It’s the budget what won it…

5 books by women for the politically minded this summer

By Alison McGovern

Amidst the increasingly serious world events this week, two small ripples in the force caught my attention: firstly, the (Baileys) Women’s Prize for Fiction announced the top 20 novels written by women cited as part of its #thisbook campaign. They asked people to say which book (written by a woman) had most affected them. It turned out Harper Lee’s ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ was the winner.  Though given the gold-standard calibre of the top-20, it was the taking part, not the […]

Is Osborne using public money to fund an election tour?

George Osborne is facing serious questions about the use of taxpayers’ money used to fund an “infrastructure tour”, where he tours marginal constituencies and announces funding for infrastructure projects. The Times (£) report that the Chancellor has made 17 visits on the tour in the past month alone. Last week, he was in Southampton, where the Tories are 192 votes behind Labour, and the current MP John Denham is standing down. He’s also recently visited Stockton South, where the Tory […]

Survey results: Has Miliband’s speech made his “image problem” more of an issue?

By Conor Pope

Ed Miliband’s image is now less of an issue as a direct result of his speech last week, according to LabourList readers. Miliband gave a speech last Friday, in which he directly addressed concerns that he was not as photogenic as David Cameron. Launching “The Choice”, Labour’s summer campaign slogan, he set out the difference between himself and the Tory leader: “If you want the politician from central casting, it’s just not me, it’s the other guy. And if you […]

The Unrepresentative House – Parliament is badly failing to reflect the UK’s ethnic diversity

By Parmjit Dhanda

I recently asked Insight Public Affairs to work with me to compile some data about political parties, their MPs and the racial make-up of the constituencies they represent. The research has just been published by the Guardian and I can only assume, and hope, that the main political parties are as worried about it as I am. It does make for breath-taking reading. You can read it here. There are 650 MPs that represent us. All but 27 of them […]

One Nation Conference? Not for poor Labour members

By Bernadette Horton

Full time Carers who care 35 hours + a week for a disabled or elderly relative receive the princely sum of £61.35pw for their efforts. Many carers like myself in reality care 24/7, 365 days a year. Already cut out of most activities like a meal out or a social evening with friends, our horizons under the Tory government have become narrower and narrower. As Labour Party members, many of us look to the party to get our voices heard, […]