Opinion
Our economies are killing us. Here’s how to fix them.
By Ben Martin, Green Economy Coalition Today is World Health Day, which every year is a great excuse for journalists and editors to trot out finger-wagging articles about how unhealthy we’re all getting. We’re drinking too much, not exercising enough, our food is basically just sugar and chemicals, and our lungs are clogged with car exhaust. But these aren’t just symptoms of unhealthy people. They’re the side-effects of an unhealthy environment – and a diseased economy. Diesel fumes, contaminated chicken and...
Boris’s “dodgy dossier” shows Corbyn may not make popular decisions, but he makes the right ones
In the immediate aftermath of the Spygate revelations politicians on both sides of the house poured scorn on Jeremy Corbyn for not immediately pointing the finger at Russia. Shouts of "shame" could be heard from the Tory backbench in the Commons, with Theresa May saying the Labour leader could have "taken the opportunity as the UK government has done to condemn the culpability of the Russian state". But the inferred culpability has been called into question in recent days following revelations...
Why an inequality busting “maximum wage” is both economically viable and politically practical
A maximum wage could be both economically viable and politically practical, a leading analyst has claimed. With minimum wages well established in many countries around the world, new research suggests capping income could create "a world without a super rich" and reduce the gap between the rich and poor. The paper comes hot on the heels of Resolution Foundation research that found the UK's wealth gap has been widening over the past decade. The think tank estimates 1 per cent of adults, some...
We had the right to enjoy our private religious celebration with Jeremy Corbyn without fear of being recorded
What it feels like when your religious celebration is secretly recorded. By Clouds Haberberg I came to the Jewdas Seder last night as a completely new face. I’ve been aware of them for a few years now, but it wasn’t until now that I’d gotten around to attending an event. Even though I’d heard good things, I didn’t really know what to expect, going in – and I certainly wasn’t expecting to see Jeremy Corbyn standing there the moment...
Ex-Trident officer on how to resolve London’s complex violent crime crisis
The last few days have seen the issue of street violence in London and elsewhere unusually occupying headline space as the realisation appears, at last, to be dawning that the thinning blue line are struggling to maintain control of our streets. This has been clearly illustrated by the tragic events on Monday evening when a 17-year-old girl was shot dead in Tottenham. On the same evening two 16- year- olds suffered serious injuries in a shooting and stabbing incident in...
Save the children: How Britain’s vast wealth divide has hit the most vulnerable in society
It should be a headline that never sees the light of day in the fifth richest country in the World, but following an outcry from headteachers people across Britain today awoke to the news that malnourished, grey-looking, children are turning up to school in dirty uniforms and stuffing food in their pockets because they are living in poverty. According to the study, commissioned by the National Education Union (NEU), nearly nine in ten teaching professionals say poverty is having a significant...
Russia and America – The unending tension
It is 70 years since the Soviet Union stopped British and US military trains from travelling between Berlin and West Germany through Russian-controlled East Germany, first announced on 1 April 1948. After Western protestations, the Russians eventually ceased this prohibition until June 1948 when an entire blockade was put in place over West Berlin, provoked by Soviet anxieties that the Americans were trying to strengthen West Germany as a bulwark against their aggressive expansions into Europe – indeed on 3...
Brexiters will blame the Brexit process for their mistakes
What happens when populism fails to deliver on its far-flung promises? With a year to go until Britain's official break from Europe that is a question that seems to be gaining relevance as a likely outcome of the process gets pieced together. There will be no "taking back control" at the end, no money for the NHS or British jobs for British people. Rather we have to face the reality that we will be worse off in all scenarios when Britain...
Enough is enough – I have suffered anti-Semitism first hand, and the last thing we need is grandstanding
By Ariel Moshe, co-founder of Jewish Voice UK Yesterday, on the 26th March 2018, people gathered in London’s Parliament Square under the #EnoughIsEnough tagline. The gathering was in protest at the Labour party’s perceived anti-Semitism problem. The protest was called for jointly by the Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Jewish Leadership Council, to coincide with them delivering a letter to the Parliamentary Labour Party. Now firstly we need to address the issue of whether or not Labour does actually...