By Peter Dunne
The UK national minimum wage is keeping thousands of UK workers living in poverty and not letting them meet their most basic needs.
As of 1st October 2012 the national minimum wage rose by 1.9% to £6.19 which does not keep in line with the rise of inflation (2.5%, August 2012), so workers on the lowest pay are actually even worse off than they were last year. Someone who works 35 hours a week on the new minimum wage is still only earning £216.65 before tax. (more…)
By Helen Swire
Last month saw the latest publication of high unemployment figures in France. The French government is now taking steps to combat these figures, which in particular reflect high levels of unemployment amongst youths in France.
The Minister for Labour, Michel Sapin, has presented the Council of Ministers with a draft of a new employment law for future jobs. While the law resembles the youth employment policies of former Prime Minister Lionel Jospin, the jobs it creates will be reserved for young people in extremely difficult economic situations.
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By Helen Swire
President Vladimir Putin yesterday signed another controversial bill – this time forcing foreign-funded non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to register as “foreign agents”.
(c) globe images
The new law demands that any NGOs involved in political activity register under this title, which must be included in all documentation produced by the organisations, and also requires them to issue biannual reports on their political activities. (more…)
By Peter Dunne
The Liberal Democrats and Conservative coalition government has had many difficulties to overcome since the 2010 General Election. The cracks are starting to show and a number of people, both in and outside of Westminster, have predicted that it will break down before the 2015 General Election.
Graham Brady, senior Tory MP and Chairman of the Conservative Backbench 1922 Committee has become the latest person to doubt the life expectancy of the coalition.
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Copyright – The Week
By Peter Dunne
As Dr Eoin Clarke has documented, Cameron has publicly bullied and insulted fellow MPs on many different occasions, usually as a defensive tactic during Prime Minister Questions. His insults and put-downs can be seen as harsh and hurtful and usually have nothing to do with the debate or question which has been put to him.
For example, veteran Labour MP, Dennis Skinner argued during a PMQ session in April that Jeremy Hunt was kept in his job, and in the firing line, to prevent “bullets” hitting the prime minister over allegations about Rupert Murdoch and NewsCorp. Cameron responded by not acknowledging the accusation or the topic but instead told Skinner, aged 80, to go and draw out his pension. Two months earlier in a similar situation, Cameron branded Skinner a dinosaur because of his age.
Cameron has insulted members of the Labour party but also has attacked his own MPs, including Nadine Dorries, who he described as being “frustrated.”
Labour MP, Karl Turner, told the BBC today that he witnessed Cameron attacking backbench Tory MP, Jesse Norman. He had voted against a mainly elected House of Lords in the vote on Lords’ reform on Tuesday. Turner says that he saw Cameron acting very aggressively towards Norman, and saw the prime minister pointing in “a very aggressive manner”. If this account by Turner is accurate then it is another example of Cameron losing his cool and becoming very angry when he doesn’t get his own way.
Cameron has been accused of bullying and insulting others and acting in a snobbish and condescending manner. Many of the incidents which have got him into trouble have been caught on camera; which begs the question, how does he behave when the cameras aren’t rolling and he is speaking to people in private?
He has a history of making sexist and ageist remarks and also has made comments regarding the physical appearance, accent and social background of some of his colleagues. The way he has spoken to some of his colleagues has shown how out of touch he really is.
If Cameron was a normal person, in a normal job, and he acted in this way while in the workplace he would surely have been heavily disciplined or even dismissed. This behaviour is another example of how he thinks he is above the people, when in fact it is his job to represent them.
First Viewpoint 