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By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor 2015 was a record year for renewables, which also saw investment by developing countries overtake that of the developed world. It was the first time that renewable energy made up a majority of all the new electricity generation capacity under construction around the globe. This can only bring hope that we can begin to successfully tackle the dangers of climate change. $286bn (£200bn) was invested globally in renewable energy in 2015, more than the previous...

By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor Nicky Morgan was the first Tory Education Secretary to address the NASUWT since 1997, but it all went wrong, which seems to be the way things go for Morgan at the moment. She was viciously heckled by teachers angry at the Conservative plans for academy schools. Teachers shouted out “rubbish” at her as she tried to sell them he plans for the academisation of state schools. This follows on from the Chancellor, who announced in...

By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor In a move that is beyond parody, a call centre for the Brexit campaign has hired four non-British phone bank works, according to the Guardian. The call centre, overseen by party donor Arron Banks, has taken on EU migrants, while at the same time telling the public that low-skilled foreign workers “deprive British citizens of jobs.” Leave.EU has recruited four phone bank workers from EU countries, including Slovakia. The call centre was established to raise...

West Virginia is the latest US state to introduce drug testing for welfare claimants. As one lawmaker  put it, no-one living off his tax dollars should be 'laying around on welfare and drugs'. Florida recently required all welfare claimants to submit to drug testing, though the courts later ruled the law unconstitutional. Forcing the poor and needy to prove they aren't drug abusers is so popular with right-wing voters politicians are willing to risk legal backlash by enforcing invasive and...

By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor A talent agency chief who asked a Muslim woman to 'explain Brussels' was arrested as he may he been inciting racial hatred. Matthew Doyle, sparked outrage on social media after he 'confronted' a Muslim woman about the Brussels attacks which killed 34 people. He wrote on Twitter: 'I confronted a Muslim woman in Croydon yesterday. I asked her to explain Brussels. She said "nothing to do with me". A mealy mouthed reply.' His initial post...

This Facebook status by Emlyn Pearce went viral today.  It has been shared over 10,000 times in 12 hours and has been liked 17,000 times. WHAT IS UP WITH ALL THE MUSLIMS AND BLACK PEOPLE IN GLASGOW TODAY??? This is the worst day ever. I am currently hiding in an alleyway in Glasgow with no trousers and it’s all because of Muslims and black people. It started at about 11 this morning, I'm just walking down the street on some...

New Zealanders have voted to keep the Union Jack in their flag, with preliminary results showing 57 per cent of voters want to keep the Union flag-centred emblem. Only 43 per cent voted in favour of the new proposed design by Kyle Lockwood featuring a silver fern. Deputy prime minister Bill English said: “I acknowledge there will be those who are disappointed with the outcome, but the majority of New Zealanders have spoken and we should all embrace that decision. “This process has...

By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor A sharp increase in figures for homeless families has meant that David Cameron’s compassionate Conservatism is “dead on arrival.” There has been a 103 per cent rise in people who have been forced into emergency B&B and hostel accommodation, since the Conservatives came to power in 2010. The number in December was 69,140 over 100 per cent higher than 2010. Additionally, the number of homeless households went up from 41,780 in 2009 to 56,500 last...

By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor BBC's Norman Smith was told live on air that he had to stop filming during a protest by disability groups today. Smith, assistant politics editor, was talking live from the central lobby as the crowd chanted in the background. Then a robed member of Parliamentary staff ordered him to stop filming while the protest took place. Disability campaigners were staging a noisy protest after the PM refused to apologise for trying to slash benefits to disabled people. Police blocked the...