KEEP CALM & WORK YOURSELF TO DEATH

Posted on August 23, 2019 by Norwich Radical in Perspectives and tagged benefits, benefits culture, Boris Johnson, conservatives, CSJ, cuts, deportation, dwp, featured, gender gap, george osborne, health, Iain Duncan Smith, NHS, pension, pension scheme, retirement, statistics, Tories, unions, vulnerable, welfare, welfare cuts, women, work, workers.

by Jonathan Lee

“New pension plans to work till you die are no cause for alarm” says arch-Tory overlord Ian Duncan Smith. A recent report from the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), the Tory think-tank which brought us Universal Credit, has recommended the government raise the retirement age from 65 to 70 by 2028, and to 75 by 2035.

The Tories are not content to simply make workers’ lives as miserable as possible through underfunding schools, unaffordable housing, food poverty, and the greatest devaluation of wages in modern history. They now seek to steal the last golden years of life from the majority of working class people who cannot afford a private pension in order to retire early.Continue Reading

THERE’S MORE TO STUDENT ACTIVISM THAN #PEOPLESVOTE

Posted on February 20, 2019 by Norwich Radical in Student and tagged Amatey Doku, Brexit, bursaries, class, defend education, featured, fossil free, Free Education, george osborne, grants, grassroots, guardian, higher education, history, marketisation, NUS, politics, Remain, solidarity, student activism, student movement, student politics, students, students' unions, The People's Vote, tony blair, tuition fees.

By Robyn Banks

Amatey Doku is right: student activism isn’t dead. In a recently published interview with the Guardian, the NUS Vice President of Higher Education proclaimed that students’ response to Brexit and their engagement with the People’s Vote campaign has shown that student activism is thriving anew, after years without a “unifying cause”. But what about the fight for free education that has been active on our campuses since 2012? For many activists in the last few generations of students, it was the issue that brought us together and gave us the skills to take the fight to the powerful. But for Doku, it was too “inward looking” to inspire a “genuine” movement.

THE GREATEST PRICE OF AUSTERITY? PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE

Posted on June 14, 2018 by Norwich Radical in Arts, Perspectives and tagged austerity, Community, contribute, culture, dinosaurs, dioramas, economic disparity, Edinburgh, education, featured, funding cuts, george osborne, libraries, literacy, local authorities, museums, national museum of scotland, national museums, NHS, Philip Hammond, politics, poverty, public buildings, public institution, public museums, public spaces, public spending, reading, reduce stress, robots, save libraries, social mobility, steam trains, working class, young readers.

by Edward Grierson

As a child, I always looked forward to a visit to the National Museum of Scotland. An hour’s journey to Edinburgh was always a small price worth paying if it meant passing a wet weekend or day out from the holiday among dinosaurs, dioramas, steam trains and robots that could spell your name. Since then the museum has undergone countless changes, but whenever I return, I can always be certain to discover something new.

However, those trips to the museum were much more than just a fun day out. I can confidently say that they were a major formative influence for me, particularly in inspiring my love of nature. Without the influence of the National Museum of Scotland, I would not be who I am today. I can also confidently say I’m not the only one. I speak for countless others whose interests, whatever they are, were inspired by visiting trips to a museum.Continue Reading

POST-TRUTH POLITICS AND THE WAR ON INTELLECT

Posted on January 12, 2017 by Norwich Radical in Inter|national, Perspectives and tagged american politics, american presidential election, austerity, brendan o'neill, Brexit, british politics, Cameron, class, cuts, david cameron, debt, deficit, Donald Trump, elitism, EU, EU referendum, european politics, european union, fedia buric, george osborne, grantra, intellectualism, international politics, inter|national, media, Michael Gove, politics, pomerantsev, post-truth, putin, SOAS, spiked magazine, the sun, Trump, US election, US president, US presidential election, USA, vladmir putin, vlandislav surkov, working class.

