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Good news for the Eurozone at last
Santa Claus operated out of Frankfurt last year – and gave the Eurozone the fiscal equivalent of several billion stocking-fillers. But the European Central Bank’s largesse may not extend to those who...
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Do we really want speed on our roads to be further reduced?
As towns in Britain begin to switch to 20 mph speed limits, Paul Rowlinson wonders if vested interests will limit their impact Here in our corner of Suffolk, which borders Essex and Cambridgeshire,...
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The best a Chancellor can get?
The logical absurdity of reducing a budget deficit by expanding it begins to look extremely logical, in the light of Italy’s election and Britain’s credit-rating downgrade, writes Alan Shipman Beppe...
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Time to turn a critical eye on the self-help industry?
Meg Barker looks a little deeper at what can be done to alleviate human suffering I gave a talk recently at the University of East Anglia on the history of self help books. I wanted to understand far...
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A politician's face is his (and sometimes her) fortune
The shape of your face may be key to political success. Dick Skellington reports. Abraham Lincoln once said 'if I were two-faced, would I be wearing this one?'. It appears he knew something for it now...
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One game, two sets of rules
Double standards are everywhere in economic policy – welcome to the world of Bubblethink. Alan Shipman explains‘Doublethink’ was famously defined by George Orwell as “the power of holding two...
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Stranger than fiction: United footballers beat PhD students in intelligence...
Forget the stereotype of the modern British footballer. The one that goes he can barely articulate in his own language, is susceptible to profanities, and keeps his brains in his feet. David Beckham...
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Don’t mind the gap: Budget tactics go underground
George Osborne is unusually reluctant to show how a smaller Budget is financing tax cuts, because new evidence suggests that won’t promote economic recovery, argues Alan Shipman. When the economy was...
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Stranger than fiction: why people cough at public performances
Ever had your enjoyment at a live performance spoilt by collective coughing fits from the audience? The theatre critic James Agate once reflected: 'Long experience has taught me that in England nobody...
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The plight of women in our prisons
Government's new initiative on community sentencing for women is long overdue but should be welcomed, writes Dick Skellington. The plight of women in our prisons is one of the less visible problems...
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Rising numbers of British children live in poverty
With no change to Plan A in sight, the Coalition is condemning more UK children to poverty and injustice, writes Dick Skellington. Before the introduction of benefit changes that would push more and...
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Lady Thatcher's 'slick' legacy
As admirers and critics assess Margaret Thatcher's impact Alan Shipman bemoans the Iron Lady's failure to invest in the benefits of North Sea oil. Amid the fulsome tributes paid to the late Baroness...
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The state we were in: Spirit of '45
Edward Lawrenson reviews The Spirit of '45, the film which has triggered a debate nationally about the kind of society we have become and the kind of society we want to be.Ken Loach has just directed a...
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Lessons from Lady Thatcher we can all still learn
Margaret Thatcher’s greatness is continually affirmed by those competing to be hailed as her political successors. Alan Shipman believes she leaves some enduring lessons which today’s parties ignore at...
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Government's fitness to work scheme is broken
The Government's work capability processes are unfairly discriminating against, and even killing, the vulnerable, reveals Dick Skellington. When the Queen was admitted to hospital in March I wondered...
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Why are we surprised when we get what we pay for?
The UK economy is suffering from subsidies that extend the problems they’re meant to resolve, writes Alan Shipman. Kissing babies at election-time is a practice politicians often regret but cannot...
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The blocking of gun control exposes America's corrupt priorities
With news that 42 out of 45 Congress Senators who opposed Obama's modest gun reforms were in the pay of the gun lobby, US journalist David Simon reflects on how deeply corrupted America's democracy has...
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Never judge a book by its cover, judge it by its title
The world of odd book titles is wonderful to behold, writes Dick Skellington. There are book titles – take The Communist Manifesto for example – which do exactly what they say on the cover. And there...
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Stranger than fiction: 'shop till you drop' wastes your life away
Given the extraordinary measures supermarkets took to ensure that their dirty knickers were not seen in public after their beef was sold dressed as horse, it is interesting to reflect just how quick...
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Indebtedness lessons that can’t be learned
Economists’ brightest ideas often seem ludicrous; and the most obviously sensible – such as budget cuts reducing debt – turn out to be wrong, writes Alan Shipman.Despite the mounting pain of...
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