This is what the Labour Party website currently says about VAT. Clear? You think so? Well, Rachel Reeves just confirmed on Newsnight that Labour will KEEP VAT at 20% if they are elected at the next General Election. Yep, that's right. What a bunch of hypocrites.
John O'Neill pays tribute to Sean Morrin, whose untimely death brings to an end too soon a life lived in unstinting commitment to equality and freedom for all the people of Northern Ireland, especially those of his beloved home city. Continue reading →
I'm currently a member of the Environmental Sustainability Subgroup at the Council and we're looking at how Manchester (and the Council) can be 'greener' and more sustainable. As part of this study we're asking for feedback on the low carbon agenda and the work of the Council on tackling climate change. We are asking the following questions: What do you think Manchester Council is doing at the moment to tackle climate change?What would you like to see Manchester Council doing in future to tackle climate change?What can you do to tackle climate change?Please let me know your thoughts at cllr.v.chamberlain@manchester.gov.uk ...
The world came together today for the biggest disability rights meeting to take place in five years - and I was proud to represent the UK. With one billion people globally facing unequal access to education, employment, healthcare, social support and justice as a result of disability, this was my chance to demand an end to this great neglect. But actions speak louder than words and, on behalf of the British Government, I announced a range of measures which will improve the lives of disabled people in the poorest parts of the world. At the UN General Assembly in New ...
Andy Beckett has a good article in today's Guardian on the inexorable rise of the concept of the 'global race': Rushed into use shortly after the 2012 Olympics, by a party whose key figures went to expensive schools that fetishise sport and general competitiveness, "the global race" is hardly the most subtle or socially sensitive of rhetorical devices. But it has the advantage of flexibility. Britain, the Tories tell us, needs to "win" it, "succeed" in it, and get "to the top" in it; "compete" in it, "thrive in" it, and be "strong" in it; "fight" in it; or merely, ...
Healthwatch Manchester is the consumer champion for health and social care. It aims to be the voice of local people, representing their views on health and social care. We will achieve this by listening to local people directly, going in and investigating local services and teaming up with other voluntary organisations already working in the field. If you are interested in getting involved as a Healthwatch Manchester Volunteer then please contact tom.skinner@healthwatchmanchester.co.uk to request an application pack.
Below are recently submitted Planning Applications in the Chorlton area. You can find out more information about any of the proposals on the City Council's Planning Portal at http://tinyurl.com/yv6lex or by contacting the South Area Planning Group Manager - Roger Hall; Tel: (0161) 234 4536; email: r.hall@manchester.gov.uk . You can also make a Planning representation (in support or opposition) to Mr Hall or the designated planning officer for each application. Please feel free to contact me on (07947383740; cllr.v.chamberlain@manchester.gov.uk) if you wish to discuss any application and please also send me a copy of any representation you make. 103415/FH/2013/S1 17 ...
This post was published earlier today on Liberal Democrat Voice... Released this week, InRealLives takes a look at how the internet has impacted upon the way we live our lives, and flags up some issues that should cause us to reflect upon questions of privacy, personal relationships and sexuality. Director Beeban Kidron might be best known for "Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit" and "Bridget Jones: Edge of Reason", but here she delves into the lives of five young people as they talk variously about their use of pornography and its effect on their ability to connect emotionally, addiction to ...
The shocking terrorist attack in Nairobi, Kenya, is dominating headlines today. The loss of life is truly tragic but is far from unique in the modern history of Kenya. There have long been tensions between [...]
The first ever Chorlton Children's Book Award is part of this year's Chorlton Book Festival. A shortlist of eight of the best books for 9-12 year olds has been selected by students and staff from local schools. Now is your chance to vote for your favourite! The winner of the Chorlton Children's Book Award 2013 will be announced at a celebration event at Chorlton High School during the Chorlton Book Festival in November. If you vote, you may be invited! For more information contact: Rachel Hockey, Library Resource Manager, Chorlton High School, Nell Lane. r.hockey@chorltonhigh.manchester.sch.uk
Noises within the Labour Party over HS2 have rapidly become more negative recently. Mere weeks ago, High-Speed Rail officials were speaking of Labour as being fully signed up to the project, and indeed some (notably Andrew Adonis) still are. But an undercurrent of opposition has forced its way to the surface with statements today by Ed Balls, and I believe I know why. A leaked internal report claims that Labour polling - especially among their core electorate - is solid, and in Labour circles this usually means only one thing; that Labour will feel free to take those votes for ...
