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British Politics
Hands off our unions rally
By Nicky Dempsey
Hundreds of militant activists and trade unionists gathered in central London to oppose concerted efforts to curb the power of the trade union movement. The People’s Assembly Against Austerity brought together a series of campaigning organisations, grassroots activists and union members to rally in support of ‘Hands off our unions’.
The ideological point of the benefits cap
By Linda Anderson
New government figures underline that the benefits cap is all about ideology.
The figures show that 33,000 households were affected by the bedroom tax. Undoubtedly hard news for those people affected – and many of those bearing the brunt will be children. More than half of the total number of households affected so far are single parent ones. Single parent households are, in the vast majority, headed by women. So this is a policy hitting women – part of an assault on the post-war welfare state that is sledge-hammering away at the social and economic status of women – and children in the poorest households.
Osborne puts energy company profits before saving lives and the climate
By Bridget Robertson
Rising energy bills mean that a quarter of the population of Britain now has to spend more than 10 per cent of their income on energy, at the same time as energy company profits have increased by 77 per cent in one year alone.
This has meant thousands of households are being forced to choose between heating and eating as the Tory assault on living standards takes its toll. However, for the vulnerable the consequences are even more serious. Last winter 31 000 people died prematurely, with around a third of those deaths attributable to living in a cold home.
Defending trade unions from the ruling class offensive
By Nicky Dempsey
The battle over austerity is moving into a new phase. Encouraged by talk of recovery a number of disputes have broken out across a wide variety of sectors, on pay, jobs, pensions and against privatisation.
Labour needs an alternative to austerity
By Paul Roberts
Since using Party conference to shift the campaign agenda to defending ordinary peoples’ living standards, Labour’s support has risen in the polls, party activists have been invigorated and within sections of Labour’s ranks a discussion on alternatives to austerity has opened up.