The Real Scandal of Police Sexual Offences
Over the last few days the Guardian has reported that that, in the space of four years, there have been fifty six known cases where a police officer or other…
Driving people to self-immolation: pour encourager les autres
Yes, it has come to this – an unemployed man in Birmingham has set fire to himself outside a job centre. The exact context of his self-immolation is not yet…
Costa Rica tops 2012 Happy Planet Index
This is a guest post from Nic Marks, founder of the New Economics Foundation's Centre for Well-being. A growing number of governments, politicians and ordinary people around the world agree…
A Tear-Stained Hagiography: Remembering Elinor Ostrom
Derek Wall is currently writing an intellectual biography of Elinor Ostrom and is a little tearful. Elinor Ostrom, the first – and so far, only – woman to win the…
Rent Control for a Living Rent
Guest post by Jon B Rents in the private rented housing market are becoming extortionate, with many tenants falling into 'rent poverty'. The Government's response is making the situation worse.…
In Wisconsin we stand
Right now, the people of Wisconsin are voting on whether or not to sack their governor. Scott Walker is one of only three people in US history to face the…
Dave Prentis: A Credible Union Leader?
A few days ago, I was disappointed to hear that Dave Prentis, the general secretary of Unison – my trade union – has been appointed as a non-executive director of…
Cheap bonds are a harbinger of doom – or the solution to it
This week the yield on German two year bonds hit 0%. In other words, people are lending the German government money up to 2014 and asking for no interest. US…
Union of Students in Ireland votes to retain free education stance
A special conference of the Union of Students in Ireland (USI), the national union of students in Ireland, has voted to retain the union’s stance that higher education should be…
The crisis in the eurozone
The crisis is so complex, intractable and toxic that it’s hard to know where to start. This is not the place to discourse at length on the character, causes and…