Even the best.... I spent most of yesterday afternoon wrestling with Cartesian geometry. Actually, after polishing off most of the questions in record time, I spent most of yesterday afternoon wrestling with one particular question to do with Cartesian geometry. We were given three points of a square and told to find the fourth. We then had to find the equations of the lines of symmetry. All very simple, if a fairly tedious, repetition of basic functions. It should have been simple.It wasn't. You see, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't make the damn square. I naturally assumed ...
The autumn is descending and the Neil starts reverting to type. The lesser spotted Neil (that blimin' spot is still fighting for life on my chin – come on just die and let the beautiful pink skin win already) is a creature of habit. When the nights draw in and the sporting seasons get going then he's rarely to be seen socially unless you happen to catch him between the apartment and a local takeaway establishment. Unlike previous years this year the Neil has invested in fibre optic broadband and that has led to even more options for him to ...
Having submitted my nominations for Yuletide, and started to thin up prompts for my request, I figured I should do a series of individual promotional posts, in the unlikely event that one of my requests inspires someone to seek out the original source. And first, obviously, Queen & Country [IMG: Q&C20] What is it? Queen and Country is a 32-issue comic and 3-novel series written by Greg Rucka and drawn by various artists including Bryan Lee O'Malley, Mike Norton, and covers by Tim Sale. The comics were published by Oni Press, and the three prose novels were published by Bantam ...
The first potentially illiberal thing is a worrying move by the Kent on Sunday to invite the leaders of Kent County Council and Medway Council to join an editorial advisory board. Others on this board include the Bishop of Dover and Anne Barnes, Police and Crime Commissioner. Whilst it might be a wonderfully inclusive decision to get ideas and feedback from some of Kent's most important people, it is deeply concerning given one would hope Kent on Sunday has, like most newspapers, a wish to hold "the great and the good" of this wonderful county to account. If they are ...
Today is bisexual visability day. "Why do we need such a day/" you may ask, well too often the B is LGBT is an invisable part of the spectrum, yet I believe there are many shades of bi along that spectrum. So have you ever wondered why you don't know more bisexuals around you? It is probably because they don't constantly have threesomes with one person of each gender but are probably in a monogamous relationship with someone either of the opposite of same gender. That is why they are not as visible as those who identify purely as straight ...
Thanks to all of you who came to Federal Conference in Glasgow – I hope you enjoyed it! We made many changes to the Conference App for Autumn Conference 2013 and we'd really like your feedback. We strive to improve the App each Conference so it would be much appreciated if you could spare a few minutes to give us your thoughts by filling in our survey here. If you have any further questions on the App please email conferences@libdems.org.uk * Lewis Redfern is Fringe Coordinator & Events Assistant at the Liberal Democrats' Conference Office.
Temporary Closing and Temporary Waiting Restrictions in Various Roads in St Albans, Smallford and Hatfield (extracts) NOTICE is given that the Hertfordshire County Council intend to make an Order under Section 14[1] of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, to prohibit all traffic from using the following lengths of roads, except for access and to prohibit all vehicles from waiting at any time on both sides of these lengths of roads whilst works are in progress:- that length of Brampton Road, St Albans from its junction with Woodstock Road North westwards and north westwards to its junction with Clarence Road, ...
Cornwall Council will be reviewing the use of zero hours contracts as we seek to ensure that none of our staff are being exploited in their terms and conditions of work. Cornwall Council has approximately 300 members of staff on zero hours contracts as well as 134 in schools and 20 within Cormac. These staff are employed mainly within three areas - registration services, adult education and the music service - where they enable the council to respond to fluctuating demand for services and avoids relying on agency workers. While some workers appreciate the flexibility provided by a zero hours ...
On Saturday 28th September, Liberal Democrats across the country will be taking part in a national Day of Action to celebrate our success in helping add over one million new jobs to the economy since 2010 and calling for a million more. Alongside the positive job creation figures, Liberal Democrats can also be proud of [...]
