Opinion
The sick man of Britain: The NHS turns 69
In 1853 in the run up to the Crimean War John Russell quoted Nicholas I of Russia as describing the Ottoman Empire as "the sick man of Europe". Over the years the term has been applied to most failing states within the continent and as 2016 ticked around it was Britain's turn to inherit the mantle. Following the Brexit vote and on the back of a crumbling economy, chaotic political landscape, eroding global influence and domestic social conflict most continental commentators agreed that...
If we can defeat them on politics, we can defeat them on racism
Of all the probing questions that might have been proffered up by Amol Rajan in the first episode of BBC Radio 4's Media Show since the General Election an examination into whether Fleet Street has lost its influence on British politics probably wasn't one of them. But as it was the episode, which featured The London Economic, explored whether the battle ground was not the front pages of the national press but social media, where a new breed of publisher outgunned the likes...
Fifty-seven years on from gaining sovereignty where is the Congo’s independence?
The country may have been granted political autonomy – but after the assassination of its nationalist leader, it is yet to be awarded the economic assistance needed to build a truly independent nation. By Daniel Khalili-Tari It was June 30th 1960, a former Congolese postal clerk who had only five months earlier been released from prison after engaging in anti-colonial demonstrations, took to the podium. Patrice Lumumba and his revolutionary retinue stood proud in opposition to King Baudouin of Belgium. Only...
Social mobility report should have carried Corbyn’s manifesto slogan
Today a new report by the Social Mobility Commission concluded once and for all that the British government’s performance on social mobility over past 20 years has failed to significantly reduce the gap between the “haves and have nots”. Without immediate reform by the government, it advised, the gulf between rich and poor will only grow larger with grave consequences for society. If the report had been released a month earlier reporters might have been quicker to note a mirrored correlation between Labour's election manifesto...
History proves a US-backed regime change in Iran won’t work
The 1953 coup d’état was a failure. How could any politician believe this time would be any different? By Daniel Khalili-Tari Sixty-four years on from the calamitous Operation Ajax backed by the US and Britain why are some US politicians hinting for another regime change in Persia? Why after plunging Iran into a state of complete despair are some Republicans so keen to further abridge Iran? And why is President Trump so eager to use the violent actions of some Iranians...
Why we all need to know about the Tories’ “scandalous” leaked NHS plans – Shadow Health Secretary
Why we all need to demand an end to the secret Tory NHS ‘capped expenditure process’ hit-list By Jonathan Ashworth, Shadow Health Secretary A weak Prime Minister and unstable government have this week been forced to allocate extra cash to Northern Ireland in return for votes in the House of Commons. There isn’t a penny piece extra, however, for public services in the rest of the UK. In fact, and with the ink barely dry on this cash for votes deal,...
There is a magic money tree…in fact there are two
By Professor Emeritus Mary Mellor, from University of Northumbria That's right there are two magic money trees. Both the state and the banks can create money out of thin air. States do this by having budgets. Despite the myths that have been told time and time again, states are NOT households – they run armies and banks and schools and police forces and so on. They allocate expenditure in expectation of getting an equivalent amount of money back through taxation. There...
Refugee Week: British solidarity in the face of suffering
By Dipti Pardeshi, Chief of Mission, The UN Migration Agency, International Organisation for Migration UK Recently, IOM was working in Lebanon with a group of Syrian refugees who were to be resettled in the UK. While the parents attended a pre-departure orientation session, we asked the Syrian children to draw what they expect for their future in the UK. Almost all children drew a house and a school. “If we have this, everything will be beautiful,” noted ten year old...
Shhh! Don’t tell the Tories, but politics has changed!
Settle back and relax with a nice warm beverage as I'm going to tell you a story. Back in the mid-1980s when I was an eager young man with a passion for politics, the Liberal Party of Canada sent me to an intensive training conference for campaign management. The keynote speaker and designer of the workshop material was a large man who spoke with a folksy drawl named Matt Reese. Reese had been an organiser for both John and Robert...