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We’ve all been shocked to see the Tories emerge from the Election with an outright majority, and rightly fearful of what unfettered Tory government will mean to many of the people who desperately wanted Labour to win through. As in 2010 all…
As UKIP launch their election manifesto, it’s easy to poke fun. The last one was disowned by their own UKIP leader Nigel Farage as “drivel” and while this manifesto was unveiled two senior UKIP spokespeople were falling out over their…
David Cameron talks about the Tories’ ‘long-term economic plan’ at every PMQs. Tory MPs line up to parrot the phrase. And George Osborne will base his Budget statement on it this week. But what was their long-term economic plan? What were…
This week in the Commons we watched local government ministers try to defend their decision to target government funding cuts on the most deprived council areas so that over this Parliament councils serving the ten most deprived areas will…
The campaign for a ‘no’ vote in the Scottish referendum shows politics can sometimes bring political foes to the same conclusion for very different reasons. In few areas has this truth been more evident than in the history of international…
As President Obama said recently, inequality is the ‘defining challenge of our time’. But if we are serious about translating this conviction into action, then we need more attention on the way people’s prospects are shaped by the places…
Reform of the civil service may seem a long way down the list of priorities for the next Labour government. There are plenty of pressing concerns: jobs, growth, pensions or getting the NHS back on its feet. Yet I believe this is the time to…
The second round of negotiations concludes today in Brussels for a trade deal between the European Union and the United States. In the UK, interest in the deal is stirring and this week the CBI president called it a “global economic…
It’s been an 18-month fight but this week the Department for Work and Pensions agreed to stop using rip-off rate phone lines, including for the beleaguered Universal Credit. Just a few months ago, Iain Duncan Smith was dismissing my…
The great Labour Education Secretary Tony Crosland wrote in 1956 that to create an education system which achieves equal opportunity “the most important step... would be the raising of the school leaving age to 16”. This ambition became a…
Britons make millions of calls every year to the government. From benefits and tax credits to driving licences, government departments and their agencies provide services that many people, particularly the poorest, have to use. However, my…
Just off junction 33 of the M1 at the edge of the town centre is the New York Stadium, Rotherham United Football Club’s newly- built home ground. It has helped double the home game gates, boosted the team and given the town an iconic…
