austerity
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Tory cuts result in 131,000 preventable deaths in the UK By Barry Mason
A reversal of public health initiatives has led to 130,000 preventable deaths since 2012. The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) think tank lays the blame on austerity measures pursued by the 2010 Conservative/ Liberal Democrat government and continued by the Tory government of Theresa May. Continue reading
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Zizek: Only a pan-European left can defeat ‘populism’
There were some spectacular details, such as the crushing defeat of both main parties in the United Kingdom. However, these should not blind us to the basic fact that nothing really big and surprising happened. Yes, the populist new right did make progress, but it remains far from a prevailing trend. Continue reading
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Welfare Weekly 2 June 2019
2 June 2019 — Welfare Weekly More than 1 in 4 Universal Credit claimants hit by deductions for tax credit errors 570,000 Universal Credit claimants are repaying tax credit overpayments through Universal Credit. Continue reading
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UN report on UK poverty – “systemic immiseration” of millions across the UK
Whilst the news headlines are dominated with the continued implosion of the Conservative Party who now aim to have a third leader in as many years whilst Britain circles the plughole, the reality of the crisis of daily life for half the population continues to worsen. Continue reading
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UK: Government of Denial: Crisis? What Crisis?
Looking at the Conservative party as it is right now, it would be easy to believe they are of a different species, who speak a different language, who came from a different world – a different dimension even. Every day a new statistic of our failing nation feels more like the opening of festering wounds,… Continue reading
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UK Tory government maintains benefit sanctions as misery and deaths continue By Paul Bond
Last week, an inquest in North Wales recorded a verdict of suicide in the case of an 81-year-old woman left virtually penniless after the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) froze her pension payments. Continue reading
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Welfare Weekly Newsletter 21 April 2019
21 April 2019 — Welfare Weekly DWP spend £120 MILLION trying to deny sick and disabled people benefits At least 70% of benefit appeals are overturned at tribunal in favour of claimants. Continue reading
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UK local councils sell off billions of pounds in public assets due to austerity By Joe Mount
Local councils across Britain are selling off assets in property and land to the private sector on a huge scale. More than £9 billion in assets has been sold in just over the last five years. Continue reading
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Podemos could lose half its seats in Spain’s general election By Alejandro López and Paul Mitchell
Support for Spain’s pseudo-left Podemos party has slumped ahead of the April 28 general election as a result of its pro-austerity, pro-Socialist Party (PSOE) policies. Continue reading
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Can the Left Look to Portugal for an Alternative to Austerity? By Asad Ismi
While social-democratic parties all over Europe have been losing power and popularity, the centre-left Portuguese government is being lauded even by the mainstream media for defying the European Union (EU) with its anti-austerity policy and thereby sparking an economic recovery in the country. Continue reading
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The war on the poor
TruePublica: This is the latest depressing news of the ideological war on the poor in Britain. Although much of what is reported below is known to some extent, most of the stories below were reported in just the last few weeks. This article then highlights some interesting facts, the underlying reasons for these deliberately driven… Continue reading
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Welfare Weekly Newsletter 24 February 2019
24 February 2019 — Welfare Weekly Severely disabled woman left ‘feeling suicidal’ over battle for disability benefits Read more Continue reading
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Britain’s Dire Economic Situation is of Little Concern for Theresa May By Grete Mautner
British residents are facing longest decline in living standards in modern history. As it’s been pointed out by the Resolution Foundation, their real incomes will not return to the peak pre-2008 level in the foreseeable future. Even the most optimistic evaluation of the economic situation in England shows that its GDP may start growing again… Continue reading
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Welfare Weekly 10 February 2019
10 February 2019 Twin brothers found hanging from the same tree after benefits stopped Read more Continue reading
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A Tale of Two Austerities By John Clarke
The greatly intensified austerity that has been imposed in the UK since 2010 has been looked to with considerable approval by right wing imitators. Among countries that had developed a relatively adequate ‘welfare state’, the attack on social provision in the UK has been outstandingly severe. One of the key elements of this has been… Continue reading
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UK People’s Assembly protest shows Corbyn’s role in demobilising the working class By Steve James
Some 2,000 people attended the People’s Assembly demonstration in London on Saturday, called under the slogan “Britain is Broken, General Election Now.” The protest was much smaller even than last May’s Trades Union Congress demonstration, when only 25,000 attended, and a mere fraction of the 2011 “March for an Alternative,” when 250,000 demonstrated. Saturday’s march… Continue reading
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The struggle against austerity and the fight for the United Socialist States of Europe
Today’s People’s Assembly against Austerity demonstration in London declares that a Labour government led by Jeremy Corbyn is the only alternative to a Conservative government bent on destroying jobs, wages and vital social services. Continue reading
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UK: New ‘secure school’ as part of wave of new children’s prisons
The Government has announced its plans to create a new ‘Secure School’ that will lock up children aged 12-17 as part of a bigger programme to construct more purpose-built secure schools in the coming years ahead. Continue reading
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Corbyn, Brexit and the struggle for the United Socialist States of Europe By Chris Marsden
UK Prime Minister Theresa May’s failure to reach a deal over Brexit and the deepening paralysis of her government unfolds under conditions of a European and global crisis of capitalism, marked above all by the resurgence of the class struggle. Continue reading
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Number of UK households in energy debt increases by 300,000, owing nearly £400 million By Dennis Moore
The outstanding debt owed to power companies in October this year totalled £393 million, an increase of nearly a quarter on the same time last year. It is usually expected that households should be in credit at this time of year, with the expectation that as the colder months ahead arrive, consumers will have the… Continue reading
The New Dark Age 