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Phillip Hammond's comments this week that Britain could change its economic model after Brexit negotiations have confirmed once and for all that we made the vote to leave the European Union completely blind. Talking to German newspaper Welt am Sonntag he unleashed a thinly veiled threat that Britain could use its corporate tax as a form of leverage in Brexit negotiations, possibly becoming the tax haven of Europe if it is shut out of the EU’s single market. But is that really the...

As world leaders gather in Davos for the World Economic Forum, Dr Richard Dodgson, Lecturer in International Politics at Newcastle University, is warning that the gap between rich and poor will only be reduced if political leaders are willing to challenge the status quo. He says: “As the World Economic Forum kicks off, the eyes of the world are on Davos. This gathering of the great and the good from across the globe is positioned as an opportunity for the world’s...

By Jacqui Hunt, Europe Director at Equality Now The US election has been a catalyst for a global grassroots movement that is bringing together many who feel deeply concerned about how the hard-won rights of women and girls are currently under threat or are being denied. On Saturday 21 January, the day after Donald Trump is sworn in as the 45th President of the United States, over 200,000 people are expected to take part in the Women’s March in Washington,...

UKIP could pull off a surprise election win in Stoke-on-Trent if party leader Paul Nuttall throws his hat into the ring. Odds of UKIP winning the seat, which was recently vacated by Tristram Hunt, have been slashed from 11/4 to 9/4, with Nuttall is 15/8 to be UKIP’s name on the ballot paper, close up in the betting to market leader Mick Harold at 13/8 and Tariq Mahmood at 7/4. Labour remain favourites at 4/6 to retain the traditionally left-leaning constituency, with the...

Independent living provider Welbeing has stepped in to help people home from hospital as the NHS struggles to keep up with winter demand. Welbeing provides well-known red pendants for elderly and vulnerable people which are monitored round-the-clock and automatically raise an alarm if help is required, for example in the event of a fall. The organisation is working with the British Red Cross which is helping to transport patients from hospital back to their homes in Shropshire, freeing up much-needed...

Southern Rail hit the headlines this weekend saying it is recruiting over 200 new trainee drivers to avoid the strike chaos, only for ASLEF to welcome them in to the union! The much maligned Southern Rail hoped to reduce the reliance on overtime working and minimise disruption by recruiting over 200 new trainees, but drivers' union ASLEF blames the operator 'eroding the goodwill of its drivers' for endless cancellations, and claimed the plans were a ploy by transport secretary Chris Grayling...

Back in 2005 Dr Cliff Arnall calculated that today, 16th Jan, is the most depressing day of the year, due to bills coming in, rubbish weather and the xmas buzz wearing off. I can say that I am definitely in that camp today, with a combination of traditional illness and self-inflicted pain from the weekend festivities adding to the malaise. Now Mr Arnall has said that this year is even worse due to Trump and Brexit, unless of course you...

New figures have revealed a dramatic rise in low paid men working part time. The Institute of Fiscal Studies report found  one in five men aged 25 to 55 worked part-time with low hourly wages today, compared to just one in 20 of this group 20 years ago. CV-Library figures revealed similarly unsettling data. It found that the amount of men looking for part-time work which pays up to £25,000 a year increased by 294.6 per cent between 2010 to 2016, and in...

The richest eight people in the world now has as much wealth as the poorest half of the world - some 3.6 billion people. The Oxfam study, released to coincide with the start of the World Economic Forum in Davos, revealed the growing gap between rich and poor was "far greater than feared". Katy Wright, Oxfam's head of global external affairs, said the report helped the charity to "challenge the political and economic elites", adding that economic inequality was fuelling a polarisation in politics....