More than 600,000 jobs have been cut from the public sector since the Con Dem coalition came to power at the 2010 general election according to the GMB union's analysis of official figures from the Office of National Statistics....
‘The Best Asset We Have is Each Other’
BARRY WINTER reports from two meetings in Leeds addressed by the Labour peer and policy advisor Maurice Glasman earlier this month. Maurice Glasman, who is centrally involved in developing Labour’s new programme, began by addressing the question of where the Labour Party is today. New Labour has left us with a difficult inheritance, he argued....
The Condition of Britain: The Debate Goes On
ERNIE JACQUES continues the ILP’s debate about Labour’s ‘One Nation’ project kicked off at the May Weekend School with a discussion focused on a speech by Jon Cruddas at the launch of the IPPR’s ‘The Condition of Britain’ programme....
The Condition of Britain: A Response to Jon Cruddas
JOHN HALSTEAD takes issue with a speech given by Labour’s Policy Review leader, which was discussed at this year’s ILP Weekend School as part of its consideration of the Party’s ‘One Nation’ project....
State, Tax and Football
Modern statecraft, policy making, tax and public services are all subjects up for discussion in the latest round of Labour’s ‘One Nation’ policy review seminars, plus something called ‘One Nation Football’....
ILP@120: Past Lessons for Future Progress
“Fellowship was the foundation of their politics,” said Barry Winter, recalling the culture of the early ILP at the organisation’s 120th anniversary Weekend School in Scarborough on 4/5 May. ...
The Future of the NHS
Martin Rathfelder, director of the Socialist Health Association, will speak about the future of the health service at Dronfield Labour Party’s May Day public discussion meeting....
Co-op schools campaign for a level playing field
The Co-operative Party is campaigning for a change in education legislation so that more academy and trust schools can be set up on a co-operative model rather than relying on backing from private companies....
Handle with Care
The Co-operative Party is increasingly enthusiastic about co-operative councils. But it lacks a coherent philosophy and rationale for its position. We need to be cautious, argues JOHN HALSTEAD. ...
Academies and Lies
The tale of a north London primary school which resisted Michael Gove’s forced academy programme has been captured in a powerful new documentary. MATTHEW BROWN reports. In September 2011, pupils and teachers returned to Downhills Primary in Haringey, north London, for the start of a new school year full of hope and optimism about...
Case Studies of Co-operative Schools
Enforced academisation is not the only way to transform attainment. Co-operative schools raise attainment from within, rather than through the government’s preferred options of involving charities, businesses and for-profit providers. Meanwhile, the co-operative multi-trust model, where a number of schools team up to form a co-operative trust and share resources and expertise, is becoming...
Are Co-operative Schools the Answer?
MERVYN WILSON argues that increasingly popular co-operative schools provide a democratic, community-based alternative to Michael Gove’s attack on state education....