The EU is finally taking a dose of its own medicine after the European Court of Justice rejected the Commission’s proposal to increase the salaries of EU civil servants. In 2011, in the midst of a Europe-wide recession, the Commission proposed a 1.7% pay rise for its staff, despite the draconian cutbacks that it was… [Read More]
Asking what truly mattered to the other side has turned a blocking minority over women’s consecration as bishops into a broad consensus.
Yesterday the ONS released one of its most comprehensive studies of the UK labour force. The headline findings were that 1) the number of graduates among the working-age populace now stands at 38% – double that of two decades ago, and 2), that inner London has a working-age population in which 60% have degrees. Good… [Read More]
The government’s long-awaited official response to February’s Francis Report recommendations is being published today, following on the from the government’s initial response in March. At the time, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt’s main pledges were to bring about a ‘zero-harm’ culture in the NHS, to detect and tackle problems more quickly and to strengthen staff standards… [Read More]
On 1 January 2014, Romanian and Bulgarian citizens will gain all the same rights as French, German and Dutch ex-pats in the UK. Some will come to Britain, although nobody is sure how many. The government are cagey about their estimates after spectacularly underestimating the number of ‘A8’ citizens wanting to come in 2004. MigrationWatchUK… [Read More]
Their names don’t fit together as comfortably as Europe’s former famous duo ‘Merkozy’ – but far-right leaders Marine Le Pen and Geert Wilders are joining forces to take down ‘the monster of Brussels’ from within. The leaders of France’s National Front and the Dutch Freedom party are building up alliances under the political grouping the… [Read More]
September’s trade gap was dire. The recovery would be a whole lot healthier if we could make the things ourselves that we are so happy to buy.
Given that this is Export Week, it feels appropriate to re-examine the UK’s position as an exporter. Exporting – it may seem a little obvious to point out – is of paramount importance for UK business simply because there are billions more people to sell to across the world than in Britain. Britain, however, is… [Read More]
In June, I wrote that the NHS competition regulator, Monitor, was to launch a formal investigation into the recent closures of NHS walk-in centres, which could be exacerbating the growing A&E crisis and compromising patient choice. Since then, speculation over further closures has continued. Monitor’s investigation, published this weekend, has noted that there was “some… [Read More]
Round two of negotiations for TTIP, the transatlantic trade deal between the EU and America, kicks off this week. On Friday former Prime Minister John Major spoke of the ‘truly shocking’ state of Britain, in which ‘the upper echelons of power in 2013 are held overwhelmingly by the privately educated or the affluent‘. Nowhere is… [Read More]