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| Our five most popular pieces of the week, in case you somehow missed them. Five: Why aren't the Greens in the TV election debate? When broadcasters unveiled plans for electionTV debates on Monday, there was one expected addition and one glaring omission. Ukip had been brought in from the cold as part of a 4-3-2 set-up. But if the Kippers were in, what about the Greens? They have just as many MPs (until next month anyway) and actually did better than the Lib Dems in the European elections. ITN, Sky and the BBC really dropped the ball on this one. Pretty much everyone believes the Greens should have been in there, including the party itself, which is starting legal proceedings. Four: Desperate scenes as drug law enforcers try to preserve the status quo We report on a little-covered press conference at the UN earlier this month, where a US official made some pretty significant clarifications on what exactly the international drug convention means. This UN document is the backbone of half a century's anti-drugs policies across the world. But according to William R. Brownfield it's all been a terrible misunderstanding. The US is trying to shore up what’s left of the international drugs consensus, while watching its own states legalise cannabis. Three: Liquid diets: Iain Duncan Smith targets obese benefit claimants Strange goings on at the Department for Work and Pensions, as Iain Duncan Smith suggests people too obese for work are put on liquid diets. The man behind Universal Credit was convinced by a corporate presentation and suggested Jeremy Hunt chase it up at the Department of Health. But there are problems… Two: Tory MP: Treat patients with herbs instead of drugs to save money David Tredinnick, who is actually on the health committee – not in some fantasy land, but in this actual objectively real country – has suggested using herbs on patients instead of medicine. Astrology too. He defended this – how else? – using austerity and spending cuts. He's also a member of the science and technology committee. Seriously. He really is. One: Comment: What exactly is David Axelrod doing for Labour? Regular guest columnist Richard Heller struck a nerve with this piece in which he asked searching questions about exactly what's going on with the man from Washington. Axelrod was hired to bring some Obama glamour to Ed Miliband's election team, but he hasn't been seen or heard for some time. He didn't even bother to show up to the autumn conference, despite being paid a six-figure salary. The suspicion is that fairly anonymous men around Obama's election machine are trading on the association and bluffing foreign parties into paying over the odds for them. Best of the weekHammond's call for treason against Isis is an unhelpful temper tantrum Treason is used to satisfy public outrage. It is of no use in terrorism cases. Why did Lord Darzi pull out of an anti-smoking debate? The man who wants a health revolution in Britain is unwilling to engage with his critics Climate change blues: The Tories' green retoxification confirmed Owen Paterson's startlingly frank disavowal of climate change this week marks the final demise of the Tories' green detoxification. Park smoking ban shows how tragically anti-smoking movement lost its way While e-cigarettes wean millions off cigarettes, anti-smoking campaigners are lost in a symbolic world of bans and fines Comment: Palestine is a state – and a prison Whatever the outcome of the vote in the House of Commons, Palestine is a state but it is also a prison. NHS strike: A walkout by people who care about you 'Give us more pay,' the NHS workers strike today is supposedly going, 'or the patients get it'. The truth about the conduct of these compassionate, caring workers couldn't be more different. | NASUWT meets Bahrain ambassador to call for release of jailed teachers' union leaderThe NASUWT, the largest teachers’ union in the UK, has today been part of a delegation calling for the release of the jailed president of the Bahrain Teachers Association (BTA) Mahdi Abu Dheeb at the Bahrain embassy in London. ‘Tax Gap’ figures - Five times as much lost to fraud as to avoidanceThe Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT) has drawn attention to official figures published today which show that almost five times more tax revenue is lost as a result of illegal activity than through tax avoidance. Mixed messages over regional school commissioners and National Teaching ServiceVoice General Secretary Deborah Lawson - 'We would like to hear more about supporting schools and communities, and less about undermining and removing headteachers'. Women teachers facing discrimination and inequalityWomen teachers say they are being denied their contractual entitlements on pay and working conditions, a conference organised by the NASUWT, the largest teachers’ union, has heard. Scottish Budget: Tax advisers pleased to see back of ‘slab system’ for taxing property salesThe UK’s leading tax institute has commented on the announcement of the first rates for Scotland’s Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT), made in the Scottish Government’s Draft Budget, published today. Cameron's Offer of ‘Jam’ TomorrowOn the face of it, raising the tax threshold sounds great, but the problem is this; when you earn so little, tax really isn't the problem. It’s the amount that you earn that is the real issue. House purchase lending in August down 3% on JulyNew CML data on the characteristics of lending in August show that lending declined slightly compared to July, the first month-on-month drop in house purchase lending volume since February this year. |
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