From 24 – 26 September the British newspaper The Independent jointly hosted a forum on ‘The Sustainable Planet’, writes Stephen Clarke. One of the newsworthy results of this forum was reported by The Independent on Sunday on 26 September under the headline ‘Public opinion stopped GM, says campaigner’. The paper was referring to a statement… [Read More]
“For two marks, spell and define ‘pre-eclampsia,’ and a bonus point for anyone who can explain the difference between a breech and normal delivery,” instructs a midwife from a blackboard to a small class of two pregnant girls and a young boy who would otherwise be sat outside the headteacher’s office (the absentees were either… [Read More]
As grand designs go, this one is big. The Skylon project, which aims to manufacture a reusable ‘spaceplane’, is the brainchild of the British based company Reaction Engines Ltd and has been gaining support from the Government and the EU for years. However, with the Government’s Comprehensive Spending Review coming up, it is crunch-time for… [Read More]
The HSJ revealed yesterday that eight London Primary Care Trusts, under guidance from NHS London and the Department of Health, are to effectively merge to ‘save £48m’. This comes after Sir David Nicholson, NHS Chief Executive, last week wrote to NHS managers effectively encouraging Strategic Health Authorities, such as NHS London, to ‘direct’ PCTs to share management… [Read More]
There is growing concern over the cost of the EU’s External Action Service (EEAS) after the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs requested more funding to finance its budget, writes Natalie Hamill. Baroness Ashton’s demand for an 8% increase in funding for the EEAS, which is still in its fledgling stages of development, suggests that… [Read More]
Several commentators have been raking Nick Clegg over hot coals for his supposed conversion from Keynsian economics to becoming a ‘deficit hawk’. They argue that Keynsian policies, still dominant in economic thought, require more deficit spending in order to stimulate the economy during a fragile recovery, or else risk a double-dip recession. However, as Prof.… [Read More]
It is being described by one paper as ‘a battle for the hearts and minds of middle England’, writes Stephen Clarke, and while it’s not clear that the current spat over M&S’s decision to sublet one of its disused premises to the American restaurant chain Hooters is worthy of such grandiose billing, it does raise… [Read More]
Put down the Scholastic Book Club catalogue, stand back from the multi-coloured 8-tone xylophone and pack away the handcrafted wooden alphabet cubes – earlier this week Dr Dimitra Hartas, from Warwick’s Institute of Education, revealed that ‘children’s language, literacy and social-emotional development were not affected by the frequency of home learning activities’. What a lot of unhelpful and counterintuitive nonsense, argues Annaliese Briggs.
Pope Benedict XVI is beginning his tour of Britain today and shall be seen by millions of Britons – on their TVs. This is because access to the Pope is limited to Catholics with congregational links and a decent sized wallet. Tickets to the event cost up to £25, which prices many Catholics out of… [Read More]
The EU may have spent the last month dithering nervously over the legality of France’s Roma expulsions, but the emergence of a French circulaire has shocked the EU into decisive action, writes Natalie Hamill. In a press briefing yesterday (14th September) the EU Justice Commissioner unleashed a scathing attack on France’s expulsion of its Roma… [Read More]