Yesterday, I asked the Minister of State for Business, Skills and Innovation a question in the House following the unfortunate news that British Home Stores is likely to go into administration: Steve Baker: The market economy on which our civilisation rests is dangerously undermined when the privatisation of vast profits is swiftly […]
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Junior doctors’ strikes reveal the fragility of patient-doctor relationships
Today and tomorrow, junior doctors in our NHS are on strike. This action neglects taxpayers who expect world-class treatment around the clock, every day. Unlike previous occasions, this strike includes emergency services in hospitals across the UK. It is the BMA’s right to call this action, as a trade union representing those who work […]
Read MoreRage against the machine: homelessness, hunger and the message of Christmas
Yesterday in Parliament, I spoke in two debates: one on homelessness and one on food banks. In the first debate, I began It is a thorough and utter disgrace that anyone should be homeless in the 21st century in our country. It makes me wonder whether the welfare state safety […]
Read MoreThe Government vs the State
ConservativeHome reports that the Government (the ministers) are scaling up their battle against the civil service: Outside of Manchester, the most significant political speech of the day is being delivered by Francis Maude to the Institute for Government. Indeed, it could actually be more significant than “the most personal speech ever […]
Read MoreThe Launch of Big Society Capital
The Government has recently launched Big Society Capital to help finance social action in the UK. It will start with a fund of up to £600m that includes £400m from dormant bank accounts (about which I have reservations but that’s past) and up to £200m from the four main UK […]
Read MoreThree favourites among the Government’s regulation clear out
N.B. This post is written by my Parliamentary Intern, Ralph Buckle. The Government’s Red Tape Challenge has been progressing well and more details have emerged about the 600 regulations that are already due to be scrapped or improved. They make for some interesting reading and range from the completely redundant […]
Read MoreFreedom in Education: the profit motive
NB: this post is by Tim Hewish, my Parliamentary Researcher, and the views expressed are his own. I recently attended the E. G. West Memorial Lecture delivered by Professor James Tooley and sponsored by the IEA on the topic of for-profit schooling. He noted that the word profit is highly […]
Read MoreTim Hewish: Fiction reveals truths that reality obscures
N.B. The author is Tim Hewish – my Parliamentary Researcher — Steve My attention was recently drawn to the reduced £13 million funding for State initiatives to provide books to pre-schoolers in the form of Bookstart, Booktime and Booked Up. I can sense the reactionary response: Why would any Government […]
Read MoreMy reflections on our visit to Durand Academy
N.B. The author is Tim Hewish – my Parliamentary Researcher. We have just returned this afternoon having visited the Durand Academy in South London. Researchers spend much of their time reading and studying policy, some policies better than others, but we often do not get to see the practical implementations.Therefore, […]
Read MoreA university should be a place of light, of liberty, and of learning – Disraeli
Reaction to the Government’s higher education reforms really got under the skin of my researcher, Tim Hewish, who launched into a passionate defence of the Government’s direction of travel. I asked him to write this post… — Steve Much has been said about the Browne Report on Higher Education and […]
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