By Tim MontgomerieFollow Tim on Twitter. The Coalition may get its welfare bill passed but it may do so at a cost to its relations with the House of Lords. The Upper House repeatedly amended the welfare bill – sometimes by large majorities. Labour, crossbench and Lib Dem rebels defeated, for example, the benefits cap […]
Ed Holmes is a senior research fellow at Policy Exchange. Ed Milliband’s leadership has arrived at an interesting juncture this week. Liam Byrne – who apart from being Ed’s welfare spokesman moonlights as Labour’s policy review chief – has set tongues wagging in Westminster with his opposition to the Government’s £26,000 benefits cap: “Let's be […]
By Matthew BarrettFollow Matthew on Twitter. The Minister of State at the Department for Work and Pensions with responsibility for Employment, Chris Grayling, was responsible for answering an Opposition day debate on unemployment yesterday afternoon. Labour Members, both from the frontbench, and through the Shadow Minister, Liam Byrne, issued a number of attacks on the […]
By Joseph Willits Follow Joseph on Twitter The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) has issued a warning to the Government, suggesting they maintain current plans to reduce the deficit, and resist any temptation to follow a 'Plan B'. Research published by the IEA draws on evidence from other Western governments' stimulus packages which have failed to resolve […]
By Joseph Willits Follow Joseph on Twitter Tory MP Nick de Bois has disputed claims that Work and Pensions Secretary, Iain Duncan Smith, blamed the X Factor, amongst other things, for causing the summer's nationwide riots. Speaking on Sky News yesterday, Enfield MP de Bois, said that Duncan Smith was not "trying to say the X-Factor is […]
20 Conservative MPs have written to ConservativeHome, commending the progress the Government, and in particular, Skills Minister John Hayes, has made with regards to apprenticeships. Here is their letter in full: Dear Tim, Your article (“Apprenticeships – the government's ‘remarkable, unprecedented’ success story – 29th October) highlighted the welcome dramatic increase in the take up […]
Matt Oakley is Head of Enterprise, Growth and Social Policy at Policy Exchange. He contributes this latest entry in our series examining how to lift young people off the conveyor belt to crime. To read all entries – so far covering early intervention, parenting, policing and gang culture, click on this link and scroll down […]
Gavin Poole is Executive Director of the Centre for Social Justice. The Centre for Social Justice’s (CSJ) new report, Creating Opportunity, Rewarding Ambition, promotes the value of entry level employment and celebrates its contribution to our economy, society and day-to-day lives. It also highlights the centrality of entry level employment in achieving economic growth in […]
By Matthew BarrettFollow Matthew on Twitter As Jonathan Isaby reported last week, Friday saw the Second Reading of Christopher Chope's Private Member's Bill, the Employment Opportunities Bill, which would allow "freely consenting adults" to opt out of the minimum wage. Mr Chope takes an interest in employment legislation, and has sought to change the minimum wage […]
by Paul Goodman According to research from the Department for Work and Pensions: The average jobseeker currently spends just one hour a day looking for work. Over a third of benefit claimants felt that there was nothing wrong with choosing to stay on benefits rather than looking for work and that claiming benefits should be […]
Gavin Poole is Director of the Centre for Social Justice. He writes for ConservativeHome about his new report which ranks the Coalition's progress in helping people to follow what the CSJ calls "the five pathways out of poverty". The Coalition will survive this first real test. Cabinet fall outs and public spats aside, its leaders […]
By Tim Montgomerie Over at ToryDiary I look at the PX Poll's implications for the Conservative Party but pasted below are some key findings: MOST IMPORTANT VALUES IN A POLITICAL PARTY Economic responsibility: 59% Fairness: 50% Family values: 32% Traditional values: 29% Equality: 21% Liberty: 20% Patriotism: 17% Environmentalism: 11% FAIRNESS IS ABOUT GETTING WHAT […]
Tim Montgomerie Published yesterday was an extraordinarily detailed report from the Centre for Social Justice, examining Britain's ageing society and the extent to which family breakdown was leaving older people isolated and lonely. Here are some of the key facts from the report: Life expectancy: One in four boys and one in three girls born […]
By Tim Montgomerie A new report from the Reform think tank analyses the bureaucracy-enhancing 'money-go-round' that grew up under Gordon Brown. The appropriately-titled Money-go-round paper notes that middle and higher earners were big welfare gainers under Labour but all gains were lost in higher taxes: Although it gives 'in principle' backing to George Osborne's attempt […]
By Jill Kirby of the Centre for Policy Studies. Outlining the Coalition’s plans for welfare reform in the House of Commons yesterday Iain Duncan Smith alluded to new data on workless households presented in the Centre for Policy Studies’ latest report ‘More Producers Needed’. At 11.5%, the UK has the highest incidence of adults in […]