Tribune – Comment, news and reviews from Britain's democratic left

Last week, Phil Hammond, the Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, attempted to woo those working in the public sector with three little words: “more for less”. As chat-up lines go, it is unlikely to lead to his party forming a meaningful relationship with the public sector anytime soon. In fact, Tory demands for increased productivity through an on-going efficiency drive are unlikely even to see them get past first base.

The real facts and figures about migration can counter the lies of the far right, argues Keith Vaz

The stakes not could be higher, but a deal on climate change may still be beyond the world leaders, says Michael Meacher

A national audit of National Health Service staff has revealed an unprecedented amount of absenteeism. The scale of sick leave, according to the NHS Staff Health and Well-being Review, is one-and-a-half times the rate of absence in the private sector.

But for Tory and Lib Dem intransigence, a damaging dispute could have been settled weeks ago, says Rachel Reeves

South African President Jacob Zuma, like Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, has a propensity to break into song and dance. Both have faced corruption charges. However, while Zuma’s legal case was controversially dropped, Berlusconi has had to pass legislation to keep himself out of the dock.

When she stunned her rivals and became Tory leader in 1975, Margaret Thatcher inherited a little-known and less understood outfit called Conservative Trade Unionists that had been chuntering along for 60 years. It was dead on its flat feet, but she appointed seven full-time workers and a new head, John Bowis, a clubbable fatty then on the Central Office research staff. Within three years, CTU had more than 2,000 branches and an annual conference attracting 1,000 “delegates”, although who delegated them was always a mystery.

Proper university funding must not disadvantage those from poor backgrounds, insists Ashok Kumar