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The banks have paid back the cash – so why is the government still imposing austerity?

The Government has recovered all but five per cent, £58 billion, of the £1.2 trillion bailout provided to the banks during the credit crunch and recession, but it is continuing to impose crippling austerity regardless. George Osborne introduced austerity policies during the Conservative's first term in charge in response to the trillions of pounds paid out by the government to keep our banks solvent. But after ten years of austerity imposed on the public most of that money has now been...

A poem for Charlottesville

The events that unfolded in Charlottesville at the weekend were a microcosm of a larger story of racism in America. As Hubert O'Hearn wrote here, Donald Trump has legitimised America to hate again, and where racial hatred had once become a marginalised facet of American society it is now out for all to see. On Friday night hundreds of white supremacists marched with torches down the long green lawn that leads to the University of Virginia. They chanted Nazi slogans in the open, undisguised,...

North Korea is not China’s sole responsibility

Trump's recent spate of belligerence follows on from China's failure to impose regime shattering sanctions on its neighbour. After meeting with Xi Jinping at Mar-a-Lago in April, and developing a 'very, very great relationship' with the Chinese leader, Trump had high hopes that Xi would cooperate in forcing Kim Jong Un to his knees through economic sanctions. But while the idea of a North Korea armed to the teeth with long range ICBMs and miniaturized warheads doesn't exactly appeal to...

Our broken food system is bigger than veganism

Of all the hackneyed stereotypes surrounding veganism few restaurants perpetuate them more than the Sanctury in Fulham. The middle-class eatery unashamedly brags about its moral high-ground claiming to be "unapologetically vegan" and a "haven" for those with a food conscious. Not that there's anything wrong with that, indeed we include them on our list of the best vegan restaurants in London, it's just that for meat eaters there is nothing worse than being preached to about their food choices. As...

10 years since the credit crunch, and it’s still the poor people’s fault

On 9th August 2007 the banking sector observed the first shudder of what was to become a debilitating earthquake of seismic proportions. The markets woke up to find French bank BNP Paribas had halted redemptions on three investment funds because it was unable to measure the value of the (then) obscure (but now infamous) collateralised debt obligation (CDO) instruments in its portfolio. The bundles had been designed to make risky debt look secure, thus increasing their availability and flooding the market with...

Boris Johnson to resign? Don’t let the door hit you on the arse

When Owen Jones led a rally aimed at unseating Boris Johnson last month little did he know that his actions would deal such a swift blow, but less than two week since he appeared alongside Emily Thornberry and Keir Starmer on the streets of Uxbridge and South Ruislip rumours of the Foreign Secretary's demise are already beginning to circulate. Newly elected Liberal Democrat leader Vince Cable immediately stoked the fire after he claimed the Tory cabinet is in a state of "civil war" because of...

If politicians want to further social mobility they need to review the school system

“If you’re a young black man, you’re more likely to be in a prison cell than studying at a top university,” wrote David Cameron in January last year, in an article for The Sunday Times. Fortunately, the former Prime Minister was wrong, according to the BBC. However, his benign assessment does raise the important issue of social homogeneity within education. An issue, which is yet to be resolved. Statistics prove it, time and time again – ethnic minorities are disadvantaged in...

A warning from the dead zone 

Over the last two months, we have seen the increasing determination of the Conservative Party to hold onto power. Many of observed that they are without a stated plan, either for Brexit or British society. And despite some concessions, it looks like the austerity agenda is continuing, albeit completely dropping the pretence that ‘we're all in it together,’ as their pet projects, from the DUP deal to a US developed parliament renovation, are funded to the hilt. Few have observed...

Summer 2017: The start of the Brexit voter’s getaway

Of the 17 and a half million people who voted for Brexit how many will be jetting off to Europe for some summer sun this year? Last week record air traffic numbers were recorded in UK airspace with 8,800 flights leaving or entering British skies. The day after the schools break up for summer is annually the busiest day for air traffic, but the peak period stretches across July and August. Holiday-goers are in for a nasty surprise, however, with some...

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