RBS investing bailout cash in banned cluster munitions
This is a guest post from Tom Shelton of Handicap International UK Taxpayer owned RBS has been identified as one of the main financial institutions - both in the UK…
On the future of food in Scotland – an interview with Pete Ritchie (part 2)
Part 1 appeared yesterday, you can read it here And thus politics comes into full focus. There is a lot that can be said about the SNP’s recent landslide in…
The whole Met should be held to account for Ian Tomlinson’s death, not just one Officer
Today’s announcement that PC Simon Harwood will face prosecution for the manslaughter of Ian Tomlinson at the G20 protests is welcome. I and many others will wish to see Ian…
Time for a living wage
Matthew works for responsible investment campaigning group Fairpensions The Sunday Times Rich List is strangely addictive. The longer you look at it the more active your imagination becomes. What would…
The bitter irony of using the financial crisis to scrap the NHS
This post first appeared on the UK Uncut blog Around 50% of American bankruptcies are triggered by medical bills. When we talk of 'sub-prime mortgages', we are talking about real…
No more romance on the railways
I was so sad to read articles in the Scotsman and Observer this weekend noting that the restaurant cars on East Coast trains have been sent to the great railway…
Demanding democracy
It's always interesting to see what protesters demand. The wave of demonstrations that washed around the world post credit crunch has been extraordinary. But while almost all have at least…
Irish Greens to elect new leader
The Irish Green Party (Green Party / Comhaontas Glas) wipeout in the Irish general election earlier this year has precipitated an existential crisis within the party, to which I am…
New unemployment figures: good news?
Just a quick post on the latest ONS labour market figures here. The figures on unemployment are being reported as broadly, but not excessively, good news for the government. The…
Is the government making a profit on its debt?
The Bank of England's inflation report was out yesterday. It says that there's a good chance that inflation will hit 5% before the end of the year. The Consumer Price…