As voters prepare to go to the polls in an election that will be the precursor to cuts whoever wins, the Conservative lead is, according to one recent opinion poll, down to just two percentage points.

Voters are worried about the effect of deep cuts planned by Tory leader David Cameron and Shadow Chancellor George Osborne. But Labour, too, is vulnerable and union leaders fear those on the right of the party who have been indulging in a “how low can you go” contest with the Conservatives.

Now a new report from the TUC, which is being seen by many in the labour movement as a shot across the bows of Chancellor Alistair Darling as well as Mr Osborne, warns that women will be hardest hit by cuts in public spending. The report, Women and the Recession: One Year On, says that cuts will hit women harder because four in 10 women work in the public sector compared with two in 10 men.

TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: “Slashing public spending may satisfy fiscal hawks and City traders but it would cause misery to millions of people who have already suffered from the recession. A fresh wave of public sector job losses could leave many families with both parents out of work.

“Many women choose to work in the public sector because it offers secure work with a good work-life balance and a decent retirement income. It is hardly fair that these are now all under threat thanks to the mistakes of super-rich bankers, who are already back collecting their bonuses.

“When politicians talk about the need for deep spending cuts they rarely say how this would affect ordinary working people. But, as our report makes clear, women would have

to pay for these cuts with their jobs and pensions.”

The report identifies Wales, Scotland and the north east of England as the areas which will be most badly hit because that is where the highest proportion of women work in the public sector.

The report also shows that many areas with a high proportion of female public sector workers have higher than average rates of male unemployment, so spending cuts would leave many families with both parents out of work.

And it warns that cuts in public sector pensions will only increase the gender divide in retirement income – women’s average income in retirement is already one-third less than men’s – and lead to greater poverty for female pensioners. Women hold nearly

two-thirds of defined benefit schemes in the public sector so any cuts in pensions will fall disproportionately on them.

Glyn Ford, who represented the area in the European Parliament before moving to the South West where he was defeated last year, has put his name forward for Stalybridge and Hyde, which is being vacated by former Cabinet minister James Purnell. Shortlisting was expected to be completed by March 12.

Neena Gill, who also lost her West Midlands EP seat last year, is among those contesting an all-women shortlist selection in Walsall South. Other hopefuls include Valerie Vaz, sister of Labour MP Keith Vaz.

Former Unite official Peter Wheeler and local GP Kailash Chand have also put their names forward for Stalybridge and Hyde, which has a Labour majority of 8,348. Local councillor Jonathan Reynolds, said to be Mr Purnell’s preferred successor, was also in the running.

He is currently embroiled in an internal party row over a bid to oust long-serving Tameside council leader Keiran Quinn, which is opposed by Stalybridge and Hyde CLP.

Joan Humble joined the growing list of MPs stepping down when she announced that she would be resigning from Blackpool North and Fleetwood where she has a majority of 5,062.

MPs voted to create a backbench business committee which for the first time will allow  ordinary members to have a say in how the parliamentary agenda is arranged, wresting power from the Leader of the House of Commons and their business managers. The reform is one of several recommended by backbencher Tony Wright’s reform committee.

But they also warned that ensuring the reforms are carried out in time for the next Parliament depends on the support of the next government.

Graham Allen, Labour MP for Nottingham North, said: “I’m confident that we need to continue pressure from parliamentarians to carry this through. I imagine that the executive and alternative executive are quite happy with an arrangement where they dominate the legislature.”

“I would have thought that either the outgoing or the incoming government would note the very clear support for a House business committee. We’re just really banking on goodwill rather than having any rights. It’s a rather demeaning position to be in.”

The reform committee of MPs is drafting a standing order for the establishment of a backbench business committee, due by next week. But the decision to set up a more ground-breaking “house business committee” – to timetable government rather than backbench debates, in consultation with ministers – will not be carried out till later this year, and depends on support from the governing party.

Commons Leader Harriet Harman, who made time for the reform debates, initially opposed the idea of a house business committee, but MPs agreed it without a vote.

Tony Wright told Tribune: “It’ll need the same kind of will in the next House of Commons as in this one [to introduce a house business committee]”.

He added that the votes sent out a message: “It said the House is in a mood for doing something quite significant and there’s a mood for change.”

But the company refused to comment on how many jobs it intends to cut as a result of the modernisation agreement.

