Critics have condemned the Local Government Financial Settlement and the Localism Bill – the coalition’s “revolution in local government” – put forward by Eric Pickles, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government
Archive for December, 2010
Pickles’ plan is ‘toughest in living memory’, critics claim
By James Pearson /Thursday, December 16th, 2010By Tribune Web Editor /Thursday, December 16th, 2010
Cartoon by Andy Bunday. More at www.tribunecartoons.com
Lisa Nandy
By Lisa Nandy /Thursday, December 16th, 2010It’s not red tape if stops someone being killed
2011: the year of the fight back
By Tribune Editorial /Thursday, December 16th, 2010Nothing about the traditional wish that friends and loved ones have a happy new year rings true this year. It jars against the reality we all know the country and its least well-off, in particular, are about to face
Ed Miliband to start 2011 with a party shake-up, a restructure and strategic re-think
By Chris McLaughlin & Bernard Purcell /Thursday, December 16th, 2010Labour leader Ed Miliband is planning a new year shake-up of the party’s organisational structure and campaigning strategy following a restructuring and new appointments to his leadership team
By Tribune Web Editor /Thursday, December 16th, 2010
Cartoon by Andrew Birch. More at www.tribunecartoons.com
Sir Peter Vardy – an apology
By Tribune Editorial /Thursday, December 16th, 2010We have apologised to Sir Peter Vardy and have paid a sum by way of damages which Sir Peter Vardy has donated to charity
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By Tom Miller /Wednesday, December 15th, 2010If you help us by filling in our reader survey, we will send you a FREE copy of the magazine.
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Jeremy Dear
By Jeremy Dear /Wednesday, December 15th, 2010What Ed Vaizey says and what he does are not necessarily the same thing
Another ‘Thick of It’ policy makes it into the real world
By James Pearson /Wednesday, December 15th, 2010Part of the appeal of the BBC political satire ‘The Thick of It’ is that it’s so close to what politicians are actually like. Back in 2005, its writers mocked the lack of ideas and on the hoof policy-making which came to define New Labour, with ministers and advisors cooking up half-baked schemes in the backs of cars.
In some cases ideas from the programme found their way from screen to real life. We all laughed at Pet ASBOs, but the last government went close with pet passports and a dog tax. It got there with these.
Earlier this year, our friends at Conservative Home drew a contrast between the tired ideas of New Labour and the coalition’s deeply-thought out policies. Neil O’Brien even castigated Labour for stealing another policy from the ‘Thick of It’, a national database for spare rooms.
Maybe a bit hasty Neil, today Communities’ Minister Eric Pickles introduced a National Homeswap Scheme for social tenants.
It may well turn out to be a success given the thousands of families threatened with homelessness by the coalition’s cuts to housing benefit, but I doubt that many of them will be looking to move from Kent to Carlisle.