Politics

All twenty-two Councils in Wales promised to accept refugees from war-torn Syria – but new Home Office figures show that only five (less than a quarter) have done so. The news has disappointed charities working with refugees. Carys Mair Thomas, ...

John “one job” Biggs is now free from commitments to City Hall and is now holding down only one job – running Tower Hamlets. But he’s clearly still a busy man. On 1st June, a notice went up on Tower ...

The results of Tower Hamlets Council’s annual independent survey of resident satisfaction are out – and they’ve got John “one job” Biggs admitting “we face a significant challenge to keep improving services.” Interviews, conducted before the recent budget cuts were ...

Last year the Government announced that it was going to review the operation of Sharia Law in the UK – as part of its “counter extremism” strategy. Even then, it was another tiresome example of how the Government contributes to ...

If you want to vote in the elections for London Mayor on 5th May, you must be on the electoral register – and 18th April is your deadline for joining the register if you are not already on it. If ...

When the Cabinet system was first introduced, a council’s “overview and scrutiny” committee was intended to scrutinise, closely, the work of the executive – providing some sort of reassurance to the wider Council. Councillors were given “call in” powers, by ...

As junior doctors begin their fourth episode of industrial action, all the signs are that both their resolve and public support remain solid. The latest recruit to the doctors’ cause is the Patients Association, which has now indicated its formal ...

Heard the one about the immigrants taking “our” jobs? It’s one of those water cooler topics, something to chat about at work. The immediate answer is, “Which jobs have they taken? Because they haven’t taken your job, have they?” Still ...

As successive Governments have cut the state pension as part of their austerity policies, they have been left with the dilemma of how to cope with the inequalities such cuts build into society. Cuts to the state pension have not ...

London Mayor Boris Johnson is doing his best to plug the gap left by government cuts in local authority funding – by inviting service users to pay for their services direct. He has found £730,000 which he will use to ...