I've been pondering how to write about this on and off all day. Then I saw what Jazz Hands Srs Bznss had written and I thought:Why bother? I'm not going to do a better post than that. So go and read Dave's post. And then think on, and try not to participate in bi-erasure. (or, you know, any other form of erasure or exclusion. Cos they're bad). [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
Whether as a local party, or as an individual please let us know who is standing for us in the 2014 elections. We do this so that we can support those candidates with target materials training and advice so that we all get the best result possible in 2014. With an even greater emphasis on [...]
We are back from Glasgow and have enjoyed a remarkably positive and productive Conference all round. Here is a quick wrap up of ALDC at this year's conference. Conference Stand ALDC and our friends at the LGA Lib Dems shared a joint exhibition stand, bringing all the best of Liberal Democrats in local government into [...]
Last week, we announced a new G8 offer for a free place at ALDC's Kickstart training weekend in November. Places are still available but this offer is limited and it is first-come-first-served, so don't delay – book today! Early Bird discounts end in just over two weeks (Fri 11th October), so it is essential to [...]
Released this week, InRealLives takes a look at how the internet has impacted upon the way we live our lives, and flags up some issues that should cause us to reflect upon questions of privacy, personal relationships and sexuality. Director Beeban Kidron might be best known for "Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit" and "Bridget Jones: Edge of Reason", but here she delves into the lives of five young people as they talk variously about their use of pornography and its effect on their ability to connect emotionally, addiction to social media and computer gaming, cyber bullying and building relationships ...
As the story from the Electoral Commission says: [IMG: Polling station sign] A consultation on standing for election in the United Kingdom has been launched by the Electoral Commission, the independent elections watchdog. The paper is seeking views on a range of issues including the size of deposits required to stand in elections, access to election broadcasts for independent candidates, and the rules around disqualifications. The consultation highlights a number of inconsistencies in the current system, such as: Candidates being required to pay a £5000 deposit to run for election as a Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), but only £500 ...
For the past 6 months I have been followed by the BBC as I aim to become self-sufficient and produce all my own food. We reached our target of becoming self-sufficient on 1st August. The last filming for the programme was on Friday evening at the Whinnies in Sunniside, where my allotment is. I hosted a BBQ, using some of the food we have produced recently. Everything was locally produced until
Here's today's hand-picked selection that caught my interest... Improving teaching and learning with the Bayesian method – SecEd Improving teaching and learning with the Bayesian method http://bit.ly/1ahAtpU < good piece by @mj_bromley Review: Downton Abbey season 4 premiere – A fascinating insight into the quiet violence of the class system – Reviews – TV & Radio – The Independent I quite like Downton. Just read Owen's erm interesting piece http://ind.pn/1ahx3U7 I think he's better at class struggle than TV reviews. 5 reasons not to assume the FDP wipeout in the German elections will happen here in the UK "First, and ...
We would like to remind you about the on-going acceptance of nominations for the third edition of the ALDE Liberal Democrat Local and Regional Politicians Awards (LeaDeR Awards). With this reminder, we are inviting your party to participate in this initiative. All the necessary documents for nominations have been translated into 24 EU languages so [...]
In case you missed it – Gareth Epps reflects on Federal Conference On Left Foot Forward – After Glasgow: What did the left get out of the Lib Dem conference? On Huffington Post – A Pyrrhic Victory?
It started again this morning when I saw a tumblr entitled "stupid sanctions" I remembered how much I hated the Job Centre. Having had to sign on immediately after finishing university and then after my masters - i've had to ... Continue reading →
The retweets probably didn't spread the message as far as the Lib Dems would have liked, but it's a good example of using social media for some strong rebuttal. Labour are acting like they weren't in govt for 13 years. So here are some things @libdems have done in 3 that Labour didn't do [...]
For me, the most valuable parts of Conference were my discussions with a member of the Green Liberal Democrats Exec on her intense disappointment over the votes on nuclear energy, weapons and shale gas fracking. We discussed the relative contribution of idealism and pragmatism within the party. Her disappointment stemmed from the perceived abandonment of ideals by the party, in that we should be moving firmly away from both fossil fuel extraction and the risks of nuclear energy. I share those ideals, but I'm a little more pragmatic – some would say jaded. When going from A to Z, you ...
I recently received an email from TfL, asking for my views on their proposals to remove cash fare payments on our bus services. TfL say: "We believe that this proposed change will help to reduce boarding times and delays. Customers will be able to continue to use Oyster and contactless payment cards to pay for their fares, which are £1 lower than cash payments. If you have an Oyster and contactless payment card, please choose the card that you intend to pay with and touch it separately on the yellow card reader." This is all well a good for regular ...
