IQ Tests, PISA scores and polar bears
5 December 2013IQ tests and PISA league tables do not measure the entire worth of a person or success of an education system.
The Blog
Offshore wind is not more ‘value for money’ than onshore
4 December 2013The government has finally capitulated to the long and drawn-out campaign against onshore wind farms, informing the BBC this morning that part of the subsidies for onshore wind farms and solar energy will be switched to offshore wind farms. What began as a campaign brimming with nimby-ism, with increasing pressure from constituents on Tory MPs… [Read More]
The SNP have criticised English health, but do their attacks stack up?
3 December 2013‘Scotland’s Future’ white paper announced with fanfare last week stressed Scotland’s devolved NHS, seeking to strike contrasts with Westminster’s handling of the English service. This follows remarks in October by Scottish health secretary Alex Neil, in which he attacked the present English reorganisation, privatisation, NHS 111 and prescription fees. This is all part of the… [Read More]
The Scottish independence referendum: unanswered questions
By Robert Henderson The vote on Scottish independence is in 2014. The next UK general election is scheduled for 2015. The date for Scotland to leave the Union is 2016. Assuming Scotland votes for independence there are these unanswered questions: 1. When will existing MPs sitting in Scottish seats be expelled from the Commons? Will… [Read More]
EU activists spur Cameron’s renegotiation efforts
2 December 2013Tory backbenchers and MEPs are attempting to rouse No.10 into action. It’s been ten months since Cameron’s ‘Bloomberg Speech’ promised renegotiation and referendum, yet the strategic contents of that new deal haven’t been fleshed out in the slightest. The EU Fresh Start group, led by Andrea Leadsom, George Eustice, Chris Heaton-Harris, has the implicit support of William… [Read More]
Ukraine’s decision to freeze EU negotiations sparks protests
29 November 2013President Viktor Yanukovych’s decision to freeze negotiations with the EU on a possible Association Agreement has sparked a wave of protests across the country. The Eastern Partnership Summit, which began yesterday in the Lithuanian city of Vilnius, has not begun well for EU leaders, who were hoping to secure a pact with Ukraine after years… [Read More]
Net migration rises
28 November 2013Net migration has risen to June 2013 because fewer people are leaving the UK.
‘Nasty Country’ immigrant restraints are old, wrong or useless
27 November 2013Before we knew Cameron’s Romanian/Bulgarian restriction details, I predicted they‘d be more hot air than substance. Analysis shows the Tory proposals are either already in law, unenforceable or inappropriate for the problems at hand. The only consequence to Cameron’s sabre-rattling is Brussels’ reaction: Commissioner László Andor warns that Britain will be branded ‘the Nasty Country’.… [Read More]
Britain’s broken relationship with banks – we need a fresh start
Pitchforks at the ready: the banks are at it again. This week it emerged RBS (81% tax payer-owned) will be investigated by the Serious Fraud Office over allegations their Global Restructuring Group – the team tasked with ‘supporting’ businesses in financial trouble – forced hundreds of companies out of business. The accusation is that rather… [Read More]
How volunteering can benefit the NHS
26 November 2013In recent years, political discourse has promoted civic action in society, due to the perceived limits of what the core state can at times do – this is Phillip Blond and Jesse Norman MP’s ‘Big Society’ or Lord Glasman and Jon Cruddas MP’s ‘One Nation Labour’ (Norman, Glasman and Cruddas have all spoken at Civitas… [Read More]