Austerity has extracted the last vestiges of “compassion” from conservatism, distilling what remains into policies so poisonously unfair they have led people unable to cope with the bedroom tax to suicide and self-harm, while thousands more are forced to choose between heating and eating. For those who want to see a market-driven economy with a […]
Let’s stop subsidising big companies to exploit poor people Read More »
A massive leak exposed in the Guardian yesterday by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists identified thousands of the world’s super-rich who have hidden trillions of dollars in tax havens such as the British Virgin Islands. In the wake of the expose, I was asked to discuss the social cost of tax havens on Voice
Appearance on Voice of Russia: The social cost of tax havens Read More »
After Iain Duncan Smith claimed he could live on £53 a week in benefits instead of his £1581 a week post-tax salary, he was challenged by an online petition to put his money where his mouth is. Within a day the petition attracted more than 200,000 signatures. Petitions are hardly the strongest form of political
The government of millionaires needs to wake up to the lives of millions Read More »
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, Latin America’s staunchest warrior, lost his final battle to cancer today. Hugo Chavez was a divisive figure; he polarised his country and the world’s media. Critics will point out the dangers of the cult of personality he seemed to be building around himself, but he was far more than just another
Rafael Correa swept to power in 2007 on a ticket of helping the poor. His election in Ecuador spelled a pink tide in Latin America as the once powerful parties of the conservatives and the liberals fell to new working class movements across the continent from Venezuela to Bolivia. This was not the old communism
Rafael Correa’s re-election in Ecuador shows alternative to neoliberalism Read More »
Sixteen years of age, a naive young activist who’d read a bit of Marx and wanted to make the world a better place, I was walking along Lowestoft high street when I encountered a stall of scruffy-looking men campaigning against the impending Afghanistan war who were saying all the things I identified with. They called
Left Unity: A vital project for the age of austerity Read More »
When driving through the town of Bury St. Edmunds in Suffolk, it’s hard not to notice that something stinks. From miles around you can see the plumes of thick white smoke billowing into the sky from the sugar factory; the whole area is pervaded by its sickly sweet smell. Halfway across the world, however, its
Associated British Food’s tax avoidance in Zambia stinks Read More »
This article was originally written for International Tax Review With the UK chairing the G8 this year, more than 100 charities have come together under the banner of the IF campaign, whose basic premise is that there is enough food in the world for everyone if certain conditions, including ending tax avoidance and increasing financial
IF campaign reaches out to businesses to tackle tax avoidance Read More »
At 11.39pm, April 14 1912, a man called Robert Hitchins made the mistake of turning right instead of left. The RMS Titanic struck an iceberg and sank, taking with it a captain who had blithely ignored all warnings of danger and plowed on full steam ahead with the arrogance of an Empire which was soon
George Osborne: History will remember you better if you turn left Read More »
The world produces enough food for everyone, but there’s an if. And it’s a big IF. To tackle it, 100 major charities are joining forces for what seems the biggest NGO campaign since 2005’s Make Poverty History. My good friends at Christian Aid sent me the following press release, which I wholly support: 100 MAJOR
Enough food for everyone, if… Read More »