Ed Balls http://t.co/NcwbpfEj2a #lab13 — The Labour Party (@UKLabour) September 23, 2013
Why not interview you local Lib Dem MP! If your MP is not a Lib Dem, why not contact MP's beyond your constituency! This opportunity is open to all, whether you are a school leaver, university, college or school student. Our aim at 'The Libertine Blog' is to have all 55 Liberal Democrat [...]
[IMG: Liberal Democrat conference 2013. Photo courtesy of Liberal Democrats. Some rights reserved Many views have already been expressed about the proposals being floated to cut back or even axe the Liberal Democrat spring conference. You can read the consultation paper on spring conference in full here. Two issues, however, are not mentioned in it, so I took the opportunity of a consultation session in Glasgow to raise them. First, and most importantly, the Spring Conference is at a very useful time of year compared to the Parliamentary timetable. It is often around then that Parliament has in principle ...
Yesterday one of our activists sent me a link to a tweet from the Rochester & Strood Conservatives (pictured) with the message to take a look.As a member of the Exec committee of the Medway Libdems I can categorically deny this had anything to do with any of our current members. Our position was made perfectly clear in the Local Medway Messenger by our Chairman, Tony Jeacock, on the letters page the week after the announcement that the former Liberal Democrats who had defected to the Independent group in 2010 had turned coat again and joined Labour. It is something ...
Nick Clegg seems fond of anchoring the Liberal Democrats firmly in "the centre." It's true that some voters, and possibly focus groups, speculate vaguely about a non-extremist party that somehow contains the best of the others without the worst bits. But on serious examination such centre ground, if it does exist, is not an ideal place for a party to position itself, and certainly not one to enthuse its activists. In effect anchoring ourselves to "the centre" allows our opponents to define us, and there is a sense in which this has happened. As neocon "market forces rule OK" economics ...
Here's my latest Muswell Flyer article (originally written in August) on Apprenticeships in Haringey. Since the event – companies have been in touch to let me know that they have now taken on young people they met at the event! I was so happy when I got my first job with a small design and advertising company in the West End - and my first pay packet. I remember feeling so grown up as I caught the tube to work along with the rest of the world. That sense of somewhere to be and something to do has always been ...
One of the challenges of being an Assembly Member is balancing my various different responsibilities. I am not just the Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats but also the spokesperson on health issues, both of which keep me incredibly busy in Cardiff Bay. I very much enjoy these different roles but the part of the job I love and the reason I got into politics is to try and help the people I represent in Brecon and Radnorshire. In the 14 years I have been doing this job the range of topics that have come up at my constituency surgeries ...
Mon 23rd
11:06
Nominees for the Ripplestone Review Biennial Awards 2014 category : Best Movie Reviewed
List of Movies Reviewed: 2012 Avatar 3D Avengers Assemble 3D Expendables 2 Fantastic Mr. Fox Iron Man 3D Man of Steel 3D MIB 3D Oblivion Pacific Rim 3D Prometheus Skyfall Searching for Sugar Man Star Trek: Into Darkness 3D The Hobbit Total Recall UP 3D Nominees for Best Movie Reviewed: Avatar 3D Inception Star Trek: Into Darkness 3D UP 3D Searching for Sugar Man For more information on the Ripplestone Review Biennial Awards click here.
Nick Clegg's speech to the annual conference struck a firmly equidistant tone with We're not trying to get back into Government to fold into one of the other parties - we want to be there to anchor them to the liberal centre ground, right in the centre, bang in the middle. We're not here to prop up the two party system: we're here to bring it down. backed up with a list of Conservative policies blocked, and a promise to block some Labour policies – once we know what they are – and implicitly to prevent Labour being reckless with ...
September 23rd every year is Bisexual Visibility Day. This day attempts to highlight the existence of bi people, what bisexuality is, and raise awareness. It's needed because most people assume everybody's either gay or straight. In the Lib Dems, people tend to assume I'm gay because I'm heavily involved with LGBT+ Lib Dems and most [...]
