Britain
Britain: Businesses to control more state schools as government-backed academies fail
By Harvey Thompson, September 26, 2009
The start of the new school term has seen a welter of government activity in support of the expansion of its privately run academies programme, even as the educational value of these institutions is d...
Britain: Nationalist campaign by Unite union bureaucracy over Vauxhall-Opel takeover
By Robert Stevens and Julie Hyland, September 25, 2009
The sell-off of General Motors’ European operations, Opel and Vauxhall, to the Canadian-Russian consortium Magna has elicited a poisonous “us first” response by the trade unions involved.
Britain: Three major parties pledge to slash public spending
By Chris Marsden, September 23, 2009
The Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democratic parties in Britain have all agreed that public spending will have to be slashed. Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown told the Trades Union Congress last ...
Labour government in Britain increases state control of the Internet
By Marcus Morgan, September 23, 2009
The Labour government is proposing draconian new measures on Internet usage. If implemented, the state would be given sweeping powers over what can be accessed and by whom.
Britain: Asset stripping followed government bailout of MG Rover
By Jean Shaoul, September 21, 2009
A report into the 2005 collapse of MG Rover, with the loss of 6,500 direct jobs, inadvertently exposes the politically sanctioned looting of social assets that has taken place over the last decades in...
British Labour government declares for spending cuts at Trades Union Congress
By Julie Hyland, September 19, 2009
Prime Minister Gordon Brown finally revealed Labour’s plans for massive spending cuts at the annual conference of the Trades Union Congress this week.
Britain: Leeds refuse workers strike against pay cuts
By Barbara Slaughter, September 19, 2009
Six hundred workers employed in refuse collection, street cleansing and waste management in Leeds are on strike against the plans of Leeds City Council to cut their wages by up to £6,000 a year on th...
OECD report cites higher education crisis in Britain
By Robert Stevens, September 16, 2009
The annual report by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Education at a Glance, points to a developing crisis in the higher education sector in Britain.
Britain: Postal workers discuss disaffiliation from Labour, ballot for national strike
By Paul Bond, September 16, 2009
Britain’s postal workers, already engaged in a rolling series of one-day regional strikes against attacks on jobs and conditions, begin balloting this week for national action.
Britain’s union leaders warn of riots and social unrest
By Chris Marsden, September 15, 2009
The opening of the Trades Union Congress was dominated by warnings of unemployment topping four million, riots and social unrest.
Britain: Train crews resist attempt to slash Sunday pay
By Paul Barnes, September 11, 2009
London Midland was forced to cancel all but one of its 500 rail services last Sunday because rail workers refused to turn up for work.
England: Two reports reveal the crisis in social care
By Ajantha Silva, September 10, 2009
The interim report of the British government’s Social Work Task Force highlights the chronic problems in social care provision in England.
