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| The most popular features of the week, for your reading pleasure... Five: The coalition cut which takes food from children's mouths Child maintenance is one of the areas hit by austerity which doesn't get much coverage. Coalition policies have tried to push single mums away from using state-run maintenance programmes and towards private arrangements with absent fathers. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. The cost to single mums can be severe, but the rolling back of the state means they don't have anyone fighting their corner. Four: Grayling hoist by his own petard in final judicial review debate This piece also won the award for the most pompous Politics.co.uk headline for several years. As the lord chancellor's judicial review reforms ended their long, sorry journey through parliament, it emerged that Grayling's own less-than-accurate defence of them could be their undoing. The bill ended its Lords debate with a scathing attack on the current Ministry of Justice regime from Lord Pannick. Three: David Cameron declares war on Scotland Our coverage of David Cameron's misguided approach to the post-referendum landscape continues, with a look at how he continues to be comprehensively outplayed by Nicola Sturgeon. The new SNP leader is evidently as able to capitalise on the prime minister's political inadequacies as her predecessor. But for those who hope for a more cohesive union, Cameron's tactics leave much to be desired. Two: Why Labour's anti-Green strategy isn't working Miliband's tactics towards the Green party are also less than ideal. The Labour leader is trying to deal with the threat to his left flank but he has been unable to substantiate the rhetoric with policy. Instead, the party is relying on tired tactics with as little effect as the Tory attempt to deflate Ukip. Neither party has yet come to terms with the reality of post-binary British politics. One: Grayling: I'm the first impartial lord chancellor in 400 years A second showing for one of our favourite secretaries of state, as we break down his unintentionally hilarious interview with Conservative Home. And yes, there really is a point where he suggests he's the best lord chancellor in 400 years. As a character study, the interview does an almost Shakespearian job. He spends an inordinate amount of it accusing opponents of lying while playing rather fast and loose with the facts himself. We should be irritated by giving pride of place to a piece on another website's article. But we're not. Best of the rest...Comment: The squeeze on charities is slowly crushing the third sector Charities are facing the squeeze. Not just financially — although that is certainly happening too—but from the pressure of political and public opinion. Comment: Is domestic slavery in Britain worse than Saudi Arabia? A little-heard of change to visa rules in 2012 created a slave class among Britain's domestic workers An unreported scandal: Wages so low they're illegal A row over the coalition's wavering enforcement of the national minimum wage is acting as a smokescreen for the real reason workers are being let down. It's austerity, of course. The human price of the prison crisis: 2014 suicide rates revealed The warnings came, but they were ignored - how suicide rates soared behind bars. A Labour/SNP coalition would damage both parties Coalition negotiations look increasingly likely but increasingly difficult to see working Shaker Aamer's case is a test of the Anglo-American commitment to liberty David Cameron raised case of the British Guantanomo detainee with Obama The age of coalition government is killing off Trident Trident renewal is unlikely to go ahead until there's another majority - and by then it may have gone permanently out of fashion | Alarm as cosmetics ban claim referred to ECJFears it could prove major setback to animal welfare. Labour pledge to legalise humanist marriages as Government blocks proposals, disappointing thousands of couplesThe Labour Party has today pledged to give legal recognition to humanist marriages if returned to power next year, as the government publish a report blocking Liberal Democrat party policy for reform. Advisers welcome common sense approach on digital firms’ VAT but warn uncertainty will remainTax advisers have welcomed a government move1 which will save thousands of small businesses needing to register for European VAT on digital services from having to charge their customers UK VAT, provided their relevant turnover remains below the £81,000 threshold CML publishes new market forecastsLooking ahead over the next two years, housing and mortgage market developments appear well supported by relatively favourable economic fundamentals. RSPCA shakes up ChristmasThought-provoking video homage to festive classic set to shock. "Teacher recruitment and retention on the precipice of a crisis" NASUWT tells pay review bodyThe NASUWT, the largest teachers’ union in the UK, is today giving oral evidence to the School Teachers’ Review Body (Review Body) to argue for a substantial above-inflation pay award for teachers in 2015/16. Call to end the exploitation of agency workersPoliticians must show they are serious about cracking down on the exploitation of agency workers, including supply teachers, NASUWT, the largest teachers’ union in the UK, has said. |
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