1,000% surge in doctors applying to work overseas on day Hunt imposed contract
By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor On the day Jeremy Hunt imposed his new contract on junior doctors there was a 1,000 per cent increase in doctors applying for documents to work in other countries. Three hundred applied for Certificates of Good Standing on Thursday 11 February – up from an average of 26 a day in February. A doctor costs around £300k to train so on the say of the announcement £90 million pounds of talent began to head to...
Hunt’s advisors claim seven-day NHS might not cut weekend deaths
By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor Even the Health Secretary’s team can’t pin point evidence that extra staffing over the weekend period will cut deaths on Saturday and Sunday. A leaked document has admits that his trusted advisors can’t prove that his seven-day demands are going to work. This would drastically his argument for ensuring junior doctors accept his new contract. The document says the department: "cannot evidence the mechanism by which increased consultant presence and diagnostic tests at weekends will...
Struggling families charged 45p a minute by Iain Duncan Smith to discuss benefits
By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor If you are trying to apply for Universal Credit you will have to use an 0345 number, costing up to 45p a min from a mobile and 12p a minute from landline. In a time when the majority of people increasingly use mobiles rather than landlines, this is a bitter blow to people already on the breadline. The Work and Pensions Secretary has decided against using on 0800 freephone number, to help people up and...
Joleon Lescott’s Pocket wins Mensa Prize
Aston Villa footballer Joleon Lescott’s jean-pocket has been nominated for the prestigious Mensa Select award after creating a mind-twisting puzzle whilst in the dirty laundry bin. Mensa Select is an annual award given by American Mensa since 1990 to five board games that are "original, challenging and well designed." Mensa is the oldest high IQ society in the world, for those who score at the 98th percentile or higher on a supervised IQ test. Joleon said “My pocket, or Gary as he likes to be called, is amazing.” “He’s...
Berlin Film Festival – Hedi – Review/Interview
Review and round table interview with director Mohammed Ben Attia by Miranda Schiller @mirandadadada Hedi is 25 and about to get married. He works as a travelling car salesman, driving around his homeland Tunisia trying to get companies to buy Peugeots - in vain, the economy isn't good, but Hedi also isn't a good salesman. He shows no interest in his job, or his marriage, or anything for that matter. His mother arranges his life for him: Not...
10 dog-friendly inns around the UK
For many, a holiday isn't a holiday without their dog. If you're looking for the perfect pooch-friendly getaway - with a little bit of luxury and plenty of places to go walkies nearby - Inn Places have compiled a list of the top 10 dog friendly inns around the UK. Let's take a sniff... Inn at Cranborne, Dorset Their resident dog loves to meet visiting canines and there are no access restrictions as long as they are ‘well spoken’. With...
Millions in Poverty Through Tory Cuts as Study Says Work Failing to Pay
By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor Welfare cuts have hit children the hardest as families can’t make ends meet, a study has revealed. Due to Tory spending cuts more people live below the poverty line that in 2008 at the height of the global financial meltdown. The report, by the JRF (Joseph Rowntree Foundation) found that 11.6 million people are struggling to make ends meet. Shockingly the majority of these people live in working households. The JRF study says that cuts...
The London Underground Property Price Tube Map
By Bea Patel, TLE Property Editor and Director of Shop for an Agent Across the tube network, one stop can make a huge difference in property price. Of the 280 tube stations on the London underground network, research by eMoov shows which tube stops offer the best value where house price is concerned, as well as the largest gap in average house prices between two stops. The most notable difference is Wembley Park to Finchley Road. Although it isn’t the...
Up to £15k THIRD Pay rise for Senior MPs
By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor ANOTHER shocking pay scandal has emerged from the corridors of power. 80 senior MPs who chair debates and meeting could see an increase in their pay packets. Fifty per cent of these are up for an extra £3,700 a year increase, while the rest could be finding an extra fifteen thousand pounds in their bank accounts. Chairs already get up to £15,000 on top of the £74,000 they get for being an MP, the fee...