Opinion
Tories present feeble plan to plaster over the wounds they created
The Conservatives have pledged £100 million to "end rough sleeping on England's streets by 2027" after the number of people left homeless due to austerity cuts has soared. Last year, around 4,800 people were estimated to be sleeping rough in England. This is 15 per cent higher than in 2016, and more than double the estimate of 1,800 for 2010 The pledge comes as communities secretary James Brokenshire acknowledged that efforts to tackle homelessness had "not been good enough", adding that...
“Change will come,soon it will come” activists pledge abortion laws will change in Argentina
In the early hours of Thursday, August 9th, Argentina’s Senate narrowly voted down a bill to legalise elective abortion. Senators debated for more than 15 hours before voting 38 to 31, with two abstentions and one absentee, not to allow abortion in the first 14 weeks of pregnancy. Women’s rights activists had been optimistic that the passing of the bill in the lower Congress in June was a sign that times were changing in the majority Catholic county. So this...
Football’s gambling addiction – the fun has stopped
Something strange happened this morning – I found myself agreeing with Richard Keyes. Yes, he of ‘did you smash it?’ fame. He of ‘it was only banter’ fame. He of the having an affair with his daughter’s friend when his wife had cancer fame. He of the ‘I’ve never seen any human rights offences in Qatar’ fame. He of that video for BeIn Sports showing a presenter around his house (if you haven’t watched it, you really, really should). He’s...
Nine years on from the start of the credit crunch, could blockchain prevent a future crisis?
By Stewie Zhu, Founder and CEO of Distributed Credit Chain On this day in 2007 when the credit crunch started, BNP Paribas became the first major bank to freeze three of its funds. In the words of Adam Applegarth, who was then chief executive of Northern Rock – one of the banks at the centre of the crisis – this was ‘the day the world changed’. But a decade later, and we’ve still not fully learnt the lessons of the...
If we are going to tell people what to wear, maybe we should ban men in suits
Boris Johnson has come under fire this week following his comments that women wearing burkas "look like letter boxes" and "bank robbers". The former Foreign Secretary launched the bizarre tirade in his Daily Telegraph column and has since refused to apologise for his "liberal" views. As Lord Pickles rightly pointed out shortly after, "if he is wanting to open up and defend liberal values, then the sensible thing is not to use illiberal language". But if we are going to tell people what to...
The Irish border: Take out a map and look at it
It's funny that the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland is called the 'Irish' border. Yes, it's on the island of Ireland, but it certainly wasn't an Irish idea. At least, the vast majority of the island's citizens didn't want the country to be cut in two in the 1920s, and many have campaigned, both peacefully and violently, to put it back together. But not even Irish people in the far south of the island, where the...
The most shocking Hothouse Earth revelation is that it is entirely avoidable
"Once we understand the extremity of our plight, once we no longer deny it, then we just might have the will to try drastically to change course", Rupert Read wrote in The London Economic shortly after the winter cold snap brought a record-breaking chill to British shores. As the continent basks in heat the latest study from an international team of climate researchers shows we are heading for a Hothouse Earth scenario which could turn some of the Earth's natural forces that currently protect us...
Caliph of world’s largest organised muslim community calls for nuclear disarmament
“Pathway to Peace” initiative to launch at UK’s largest Muslim Conference “Seek not to create disorder in the earth. Verily, God loves not those who seek to create disorder” – The Holy Qur’an 28:78 One of the UK's oldest Muslim communities is to launch an international intervention designed to provide comprehensive solutions towards achieving world peace in light of increasing global tension. The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community's 'Pathway to Peace' campaign aims to present fundamental solutions to some of the biggest challenges...
Labour caught up in a media storm….. again
You've got to admit that Jeremy Corbyn managing to combine being a "Czech spy, Putin collaborator, anti-semitic neo-Nazi, member of ISIS, IRA and Communist Party, with being leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition, and still finding time to grow marrows is bloody impressive", Tom Pride wrote on Twitter earlier this week. With Brexit negotiations entering a crucial stage, reports on cosy relationships between Tory MPs and Steve Bannon emerging and news that the government misled the High Court over its decision to...