News, Jan, 2008

Only 3 in 20 white boys from deprived backgrounds reach Government benchmark in GCSEs
EU postal liberalisation Directive is signed, sealed, delivered
Fall in police numbers for the second successive year
Dramatic increase in deaths by gun and blade
Conservative MEPs win fight in call for discards ban
Putting public safety first
Website problems are more evidence of HMRC incompetence
Labour’s sports policy fails one million children
Top health service roles should be split
Labour’s rail announcement is scant consolation for millions who face travel misery everyday
Government trying to shift blame for small school closures
Weekly bin collections axed by 155 councils
Government’s EU Treaty arguments on energy are bogus
Labour has overpaid pharmacies for dispensing drugs by £811 million
More bad news for homeowners
Small school closures being driven by hypocritical Government
Still a chance to save 10 million tonnes of fish being dumped
People aren’t safe under Labour
New Stop and Search Proposals
Our package of banking reforms
Labour-Plaid fail to support police over pay
Iran is still a pariah, says Conservative MEP
Government backs Welsh Conservative thinking on honours
Conservatives help launch arts programme
Government urged to pay the bill
Post Office network disappearing under Labour
Labour squandering NHS cash as productivity falls
Assembly Government bullies councils over tax rises
Wait for Lottery repayment will be a bitter pill to swallow
No evidence that the Government will do more than talk about social care
EU Treaty will hand over powers on border control and policing to Brussels
Labour-Plaid dithers over substance abuse plans
Ministers’ repeated failures on training
Brown’s screening pledge exposed as gimmick
Power station decision is being watched around the world
Holocaust Memorial Day
David’s blog post on Davos
Maternity services are under severe pressure
Labour need to take the tragic consequences of excessive drinking seriously
The trends shaping our world
Government should abandon ID cards shambles before it really hits taxpayers’ security and wallets
Labour failing on the major driver of violent crime
Minister given early warning on big council tax rises
Government must improve access to student bursaries
Labour ignore Equitable Life victims seven months after EU said they should get compensation
CGT changes are yet another example of economic incompetence
C-diff Trust head receives pay-off because Alan Johnson didn’t take necessary action to stop it, says Lansley
Darling’s U-Turn on Capital Gains
The British public has a right to know what lay behind the decision to go to war
Why are disabled people having to wait so long?
Council tax bills rocket again edging towards £1,400
PAC says ‘dementia has not been a NHS priority
Peter Hain’s resignation was inevitable
Labour ignore Equitable Life victims seven months after EU said they should get compensation
Arts Council has a duty to be consistent, transparent and fair
Hain’s resignation inevitable
Government have not presented a shred of evidence to justify extending pre-charge detention
Is this really the best the Government can come up with to tackle obesity?
End goal is important, not targets on how to get there
Ministers must heed new warning from universities on diplomas
Labour and Plaid conspire on unacceptable budget
Labour red faced as red line on home affairs is broken by plan to extradite UK citizens
We must restore honour and integrity to Government’s relationship with the police
Working together to improve Welsh economy
Cost of government advisers keeps on rising
Now is the time for policies that can deliver
Conservative action on food labelling to help tackle obesity
Restoring honour to the system of police pay settlements
Police morale damaged by pay award betrayal
Crabb skewers PM on street crime
Binge drinking survey exposes continued Government failure
Government fails to challenge cultural traditions that hold back women
A sub-prime deal from a sub-Prime Minister
Unsurprising Hain’s department spends £1.50 to save a £1
No clear statement from Government on nuclear waste
Lib Dems are acting without principle on EU referendum
Communities betrayed as 29 post offices close
Labour’s plundering of public health budgets fails to curb the scourge of alcohol abuse
Plaid Cymru must rise to challenge of cutting wealth gap
50th birthday of 'disastrous' Common Fisheries Policy
Climate change package is welcome step in the right direction
Lib Dems acting without principle on EU referendum
Labour denies public vote on EU treaty
Target culture crippling health service
Taxpayers to provide mortgage for Northern Rock
Taxpayers clobbered twice from soaring local stealth taxes