by Robyn Banks

“Does it follow that I reject all authority? Far from me such a thought. In the matter of boots, I refer to the authority of the bootmaker; concerning houses, canals, or railroads, I consult that of the architect or engineer.”- Mikhail Bakunin

There’s a new buzzword in the air. We are now living, it is claimed, in a post-factual or post-truth society, where facts no longer matter to the general public. At face value it seems like a bizarre claim. But while politicians and the media have always lied to the public, if you consider the audacity of the lies of the last decade in contrast to the sheer number of tools available to us to find out the truth, you begin to see the point.Continue Reading

SEVEN WAYS THE TORIES HAVE UNDERMINED OUR DEMOCRACY

Posted on October 16, 2016 by Norwich Radical in Inter|national and tagged accountability, BAME, BDS, Britain, climate change, conservative, constituency, Cuadrilla, david cameron, democaracy, devolution, electorate, energy, ethics, euRef, fracking, Gagging Law, george osborne, international, investment, israel, John Major, Labour, Lancashire, list, listicle, Lobbying Act, localism, margaret thatcher, national, opposition, Parliament, politics, power, rhetoric, Sajid Javid, strike action, theresa may, Tories, tory party, Trade Union Act, trade unions, uk, War on Want.

by Chris Jarvis

Since coming to power under the coalition in 2010, the Tories have repeatedly paid lip service to the principles of democracy. David Cameron’s concept of the ‘big society’ was outlined in democratic terms, where local communities would be empowered to have control over public services and community projects. ‘Localism’ and rhetoric around extending local democracy were key components of both the 2010 and 2015 Conservative Party General Election platforms.

Ultimately though, the reality is far from the picture Conservative ministers and strategists are painting. Through Cameron to May, the Tories have repeatedly undermined democracy in Britain and we are far worse off as a result. Here are just seven of the many ways they have done this.Continue Reading

‘DEVOLUTION’ AND THE TRIUMPH OF TORY DOUBLESPEAK

Posted on July 1, 2016 by Norwich Radical in Community, Inter|national and tagged accelerated growth, Audit Commission, bottom up, Breckland, budget, business, Cities and Local Government Devolution Act, conservative, council, democracy, devolution, east anglia, economy, elections, English devolution, george osborne, government, grassroots, Great Yarmouth, growth, LEP, local council, Local Enterprise Partnership, local government, Lutfur Rahman, Martin Winter, mayor, norfolk, North Norfolk, norwich, public sector, Suffolk, Tories, trade union, Treasury, turn out.

by Olivia Hanks

“Let local people decide!” urged George Osborne in his budget speech last summer, as he announced details of his plans for English devolution. What an excellent idea, as, on the face of it, almost everyone across the political spectrum agreed. Unfortunately, local people did not ask for devolution, had no say in deciding its form or content, were kept entirely in the dark about negotiations, and, in the case of East Anglia, are now to be ‘consulted’ on a deal of whose existence they are probably unaware and which, the Treasury has confirmed, there will be no opportunity to amend.

Report after report, from councils, public sector bodies and journalists, has enthused about the ‘golden opportunity’ to give local people a say in the decisions that affect them. Even those expressing serious reservations have praised the ‘principle’ of devolution — ignoring the glaring fact that when you examine the detail of the Cities and Local Government Devolution Act, or of individual ‘deals’, this principle is conspicuous by its absence.Continue Reading

IT’S GRIM UP NORTH: HOW THE NORTH OF BRITAIN HAS BEEN LEFT BEHIND

Posted on May 4, 2016 by Norwich Radical in Inter|national and tagged austerity, British Isles, City, crisis, divide, economy, Game of Thrones, george osborne, GoT, Great Britain, independece, industry, inequality, london, mining, North, Plaid Cymru, politics, poverty, recession, Scotland, snp, south, steelworks, the north remembers, UKIP, Wales, westminster.

