“If you’re a woman, you will earn less than a man,” observed Theresa May in her first statement as British Prime Minister. An Institute from the Fiscal Studies confirms this fact. True, some progress has been made: the difference between the average hourly pay of men and women fell from 28% in 1993 to 18% …
Before the Syrian conflict in Syria began in March 2011 around 560,000 registered Palestinian refugees lived in Syria. Following five years of civil war, more than half of these people have lost their homes, and nearly all are in dire need of aid. An estimated 110,000 Palestinians have fled Syria since 2011 according to UNRWA …
Continue reading ‘We hear about Syrians, less about Palestinians fleeing Syria’ »
“Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs is no longer fit for purpose,” says Prem Sikka of The Guardian. Its job is to collect taxes, yet the agency is so starved of resources (its budget in 2015-16 was £3.2bn, down from £4.4bn in 2005) that it can’t carry out its job. Local tax offices have been replaced …
Continue reading ‘Tax collecting in the UK has become a joke’ »
Amid all the gloom, doubt and uncertainty let me quote Shakespeare: “All other doubts, by time let them be clear’d: Fortune brings in some boats that are not steer’d.” (Cymbeline Act IV, Scene iv) Epicureans prefer to be positive.
One of the biggest concerns about climate change is the effect it will have on agriculture. Many studies have suggested that rising temperatures could be harmful to farms around the world, although there’s plenty of uncertainty about how bad things will get and which food supplies we should worry about the most. Research shows that …