Unemployed physiotherapists and Labour’s legacy of NHS mismanagement
Labour slammed as evasion of vehicle excise duty rockets
Sheer madness to cut down rainforests in the name of the environment
Brown to miss crucial EU vote
Conservatives review position on police pay arbitration
Government must honour commitment to hold referendum
MoD data loss shows cavalier attitude to confidential information
Government failing women on breast cancer screening
Labour and Plaid vote against foot and mouth compensation
Plaid Cymru must clear up ID card confusion
Poor health of NHS cost 17,000 lives
Police pay 'betrayal' undermines war on crime
Labour’s failure to keep our NHS up to European levels
Government refuses to confirm that superbug scandal Chief Exec will not receive her massive pay-off
We must address the causes of violence on our streets
All-Wales approach to flooding risk is vital
Parents need more good schools to get proper choice
Brussels to pay for Bluetongue vaccine
Only two Mandarin graduates qualified to teach last year
Government climb down on second chance education
Early effects of roaming regulation evident
Government admits 1 in 5 hospital trusts haven’t started their deep clean
Unions have Brown over a barrel
Road safety spending cut condemned
Government failing on racism and cohesion
Decline of geography is a serious concern
Farming red tape costing millions
Labour Party hangs Peter Hain out to dry
Government fails to tackle road congestion as traffic rises
Harassment of British council staff in Russia is unacceptable
Nationalisation of Northern Rock would be a failure
Burden-sharing not load-shedding in emissions targets agreement
Foreign Office must intervene to secure journalists' release
Government management of migrant system in shambolic state
Cross-border child abduction: Conservatives call for full cooperation from all member states
Doctors’ pay report underlines need for urgent action
Consumer credit across the EU is a step closer
Brown “dithered and delayed” over Northern Rock
Large cavity in Government policy on NHS dentist treatment
Northern Rock dithering threatens government debt
Thousands of lives could be saved with new ESC technology
Lottery good causes could still be crippled by Government’s dodgy accounting
Government must act to save rural communities from further harm
Labour-Plaid government steals Welsh Conservative policy
Brown must resist threat of more airport red tape for UK's hard pressed passengers
Consumer demand must lead to plastic bag cut
Conservatives call on Gordon Brown to explain his apparent U-turn on organ donation
Dismal final budget changes nothing
Assembly staff deserve dignity and respect
Tough announcements won’t help until the Government gets serious about seeing them through
Questions Hain must answer
Trust in Politics
Brown doesn’t understand that renamed EU Constitution is damaging to the free market
Big Lottery Fund waste £77 million a year on admin
Challenge to Gordon Brown: Cancel your stealth council tax revaluation
Andrew Lansley statement on organ donation
Standards probe must shed light on Hain donations
Brown has left Britain’s economy “vulnerable”
Under-spend increases flood risk to communities
Dinosaur EU must stop trampling on modern life
It’s clear Brown has no intention of fully funding Britain’s defence programmes
Deactivated weapons responsible for tiny level of gun crime
Half a million children in failing schools
New reactors is rare common sense decision
Health Minister admits Gordon Brown misled us over the Health in Pregnancy Grant
It’s time to reclaim our streets
Whatever happened to Gordon Brown’s promise to put Parliament before Press?
Government bows to pressure over police DNA database
Duncan welcomes Government’s nuclear statement
Labour hypocrisy over second chance education
Government threatens 'second chance learners'
Cost of Beckett's farming mistakes becoming clearer
Labour Councillor defects to Conservatives
David asks Mr. Brown to clarify ID Card confusion
Mr. Brown’s “short-term mess”
Hunt demands Purnell comes clean on the future of “garbage” arts organisations
4400% rise in prisoners held in police cells
Delivery must be Assembly’s priority in 2008
SNP accused of hypocrisy over Scottish banknotes
A&E capacity must expand to meet challenging target
Thirteen-fold increase in prisoners being held in police cells
Darling’s Ofgem letter a calculated deceit
Work for Welfare
Confusing cabin bag rules are just 'plain daft'
Brown “chasing headlines” with screening plans
Commission urged to control naval sonar
Action overdue on human trafficking
Brown picks the pockets of householders with fresh council tax hikes
The NHS at 60
Liberal Democrat defects