There I was minding my own business on Saturday afternoon when the PM programme phoned and asked me what I thought of Rachel Reeves' comments about an income of £60,000 not being rich. Since I'm not plugged umbilically into Twitter, this was the first I had heard of Labour's swoop on the votes of Middle England. Next thing I knew, I was on the air. This is what I said (17 mins in). The thing is that, depending rather where you live, a salary of £60,000 clearly isn't poor, but in many parts of the UK it isn't rich either. ...
You know that thing where you get off a bus and there's 55 minutes until your train and there's a bookshop right there? And the train station's only about a 10 minute walk, so having a look can't do any harm, right? So you wander in and kneel in front of the shelves holding the books on the reading list for your next module and... OH HELP WHERE DID THE LAST 40 MINUTES GO?! I am on my train, thank expletive. Not awake enough for this, this morning. [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
In 2011, I put my village blog to bed. Frankly, the hassle that I was getting from certain elements within the Parish Council meant that it just wasn't worth it. I had intended it as a means of covering village life and, almost as much as anything else, as a means of recording events - a shared diary if one will. And, if it was of use to anyone, that was all the better. It has now dawned on me, however, that as I'm no longer a parish councillor, and therefore not covered by the somewhat absurd 'social media policy' ...
One of the striking things about Mark Kermode's 2-star reviews of the rancid looking Diana biopic, is that he seems disappointed it's not worse: Neither as good as its pedigree suggests (director and star both have weighty credentials) nor quite as terrible as its detractors insist, this stodgy middle-of-the-road stiff is boringly ordinary and depressingly [...]
It's a well-known fact that too much data is confusing, messy and just too darn hard to make good use of. So when presented with lots of data, the best way to make predictions is to discard all but one data point, and then rest all your inferences, extrapolations and conclusions on just the one data point. It's what professional commentators do, after all. Therefore when looking at lessons from the FDP's electoral history in Germany for other parties in coalition, do not make the stupid basic mistake of thinking that looking at more evidence is better than looking at ...
I stumbled across the Interim House of Commons Report on the 2010 Election result the other day (don't ask) and it's full of the sort of election trivia I love. I'd recommend a swift perusal yourself, but in case you haven't the time, here are 10 brilliant stats about GE 2010. 1. 35% of voters voted for a party that wasn't Labour or the Tories - the highest since 1918 2. The safest seat in percentage terms is Liverpool Walton, held by new Labour MP Steve Rotheram with a majority of 57.7%. The largest majority in terms of votes is ...
posted The Blood is The Life 22-09-2013 http://t.co/uXRc5ihxNK on #dreamwidth (tags: (from twitter) dreamwidth ) http://pinterest.com/pin/164803667587311184/ Masterly coalition flow chart by @stephentall shows how hard it will be to secure another one http://t.co/2UhJ1YCwjR (tags: (from twitter) ) "Should the state dictate what women can or can't wear? No." Our new editor on the veil "debate" http://t.co/3LgTYWwbLl (tags: (from twitter) ) Want to see just how unaffordable homes have become since 1997? Great graphic from @resi_analyst : http://t.co/WV8oGEnd15 (tags: (from twitter) ) government contractor found guilty of racial discrimination (tags: ) [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
Here's an article I wrote following Lib Dem conference in Glasgow last week. You can also read it in the Ham and High here. It's party conference season, and this year the Liberal Democrats met north of the border in Glasgow. Along with my colleagues from Haringey, I participated in the many debates and events that make conference what it is. Unlike the other parties, the Lib Dems use our conference to give members a say in our policies. Local parties can bring forward ideas and motions, which are debated and voted on. It can be a very lively affair, ...
Mon 23rd
09:10
5 reasons not to assume the FDP wipeout in the German elections will happen here in the UK
An amazing result for Angela Merkel, increasing her vote and almost winning an absolute majority for the conservative CDU in her third election. A dire one for the liberal FDP, eliminated from the German Bundestag after failing to cross the 5% popular vote threshold – from 93 seats to 0 in one go. Ouch. Part of the fun of elections in foreign countries is cherry-picking the bits of confirmation bias that suit our own weltenschaung. "Liberal party wiped out after coalition with centre-right party, eh – you just wait til 2015, Mr Clegg!" I've even seen a couple of parliamentarians ...
