News

By Harold Stone Thousands of people have been flooded out of their homes in the last few months, as they were in 2014, 2013, 2012, 2009 and 2007. Two weeks ago our MPs launched a flooding inquiry, and they invited George Monbiot to explain the situation. This is what happened. Streamlining floods Floods happen when there is too much water, and this water submerges the dry land. The way to prevent floods, Mr Monbiot began by explaining, was to slow...

Porterlight Bicycles’ office-come-workshop, tucked away inside a warehouse on an industrial estate in Seven Sisters, has all the space of a garden shed. Between Lawrence Brand – the founder of Porterlight Bicycles – myself, and a baby blue bicycle frame, there is little room to manoeuvre. Hunched over a workbench, we are sandwiching a small blackboard. Chalked on the board is a motivational message: ‘Time to Build’. Brand believes the Chancellor has failed to send out the same message to...

By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor An offshore windfarm, capable of powering over a million UK homes, has been given the green light. It will be the world’s largest and will be situated off the Yorkshire coast. DONG Energy has just made the final investment decision to ensure the 1.2 gigawatt (GW) scheme will come into fruition. The windfarm will be based 75 miles off the Yorkshire coast and will span a huge 160 square miles, five times the size of...

By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor This is shocking footage of the devastation in the Syrian city of Homs, which was a major industrial hub and third largest city. This drone film from TV station Russia Today shows the utter catastrophe that has happened there. It looks like the remains of from a nuclear strike; where once schools, hospitals and businesses once stood.  It is a reminder of the human cost the civil war has brought on the people of Syria....

By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor Conspiracy theorists have claimed that Google has censored search results for the Conservative party, even though autocomplete results for the party are blank. Google suggests common searches for all of the other major political parties, usually not very complimentary, but nothing appears for searches for “Conservatives are” or “Tories are.” If you do the same search replacing Labour for Conservative suggested searches bring up “…finished”, “a joke” and “right wing.” For the Liberal Democrats the...

"It is too late for establishment politics and establishment economics", Bernie Sanders told an energetic crowd following a miraculous Iowa caucuses. Last spring Sanders was down by 42 points in a national poll. On Monday evening, he came close to drawing with long-term favourite and political heavyweight Hillary Clinton. “You guys ready for a radical idea?” he asked an ecstatic audience. “Well, so is America.” Could Bernie really pull it off? Watch his speech in full here: Video: PBS NewsHour

EasyJet founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou has opened a new low cost supermarket in Park Royal offering staple goods for 25p each. EasyFoodstore opened on Monday offering a range of groceries for 25p as part of a introductory promotion set to last all of February. The outlet has a  “limited and basic range of items at rock-bottom prices” using the slogan, “No expensive brands. Just food honestly priced”. The move is a clear challenge to the astronomic rise of retailers Aldi and...

By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor Today Iain Duncan Smith refused to stop his "despicable" Bedroom Tax, as he evaded questions on a landmark Court of Appeal, not for the first time. He hid behind a junior colleague, but eventually he was caught unaware by a spontaneous question, from Labour's Rupa Huq. Huq was discussing why three judges said the Bedroom Tax discriminated against domestic violence victims and carers. She said to Smith: "This despicable and discredited policy needs to go"....

By Callum Towler I’m not an economist. Probably the closest I’ve come is when an idiot once tried to call me a communist. And here I am writing an article on the subject. Well I’ve heard economics is an art rather than a science, which makes sense: if the "experts” can get it so catastrophically wrong, then I guess our opinions are as valuable as theirs. Since the global economy imploded, I’ve naturally sided with experts calling for its reform....