When I was asked to write this article I was struck by just how enormous a subject Legal Aid is, and the more I thought about it, just how important it is to a free and fair society. In order that this does not end up as sequel to War […]

About ten years ago on a trip to Scotland, my family and I decided to visit a place called New Lanark Mills. What I didn’t expect was how visiting the old Mills would introduce me to the story of Robert Owen. I’m sure many people have heard of Robert Owen, […]

On 15th June, 1215, in a meadow at Runnymede, King John made the binding agreement of the Magna Carta. It’s 800 years since this historic event, where forty barons demanded their rights. What Magna Carta represents is freedoms. The demand to be heard, human rights and democracy. That’s why this […]

Big Society was a concept thought up somewhere in an office, somewhere. It was thought to be an answer to what was perceived as the Big State. Opportunity arose. The global financial crisis happened.  Big Bank society collapsed. Bailed out by the Big State – gosh what would we have […]

Charles Dickens would have dropped everything to have been here today to defend Libraries.Just as he dropped everything over 150 years ago when the Mayor of Manchester invited him to the opening ceremony of the first free Library. In his acceptance note he said “The occasion is far too important […]

It started as a conversation between two friends fuelled by a week of unfair bullying from the Tory press on Labour Leader – Ed Miliband. “Shall we try to get this trending?” We uttered in amusement knowing how tough & fickle twitter can be! In the end we (@charliewoof81 & […]

“There is no chance, no destiny, no fate, that can circumvent or hinder or control the firm resolve of a determined soul.”   Labour wasn’t re-elected back into Govt in 2010. There had been a severe recession caused by the global financial crisis. The British people wanted a change. Yet […]

When I read the report in the press that Britain would no longer support any future search and rescue operations to prevent migrants & refugees from drowning in the Mediterranean. I was horrified. This aid has been cut because it was thought that it created a “pull factor”. My instant […]

Closing the Gender Gap: What Labour Will Do and What the Tories Won’t  by @bevclack   Today we had further evidence – if evidence were needed – of the lack of interest David Cameron’s government has in addressing issues of inequality.   This time it came in the shape of […]

Socialism is a word that is rarely uttered in the world of politics. That’s why I’m going to mention what Socialism means to me and hopefully others. Being a socialist is about having a balanced society. Where people are first ; community is important. Where we work together for the […]