by Pierce Robinson

The North – South divide in the British Isles is still one of the most controversial topics in contemporary UK politics and society. The economic and political differences between the two ends of the country have been a common characteristic of these islands for decades. If you live anywhere north of Birmingham, the signs that you have entered a different part of the country are clear, even just the fact that you would choose gravy chips over a kebab – but most importantly, the level of poverty increases dramatically. The United Kingdom has the highest level of inequality in Western Europe, yet with a capital city that continues to flourish every day, why are we not seeing the similar signs of fortune increase in the North?Continue Reading

BATMAN, THE PANAMA PAPERS AND THE EVILS OF CORRUPTION

Posted on April 10, 2016 by Norwich Radical in Inter|national and tagged batman, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, bruce wayne, Christopher Nolan, corruption, david cameron, David Gunnlaugsson, Edward Snowden, gangsterism, george osborne, Gotham, government corruption, Iceland, ISIS, Mossack Fonseca, offshore, Panama Papers, Russia, Saudi Arabia, tax, tax avoidance, tax havens, terrorism, theresa may, uk, Vladimir Putin, WikiLeaks.

By Faizal Nor Izham

Two weeks ago, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice opened to mixed reviews from film critics, but nonetheless went on to perform spectacularly at the box office. Just this week, the Panama Papers were also unleashed into the public sphere, from the world’s fourth-biggest offshore law firm Mossack Fonseca. The 11.5 million document leak featured startling revelations on a web of shady offshore accounting, involving twelve prominent world leaders including David Cameron. Implicating a total of 143 world politicians, their families and close associates, the leaks demonstrated the various ways in which elite rulers have been exploiting secretive offshore tax regimes.

THE MORALITY OF TAX

Posted on March 25, 2016 by Norwich Radical in Inter|national and tagged big business, Britain, british politics, budget, business, corporations, economics, george osborne, Institute for Fiscal Studies, inter|national, local government, politics, rent, small business, tax.

by Olivia Hanks

I’m writing this because I’m unhappy about small businesses not paying tax.

Yes, you read that right.

We all know about the coffee chains and technology giants that are siphoning off society’s wealth and making no contribution; I’m talking about the small, local businesses that are the real lifeblood of every town’s economy.Continue Reading

PROFIT BEFORE PUPILS — SCHOOL’S OUT FOREVER

Posted on March 17, 2016 by Norwich Radical in Inter|national, Student and tagged academies, academy, budget, chief executive, coalition, Community, comprehensive, council-run, democracy, department for education, devolved powers, education, education secretary, george osborne, gove, Green Party, independence, junior doctors, local authority, local council, local elections, lucy powell, Michael Gove, michael wilshaw, national curriculum, national union of teachers, new labour, nicky morgan, ofsted, parents, privatisation, pupils, salary, school, school selection, schools minister, sponsor, state-funded schools, student, students, teachers, Tories, trust, Vix Lowthion, whitehall.

by Cadi Cliff

Wednesday was Budget Day and George Osborne set out plans for a huge shake-up of the schools system. He announced that schools in England must become academies, independent of local authorities, by 2020. It’s farewell to your old council-run comprehensive and hello to corporate sponsored academies — and no, you don’t get a say in the matter.

Along with junior doctor contracts, the majority of the public have not supported the government’s argument on academies — so the Tories have gone and imposed them anyway. Democracy, right?Continue Reading

george osborne

KEEP CALM & WORK YOURSELF TO DEATH

THERE’S MORE TO STUDENT ACTIVISM THAN #PEOPLESVOTE

POST-TRUTH POLITICS AND THE WAR ON INTELLECT

‘DEVOLUTION’ AND THE TRIUMPH OF TORY DOUBLESPEAK

IT’S GRIM UP NORTH: HOW THE NORTH OF BRITAIN HAS BEEN LEFT BEHIND

BATMAN, THE PANAMA PAPERS AND THE EVILS OF CORRUPTION

THE MORALITY OF TAX

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