By Mary Mellor, Emeritus Professor, Northumbria University George Osborne’s Autumn Statement was a classic espousal of handbag economics, so named after the saint of the handbag, Mrs Thatcher. Handbag economics is the common sense of our age. Public sectors are like households, they must live within their means, balance their books, ...
By Malcolm Henry, Author of Views From The Boatshed There’s a debate going on in some nerdy corners of the internet about negative interest rates, which sounds like a desperately dull thing to be wasting time on, but it could be the spark that lights the lamp that leads us out of ...
By Drew Nicol Britain’s education system is failing thousands of young people every year by neglecting to emphasise the importance of learning a foreign language, according to the British Council. The British Council’s ‘Languages for the Future’ report conclusively states that “it is a widely held – if not undisputed ...
By Adam Walker, Economics Correspondent Follow @adamwalker8715 Last Thursday’s 2013 Autumn Statement heralded a “responsible recovery”. With signs of a brighter economic future in 2013 the chancellor was quick to note that there are still difficult decisions to be made and the UK economy was by no means in the ...
By Joe Mellor, In house Reporter Nelson Mandela on Trafalgar Square's Fourth Plinth By now everyone in the world should know Mandela died, except maybe Joey Essex regardless of whether he is in the jungle or not. My family were and still are avid political activists and I remember vividly ...
By Joe Mellor, In house Reporter Ol’ Blue eyes himself, Frank Sinatra sung the girl from Ipanema about the allure of the fifth-biggest country in the world and its ample assets. Let’s be honest, he was referring to a scantily clad women rather than its bumper soybean crop. Setting aside Frank’s ignorance ...
By Nathan Lee, Financial Analyst In 2007 Brazil was awarded the football World Cup with the backdrop of a strengthening economy and the prospect of social change. As it prepares to host the finals, the South American powerhouse lays dormant. There’s a subdued atmosphere surrounding Brazil in the run up ...
By Pieter Cranenbroek, International Politics Blogger Follow @Pinter_13 Living a sheltered life distorts your view of the world. This is not a scientific fact, just an educated guess based on recent comments by David Cameron and Boris Johnson who seem to be fond of creating their own facts. Despite an abundance ...
By Rachel Wilson, Political Reporter In a rich country such as the UK, there should be certain minimum standards below which no one should fall. In 2010, for the first time ever, the government set itself the target to end childhood poverty for good. Households Below Average Income (HBAI) is ...