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

Almost thirteen and half thousand more people applied for university places in 2011 than last year according to figures from UCAS.

Eric Pickles, the Communities Secretary, has thrown into confusion the fate of up to six million local government workers who might be compulsorily transferred to private companies and social enterprises as councils impose massive cuts.

Output from the services sector – which accounts for 75.8 per cent of Britain’s gross domestic product – rose in January by 1.3 per cent compared to a 1.1 per cent contraction at the end of last year.

The University and College Union has called on the Employers Pension Forum to sit down and negotiate properly with the union to resolve the bitter and escalating dispute over pension provision in higher education.

Labour general secretary Ray Collins is to stand down by the party’s annual conference in September.