct taxes, tax credits and benefits, poverty has been on the rise and over the next five year is set to get worse. Researchers found real spending on early education, child care and […]

Are shortlists shortchanging BME and women candidates? 

By Sophia Cannon

Recently, there have been calls for an All Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) shortlist to complement Labour’s All-Women Shortlists. At first blush, one would would assume that as a black and asian woman, I would be championing these double opportunities, not just as opportunity knocks but as opportunity squared. However, there’s more to this argument than meets the eye. With gender, there is an issue of numbers. Men at 49%, are the statistical minority, just. All-Women Shortlists (“AWS”) therefore are a correction […]