One source close to talks on the deal – finally unveiled this week after a long delay and at least one threatened walkout by the CWU – suggested Royal Mail is seeking 24,000 job cuts over the next three years. The company employs nearly 193,000 staff across all businesses, including the Post Office.

A CWU spokesperson said of the agreement: “It increases job security because of the assurances that we’ve got around the ratio of full-time to part-time and it allows the company to modernise and be more competitive.” They added Royal Mail had not given the union a figure for job losses. Both sides have praised the agreement as securing the company’s future.

In managerial jargon common to the entire 79-page document, the agreement says that jobs will be reduced “utilising normal employee turnover and where necessary early voluntary retirement and voluntary redundancy”.

Many of the cuts are likely to happen as Royal Mail shuts mail centres across the country. The Crewe centre, employing 900 staff, is due to shut this summer, and it is unclear how many staff will transfer to Warrington 20 miles away.

The document describes the changes as “a mail centre and RDC rationalisation programme that provides a lean, fit-for-purpose, standardised and modern pipeline”.

Royal Mail may also save money by replacing some full-time with part-time roles. Twenty-two per cent of staff are currently part-time, but under the terms of the agreement it can increase this to 25 per cent during the next three years.

The union has agreed to changes in working practices, including introducing walk sequencing machines to cut delivery preparation times and the abolition of short working days on Saturdays. Delivery staff will be entitled to more Saturdays off in return.

All staff affected will receive pay rises adding up to 6.9 per cent over the next three years and £400 once the union’s membership accept the agreement.

They will also receive £1,000 each after changes are carried out in their workplace. Further bonus payments are also payable.

A Royal Mail spokesperson refused to answer any questions about the agreement, saying they were not going to “get into the detail”.

Kronstad Hanger had been legally rented by campaigners – including SoS Soutien o Sans Papiers and the No Borders group – after hundreds were camping in the streets and on waste ground following the destruction of their camp by police last year.

Twice the hanger was opened so that asylum seekers and refugees could use it – first as a night shelter and then as a day centre – but twice it was closed down by the police and padlocked.

Marie Chautempts of Calais Migrant Solidarity said: “While the authorities are blocking any shelter proposals, migrants in Calais are facing one of the coldest winters in recent history and a constant ritual of police harassment. The situation is degrading and goes against any common understanding of decent behaviour towards other human beings. Something has to be done, so we are fighting to creating to a space for migrants to come and engage in activities at their leisure.”

Britain has been backing the French government in its attempts to close down camps for refugees in Calais for fear of further asylum seekers entering this country. The raids were supported by the Mayor of Calais, but the organisations behind the refugees say the action was illegal.

A second legal challenge was being made this week. The judge threw out the first – saying it was not in the public interest.

A letter from pressure group Justice for Colombia handed to ambassador Mauricio Rodríguez said: “No evidence against Ms Obando has been made public and she is simply accused of ‘rebellion’. Colombia’s continuing policy of jailing people for political reasons without convicting them of any crime can only be compared to the situation in countries such as Burma, China and Iran.”

TUC deputy general secretary Frances O’Grady told Tribune the Government needed to “raise its voice” against systematic abuses.

The Foreign Office has criticised Colombia’s law of “rebellion”, with which Ms Obando was charged, as apparently breaching human rights.

Those are the conclusions of More Bang for the Public Buck, a new report from the Association for Public Service Excellence in partnership with the Centre for Local Economic Strategies. Their research reveals that local council contracts can now yield £2 for every £1 spent.

APSE chief executive Paul O’Brien said: “Using £175 billion public procurement power effectively can deliver huge benefits. Our previous work analysing the local economic footprint shows how a multiplier £1 of public spending can generate £1.64 in the local economy through strong employment and supply chains. If councils considered how to deliver community benefits through their procurement processes, that figure could rise to £2.”

CLES chief executive Neil McInroy said: “Imminent public sector cuts make it imperative that we start sweating the public sector pound to maximum effect. We in the local government community can do more to ensure public resources cradle and nurture the local economy through supporting local businesses, social enterprises, the voluntary sector and supply chains.”

There has never been much love lost between the generals and the ruling AKP, which came to power eight years ago, and which the generals believe wants to subvert the secular state. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan thinks the military is standing in the way of democratic reforms he believes are essential if the country is to join the European Union.

In modern Turkey, where politicians are often seen as at best self-serving and at worst corrupt, the armed forces have traditionally been trusted to safeguard the constitution.