The party's (supposed) support for this project in a time of straightened finances is clearly inconsistent. The budget restraints which we have suffered over recent years have been due to the crushing debt burden inherited from the feckless Labour regime. How can an open-ended HS2 project be justified at prices ranging from £21.4bn to £80bn? Moreover this amount of money is going solely for one project. It solves only a small number of transport problems and in a traditional fashion produces a glitzy one-off end-product while other parts of the rail system puff along in declining Victorian splendour. Some ...
Science policy was barely mentioned in the German election campaign, yet there are important issues that will have to be addressed if the country's science system is to remain strong Science policy was not high on anyone's agenda in the German election campaign, to put it mildly. Of course the political parties all mentioned it in their manifestos, pledging to continue the story of the successful German science system, perhaps with some modification here and there. The media did not question the lack of debate, and why would they? The system seems to work well as it is, and the ...
[IMG: Gordon Brown] Gordon Brown's complicated tax credits had nothing on the complexity of financial arrangements buried within the Liberal Democrats membership system. To the outside world, it was simple enough: you pay, you join. But what happens to the money then? How it got divided up within the party – which bit of the party got what share of your membership subscription – was fearsomely complicated. Were you a new member joining a local party by direct debit? Or a lapsed member renewing via cash paid to a Liberal Youth stall at a freshers fair? Or simply renewing your ...
I have received details of a public consultation about a proposed development at North Farm, South Newsham Road. I must stress this is not "North Farm, Blyth" as stated in the letter or leaflet, that is a totally different area. The proposal is for 40 houses on the farm site. The public consultation is at Blyth Town Football Club on 1st October from 3pm until 8pm I was invited to a private consultation, but have declined as I do not wish to be lobbied into a position where I have expressed an opinion ... I sit on the BTC Planning ...
[IMG: Meral H Ece] While we were all getting ready for Conference, it emerged that Liberal Democrats Jo Swinson and Baroness Meral Hussein-Ece had won Women in Public Life Awards for MP and Peer of the Year. Meral was delighted to have won and said: I am honoured and delighted to have been voted Peer of the Year (House of Lords) in the Women in Public Life Leadership Awards for this year. This is a prestigious award, and its a privilege to be in the company of other women who have achieved so much. I hope this inspires other women ...
I am taking tea on the terrace when I notice an unruly mob struggling with the door the tradesmen's entrance. I hurry over to give them a piece of my mind. "We're students," they say, "and we're looking for that Nick Clegg." It soon transpires that they are jolly cross with him - tuition fees and so forth. "Now look here," I say. "In the first place, this is private property: in the second, you are all pulling at a door marked 'Push'. Let me assure you, you won't find Nick Clegg in the Hall." I may, quite inadvertently, have ...
Fifty years on, Wilson's call to arms is more important than ever, says the shadow minister for universities and science As we gather in Brighton for Labour's Annual Conference this week, Britain faces a cost of living crisis - on average people have taken a £1,500 pay cut since the Tory-led government came to office. The Tories think we can succeed through a race to the bottom on skills and wages. But as Ed Miliband has argued, the only way we're going to build a strong economy is to make sure it works for working people. We need fewer low ...
In the US, the social sciences and humanities are under attack. In Europe, they have a brighter future In March this year, the US Congress voted to eliminate most funding for political science from the budget of the National Science Foundation (NSF), unless it can be proved that each grant benefits national security or economic interests. Since then, a leaked draft of the new US High Quality Research Act, has sparked controversy across the research community that Congress is trying to interfere with the scientific grant process. These incidents highlight the dangers of political influence over funding decisions, and the ...
I have today welcomed a commitment by Dundee City Council to investigate several concerns about the bus operation for pupils living in the West End of the city who travel to the Harris Academy decant site at Lawton Road. I have, over the current term, raised a number of concerns raised by West End parents about the operation of the 11S and 12S school buses and I am very keen that the operation of these services is reviewed over the October holidays to ensure that next term the issues have been fully addressed. Amongst the issues raised by West End ...
Whilst Ed Miliband and company seek to carve out a distinctive path for Labour in the run-up to the next General Election, a more substantial problem faces them, their sums just do not add up. According to the Sunday Times the party has created a £27.9 billion "black hole" of unfunded promises to raise welfare spending in its first year of office if it wins the 2015 election. A document released by Sajid Javid, economic secretary to the Treasury, calculates that to meet spending commitments made by Labour frontbenchers since June would require the equivalent of £1,059 additional borrowing for ...
