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We speak to Sunny Hundal, editor of left-liberal website, Liberal Conspiracy

Without wanting to trot out the old and overused cliché, the economy is going to be the most important issue at the next general election, dummy. This month has seen Ed Balls, Labour’s Shadow Chancellor, give a speech at Thomson Reuters, which looked to set out his vision for the economy in a Labour government. A few days later, Labour leader Ed Miliband gave a speech on welfare and the economy. This two-pronged approach

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PUMP UP THE VOLUME

19 Jun 2013 16:30

WaterAid, one of Glastonbury Festival’s official charities, is asking everyone to sign the petition to put pressure on world leaders to make this a reality. Here's the video supporting the campaign.

This film will be shown on the screens at Glastonbury, and a petition will be handed in to the UN General Assembly in New York, this September.

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Wouldn't democracy be so much cooler in 3D?

by Anoosh Chakelian / 14 Jun 2013 17:08

Democracy in 3D. No, it's not when you get to the polling booth, twizzling a sweaty pencil in your disillusioned palm, trying to decide where to put your cross of disappointment, when you suddenly have to pay £2 extra for huge, black-rimmed glasses to see the whole sorry process in three dimensions. And end up with a headache for your troubles.

No, it's all to do with 3D printing - you know those stories about that extremely

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The trouble with reshuffles

by Justin Cash / 14 Jun 2013 11:39

Last weekend, rumours surfaced that David Cameron is prepared to give his parliamentary pack another shuffle in the coming month. The chief beneficiaries could be some of the breakthrough members of the 2010 intake; ministers Liz Truss and Sajid Javid, along with assistant whips Nicky Morgan and Karen Bradley, are all reported to be in line for higher office.

Though no “major changes” are expected, tinkering with the makeup of government does seem to be

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Legal aid: For fairness, play the ball, not the man

by Stephen Parkinson / 14 Jun 2013 10:35

Who but the Ministry of Justice could be surprised by last week’s 13,000 or so expert submissions responding to the Government’s consultation document “Transforming Legal Aid: Delivering a More Credible and Efficient System.” That so many practitioners, academics, NGOs and others involved in our criminal justice system should speak out, with such an impassioned and unified voice, is due to the widespread belief that these proposals are critically flawed, delivering neither credibility nor efficiency.

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Syria crosses the "red line"

by Emily Stacey / 14 Jun 2013 09:53

Back in January this year, Foreign Secretary William Hague stood in the House of Commons and stated that the UK government was “stepping up” its approach to the Syrian conflict and confirmed that “all options are open” in responding to the crisis. Back then, the idea of military intervention seemed possible. Now, five months later, it appears that a decision on whether the West should assist in arming the Syrian rebels is imminent.

Speaking on

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Coming to terms with criminality

by Ashley Ames / 13 Jun 2013 15:47

Ipsos MORI’s issues index finds that public concern around crime is at its lowest level for 20 years. Indeed, the last time that so few of us highlighted crime as one of the key national issues, the country was just edging its way out of the last recession whilst the PM John Major was announcing plans to close coal mines and the Queen was about to famously surmise the year as Read more…

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Nature: necessity or luxury in housing?

by Seb McCarthy / 13 Jun 2013 15:29

The well-known ‘hierarchy of needs’, championed by American psychologist Abraham Maslow, proposes that the most basic level of needs - such as food - must be met before the individual will strongly desire (or focus motivation upon) higher level need, such as love or belonging, or care for the environment.

This hierarchy is often reflected in political priorities, and one current debate where this may be seen is the discussion over prioritising house building over

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Previews: From Salford to the Congo

by Toby Youell / 06 Jun 2013 13:20

This article is from the June 2013 issue of Total Politics

Comedy

Eddie Izzard: Force Majeure World Tour

Possibly in a bid to raise funds for his future mayoral campaign, Eddie Izzard is on his largest ever world tour. The tour includes 25 countries in two months, including two days at London’s 02 Arena. Izzard has promised the show will be “a bit of

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A new approach to the childcare ratio problem

by Imogen Parker / 06 Jun 2013 12:20

It’s official. Liz Truss’ plans to relax childcare ratios for the young children are now “dead in the water”. It’s welcome news that Nick Clegg has listened to experts, considered the evidence and rethought ratio reform.

This morning’s news will no doubt cause celebration in the sector (with petitions lobbying the government to reconsider easily crossing the 50,000 mark), and with good cause. The proposals to loosen ratios in the hopes this would

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