The coup, it is said, would have involved the bombing of a mosque and the shooting down of a fighter plane in order to create a crisis with the Greeks. But the question now is which judges will get to evaluate the evidence coming to light.  There is turmoil in the capital over the question of who will try these men, especially as the AKP is seeking to alter the judicial procedures in an attempt to break the hold over the judiciary that the military has traditionally enjoyed.

At the same time, supporters of the armed forces are questioning the impartiality of the nominees the AKP is putting forward. In a desperate attempt to mediate between the warring parties, President Abdullah Gul is in talks with the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors to try to find a way to satisfy both sides. He is, belatedly, talking about reform of the judicial system along European lines.

Meanwhile, opposition leader Deniz Baykal, conscious of approaching elections, is demanding to know why it is only now that these allegations have come to light.

Following his meeting with Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, who has helped rekindle the old flame between his country and Russia, Mr Lavrov announced that Moscow would provide military assistance to Managua to help combat drug trafficking and organised crime. He added that Russia and Nicaragua are “preparing joint military drills”.

In Mexico, Mr Lavrov attended the unveiling of a Russian language centre at the country’s National Polytechnic Institute. The Mexican Foreign Minister Patricia Espinoza Castellano said: “To the government of our country, relations with the Russian Federation are of priority importance. Mexico regards Russia as one of the paramount figures in the international arena.”

Guatemala, which has begun to forge close military relations with Russia, was the next country Mr Lavrov visited. He and his Guatemalan counterpart signed an agreement which will see Russia provide the military means to enhance Guatemala’s fight against drug trafficking. Mr Lavrov said: “This [document] concerns exchanges of information, the training of personnel, the conduct of joint operations and the deliveries of special purpose equipment that is necessary for anti-narcotics operations.”

The last leg of Mr Lavrov’s tour of Latin America saw him visit Cuba. He met Cuban President Raul Castro and the Cuban foreign ministry said: “Both sides agreed to continue joint efforts in the formation of a fair multi-polar world order based on equality and respect for international laws.”

Washington will have paid careful attention to Mr Lavrov’s visit and be conscious that the Russian bear is becoming increasingly active in what it has always considered its sphere of influence.

The findings – ignored by the national media earlier this year – come from the Centre for Cities, a think-tank funded by the Gatsby Foundation, and suggest that cuts planned by both the Tories and Labour will have a devastating impact on a number of major British towns and cities.

The findings come from a background paper prepared last year to a report that was widely covered which showed a north-south divide growing between cities as the recession bites.

The paper by researcher by Kieran Larkin draws on planned spending cuts by all major parties and looks at the pattern of Conservative spending cuts imposed by John Major’s “cull of the quangos” – a policy which David Cameron promises to repeat.

Mr Larkin himself admits that the figure could be “a conservative estimate” – especially as Tony Travers of the LSE’s local government unit is now predicting 190,000 local government jobs could go. That is some 70,000 above the 120,000 estimated in this report.

It singles out five cities and towns where the impact will be devastating – Newcastle, Swansea, Ipswich, Hastings and Barnsley. The report says Newcastle will be vulnerable because the Liberal Democrat-controlled city council employs a large number of people and the city hosts two major quangos. One North East, the regional development agency, and HM Revenue and Customs’ National Insurance Contributions agency are based there.

The report estimates that 6,600 public sector jobs will go by 2014 – and before then if the Tories win the general election, because they want to abolish regional development agencies. Another 2,000 jobs will go in the private sector because of a big cut in spending power among local people.

Swansea, which has the headquarters of the Driver Vehicle Licence Agency, could lose 2,300 public sector jobs and another 700 in the private sector.

Ipswich (a Labour marginal) and Barnsley (a Labour heartlands seat) could lose 1,200 public sector jobs each. The seaside town of Hastings (another Labour marginal) could lose 600 public sector jobs if work in the Child Support Agency is cut back.

Other major cities facing severe problems are Belfast, Blackpool (two Labour marginals), Newport, Liverpool and Dundee.

Some cities with large public sector employment – particularly the university towns of Oxford and Cambridge – will not be so badly hit as the universities are expected to raise student tuition fees to keep academics in jobs. Cambridge, a hi-tech city, has been scarcely touched by the recession because of a vibrant private sector. But university support staff could be squeezed.